If Your Dog Bites Someone...

As an owner, you have a responsibility to ensure that your dog doesn't bite your neighbor, the letter carrier, or anyone else he or she encounters. Not only is a dog bite painful and possibly disfiguring to the recipient, it can cost you thousands of dollars in civil and criminal penalties. A single bite may risk cancellation of your homeowner's insurance, and the local authorities may even require that the dog be euthanized.

Severe penalties

There are good reasons why the penalties can be severe. Dog-bite claims are costing the insurance industry about $1 billion per year. According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, 500,000 to 1 million dog-bite victims in the United States require medical attention each year; many other cases are not reported. As many as 20 Americans die from dog bites annually.

The legal ramifications vary widely. If you are found to have violated a specific law or ordinance, such as a leash law, you may face criminal penalties. Even if no law were broken, the victim can sue you. In a worst-case scenario, the dog would be ordered to be euthanized by the court, and the owner could face criminal charges (in addition to any civil charges the victim might decide to bring) and be jailed or fined for harboring a vicious animal. Criminal charges either can be a misdemeanor or a felony, depending on the case and the jurisdiction. Dog owners can also lose their homeowner's insurance or be required to pay very high rates and obtain very high amounts of coverage if they continue to own the dog. Many companies do not write homeowners policies if you own specific breeds of dogs.

Lesser penalties can include a warning citation, a fine, or the requirement that the dog be evaluated by a certified behaviorist, muzzled when in public, or confined in a covered pen.

How cases are determined

The laws regarding dog bites vary from city to city and depend upon many factors. The factors normally taken into consideration by a judge or jury vary, but there are common circumstances that are considered. Among these are whether the victim provoked the bite by tormenting the dog, whether the bite occurred on or off the dog owner's property, and whether the owner was aware that the dog could pose a danger to anyone wandering onto the property. Of course, anyone who deliberately uses a dog as a means of attack is automatically liable, except under the most dire of circumstances. The severity of the bite itself is also always taken into consideration.

Averting disaster

To prevent dog bites and their severe consequences, owners have several responsibilities:

• Before getting a dog, learn about the breed and make sure you can handle problems associated with its characteristic behaviors. Some breeds are more prone to biting than others.
• Socialize your dog when she's a puppy, using positive techniques. A puppy that has very limited exposure to humans will probably fear them as an adult dog.
• Don't make excuses for any warning signs that the dog gives. These warning signs must be dealt with in an appropriate way.
• Don't violate leash laws.
• Neuter male dogs to curb aggressive tendencies.
• Make sure your dog treats all people as friends. Asking the dog to make a discrimination as to who belongs on his property and who doesn't is not realistic.
• If your dog displays aggressive behavior, do not ignore it. The first thing to do is contact a veterinarian to rule out medical problems. After this, contact a veterinary behaviorist, a certified animal behaviorist, or a dog trainer experienced at handling aggression cases.