§ 4-242. Vicious dogs.

(a)

An animal control officer who has reason to believe that a canine or canine crossbreed within the City is a vicious dog shall apply to a magistrate serving the City for the issuance of a summons requiring the owner or custodian, if known, to appear before a General District Court at a specified time. The summons shall advise the owner of the nature of the proceeding and the matters at issue. The animal control officer shall confine the dog until such time as evidence shall be heard and a verdict rendered. The court, through its contempt powers, may compel the owner, custodian, or harborer of the animal to produce the animal. If, after hearing the evidence, the court finds that the animal is a vicious dog, the court shall order the animal euthanized in accordance with the provisions of Code of Virginia, § 3.2-6562. The court, upon finding the animal to be a vicious dog, may order the owner, custodian, or harborer thereof to pay restitution for actual damages to any person injured by the animal or to the estate of any person killed by the animal. The court, in its discretion, may also order the owner to pay all reasonable expenses incurred in caring and providing for such vicious dog from the time the animal is taken into custody until such time as the animal is disposed of. The procedure for appeal and trial shall be the same as provided by law for misdemeanors. Trial by jury shall be as provided in Code of Virginia, title 19.2, ch. 15, art. 4 (Code of Virginia, § 19.2-260 et seq.). The City shall be required to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt.

(b)

No canine or canine crossbreed shall be found to be a vicious dog solely because it is a particular breed, nor is the ownership of a particular breed of dog prohibited. No animal shall be found to be a vicious dog if the threat, injury, or damage was sustained by a person who was:

(1)

Committing, at the time, a crime upon the premises occupied by the animal's owner or custodian;

(2)

Committing, at the time, a willful trespass upon the premises occupied by the animal's owner or custodian; or

(3)

Provoking, tormenting, or physically abusing the animal, or can be shown to have repeatedly provoked, tormented, abused, or assaulted the animal at other times.

No police dog that was engaged in the performance of its duties as such at the time of the acts complained of shall be found to be a vicious dog. No animal that, at the time of the acts complained of, was responding to pain or injury or was protecting itself, its kennel, its offspring, a person, or its owner's or custodian's property, shall be found to be a vicious dog.

(c)

Any owner or custodian of a canine or canine crossbreed or other animal whose willful act or omission in the care, control, or containment of a canine, canine crossbreed, or other animal is so gross, wanton, and culpable as to show a reckless disregard for human life and is the proximate cause of such dog or other animal attacking and causing serious injury to any person is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. The provisions of this subsection shall not apply to any animal that, at the time of the acts complained of, was responding to pain or injury or was protecting itself, its kennel, its offspring, a person, or its owner's or custodian's property, or when the animal is a police dog that is engaged in the performance of its duties at the time of the attack.

(Code 2004, § 10-171.1; Ord. No. 2013-244-2014-13, § 1, 2-10-2014)

State Law reference— Vicious dogs, Code of Virginia, § 3.2-6540.1.

(Code 2004, § 10-171.1; Ord. No. 2013-244-2014-13, § 1, 2-10-2014)

State law reference

Vicious dogs, Code of Virginia, § 3.2-6540.1.