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

Darlington County's animal control ordinance, Chapter 6, Article II, makes restraint the default rule for every dog rather than limiting the leash requirement to specific places. Section 6-14(a) requires all pets and animals cared for by an owner to be kept under restraint or control at all times, and any animal not so controlled is deemed unlawfully running at large. Section 6-14(c) layers on a place-based leash rule: no pet may be on school grounds, on a public right-of-way, or in a shopping area or similar public place unless it is on a leash, assisting a handicapped person, or under the control of a responsible person obedient to that person's commands; a dog not so restrained in those settings is likewise deemed unlawfully at large.

Section 6-14(b) gives the animal control officer, a Darlington County Sheriff's deputy, or another authorized law enforcement officer the option to issue a uniform ordinance summons to the owner under § 6-20(f) or to take custody of the dog directly, including entering private property in pursuit of it. Section 6-14(d) requires the owner to exercise proper care and control to prevent the dog from becoming a public nuisance as defined in § 6-22, and a dog that is "repeatedly at large" because the owner failed to exercise sufficient restraint is itself listed as a nuisance act under § 6-22(b)(1).

The county's roaming-dog statute, § 6-1, separately makes it unlawful for a dog to trespass on another's property after the owner receives written notice, letting the complainant seek an arrest warrant from a magistrate.