Port St. Lucie, FL Animal Ordinances: Pet Store Rules (2026)

20(a) requires an adoption-based business model for any pet shop selling dogs, cats, or rabbits in Port St. Lucie: every animal must be sourced from stray and unwanted pets already taken in by an animal shelter or animal rescue organization, and animals purchased directly or indirectly from a breeder, broker, or wholesaler cannot be offered for sale. Subsection (b) reinforces the rule by barring retail sale unless the pet shop certifies the animal came from an animal shelter or animal rescue organization. 29(3). Subsection (d) adds a paperwork trail: the pet shop must post a certificate of source conspicuously on each animal's cage, listing the source's name and address, a description of the animal including breed, sex, color, and health condition, and any veterinary care the animal received while in the shop's custody.

The purchaser signs that certificate at the point of sale, and the pet shop keeps a copy for at least one year. 01, so the adoption-only rule targets retail storefronts rather than the rescues and breeders supplying animals to the public directly. A pet shop found in violation faces the city's general enforcement mechanisms, including a civil action to enjoin continued noncompliance, and each day a violation continues counts as a separate offense.