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

Section 14-33 defines run at large as a dog off the premises of its owner or custodian and not under the owner's physical control by leash or similar restraining device, and defines under restraint as being on the owner's own premises or physically controlled by leash while accompanied by the owner. The permit standard is strict: it covers an act, regardless of the intent of the owner or custodian, so an owner cannot defend a citation by arguing the dog got loose accidentally, such as through an open gate or a broken fence.

Section 14-33(b) exempts dogs actively participating in hunting events, obedience trials, conformation shows, tracking tests, herding trials, lure courses and similar organized events, as well as dogs working in a law-enforcement capacity for a governmental agency while on official duty. A dog running at large also feeds directly into the nuisance-pet standard at § 14-34(b)(1), which lists failure to exercise sufficient restraint necessary to control a pet or livestock as required by section 14-33 as a public nuisance in its own right, and into the habitual-nuisance impoundment authority BCAS holds under § 14-34(c).

Beaufort County Animal Services enforces at-large complaints and, under § 14-48(f), can treat a first at-large incident as a civil administrative infraction rather than pursue it as a straight criminal misdemeanor.