Laurens County, SC Noise Ordinances: Barking Dogs (2026)

Section 18-21(2) reaches the owner or keeper of a dog, other animal or bird whose loud and frequent or habitual barking, howling, yelping, crying, crowing, cackling or singing disturbs the neighborhood, folding animal noise into the same nuisance framework as amplified sound and firearm noise. Section 18-20's standard of reasonableness underlies every category in the article: noise that causes material, physical or mental discomfort to persons of ordinary sensibilities in the immediate vicinity is a prohibited nuisance. Enforcement runs through § 18-24: a law enforcement officer may request compliance on the spot without a prior complaint, but cannot issue a citation until the owner has had a chance to quiet the animal; three or more neighbor complaints, or one complaint combined with an officer's own observation, is prima facie evidence that a nuisance occurred.

Section 18-23 lets the officer weigh the volume and intensity of the barking, whether it is usual for the area, the time of day, and the reasonable expectation of quiet on surrounding properties before deciding whether to cite the owner.