Agenda - 12-07-2020; 12-4 - Information Item - Memo Regarding Further Regulation of Aggressive Dogs

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1 ORANGE COUNTY NORTH CAROLINA ANIMAL SERVICES 1601 Eubanks Road http://orangecountync.gov/departments/animalservices phone: (919)942-7387 Chapel Hill, NC 27516 fax: (919)918-2393 November 18, 2020 To: Penny Rich, Chair, Board of County Commissioners and Bonnie Hammersley, County Manager From: Robert A. Marotto, Animal Services Director Re: Further Regulation of Aggressive Dogs Introduction Animal Services staff and the Animal Services Advisory Board have received and reviewed a request from Joseph Williams to strengthen the regulation of aggressive dogs in Orange County. After careful consideration involving the Animal Services staff attorney,there is unanimous agreement that further regulation of dogs is both unnecessary and undesirable. Before turning to Mr. Williams' concerns, I would stress that there is now a greater appreciation of legal provisions for regulating dogs that behave aggressively even when they do not bite a person or another animal. These provisions exist both in Orange County's Unified Animal Ordinance and North Carolina's General Statutes. To a greater degree than previously, Animal Control Officers and others are attentive to whether the facts of a case support enforcement and/or regulation even if an aggressive dog has not bitten someone. Concerns Mr. Williams' concerns stem from his personal experience with a neighbor's leashed dog which exhibited some aggression toward him and his own dog. His concern is that Animal Services was unable to apply dangerous dog regulations because his neighbor's dog was leashed and did not bite him or his dog. His proposed remedy is to introduce restrictions that would be applied to dogs that behaved aggressively even if their behavior didn't justify them being declared a dangerous dog. The restrictions Mr. Williams has proposed are presented in two emails (Attachment I and Attachment 11) and include the following: 1