Georgetown County, SC Animal Ordinances: Breed Restrictions (2026)

Georgetown County Council's animal control article, adopted by Ordinance No. 2007-06 on August 21, 2007, defines 'dangerous or vicious animal' in § 4-20 as any animal that constitutes a physical threat to human beings or other animals, including one with a known propensity to attack unprovoked, one that has attacked a person or pet without provocation, or one kept for dog fighting; the definition excludes an animal that bites or menaces someone assaulting its owner, a trespasser, or an abuser, or that is defending itself, its owner or its young.

Rather than listing prohibited breeds, § 4-24(3) enforces that definition behaviorally: it is unlawful for the owner or keeper of a fierce or dangerous dog, or a dog that has bitten someone, to let the dog run at large or be possessed in public anywhere in the county. If county authorities find such a dog in violation, they may capture or impound it and have it humanely euthanized by a qualified person, a remedy well beyond the leash citations used for ordinary at-large dogs. An animal control officer issues a summons on probable cause of any violation under § 4-24, and the general penalty in § 4-24(7) applies: not less than $100 for a first offense and not less than $200 for each later violation, with every subsection violated treated as a separate offense under § 4-24(8).

Because the ordinance turns on the dog's conduct and bite history rather than its breed, any dog is judged the same way under this chapter, and county authorities keep discretion over whether euthanasia or another disposition follows a finding of dangerousness.