CrimeBeat Q&A: What happens to a dog after it bites someone?

What happens to a dog after it bites someone? Do police get involved ?and is the dog always put down?

When a dog bites a person it’s normally treated as a civil issue, not a crime. While police might still respond to the call as they would to any emergency, they typically refer the case to Sonoma County Animal Services.

If the dog owner purposely “sics” a pet on another person, then it’s a different story. The pet owner could be arrested and charged with assault with a deadly weapon, said Sonoma County sheriff spokesman Sgt. Spencer Crum. But a criminal dog bite is a rare occurrence, he said.

While there are multiple dog bites reported every day, it’s rare for a dog to be killed for biting a person, said Brian Whipple, operations manager of Animal Services.

In 2016, 875 dog bites were reported in Sonoma County resulting in 608 dogs being quarantined. Animal Services could not provide specific numbers on dogs put down after biting a person.

The main concern when an animal bites someone is infectious disease control and not whether the dog is dangerous or vicious, Whipple said.

“When we get a call for a dog bite, first and foremost it’s a rabies control issue,” Whipple said. But he said it’s been years since a rabid dog was found in the county.

A dog that bites a person is typically quarantined for a minimum of 10 days, he said. Quarantines take place in a home, kennel or animal shelter and determine if an animal shows signs and symptoms of rabies, Whipple said.

It’s not just dogs; in 2016 there were 271 reported cat bites resulting in 199 quarantines in Sonoma County.

Beyond taking action to prevent the spread of rabies, animal service officers have discretion to initiate an administrative procedure classifying a dog inflicting serious injury or biting someone multiple times “potentially dangerous or vicious.”

The pet owner must keep that animal licensed and vaccinated, according to county code, and kept inside or in a secure location outside. If the animal has not had a violent incident and demonstrates good behavior, it can have the classification removed after 36 months.

Only when an animal is deemed vicious can it be killed, Whipple said.

The court could rule that an animal be put down, or that the owner may keep the animal under strict conditions including liability insurance of at least $100,000, according to county code.