Florida shelters add new screening under "Dexter’s Law"

Florida’s new “Dexter’s Law” has created a statewide database of people convicted of or pleading guilty to animal‑cruelty offenses. The law, named after a shelter dog killed shortly after being adopted in 2024, gives animal shelters and adoption agencies in Miami‑Dade, Broward, and across the state a new tool to screen potential adopters. Local shelters say they plan to use the list as an added safeguard in the adoption process.