Aug 26, 2026

Moving to New Orleans With a Dog: The First 30 Days

Four things New Orleans requires that most cities do not, three of them with a deadline. Plus the off-leash picture, the hurricane list, and the licence question nobody publishes an answer to.

Anant ShastriTelling stories through PetCompass

New Orleans, Louisiana12 min readGetting There

There are four things New Orleans requires of a dog owner that most cities do not, and three of them have a deadline attached.

If you are moving here with a dog, this is the list in the order it should actually be done. It is drawn from what the city's contracted animal control agency and the city's emergency preparedness office publish, and where something is unpublished we say so rather than guess.

Week one: the four that cannot wait

Here are the four week-one jobs, what each one turns on, and who states it.

Job	What it turns on	Stated by
Update the microchip registry	Microchipping is mandatory in Orleans Parish for all pets allowed outside	Louisiana SPCA
Check the intact dog permit	Required for dogs 6 months and older that are not spayed or neutered	Louisiana SPCA
Engrave a tag with name and address	Extends the stray hold from 3 days to 7	Louisiana SPCA
Keep the rabies tag current	No shelter may release an animal without proof of rabies within 12 months	Louisiana SPCA

Update the microchip registry. New address, new phone number, before you unpack.

This is both the highest-value item on the list and a legal requirement. The Louisiana SPCA's weather precautions page states that "microchipping is mandatory in Orleans Parish for all pets allowed outside", and describes the chip plus registry entry as "your pet's round-trip ticket home in the event they get lost."

The chip is not the point. The registry entry is. A chip registered to a number you had before the move scans to nothing. Our guide to microchipping your pet covers what registration actually involves.

Check whether your dog needs the intact dog permit. If the dog is six months or older and not spayed or neutered, it does.

From the Louisiana SPCA's Intact Permit page: "The City of New Orleans requires all dogs 6 months and older be spayed or neutered OR have an Intact Dog Permit."

It is $95 to apply, $20 a year to renew, and $5 to process online, per dog. Non-compliance runs $100, then $250, then $500 and impound. Decisions take up to 30 days, so this is a week-one job rather than a month-two one.

Get a collar tag with your name and address on it. Not just a phone number.

This is the single cheapest thing on the page and it more than doubles your protection. The Louisiana SPCA's lost and found page states: "If the animal is wearing an identification collar and a tag with the owner's name and address we are required by law to extend the hold period to 7 days." Without it, the stray hold in New Orleans is three days, after which "the animal legally becomes ours."

Four extra days, for the price of a tag, in a city you do not yet know your way around. Get it engraved this week.

Make sure the rabies tag is current and on the collar. The Animal Control FAQ is specific: even with a three-year vaccine, "it is the pet parent's responsibility to keep the license and tag updated annually and have the current tag attached to the pet's collar at all times."

It is also what the shelter needs before it can hand your dog back. Verbatim: "no animal shelter may release an animal without current proof of rabies within the past 12 months."

The gap we cannot close for you

The intact permit application asks for a "current City License/Rabies Tag Number".

We looked for the page describing that city licence, what it costs and where you get it. We did not find one. So we are not printing a fee or an application route.

What we can tell you is who to ask: 504.368.5191, or [email protected]. Make that call in week one, because it is the only requirement on this page where the obligation is clear and the route to satisfying it is not.

Week two: find your vet, and find your emergency vet

These are two different tasks and the second one is the one people skip.

A regular vet. Ask a neighbour, ask a groomer, ask the rescue you adopted from. Our notes on how to choose a veterinarian cover the questions.

An after-hours plan. New Orleans has thin overnight veterinary cover. Two hospitals state 24-hour hours on their own websites, and one of them is across the parish line in Metairie. Which means the answer to "where do I go at 3am" depends on where in the city you have landed, and it is worth working out on a calm afternoon rather than in a crisis.

Two questions for your new vet at the first appointment. Where do you send patients overnight, and what do you recommend for the neighbourhood I am in. A practice that has been referring somewhere for a decade knows which hospital picks up the phone. Write the answer down.

Heartworm, immediately. Heartworm is endemic on the Gulf Coast, and the Louisiana SPCA maintains a whole page on heartworm disease. If your dog is arriving from a lower-risk region, prevention starts now rather than at the next annual visit. A negative test is also a requirement for the city's only permit dog park.

Our pet health and vaccination tracker is a place to keep all of this in one file, and our emergency vet, what to know explainer is worth reading before you need it.

Week two, also: learn the local rules properly

Four things that differ from most cities.

Leash, always, with no published exception. The Louisiana SPCA answers the question "Does my dog have to be on a leash?" with one word: "Yes."

No tethering at all. Verbatim: "No. It's illegal to tether (tie up/chain) a dog." If your previous city allowed a supervised runner line in the yard, this one does not.

Cats roam freely, legally. Verbatim: "Orleans Parish laws allow cats to roam freely, so our Orleans Humane Law & Rescue team is only allowed to pick-up sick or injured cats." Which changes what you can expect if a neighbourhood cat and your dog have a disagreement.

The animal control agency is a non-profit, not a city department. The Louisiana SPCA holds the contract. Its parish directory gives Orleans Parish as "911 for emergencies and 504.821.2222 for all other animal-related calls." Put both in your phone.

And a scheduling detail worth knowing before you need it. The shelter counter at 1700 Mardi Gras Blvd. runs Wednesday to Saturday, 10am to 5pm, and is closed Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, per the Louisiana SPCA's locations page. That page also states "Emergencies are responded to 24/7." Two different clocks.

Week three: hurricane season, whatever month you arrive

This is the part that has no equivalent in most cities and it is the reason not to leave it until June.

Know your dog's weight relative to 20 pounds. NOLA Ready, the city's emergency preparedness office, states of City-Assisted Evacuation: "Small pets that are 20 lbs or less can ride with you on the bus. Larger pets will be taken on a separate bus by LSPCA."

Know that boarding is not an option when a storm comes. The Louisiana SPCA states plainly, on its disaster preparedness page: "Please know we do not board animals during a hurricane."

Pick two or three evacuation destinations and confirm each takes dogs. NOLA Ready is blunt about why: "Plan where you're going ahead of time. Many hotels will not take pets." And on kennels: "most kennels require your vet's medical records."

Assemble the go bag. The Louisiana SPCA's list includes food and water in an airtight waterproof container, with the dog's water additional to the family's; medication and vaccination records in waterproof containers; a collar with rabies tag plus a backup leash, collar and tag; documents in a clear plastic bag; and a carrier large enough for the dog to turn around and lie down, marked with "your name, address, phone number and an alternate contact."

Label the carrier before the storm, not during it. Our pet emergency preparedness checklist and emergency pet info card cover the rest.

Week four: work out where you are going to walk

Manage your expectations here, because the off-leash picture is thin.

Two off-leash facilities in the whole parish, from official sources. NOLA City Bark inside City Park, which is permit-only at $85 a year for one dog, and the dog run at Wisner Playground, which NORDC lists as an amenity at 4877 Laurel St. without publishing hours, rules or a permit requirement. Phone 504.658.3052 about Wisner before you go.

Two large leash-only parks, both open 5am to 10pm daily. City Park's rules restrict dogs to "open areas and the NOLA City Bark dog park", which rules out its attractions. Audubon Park's rules have no equivalent area restriction but no dog park either, and publish a 24-hour security line on (504) 628-3988 plus eight emergency call boxes.

No lagoons, in either park. Both prohibit swimming and wading.

Time of day beats route. In this climate the morning is the usable part of the day for most of the year. NOLA Ready's test: "If it's too hot for you to touch comfortably, it's probably unsafe for your pet to walk on." Our summer heat safety for pets guide covers the rest.

Renting here, with a pet

If you are still looking for somewhere to live, two things are worth knowing.

The Louisiana SPCA maintains a housing resources page, and part of it is out of date. Its housing resources page still routes readers to material on the pandemic-era eviction crisis and federal eviction moratoriums, both long expired. We are flagging that rather than repeating it as current guidance.

What is current on that page is the Fair Housing Act point. Verbatim: "One in every four adults in the United States have some type of disability. Many people are not aware of or do not understand the legal requirement for reasonable accommodations under the Fair Housing Act that allows people to have emotional support animals."

The page also names local organisations the Louisiana SPCA points to: UNITY of Greater New Orleans, NOLA Ready, Families for Families, and Jane Place Neighborhood Sustainability Initiative.

For the search itself, our guides to how to find a pet-inclusive apartment, questions to ask a landlord about pets and pet deposits cover what to ask and what to expect. And our explainer on pet-inclusive versus pet-friendly is worth ten minutes before you sign anything.

While you are between homes

If there is a gap between arriving and moving in, our New Orleans hotel directory and roundup of pet-friendly hotels in New Orleans will get you a base. Our list of questions to ask before booking a pet-friendly hotel covers the weight limits and fees that catch people out on a longer stay, and our moving with a pet checklist covers the move itself.

The 30-day list, condensed

Day one. Microchip registry updated. 911 and 504.821.2222 in your phone.

Week one. Tag engraved with name and address. Rabies tag current and on the collar. Intact permit started if needed, and the city licence question asked on 504.368.5191.

Week two. Regular vet found. After-hours plan written down. Heartworm prevention started.

Week three. Evacuation destinations confirmed. Go bag assembled and carrier labelled. Dog's weight noted against the 20-pound threshold.

Week four. Walking routine settled around the morning. Dog park permit bought or the two-week trial taken. Wisner phoned about.

Ongoing. Leash on, everywhere. Never the car. Rabies tag current every year, not every three.

Frequently asked questions

What do I need to do when I move to New Orleans with a dog? Update the microchip registry, check whether the dog needs an intact dog permit, get a tag carrying your name and address, and make sure the rabies tag is current and on the collar.

Is microchipping required in New Orleans? The Louisiana SPCA states that microchipping is mandatory in Orleans Parish for all pets allowed outside.

Do I need an intact dog permit if I move to New Orleans? If your dog is 6 months or older and not spayed or neutered, yes. It costs $95 to apply and $20 a year to renew, per dog, plus a $5 online processing fee, and decisions take up to 30 days.

Is there a dog licence in New Orleans? The intact permit application asks for a current City Licence or Rabies Tag Number, which implies one exists, but no page describing its cost or where to obtain it was found. Ask the Louisiana SPCA on 504.368.5191.

Who handles animal control in New Orleans? The Louisiana SPCA, a non-profit contracted by the city. Call 911 for animal emergencies and 504.821.2222 for all other animal-related calls.

Where can my dog run off leash in New Orleans? NOLA City Bark inside City Park, which is permit-only at $85 a year for one dog, and the dog run at Wisner Playground, for which NORDC publishes no hours or rules.

Sources

Fees, hours and requirements change. Confirm with the Louisiana SPCA before you rely on a number here.