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ANIMAL SERVICES 1601 Eubanks Road http://orangecountync.gov/animalservices phone: (919) 942-7387 Chapel Hill, NC 27516 fax: (919) 918-2393 Potentially Dangerous Dog & Vicious Appeal Hearings: Frequently Asked Questions Key Questions What declarations can be appealed? North Carolina General Statute (67-4.1) requires that a dog that has displayed certain behaviors be deemed potentially dangerous and be held to a strict standard by their owners or keepers. The same statute requires that a hearing be made available to a dog owner to appeal such a declaration. Owners of dogs that have been declared potentially dangerous by Orange County Animal Services have three (3) days from the notice of such a determination to request an appeal the decision. Under Orange County’s Animal Ordinance (4-42) a dog may be declared a vicious animal because it has been declared potentially dangerous under state law and/or because it has displayed certain behaviors.The ordinance requires that a hearing be made available to a dog owner to appeal such a declaration and owners have five (5) days from the notice of such a determination to request an appeal except in Carrboro (see below). Note that some declarations will be made both under North Carolina General Statute and Orange County’s Animal Ordinance. In these cases, an animal will have been declared both potentially dangerous and vicious, and the owner must appeal both declarations in order to have each of them reviewed. In those cases, one (dual) request may be made via email/letter and a single hearing will be held for both declarations.