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Screenshot of the Oglethorpe County Code of Ordinances, available online.
Concerns from residents about the county’s responsibility for stray or dangerous dogs have been expressed both at Board of Commissioners meetings and through letters to The Oglethorpe Echo, including in last week’s edition.
The Echo took a look at the Official Code of Georgia (O.C.G.A.) and the Oglethorpe County Code of Ordinances (O.C.C.O.) to help explain the laws.
Q: Who do you call if your property or pets have been attacked by a dog?
A: The Sheriff’s Office.
The Sheriff’s Office or Code Compliance Officer Jeff Sharp will investigate and determine if the dog should be labeled a dangerous dog and if the owner is in violation of the county ordinance about nuisance animals.
The Sheriff, his deputies and the county code compliance officer are designated by Chapter 4 of the Oglethorpe County code as dog control officers. The state requires local governments to name officers to enforce the Responsible Dog Ownership Law (O.C.G.A. Title 4, Chapter 8, Article 2).
The commission chair may also appoint other dog control officers.
Dog control officers are also responsible for cases in which any animal, not just a dog, damages a person, their property or their pet, or aggressively chases or attacks a person.
Source: O.C.G.A. 4-8-22, 4-8-23 and O.C.C.O. 4-1-4.1, 4-3-4-61, 4-3-4-65, 4-4-4-91, 4-4-4-92.
Q: Then what happens?
A: Depending on the damage, several things.
If the dog has punctured a person’s skin or kills another person’s pet, then it must be registered as a dangerous or vicious dog. This doesn’t include dogs used by law enforcement or when damage is done to trespassers.
Owners of classified dogs, those registered as dangerous or vicious, must post warnings around all entrances to the property the dog lives on and must walk their dog on a leash no longer than 6 feet, among other requirements.
Owning a dangerous or vicious dog isn’t a crime.
However, if the dog attacks a person, damages someone else’s property or kills or injures someone else’s animal, the owner is in violation of the county’s nuisance animal ordinance.
This is a crime punishable by a fine up to $1,000, jail time up to 60 days or a combination of both.
Source: O.C.G.A. 4-8-21, 4-8-27 and O.C.C.O. 4-4-4-91, 4-4-4-95.
Q: What does an investigation look like?
A: It is on a case-by-case basis, but generally, the investigator needs strong evidence before writing a ticket or deeming the dog dangerous or vicious.
Q: Who is responsible?
A: In Oglethorpe County, the owner of a dog that causes any damage to another, another’s property or another’s pets, is liable and violates a county ordinance.
In addition to a fine or jail time, the owner of a dog that damages another’s property may be required to make the victim whole.
This may not be the case in other jurisdictions.
Source: O.C.C.O. 4-4-4-91, 4-4-4-95.
Q: Does this include all animals?
A: Yes.
Georgia law protects livestock, poultry and pet animals. The owner of a dog that attacks any of these is civilly liable to the owner of the victim animal.
Oglethorpe County makes this protection broader to include any animal belonging to another person.
Source: O.C.G.A. 4-8-4 and O.C.C.O. 4-4-4-91.
Q: What happens to the dog?
A: A dog that attacks a person, property or pet is to be impounded.
Its owner will have 72 hours to claim the dog. If they do not, it will be considered abandoned and placed for adoption or euthanized.
Georgia law requires any dog to be euthanized if it seriously injures a human more than once or if a local governmental authority has filed civil action requesting the dog be euthanized.
The owner of any dog subject to euthanasia has a right to notice and a hearing.
Source: O.C.G.A. 4-8-26 and O.C.C.O. 4-4-4-93.
Q: Is there anything else to know?
- You do not need documented custody of a dog to be considered its owner; just keeping one around makes you its owner. Source: O.C.G.A. 4-8-21.
- If a dog bites a human, it must be quarantined for 10 days to be observed for rabies. Source: O.C.C.O. 4-2-4-61.
- No government or its employees can be held liable for any damages caused by a dog due to failure to uphold Georgia’s Responsible Dog Ownership Law. Source: O.C.G.A. 4-8-31.
- Neither Georgia nor Oglethorpe County codes indicate any restitution for damages caused by an unowned dog.