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

Sec. 8-4(a) bars any owner or custodian from permitting a pet or animal to run at large 'at any time upon any street or highway or other property within the county,' except the owner's own or rented property, and requires the animal instead be kept 'under restraint' as Sec. 8-1 defines that term: on a leash, inside a vehicle's passenger area, confined by fence or chain on the owner's property, or confined with permission on someone else's. Sec. 8-4(b) goes further for public places, requiring a leash on school grounds, in a shopping area, or similar public places at all times, even if the animal responds to strict voice control, so an owner cannot rely on voice commands alone in those settings.

Sec. 8-4(c) separately requires 'dangerous animals' to be confined in a building or secure enclosure and muzzled when out. Two exemptions apply: Sec. 8-4(e) lets a hunting dog off-leash while actually engaged in hunting game during hunting season under the owner's or a designee's supervision, and Sec. 8-4(f) exempts police dogs from chapter 8 entirely except the rabies-inoculation requirement in Sec. 8-3. A dog picked up at large without a valid rabies tag is impounded at the Berkeley County Animal Shelter and, per Sec. 8-3(h), may be disposed of after five unclaimed days; redemption requires paying inoculation, boarding, and redemption fees under Sec. 8-8, and repeat impoundments within 12 months raise the redemption fee by 50 percent.