The signature table
The Southern Dog Law Table
One row per state, one column per question, and inside every cell the citation that earned it, with the date it was last read at the source.
The table below answers five questions for the states of the South read so far: who pays after a bite, whether a state dangerous dog statute exists, whether a city may ban a breed, how far cruelty must go before it is a felony, and where the running at large rule comes from. One row per state, one column per question, and inside each cell the citation that earned it.
How to read a cell
A filled cell carries three things: the rule class, the citation behind it, and the date the desk last opened the source. A citation is a code section or a court decision, read in the published text, never a summary from a law firm's marketing page. When a cell has not been read at the source yet, it says exactly that, in as many words, and it stays without a rule until someone opens the code. A blank-looking answer is a promise kept, not a gap.
| State | Bite liability | State dangerous dog statute | Can a city ban a breed? | Felony cruelty | Running at large |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mississippi | one-bite common law Poy v. Grayson, 273 So.2d 491, 494 (Miss. 1973) Three things must be proven: a dangerous propensity, the owner's knowledge of it, and harm that was otherwise foreseeable. Checked September 2, 2026 | no No state dangerous dog statute; declarations exist at the municipal level only A city may declare a dog dangerous under its own ordinance; the state code does not. Checked September 2, 2026 | no preemption No state preemption of local breed ordinances A Mississippi city may ban a breed by ordinance. Checked September 2, 2026 | first offense (aggravated) Miss. Code Ann. section 97-41-16, Mississippi Dog and Cat Pet Protection Law of 2011 Simple cruelty is a misdemeanor; aggravated cruelty is a felony from the first offense. Checked September 2, 2026 | state statute plus municipal Miss. Code Ann. sections 41-53-11 and 21-19-9 The state sets the collar, tag and five day hold; cities write the rule that actually binds. Checked September 2, 2026 |
| Alabama | Not read at the source on September 2, 2026. | Not read at the source on September 2, 2026. | no preemption No state preemption of local breed ordinances An Alabama city may ban a breed by ordinance. Checked September 2, 2026 | Not read at the source on September 2, 2026. | Not read at the source on September 2, 2026. |
| Louisiana | Not read at the source on September 2, 2026. | Not read at the source on September 2, 2026. | no preemption No state preemption of local breed ordinances A Louisiana city may ban a breed by ordinance. Checked September 2, 2026 | Not read at the source on September 2, 2026. | Not read at the source on September 2, 2026. |
| Tennessee | mixed Tenn. Code Ann. section 44-8-413, Dianna Acklen Act of 2007 A control statute with a residential exclusion: on the owner's own property the rule falls back to one bite. Checked September 2, 2026 | Not read at the source on September 2, 2026. | no preemption No state preemption of local breed ordinances A Tennessee city may ban a breed by ordinance. Checked September 2, 2026 | Not read at the source on September 2, 2026. | Not read at the source on September 2, 2026. |
| Georgia | mixed Ga. Code Ann. section 51-2-7 Liability turns on a vicious or dangerous animal and careless management; a mixed class. Checked September 2, 2026 | Not read at the source on September 2, 2026. | no preemption No state preemption of local breed ordinances A Georgia city may ban a breed by ordinance. Checked September 2, 2026 | Not read at the source on September 2, 2026. | Not read at the source on September 2, 2026. |
| Florida | Not read at the source on September 2, 2026. | Not read at the source on September 2, 2026. | state preempts Fla. Stat. section 767.14 Preemption since 1990; SB 942, signed June 16, 2023, removed the grandfather clause, effective October 1, 2023. Landlords, associations and insurers may still restrict by contract. Checked September 2, 2026 | Not read at the source on September 2, 2026. | Not read at the source on September 2, 2026. |
30 cells, 12 read at the source, 18 saying so in as many words. Municipal ordinances are read city by city and live outside this table.
What the table does not do
The table holds state law only. Municipal ordinances are not in it and never will be, because they are read city by city: the running at large question in particular is answered by a city ordinance as often as by a state section. The table also stops at the borders of what has been read; it carries its dates instead of pretending to a final edition, and no column will ever be filled from another site's summary.
Three columns of the bite question are unfolded in full articles: dog bite law state by state walks the liability column, breed specific legislation walks the preemption column, and Mississippi dog laws walks the row this journal lives in.
How the table grows
New rows and new columns enter the same way the first ones did: the code is opened, the section is read, the cell carries its citation and its date. Columns on tethering, on hot vehicle immunity and on rabies mandates are queued behind the reads. The method is written out in how we read the law, and every term the table uses is defined in the plain English glossary.