Sandy Springs, GA Animal Ordinances: Pet Store Rules (2026)

Article XI of Chapter 26 governs pet shops within city limits, defined as any retail establishment where dogs or cats are sold, exchanged, bartered, or offered for sale to the public (excluding shelters and nonprofit rescues themselves). Section 26-341 bars a pet shop from selling, delivering, offering for sale, bartering, auctioning, or otherwise disposing of a dog or cat. A pet shop may still host adoptions, but only for animals it has obtained from, or displays in cooperation with, an animal care facility (a government-run shelter) or an animal rescue organization holding federal 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status.

Any dog or cat offered for adoption must be at least eight weeks old; younger animals cannot be placed through a pet shop's adoption program. Section 26-342 layers recordkeeping and disclosure duties on top of the sales ban: a shop must document the source of every dog and cat it acquires and retain those records for at least one year, producing them on request to the city manager, the chief of police, or their designee. Each animal offered for adoption must carry a conspicuous sign on its cage naming the specific animal care facility or rescue organization it came from, so customers can verify the source themselves. The ordinance was enacted by Ordinance No. 2017-11-23 on November 21, 2017.