Johnston County, NC Animal Ordinances: Dog Leash Laws (2026)

Section 4-3 defines 'at large' as any animal off the property of its owner and not under the direct control of a competent person, including strays, and defines 'direct control' as an animal under restraint and in the custody of its owner or another person who has assumed control. Under § 4-9, it is unlawful for an owner or any other person maintaining a dog in the county to permit or negligently allow it to be at large. The ordinance carves out narrow exceptions: dogs participating in a show, obedience school, tracking test or field training event sanctioned or supervised by a recognized organization, and hunting dogs actively working in the field under the owner's control. Outside those situations, a dog off its own property without a leash, chain or other restraint, and not under a handler's direct control, violates the section regardless of temperament.

A dog found at large is subject to impoundment under § 4-17: the Animal Services Department confines it at the county shelter, posts notice if the owner is unknown, and holds it a minimum of seventy-two hours before it can be sold, adopted out, or euthanized if unclaimed. Redemption requires payment of impoundment fees under the county Fee Schedule and, if applicable, a current rabies vaccination.

Enforcement runs through § 4-5's civil penalty schedule: $100 for a first offense, $200 for a second, and $300 for a third and every offense after that, collectible by the county as a debt and enforceable by injunctive relief. An owner cited for a leash violation may appeal the civil citation to the Board of Adjustment within thirty days of receiving it.