Potential Dangerous animal laws SfFbay area - Page 1

Quick story I have two imports a first generation son of Larus von batu and a first generation daughter of Quirin von Hochmoor. The male has low prey drive but high defensive drive and the female is the oppose. The daogs are 8 and 6 respectively they've been obedience trains and a fair amount of bite work.  Anyway via an accident whichI was not present at but supposedly my dog bit two small dogs causing injury which I paid all vet  bills for becasue the animal control was involved i was initially contacted about relinquishing my dog for evaluation. I asked what is the evaluation process and was never given a clear ask as they proceed to escalate one coming to my home unannouced. I figured showing up at my place of business was next so against my better judgement i relinquished my dog for evaluation which took 15 days. The end result:

Due to the SF Dog mauling case withthe Presa canario's that killed that lady. I was given three options:

(1) A hearing which is only if you can refute the claims against your animal.
(2) Wave your rights to a hearing and register your dog as a " Potential Dangerous Animal"
(3) relinsquish your animal and they Euthanize

So I decide to wave my right seeing that I wasn't present for the incident, and Since my dog has been a wonderful pet and family member.  The net result is I was forced to spay my female, post a sign on my porperty from the county about the animal be subject to inspection not only of my property but my background. Registration which is for a three year period is $1500 plus required class not for the dog but for the owner at $100 per and if I should no longer wish to own the dog I must relinquish her to the county for Euthanasia.


I don't believe that this was the intent of the  law but enforcement is nuts.


Please be aware and check where you live.

I am sorry to hear about your experience.

Love them or hate them, this is what we need lawyers for.

Wecome to America.

(It still not as bad as many other parts of the world.)

You should have turned over nothing.  Did they come to your door with a warrant or was it just an inquiry and verbal harassment?  You should have contacted an attorney right away.  There was no proof of any incident actually occurring correct?  Just hearsay?  Was there definitive proof that your dogs were even the guilty ones?  Sorry but I think you got bamboozled into admitting waaaaaay too much.

Sounds like a great reason to move away from SF bay area, and all of California too! Too many stupid laws that strip away your rights.

I have to agree with what sitasmom said. I live in California and would move out of this state in a heartbeat!!!!

I am sorry to hear about what happened to you. As stated above I would have NOT relinquished any of my dogs without a warrant and documented proof that it was my dog that is the one that bit the other dog.  I wish you luck.

Bump!

Do not bury this thread. What happened to Doomsayer could happen to almost any one of us.

In 1/08, something similar happened to me involving my spayed, nearly 12-year-old GSD female (now deceased). This involved an alleged bite of a child--no skin broken or tooth marks--just a bruise. There was a nightmare of events after my girl was seized (reluctantly released by me) by A/C and impounded for over 3 weeks. I did provide her raw diet while she was at the shelter and demanded that she not be vaccinated.

I won't go into all the gory details. I did have a hearing and was represented by an attorney. Because the accuser could not positively identify the dog (could not distinguish her from my male in the photo I provided), my girl was not labeled as "dangerous". However, I did have to demonstrate to the authorities the height of my fences, how my dogs would be contained on my property, place a "Beware of Dog" sign on the front gate, and pay for the administrative costs of the hearing.

Then, there were the costs for impoundment (aka, kenneling). Fortunately, I had the presence of mind to ask if I could work this off with "community service". IOW, I worked (office paperwork work) at the shelter for minimum wages for the number of hours equal to the fine.

WHAT TO DO WHEN ANIMAL CONTROL COMES KNOCKING:

http://www.allgreatfuldogs.com/Articles/WHAT%20TO%20DO%20WHEN%20ANIMAL%20CONTROL%20COMES%20KNOCKING.pdf

Louise,

You are so right.

I am getting out while I can.  I hope I am not too late.

Michele

Louise
Thanks for the link. That was VERY informative.

I would LOVE to get out of California while I still can. I am tired of all the BS in this state.......South Dakota or Minnesota sounds NICE..but COLD

 Unfortunately, it isn't just California.  In fact, probably the exact opposite of California would be Idaho, the most Republican state in the nation, where sentiment generally runs against government intervention.  And yet, here is a story that a friend of mine alerted me to, of a girl whose mix (I think he's part St Bernard or something) was impounded for barking... "appearing vicous" ... in her own yard:

http://www.kpvi.com/Global/story.asp?S=11227431

The dog was due to be PTS in early Oct.  I haven't heard anything since then, and the newspaper articles are no longer posted (unless maybe if you have a subscription).

The PETA ppl organize.  Why can't we organize to counter these insane laws?