Which Agency Is Responsible for Dog Bites or Aggressive Animals?

If you've got a bad hombre dog loose in your neighborhood, that usually means you've got some bad hombre neighbors who aren't obeying local laws pertaining to canines. Most municipalities have leash laws or ordinances about dogs running at large. Call your local animal control agency -- that's their job.

  1. Animal Control

    • Your local animal control agency enforces vicious or dangerous dog laws. The animal control officer (ACO) also has the ability to prosecute owners for ordinance violations due to their dog's actions. She fills out a bite report form, describing the circumstances in which the bite occurred, along with a general description of the dog. If the dog is running loose, she can impound the animal. If it's not an actual bite situation but one in which you were somehow intimidated by a dog off of its own property, she can discuss the issue with the dog's owners, issuing citations, if warranted. The ACO reports any dog bites to the local public health department.

    State Statutes

    • Each state enacts statutes regarding dog bites, attacks and penalties. Local governing bodies can enact and enforce more stringent ordinances, but not laws that lessen state statutes. For example, some municipalities have passed controversial breed-specific legislation laws either banning ownership in their communities of certain dog breeds believed aggressive, or severely limiting such dog's activities. Your animal control officer must follow the law within her particular jurisdiction.

    Rabies

    • In cases of dog bite, the animal control agency must find out whether the dog is current on his rabies vaccination. If the agency has no record of his rabies vaccination history via license information and the owner cannot produce a rabies vaccination certificate, that dog must go into quarantine. A vet must examine the dog. If the dog appears otherwise healthy, he goes into quarantine for at least 10 days, depending on state law. The vet performs another examination at the end of quarantine. If the dog runs away after biting and can't be located, that means the victim might have to undergo a series of rabies prevention shots over a two-week period.

    Court

    • You have the right to file a lawsuit against the owner if bitten by a dog. However, that's a civil suit. If the ACO pursues action in municipal court, the dog owner faces various penalties. They include fines, jail time and relinquishing the animal. If the judge allows the owner to keep the dog, he might impose restrictions, specifying the way the dog must be confined or controlled. This could include keeping a muzzle on the dog when it leaves the property, posting vicious dog warning signs and designating outdoor fence types and heights.