Gaston County, NC Noise Ordinances: Barking Dogs (2026)

Section 3-5(e) declares it unlawful to keep any animal in such manner or in such numbers as to constitute a public nuisance, and subsection (e)(1) spells out that the keeping of any animal which by continued or repeated howling, yelping, barking or otherwise, causes loud noises which disturbs the quiet, comfort or repose of others is one of the listed nuisance acts. Unlike the general noise ordinance in Chapter 8, this provision builds in a specific complaint threshold: an animal control officer may only find a nuisance if two individuals from different households complain about the acts, or if a single individual complains where both that complainant and the animal owner live on a parcel exceeding one acre.

The administrator can waive the two-household rule only where a special and unusual circumstance makes it highly unlikely a second household could be affected, and the property owner claiming that circumstance must prove it by clear and convincing evidence. A finding is appealable to the board of commissioners. Once a dog is found to be a nuisance, section 3-5(i) lets the animal control officer order specific preventive measures, most notably requiring the owner to obtain and maintain a commercially manufactured anti-bark collar in proper working order, move the animal to a different part of the property, confine it, or reduce the number of animals kept at the location; the officer must issue the order in writing with a compliance deadline.

Failing to comply within that deadline is independently unlawful under section 3-5(i)(4), and each day of non-compliance is treated as a new, separate violation, on top of impoundment authority the county already holds.