Animal Control and Pet Rules — Sebastian, Florida

The City of Sebastian does not run its own animal control unit. Field response for Sebastian comes from Indian River County Animal Control, a division of the county's Emergency Services department. The county routes complaints from locations within Indian River County, including Sebastian and Fellsmere, through its Animal Control complaint form, and handles them the same way as complaints from unincorporated areas such as Roseland and Wabasso. The one exception in the county is Vero Beach: for locations within Vero Beach city limits, the county directs callers to the Vero Beach Police Department at 772-978-4600.

Indian River County describes the division's function as enforcing local regulations on the possession, ownership, care and custody of domestic animals within Indian River County. Its duties include receiving, capturing and impounding domestic animals running at large, maintaining a pet licensing program and checking compliance with vaccination laws. For Sebastian residents, that means the same county officers, the same county code and the same county license tag apply as in the rest of northern Indian River County.

Yes. According to Indian River County, county ordinance requires pets to have a current rabies vaccination and a county license for every dog and cat, renewed annually or on a three year cycle. The county regulations page makes it unlawful to keep any domestic pet over the age of four months without obtaining a county license, and proof of a current rabies inoculation is required to apply. Licenses cannot be transferred between owners, and a new owner in Sebastian or anywhere else in the county has 30 days to obtain one.

The Indian River County fee schedule sets a 1-year license at $10.00 for a spayed or neutered pet and $20.00 for an intact pet; 3-year licenses cost $25.00 and $50.00, and a 3-year license requires a current 3-year rabies vaccine. A license always expires with the rabies vaccine rather than on the purchase date. A replacement tag costs $5.00. Licenses can be bought online, by mail, or in person at Indian River County Animal Control, 4305 43rd Ave #102, Vero Beach, Monday to Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

The core rules Sebastian pet owners live under are the Indian River County animal regulations summarized by the county. Pets may not run at large, meaning off the owner's property or not under the control of a competent person, and the rule covers both dogs and cats. Keeping a habitually loud barking, yelping or howling domestic pet is unlawful, and female pets in heat must be securely confined. A driver may not let an animal ride in an unenclosed section of a vehicle, such as an open truck bed, without a cage or restraining device.

Enforcement in Indian River County is mostly civil. The county states that Animal Control can issue citations for violations of county animal control regulations and that these are civil infractions. Officers may enter private property, but not a dwelling, to ask that an animal or its tag be shown. Any domestic pet that bites a person is quarantined for 10 days, either at home or at the Humane Society, at the owner's cost. Horses, cattle, goats, swine, sheep, fowl and similar livestock may only be kept or allowed to run at large on property zoned agricultural under the Indian River County rules. The county also has a tethering ordinance for pets, linked from the Animal Control page.

The city's dedicated dog space is Sebastian Bark Park at 245 Keen Terrace. The City of Sebastian describes it as a no leashes required park inside the fence, with watering facilities, sally-port entries, separate small and large dog sections and shade structures. Leash rules return outside the fence: dogs may walk the trail around the pond, but dogs must be on a leash in this area.

The park dates to 2009. Vero News reported on August 7, 2009 that Sebastian was opening the city's first dog park, a 1 1/2-acre park on Keen Terrace, after the council approved $58,000 for landscaping, fencing, water and electric service and parking. In February 2010 the Sebastian City Council unanimously adopted the name Sebastian Bark Park, chosen from student suggestions over Central Bark and Paws Stadium, according to Vero News.

County parks are different. Indian River County's posted rules for Golden Sands Beach Park near Wabasso state there are no pets permitted within any County Park under County Ordinance 205.03.22, a rule that covers county beach parks used by Sebastian residents along the barrier island.

Indian River County is preparing to open a new Animal Services division with a county shelter at 6580 69th Street, Vero Beach. The county says Animal Services will handle shelter operations, intake and care, reunification of lost pets, adoptions, foster care and volunteer programs, while Animal Control will remain a separate division responsible for field services, enforcement of county ordinances and animal complaints. As of October 2026 the county had not announced an opening date, and it tells Sebastian and other county residents to keep contacting Indian River County Animal Control for complaints and strays until the shelter opens.

Nonprofit sheltering continues alongside the county. The Humane Society of Vero Beach and Indian River County describes its mission as compassionate care for animals through sheltering, rehabilitation and rehoming, and the county's quarantine rule names the Humane Society as one place a quarantined animal may be held.

Indian River County runs one pet-friendly evacuation shelter: Liberty Magnet School at 6850 81st Street, Vero Beach, managed by Emergency Services with help from the Animal Control Division. Owners must bring a crate, bedding, food and water, and show proof of a current rabies vaccination and a county license for their pet, so the license rules above matter for Sebastian evacuees too. Space is first come, first served.

Animal Control handles domestic animals; wild animals around Sebastian, including the Indian River Lagoon shoreline, fall to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. The Indian River County Animal Control page lists FWC hotlines for alligators (866-392-4286), manatees (800-342-5367) and sea turtles (727-896-8626).