Let’s continue with last weeks dog related theme seeing how there has been alot of dog and animal related discussions in the news lately. In the last post I explained a little about Chicago’s leash ordinance,which again, basically means dogs must be kept on a leash or confined when outside their owners property and in the public sphere. Today let’s focus on the dangerous animal ordinance and what defines a dangerous animal.
According to the Chicago Red Eye, Chicago defines a dangerous animal as “any animal that bites, inflicts injury on, kills, or otherwise attacks a human being or domestic animal without provocation on any public or private property.” This definition includes animals that are trained to chase and have an attitude of attack, such as dogs trained for fighting. This ordinance also covers dogs used in the commercial venture to guard public or private property. However, Chicago does not include govermental or law enforcement canines in this definition.
When it comes down to it, an animal control officer has the last word as to whether or not an animal is deemed too dangerous. Penalites depend on the animals offense. The city can order the animal to be destroyed humanly if it hurts a human severly. On other less severe occasions, the city can order the owner to obtain a dangerous animal license, have a microchip installed, have it sterilized, secure liability insurance, have the animal muzzled, have the animal spayed or neutered, and have owner put up appropriate signage on their property. If the owner violates these rules, they can be fined up to 1000 dollars, and have their animal taken away from them and impounded.
If you feel a neighbor or someone you know is harboring a dangerous animal irresponsibly, please let the proper authorities know. Far too often, we expect somebody else to do it. This is unacceptable and can have dire consequences as we have recently whitnessed here in Chicago. I’m not implying to live in fear of every dog you see, but just to be aware of the warning signs and take action when needed. If you have any questions concerning your rights, feel free to contact Accident Injury Attorneys Zneimer & Zneimer.