Dogs Will No Longer Be Allowed in Sarah P. Duke Gardens

Starting Jan. 1, 2017, dogs and other pets will no longer be allowed in Sarah P. Duke Gardens on Duke University’s campus.

While such a policy has long been standard in botanic gardens nationwide, Duke Gardens had been a rare exception since it opened in 1939. But with the growth of the university and Durham, as well as the expansion of Duke Gardens’ award-winning specialized collections, it has become more challenging to protect the plants and wildlife while also providing the best experience possible to visitors, said Bill LeFevre, the gardens’ executive director.

“As the director of the gardens and a dog-lover and dog owner myself, I understand this policy will make some people unhappy,” LeFevre said of the change.

“However, as a living museum for plants, visited by more than 350,000 people per year, with curated collections of plants and wildlife, our policies must change to align more with those of a botanic garden and not those of a public park,” he said. “We have prohibited sporting equipment in recent years, and now we must ask visitors to leave their pets at home as well.”

The Charlotte Brody Discovery Garden and the Blomquist Garden of Native Plants, two specialized gardens within Duke Gardens, were already off-limits to dogs.

In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, the new policy will not apply to service dogs trained to do work or perform tasks for a person with a disability.

Duke does welcome dog-walkers at many alternative locations on campus, including the East Campus perimeter trail; Al Buehler Cross-Country Trail at the Washington Duke Inn & Golf Course; Duke Reclamation Pond; and the many sidewalks throughout East and West campuses.