New Rochelle, NY Animal Ordinances: Pet Store Rules (2026)

Article VI of Chapter 89, Sale of Commercially Bred Dogs and Cats, was added September 19, 2017 by Ordinance No. 179-2017. Its single operative section, § 89-16, flatly forbids any person from selling a live dog or cat in a commercial establishment located in New Rochelle unless that animal was obtained from an animal shelter, a humane society, or a nonprofit rescue and humane organization registered with the New York State Department of Agriculture. That structure targets the retail 'puppy mill' pipeline: a pet store may still offer dogs or cats for sale or adoption, but only sourced from a shelter, humane society, or state-registered rescue, not from a commercial breeder or broker.

The article's adoption also triggered a renumbering: the editor's note explains that the former Article VI became Article VII, so the current farm-animal rules for New Rochelle sit one number higher than in the pre-2017 Code. The chapter does not carve out an exception for pet shops that only broker adoptions on behalf of an outside breeder network, so any commercial sale traceable back to a non-shelter, non-rescue source falls within the ban. General penalty provisions for Chapter 89 offenses, a fine of not more than $250 or imprisonment of not more than 15 days, or both, apply absent a more specific penalty section within Article VI itself.