Every year about 5 million people are bitten by dogs in the United States. About 800,000 are bitten badly enough to require medical attention. It’s a scary statistic.
The good news is that Georgia is moving ahead to protect its residents from reckless owners and dangerous dogs in two crucial ways — with legislation and education.
This year, the Georgia Legislature passed the Responsible Dog Owner Act. Awaiting the governor’s signature, HB 685 is a public safety bill that revamps the antiquated dangerous dog law. It was a tempestuous two-year process, and the bill was amended several times. Thanks to a lobbyist for breeders, some valuable requirements were removed such as sterilizing a vicious dog. (Intact male dogs are involved in 70 percent to 76 percent of reported dog bite incidents.)
The new law defines a vicious dog as one that seriously injures or kills a person. Who would be against sterilizing a dog that could do such harm? After this measure was removed, 50 animal control officers were polled, and they unanimously agreed that the measure should have remained.
Although the Georgia Animal Control Association would have preferred these requirements remained, it understands that legislation works incrementally. The association fully supports the new law because it will be much more effective than our current law.
The positive changes are many. Definitions of dangerous and vicious dogs were refined. A dangerous dog is one that causes a substantial puncture wound to a person, or aggressively attacks and poses an imminent threat of serious injury to a person, or while off the owner’s property kills a pet. Once classified, a dangerous dog cannot be off the owner’s property unless it’s under the physical control of a person who can prevent, when necessary, the dog from engaging any other human or animal, or is in a locked cage or crate. Some exemptions were made for working, hunting and predator control dogs.
A vicious dog is one that seriously injures or kills a person. In some cases, a judge can order euthanasia for a vicious dog. A vicious dog cannot be off the owner’s property unless he is muzzled and under the physical control of a person capable of preventing the dog from engaging any other human or animal when necessary, or is in a locked cage or crate. The owner must maintain a minimum of $50,000 in insurance. No person may own more than one vicious dog, and no person convicted of certain felonies may own a vicious dog.
A team of experts, led by Rep. Gene Maddox, R-Cairo, took more than two years to tweak the bill to address the problem of reckless owners and make owners responsible for the dangerous acts of their pets. Once Gov. Nathan Deal signs the bill, law enforcement officers, prosecutors and judges finally will have the tools to protect the public.
On Friday, Atlanta will host its first National Dog Bite Investigation, Prevention and Treatment Conference at the State Bar of Georgia Headquarters. The public is invited. To register, go to www.georgiaanimallaw.org.
Claudine Wilkins is an attorney who helped draft the Responsible Dog Owner Act.
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