Cherokee County, SC Animal Ordinances: Dog Leash Laws (2026)

Chapter 4 of the Cherokee County Code, rewritten by Ord. No. 2019-21 on August 19, 2019, builds the county's leash rule from two definitions in § 4-2. A dog is running at large when it is not under restraint. Under restraint has several alternatives: the animal is controlled by a leash, fence or other compliant tethering system; it is sufficiently near the owner or keeper to be directly under that person's control and obedient to that person's commands; it is on the property of the owner; it is on property by that owner's permission; or it is within a vehicle being driven or parked. A dog found wandering at large or abandoned in the public ways or on the lands of any person other than its owner or keeper is also a stray dog under the same section.

Section 4-3(a) makes seizure the officer's duty. The animal control officer, or any person the county appoints, must apprehend and seize all stray dogs, vicious dogs and dogs running at large and impound them in an enclosure provided for that purpose. The sheriff, deputy sheriffs, county police officers, magistrates and constables are authorized and instructed to assist. Under § 4-5 any person can seize a dog found on that person's premises and deliver it to the animal control officers.

Impounded dogs follow a fixed track. Under § 4-6 the officers make a reasonable effort to notify the owner of a dog wearing an identification tag, or post the dog's description and time of impounding on the first floor bulletin board in the county courthouse. A dog not redeemed within five (5) days after impoundment can be offered for sale or adoption, or destroyed in accordance with state law. Section 4-7 lets the owner reclaim the dog on payment of fees set by county council, and Appendix A, Section 20 charges $15.00 per day/night at owner pick up, plus $15.00 when a current rabies vaccine cannot be verified and $15.00 for the Parvovirus and Bordetella vaccination given on intake.

Section 4-12 adds a separate tether rule. A dog can be tethered only under park, camping or recreational area requirements, during lawful hunting, or on a running line elevated no higher than seven (7) feet off the ground and at least twenty (20) feet long between the two (2) stop points. Only one (1) dog can be attached to each line, the dog needs full access to food, water and shelter at all times, and dogs under six (6) months of age cannot be tethered.