A Florida City Has Made It Against the Law To Not Walk Your Dog

Author Joe Winner

January 5th, 2024 11:38 AM

I walk my dog every night after work. Not just for the exercise, but that time with your dog is great for bonding. I really believe it’s my dog’s favorite time of the day. Maybe even more than dinnertime. And since we live in Florida, it’s not too often that you can blame the weather on not taking your dog out for a walk. Well, one city in Florida has taken the next step. It’s essentially against the law to not walk your dog.

About halfway between Daytona Beach and Orlando is Deltona, Florida. A town of just under 100,000. In their recently drafted ORDINANCE NO. 12-2023, the city has given a lot more rights – to their pets. The new ordinance touches on many items regarding animal cruelty. It covers shelter, bringing them in when it’s too hot, too cold, or raining. The ordinance even essentially states, that you need to walk your dog. Here’s how 2(d) reads: “Animals must be given appropriate daily exercise. Subjective varies dog to dog dependent on age, health, and breed.”

It’s now against the law in Deltona to let your dog get fat and lazy.

Another interesting section covers animals trapped in hot cars. Here’s how it reads: “Any person who enters a motor vehicle, by force or otherwise, for the purpose of removing a domestic animal is immune from civil liability to damage to the motor vehicle.” I believe this should be statewide across Florida. If you smash a car window to save an animal trapped in a hot car, the owner of the vehicle cannot press charges. It’s not only legal to do so, it seems to be encouraged.

So, you have to walk your dog in Deltona?

Not exactly. For example, they didn’t specify what kind of exercise and how this would possibly be enforced. Just ‘appropriate daily exercise’. Quite ambiguous. It appears to be written as a way to combat animal abuse, a new way to remove animals from a situation detrimental to their health. This law could also make it easier to rescue dogs that spend their entire lives in a cage or chained up in the yard. This seems to build upon Florida Statute Section 828.073, which protects animals found in distress. Here’s a look at the Deltona ordinance.

But honestly, you shouldn’t need a law to tell you. Your dogs love you. Take them for a walk. And maybe pick up a new squeeky toy next time you’re on Amazon.

3 Florida Cities Make List Of Best For Dog Lovers

Get ready to wag your tails, fetch some treats and roll over in excitement because National Dog Day is tomorrow and 3 Florida cities have made a list of the best for dog lovers!

National Dog Day is a day to celebrate doggies of all shapes, sizes and breeds. To me, every day is National Dog Day, but I will always take advantage of a holiday that celebrates my little guy Rocket. Not only is the day an excuse to shower your pup with extra cuddles and treats, but also a day to honor the incredible bond between humans and their loyal four-legged friends.

If you want to add a furry friend to your household, this weekend is a great time to do it.

It’s Clear the Shelter Adoption Weekend! At Gulf Coast Humane Society in Fort Myers, this weekend 8/25-8/27 they’re doing half-off ALL adoptions. Right now, they have so many dogs of all ages, sizes and breeds. You can see the dogs up for adoption here

Being a dog mom is my favorite thing in the world. There’s nothing like coming home to my little dude and his wiggly butt so excited to see his mama. So where can you live your best life with your pup? LawnStarter put together a list of the best cities for dog lovers in America. They compared the 200 biggest cities in the country on factors like puppy love, access to dog-friendly rentals and restaurants, dog parks, walking conditions and cost of services for pups. For the full list, click here. Below are the top 10.

Top 10 Florida Cities Best For Dog Lovers:

10. Miami, FL
Miami came in at #2 on the most dog groomers per 100,000 residents. The city also ranked high for affordability and housing.

(Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)
9. Knoxville, TN
Knoxville pups have got to be so happy. The city is one of 3 that outperformed in areas of dog parks per capita and the average visitor rating.

(Photo by David Dee Delgado/Getty Images)
8. Scottsdale, AZ
Scottsdale scored high in affordability. But the city did score low on the number of dog-friendly housing options.

(Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)
7. Atlanta, GA
Atlanta got an overall score of 45.62. The city scored higher in areas of community and affordability.

(Photo by Roy Rochlin/Getty Images)
6. San Diego, CA
San Diego came in at #4 for having the most dog-friendly restaurants. The city scored high for housing as well.

(Photo by Finnbarr Webster/Getty Images)
5. Richmond, VA
Richmond got an overall score of 46.15. The city has 15 pet trainers and 19 pet stores per 100,000 residents.

(Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)
4. Austin, TX
Austin made the list for having the highest share of dog-friendly rentals. The city got an overall score of 46.41.

(Photo by Kirstin Sinclair/Getty Images for Royal Ascot)
3. Alexandria, VA
Alexandria has an overall score of 46.92. The city came in at 7th place for the Average Per-Visit Dog Sitter Rate and 6th for the Average Hourly Pet Groomer Rate.

(Photo by Ramin Talaie/Getty Images)
2. Tampa, FL
Tampa scored very high in areas of dog meetups, number of veterinarians and number of dog-friendly rental properties. There’s also a great dog-friendly bar called Pups Pub.

(Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
1. Orlando, FL
Orlando came in on top with an overall score of 49.55. The city scored high in areas of number of dog-friendly properties and number of dog-friendly restaurants.

(Photo by David Roark/Disney Parks via Getty Images)