Owners of dangerous dogs in Florida will soon have to secure at least $10
0,000 in liability insurance cov
erage after the governor signed House Bill 593 into law this week.
Also known as the Pam Rock Act after a mail carrier who was mauled to dea
th in 2022, the law mandates that owners of dogs that have bitten hu
mans or killed or injured pets to obtain liability coverage. They also
must keep the animals in an
enclosure, with warning sig
ns, must microchip and neuter the dogs, and must maintain rabies vaccination certificates, the bill reads.
Animal shelters must provide information about the dogs’ history to pr
ospective adopters. Anim
al control authorities also are authorized to euthanize dangerous dogs that have been surrendered.
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The law, which takes effect July 1, also slightly raises the level of violation, t
o a first-degree misdemeanor, when an owner disregards a dog’s danger
ous propensities, an legislative staff analysis of the bill notes.
Florida has had a dangerous-dogs law on the books since 1990, but la
wmakers this year said the statutes needed strengthening after a growing number of attacks around the state.
More than 600 Floridians are hospitalized because of injuries from dog bites, and about two people die from them each year, the state
Department of Health has reported, according to the bill analysis. In August 2022, a postal worker was delivering mail when she
was attacked by five dogs in Putnam County. She died the next day. An 86-year-old had to have her leg amputated after being attack
ed by a neighbor’s dog in early 2023 in Hawthorne, Florida. In January 2025, an eight-year-old boy was attacked and killed by two dogs, the analysis explained.