Pet Owners Should Know The Law On Dog Bites
While different states, different municipalities, and different cities may have to uphold a different law on dog bites, often it is up to the courts to decide. We, as human beings, have found it necessary to write laws. These laws cover a plethora of items and, if the particular law is found to be something that could be questioned, we have set up systems to see that justice prevails; even for dogs and dog owners.
The reason I mention that justice will prevail even for the dog in question is that most of the states with dog laws stipulate that the dog attack had to be unprovoked. If bystanders and other witnesses were watching the person who was bitten and they teased the dog, provoking it to attack for instance, the dog will prevail and not be labeled a dangerous dog. Another instance where the dog owner and the dog will not be punished by the law on dog bites is if the person that was bitten was trespassing on posted property that the dog was, in effect, guarding with its life, as dogs are wont to do.
There are also extenuating circumstances where the dog is also held to have been doing its job and thus is excused from having the legal repercussions that otherwise would be seen as being a dangerous dog. For instance, in the case of a police dog that is acting in the line of duty. In many states, a police dog is a highly trained animal whose fierce snarls and petrifying growls are often enough to cause grown men to stop in their tracks and kneel in submission, completely unable to continue moving forward. This is, of course, because they fear being attacked by the dog. Yet that very same dog may play with the officer’s baby without even a thought from the officer that that particular dog would ever attack the baby. This is certainly a testament to the many police forces that use their K-9 officers correctly.
Of course, the same applies to our government who use dogs to guard compounds that should not be entered, or use dogs for a plethora of other reasons. Those dogs are also considered an exception to the various laws concerning dog bites. Thus, the law on dog bites is in place to protect not only the victims of vicious, unprovoked attacks, but also the dogs that are truly innocent.
Tags: dog attack, dog bite, dog owners, law on dog bites