There are designated “dog parks” which are designed as areas where dogs may run and play free of restraints. But within other general public parks there are legal ordinances.
Sergeant Eric Hubble is Supervisor of the Animal Control Unit for Roanoke County. He draws the contrast between private property and the parks, “The parks are a different animal. The parks do have a leash law. All dogs in county parks are required to be on leashes at all times or under some type of control.”
Hubble admits enforcement can be a challenge as there is limited manpower to cover all of the parks within the county. “Currently we’re only at four officers for the entire county. So, if an incident was to occur after their hours, generally a patrol officer would come and address the situation”, says Hubble…