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

Georgetown County Council's animal control article (Ord. No. 2007-06, August 21, 2007) defines 'running at large' in § 4-20 as being off the owner's or keeper's premises and not under restraint by a leash or similar device, and 'under restraint' as being on the owner's premises, or accompanied and physically controlled by leash, or supervised while hunting on the owner's or a consenting neighbor's property. Section 4-24(1) makes it unlawful for any dog owner to let the dog run at large off the premises without that restraint at any time, though a hunting dog actively engaged in hunting game during a South Carolina recognized hunting season, under the owner's or a designee's supervision, is exempt from the leash requirement.

Section 4-24(2) layers a stricter, beachfront-specific rule on top: between 9:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. every day, a dog on or along the beachfront (the intertidal zone between the dune line and the low water mark, per § 4-20) must be on a leash with no exceptions. Between 7:00 p.m. and 9:00 a.m., an owner can avoid a citation only by demonstrating to the animal control officer's satisfaction that the dog is under affirmative voice or command control and is not becoming a nuisance to others on the beach.

An animal control officer issues a summons on probable cause of a violation, and § 4-24(7) sets the penalty at not less than $100 for a first offense and not less than $200 for repeat violations, with each subsection treated as a separate offense under § 4-24(8).