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Who hears and decides the appeal? <br />Except for residents of Carrboro (see below), an appeal is provided by a panel composed of <br />county residents from the Animal Services Hearing Panel Pool, a body appointed by the Board <br />of County Commissioners. These individuals come from different parts of the county and they <br />have different backgrounds. They are not employed by Animal Services. <br />Appeals made by residents of Carrboro are heard by the Town’s Animal Control Appeal Board. <br />The Animal Control Appeal Board consists of town residents who are appointed by the Carrboro <br />Board of Aldermen. Except for being heard by the town’s appeal board rather than an Animal <br />Services hearing panel, the process of review is similar for Carrboro and other county residents. <br /> <br />What is the timetable for appeals? <br />As suggested earlier, the timetable is different under North Carolina General Statute and <br />Orange County’s Animal Ordinance. A potentially dangerous dog appeal request must be made <br />within three (3) calendar days of being notified that your dog has been so declared. A vicious <br />animal declaration appeal request must be made within five (5) calendar days of your dog being <br />so declared, except for Carrboro residents who must make this appeal within three (3) calendar <br />days. <br />Animal Services must receive an appeal request within those time frames. If an appeal request <br />is received after the time period granted in law, there is no legal obligation to provide the <br />requested hearing, and there should be no expectation that a hearing will be held. <br />Once an appeal request is received, Animal Services staff will move quickly to schedule a <br />hearing. Both state and local law require that the hearing be scheduled within ten (10) days of <br />the date the appeal was received by Animal Services. This does not necessarily mean that the <br />hearing will be conducted within 10 days. Animal Services staff is conscientious about ensuring <br />that the hearing is held in a timely manner but the actual hearing date does depend upon the <br />availability of members of the appeals body, the appellant and key witnesses. Please note that <br />the dog(s) must be kept in accordance with the regulations/requirements of the declaration <br />during this time. <br /> <br />What is the purpose of the appeal hearing? <br />The purpose of the hearing is very specific. It is to determine whether the facts of a particular <br />incident are consistent with the definition of a potentially dangerous dog under state law or the