Florida Dog Bite Law FirmMiami-Dade is the largest county in Florida and, for about thirty years, the only major one with an outright pit bull ban. That single fact still shapes how dog bite situations play out here — mostly because the ban is over and a great many people do not know it.
The pit bull ban ended on October 1, 2023
Miami-Dade’s ordinance survived earlier state restrictions on breed-specific local laws because of a grandfather clause that exempted ordinances adopted before October 1, 1990. Miami-Dade’s predated that date. So did the City of Sunrise’s 1989 penning-and-muzzling ordinance over in Broward.
House Bill 941 deleted the grandfather clause, effective October 1, 2023. Section 767.14 now permits local safety ordinances “provided that no such regulation is specific to breed, weight, or size.” With the exemption gone, the ban lost its legal footing.
Three years on, the belief has outlived the law. Residents still rehome dogs over it. Landlords still cite it. People still assume a pit bull in Miami-Dade is contraband.
The full picture on preemption is here.
What that does and does not mean for a bite claim
It changes nothing about liability, and that is the important part.
Section 767.04 has never mentioned breed. It did not when the ban was in force and it does not now. An owner is liable from the first bite regardless of what the dog is. You do not need to identify the breed, and the other side cannot use the repeal as a defense.
What it does change is the surrounding conversation. Expect to hear that the dog “isn’t even illegal anymore,” as though that were responsive to anything. It is not.
Where it genuinely matters is insurance. Section 767.14 binds local governments, not insurers — a Miami-Dade owner can be entirely lawful and still have a carrier that excludes their dog. That gap is worth understanding early, because it decides what can actually be collected.
Reporting a bite in Miami-Dade
Two separate agencies, two separate files:
- Miami-Dade County Animal Services handles the animal side — investigation, quarantine where required, and any dangerous dog classification. This is the file a civil claim usually wants, because it holds the investigation findings, the owner’s details, and any prior complaints about that dog.
- The Florida Department of Health in Miami-Dade County handles rabies risk assessment.
Reporting to one does not automatically report to the other. If you only spoke to a hospital, it is worth confirming whether an animal services report was actually opened.
Check the current contact details on the county’s own site rather than trusting a number from a search result — these change, and calling the wrong office costs days you do not have.
Where a Miami-Dade case is heard
Miami-Dade is one of a small number of Florida counties large enough to be a judicial circuit on its own. It is the Eleventh Judicial Circuit, covering Miami-Dade and nothing else. A dog bite suit arising here is filed in that circuit.
What is locally distinctive
Density and short-lease housing. A large share of Miami-Dade bites happen in apartment complexes, condominium common areas, and short-term rentals. Those situations frequently involve more than one potentially liable party — the dog’s owner, a landlord or property manager who knew about the dog, an HOA, or a building’s management company. Each carries separate insurance, and which policies respond usually sets what a claim can recover.
Visitors. Miami-Dade receives an enormous number of out-of-state and international visitors, and a bite that happens on holiday is still a Florida claim under Florida law. You do not have to remain in Florida to pursue it, and the two-year deadline applies wherever you live.
Language. If English is not your first language, say so at the outset. A recorded statement given in a second language is a place where fault percentages get built out of misunderstandings.
If a landlord or HOA acted on the old ban
If you were told to remove a dog, denied a lease, or threatened with eviction on the basis of the Miami-Dade breed ban after October 1, 2023, the enforceability of that depends entirely on who imposed it. A local government ordinance is preempted. A private lease, HOA covenant, or insurance policy is a different question with a different answer.
That is not a dog bite claim, but it is a question worth getting a straight answer on rather than complying with something that may no longer exist.