Warwick tightens dog park rules, limits off-leash use and owner duties

Warwick has drawn a hard line around its dog parks. The new ordinance, PCO-2-26 Sub B, took effect on May 1 and gives the Department of Parks and Recreation authority to run fenced off-leash areas from sunrise to sunset, unless maintenance or severe weather shuts them down.

For owners of high-drive dogs, the biggest change is simple: one person may bring no more than two dogs, and that attendant must be at least 18 and able to keep reasonable control of them. Warwick also now requires current license and vaccination documentation, with tags on the collar or proof available, and the park rules make clear that the space is for off-leash exercise and socializing under human supervision, not for letting dogs run wild while people stand back and scroll.

The ordinance also tightens behavior inside the fence. Attendants must stay in the park, clean up waste, fill in holes, and manage barking or rough play. Children may enter only with an adult. Dogs under four months old, dogs in heat, aggressive dogs, bikes, motorized devices other than wheelchairs, glass, alcohol, smoking, food, and professional dog training are all barred. The city’s posted rules also keep small dogs in their own area, a practical move in a park where size mismatches can turn a good session into a bad one fast.

This did not appear out of nowhere. PCO-2-26 Sub B was on the April 6 Warwick City Council agenda as a second-passage ordinance tied to Councilman Muto, after the earlier Sub A version went to council without a recommendation following the March 9 Ordinance Committee meeting. Warwick’s existing park materials already described the dog park as a fenced, 6-foot facility with dawn-to-dusk hours and a four-month minimum age, so the new ordinance mostly formalizes and strengthens rules that were already visible in city guidance.

The enforcement piece is where the pressure lands. Owners are responsible for injuries or damage caused by their dogs, violations can trigger removal and suspension, and fines start at $50 and can reach $500 for repeat offenses. Warwick’s general penalty ordinance also allows violations with no specific penalty to carry up to 30 days in jail, with each day counted as a separate offense. For serious active-dog owners, that makes Warwick’s parks more predictable and probably safer, but also less forgiving. The city is no longer treating the dog park like open space with a fence around it. It is treating it like a regulated facility, and every handler who walks through the gate now carries the rules with them.