My dog is being held for falsely being accused of biting someone.

Question

My dog is being kept by Animal Control for falsely being accused of biting someone. Hearing has been completed and past the 7 days as stated by the hearing for the results. Ten days and no results, and they still have my dog in isolated confinement. No walks, visitors, we can drop off treats & a toy, which we did, but we get no status on how our dog is. Seems to be animal cruelty the way they are treating my dog with being falsely accused. We have done all that we were asked to do on the list to return our dog back to us, but they are still holding on to him.

Answer

It is common for dogs who allegedly bit someone to be quarantined for 10 days for rabies observation. If your dog is still being withheld, I strongly suggest you contact an attorney in your state to intervene on your behalf (and your dog’s behalf). I have found that sometimes these situations drag on unnecessarily.

California Code of Regulations states, in part: “At the discretion of the local health officer, any animal which bites or otherwise exposes a person shall be isolated in strict confinement in a place and manner approved by the local health officer and observed for at least 14 days (dogs and cats 10 days) after the day of infliction of the bite, with the exception that the following alternative to the 10 day isolation of dogs and cats is permitted--dogs or cats which have been isolated in strict confinement under proper care and under observation of a licensed veterinarian, in a pound, veterinary hospital, or other adequate facility in a manner approved by the local health officer, may be released from isolation by the local health officer after five days of veterinary observation if upon conducting a thorough physical examination on the fifth day or more after infliction of the bite, the observing veterinarian certifies that there are no clinical signs or symptoms of any disease.”