[bronte123]

My family is looking to relocate to Florida...no special area yet but we are aware of the laws against pitbulls in Dade County. Our dog is NOT AGREESIVE and is a part of our family. If we are buying a home which will be filled with all the dynamics to keep HIM safe from being stollen (he is a show dog) or used as a fightin pitbull. We do not intend to give anyone in a gated community, condo, coop or senior citizen facility a fright and realize that some people fear these animals. Can you tell us what communities allow pitbulls and which ones have ordinances. Thank you.

[Eresh]

What part of Florida do you want to move to? I've lived on the space coast, Tampa Bay area, and Orlando area and have seen plenty of pits all around those areas.

[DawnMTL]

While someone on this board might know the answer, you might want to cross-post this onto the Florida forum as well. You might get more responses there. Good luck!

[subject2change]

Probably the easiest way to make sure you get up-to-date info on this would be to go on petfinder.com, put in pit bull for the breed, and enter the name of the area you're thinking of. If available dogs come up for that town, they must be allowed, but you would want to contact the shelters whose names come up to see if there are any other restrictions on them.

[willow wind]

Your best bet is to contact animal control in any town or city you have in mind and ask them the question. Many towns and cities also have their animal regulations online as part of their zoning requirements.

However, that might not be your only problem. Many , many communities in FL are governed by homeowners associations. That would include all condo, apartment and co-op communities and many single family subdivisions. There may be regulations as part of those communities as to what pets you can have.

Research carefully before signing a lease or buying a property.

[mr&mrssunshine]

we also have a pit and she is the loveliest sweetest dog you could imagine. unfortunately Pits evoke tremendous emotion either way....the haters you will never change, they are convinced every pit bull is a dead set killer.
i hope you find a location that fits and allows you to enjoy a great companion

[CheriC]

From experience, HOA's of communities with single family homes don't normally have breed restrictions. They have rules in place that apply to any breed that becomes a nuisance or injures anyone may be asked to leave. Get something in writing wherever you move to allowing your breed, that way if the rules change, you will be grandfathered in. Good Luck, we have a pitty too and although most people are ok with him because he is such a lover, there's always going to be that one person that has an opinion they are mean dogs! If renting, there are some apartment complexes that do allow pitties too. Manatee/Sarasota county is more pit friendly that Charlotte County from experience!

[CheriC]

Originally Posted by mr&mrssunshine

we also have a pit and she is the loveliest sweetest dog you could imagine. unfortunately Pits evoke tremendous emotion either way....the haters you will never change, they are convinced every pit bull is a dead set killer.
i hope you find a location that fits and allows you to enjoy a great companion

Haha, how funny we both responded to the same post within minutes! Love our pitties! We should start our own community

[wizrap]

Originally Posted by bronte123

My family is looking to relocate to Florida...no special area yet but we are aware of the laws against pitbulls in Dade County. Our dog is NOT AGREESIVE and is a part of our family. If we are buying a home which will be filled with all the dynamics to keep HIM safe from being stollen (he is a show dog) or used as a fightin pitbull. We do not intend to give anyone in a gated community, condo, coop or senior citizen facility a fright and realize that some people fear these animals. Can you tell us what communities allow pitbulls and which ones have ordinances. Thank you.

My comments about the South Florida area:
Yes, definitely do not move to Dade County, it is not worth the hassle. The voters of Dade County had a chance to overturn the pit bull ban and by an overwhelming margin, voted to keep it in place, even though, IMHO, it hasn't reduced dog bites or dog fighting. All you would need is someone to turn you in for violating the law and then you'd have to make a decision to fight the law, or move.

As far as Broward County (Ft. Lauderdale area), although there is no ban of pit bulls, they are required to be "registered" in two cities -- Sunrise and Tamarac. In Sunrise, the owner must provide proof of liability insurance of at least $100,000; in Tamarac it is $1 million. I second the suggestion that you look at HOA documents regarding pet ownership (if you go the HOA route). You really should look to see what the rules say at 3 different levels of regulation -- county, city and HOA.

In Broward, I would consider places that tend to have a more rural feel -- there is a section in Plantation called Plantation Acres -- Southwest Ranches and Davie -- these are all cities that have liberal rules regarding animals in general (lots of horse owners out there).

In Palm Beach County, definitely look to make sure that the HOA you're considering has no pit bull ban. My husband and I were looking to move to PBC at one time and a handful of HOA's (both multi and single-family) did ban pit bulls (and rotts, german shepherds and mastiffs). You might want to look at more rural areas of PBC -- such as Jupiter Farms, Loxahatchee or Palm Beach Country Estates.

Also, you need to be aware that although Florida has enacted legislation prohibiting counties and cities from banning pit bulls (Dade County was grand-fathered and its law was allowed to remain on the books) that doesn't mean that our state's politicians have stopped trying to pass laws targeting pits.

The Florida House Minority Leader, Rep. Perry Thurston (D-District 93) has twice sponsored "dangerous dogs" bills permitting cities and counties to ban pit bulls. The last time he introduced the bill was 2010 (he also introduced a similar bill in 2008). The bill died in committee, but knowing that there is someone in our state capital being willing to file such a bill, again and again, should be of some concern to pit bull owners, IMHO.

[Robyn55]

Even if the OP can find a place to live - he/she may have problems getting homeowners' insurance. And the OP has to keep in mind that Florida has pretty much strict liability for dog bites (you don't get a "free" first bite). Robyn