5th edition Every Dog's Legal Guide: A Must-Have Book for Your Owner by Mary Randolph, J.D. FIFTH EDITION October 2005 ILLUSTRATIONS Linda Allison BOOK DESIGN Jackie Mancuso BOOK COVER Susan Putney PRODUCTION Margaret Livingston PROOFREADER Sheryl Rose INDEX Medea Minnich PRINTING Consolidated Printers, Inc. Randolph, Mary. Every dog’s legal guide : a must-have book for your owner / by Mary Randolph 5th ed. p. cm. Includes index. ISBN 1-4133-0355-2 (alk. paper) 1. Dogs Law and legislation United States Popular works. 2. Dog owners Legal status, laws, etc United States Popular works. I. Title. KF390.5.D6R36 2005 343.7304'7 dc22 2005047760 Printed in the USA. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Copyright © 1988, 1989, 1994, 1997, 2001, and 2005 by Mary Randolph. 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Contents Introduction 1 Dogs and People A Little History 1/2 The Dog’s Place Today 1/4 Dogs in the Law 1/10 2 State and Local Regulation Licenses 2/3 How Many Dogs Can You Keep? 2/5 Vaccinations 2/6 Leash Laws 2/8 Off-Limits Areas 2/10 Impounding and Destroying Dogs 2/11 Lost and Found Dogs 2/17 Spay and Neuter Requirements 2/19 Pooper-Scooper Laws 2/21 Dogs in Vehicles 2/23 Animal Burial Restrictions 2/23 3 Buying and Selling Dogs Regulating Sellers 3/1 Putting a Sale Agreement in Writing 3/6 Special State “Lemon Laws” 3/10 Warranties: What Did the Seller Promise? 3/11 What to Do If You’re Unhappy After the Sale 3/13 4 Landlords and Dogs Negotiating a Fair Lease 4/2 Elderly or Disabled Tenants 4/6 Enforcing No Pets Clauses 4/9 Condominiums and Planned Developments 4/14 Landlord Liability for Illegal Evictions 4/16 Landlord Liability for Tenants’ Dogs 4/16 5 Veterinarians The Owner-Veterinarian Relationship 5/1 Health Insurance for Dogs 5/5 If a Dog Injures a Veterinarian 5/6 Veterinarians’ Duty to Treat Animals 5/7 Euthanasia 5/9 Complaining About a Vet 5/9 Veterinary Malpractice 5/10 Other Lawsuits Against Veterinarians 5/16 6 Traveling With Your Dog The Not-So-Friendly Skies 6/2 Special Hawaii Rules 6/14 International Travel 6/16 On the Road 6/17 Buses, Trains, and Ships 6/18 7 Barking Dogs Talking to Your Neighbor 7/2 Mediation: Getting Another Person to Help 7/5 State and Local Laws 7/12 Animal Control Authorities 7/14 Police 7/15 Small Claims Court 7/17 8 Assistance Dogs Types of Assistance Dogs 8/2 Access to Public Places 8/4 Rental Housing 8/7 Assistance Dogs in the Workplace 8/8 Traveling With Assistance Dogs 8/9 Exemptions From Local Regulations 8/9 Income Tax Deductions for Guide Dogs 8/10 Public Assistance 8/11 Assistance Dogs and Creditors 8/11 Penalties for Injuring Guide Dogs 8/12 9 If a Dog Is Injured or Killed When Killing a Dog Is Justified 9/2 Unjustified Injury to a Dog 9/5 Dogs Hurt by Other Dogs 9/7 If the Dog Owner Is at Fault, Too 9/8 Compensating the Dog Owner 9/10 If Your Dog Is Hurt or Killeed 9/20 Lawsuits 9/23 Claims Against the Government 9/25 10 Providing for Pets Why You Can’t Leave Money to a Dog—And What Happens If You Try 10/3 Strategies for Taking Care of Pets 10/4 Arranging for Veterinary Care 10/12 Will Provisions That Order Animals Destroyed 10/14 11 Dog Bites For Dog Owners: How to Prevent Injuries 11/2 If You’re Hurt by a Dog 11/4 Dog Owner Liability 11/6 A Dog Owner’s Legal Defenses 11/17 Who Is Liable: Owners and Keepers 11/24 What the Dog Owner Must Pay For 11/28 Liability Insurance 11/31 Negotiating With the Owner or Insurance Company 11/37 Bringing a Lawsuit 11/39 A Small Claims Court Case 11/39 Injury to Livestock 11/47 12 Dangerous Dogs Dangerous Dog Laws 12/2 Criminal Penalties for Owners of Dangerous Dogs 12/8 Breed-Specific Restrictions 12/10 13 Cruelty What to Do If You Suspect Mistreatment 13/2 Cruelty and Neglect 13/4 Organized Dog Fighting 13/13 Scientific Research 13/14 Killing Animals for Religion or Food 13/16 Appendix 1 Legal Research Finding a Statute or Ordinance A1/2 Finding a Case A1/4 Background Research A1/6 State, Local, and Agency Websites A1/7 Appendix 2 State Statutes Dog-Bite Statutes A2/1 Assistance Dogs: Access to Places of Public Accommodation A2/2 Assistance Dog Access: Housing A2/4 Introduction The law is a dull dog. — CHARLES DICKENS This book is for people who own dogs, live next door to dogs, get bitten by dogs, or otherwise deal with dogs—which, with the American dog population at an estimated 73 million, includes just about everybody. Back when most Americans lived on farms or small towns, few legal rules affected dogs and their owners. After all, most dogs were unlikely to run afoul of the law unless they harmed livestock—an offense for which there were universally harsh penalties. Not so in modern society. Increasing urbanization has meant stepped- up animal regulation. In both crowded cities and sprawling suburbia, there is too much traffic and too little open space to allow dogs to run loose. And to protect ourselves from dogs whose owners we no longer know, vaccina- tions, licenses, and sometimes even liability insurance are required. Legal questions come up constantly. What can I do if the dog down the street barks all night? How many dogs can my neighbor keep? What can I 2 E V E R Y D O G ‘ S L E G A L G U I D E do if I buy a dog and find out it’s not healthy? Am I legally liable if my dog bites a child who’s teasing it? Can my landlord, who told me I could have a dog, evict me for violating the no pets clause in the form lease I signed? This book answers many common questions, or shows how to find the answers as quickly and easily as possible. Most law that governs animals is local: it is controlled by cities and counties. State law is involved to a lesser, but increasing, degree, and federal law hardly at all. So “dog law” varies every time you cross a city boundary. Obviously, no one book can tell you what the law is in every town in the country. But we can tell you what to look for and what to expect, and steer you to the right place or people so you can find it yourself. In fact, the local nature of dog law is usually an advantage when you’re trying to find out the rules in your town. Your legal research may be as simple as searching your city’s ordinances online or going to the public library, opening up the big three-ring binder that contains the city ordi- nances, and reading the entries under “Dogs.” For questions that can’t be answered that easily, we offer some legal research tips in Appendix 1. A note on endnotes. At the end of each chapter, there are endnotes, which contain legal citations to important statutes, court decisions, or interesting articles, so that interested people can look them up for them- selves. [...]... there are few people and even fewer park rangers Some national parks and national monuments allow dogs on leashes; some don’t allow dogs at all In national forests, dogs are usually allowed in at least some areas State and local rules are unpredictable Most trails and campgrounds of the California State Park system, for example, are closed to dogs Check the rules before you load your backpack (or your. .. receive rabies vaccinations because of their contact with the boy.6 STATE AND LOCAL REGULATION 2/7 Usually, you must have proof that your dog has an up-to-date rabies vaccination to get a dog license Vaccines that last for three years are available for dogs more than four months old, making compliance easy Many cities offer low-cost vaccinations at permanent clinics (such clinics usually... especially if they have received complaints about unleashed dogs in a certain area Ask about the custom in your neighborhood A police department may have adopted an informal policy of not issuing citations in the early morning if a dog is under control, but strictly enforcing the leash law in a crowded park where a surfeit of dogs have made it unpleasant or unusable for others STATE AND LOCAL REGULATION 2/9... raccoons, and bats—can spread the disease to pets Healthy wild animals usually avoid domestic animals, but sick ones may not, and they are also more likely to be out in the daytime Cats may also spread the disease Some cities impose additional vaccination requirements for example, you may be required to get your dog immunized against distemper, a relatively rare but very contagious and usually fatal disease... threatens or injures a person, it may be classified as a “vicious dog” and made subject to strict regulations (See Chapter 12, Dangerous Dogs.) Off-Limits Areas Dogs, on or off a leash, are simply not welcome in many places Usually, taking a dog to a beach, zoo, restaurant, or farm won’t make you any friends and may get you a quick and stern request to leave State and local laws ban dogs, for health... Dogs.) Vaccinations Most states require dogs to be vaccinated against rabies, which is rare but not unheard of in domestic animals It is almost always fatal in humans In 1988, a California boy died of rabies; health officials first thought his infection came from a bat (bats are notorious carriers of the disease), but later attributed it to a dog bite Twelve family members and 75 health care workers had... dogs You may need to have proof of recent vaccinations for your dog before you can take it into another state or country (See Chapter 6, Traveling With Your Dog.) 2/8 EVERY DOG‘S LEGAL GUIDE Leash Laws Whatever may be said about the affection which mankind has for a faithful companion, modern city conditions no longer permit dogs to run at large —CALIFORNIA COURT OF APPEAL7 Long gone... contract with the city or county Or it may have limited powers for example, to take charge of injured or abandoned animals, or arrest people at an organized dog fight without first getting a warrant When it is acting in an official capacity, a quasi-public organization such as a humane society is subject to the same constitutional requirements as any other government agency That means it must respect... the only way animal control officials have of identifying a dog they pick up or that someone turns over to the animal shelter License Fees In most places, basic annual license fees are about $10 to $20 Almost everywhere, fees are higher for animals that have not been spayed or neutered Some places have raised fees for unaltered animals substantially to encourage people to get their pets spayed or neutered... Dog parks Across the country, dog owners’ groups, frustrated by strict leash laws, are championing city parks with areas set aside just for dogs People can turn their pets loose and then, like parents at the edge of a playground, watch, scold, and applaud the results The idea seems to have originated in Berkeley, California, where a fenced half-acre of Ohlone Park was set aside for dogs in 1979 . the publisher and the authors. For information on bulk purchases or corporate premium sales, please contact the Special Sales Department. For academic sales or textbook adoptions, ask for Academic Sales medical and psychiatric communities have accepted what pet owners have always known—that animals make people feel better—they have set about documenting the physiological effects animals have. 5th edition Every Dog's Legal Guide: A Must- Have Book for Your Owner by Mary Randolph, J.D. FIFTH EDITION October 2005 ILLUSTRATIONS Linda Allison BOOK DESIGN Jackie Mancuso BOOK COVER