WHAT DOES YOUR DOG HAVE TO DO FOR ANIMAL CONTROL TO CITE YOU FOR A VIOLATION? 

S/he has to have been accused of having “attacked, bitten, and/or injured a human being or other animal.”  In some SoCal codes, your dog only has to be accused of “menacing.”  You can even get cited if someone complains your dog is excessively barking. Note that you only have to be accused (even if nothing actually happened, or someone just got scared and overreacted).

ARE YOU AND YOUR DOG INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY? 

If you keep following these posts, you’ll see that, practically, it’s “guilty until proven innocent.”  For example, all the complaint forms list sections such as “date of attack,” “name of victim,” etc. And Animal Control investigators almost always take the perspective that they are seeking to collect evidence to use against you, rather than to find out what truly happened.

HOW LONG DOES ANIMAL CONTROL HAVE TO CITE YOU? 

As long as they want. Once a complaint has been filed by someone – even if it is frivolous – Animal Control might send you a hearing notice or visit your home at any time, even a year or more later.  The notice, though, must give you at least 10 days to prepare for the hearing.  

WHAT DOES ANIMAL CONTROL HAVE TO DO TO NOTIFY YOU OF A CITATION/HEARING?

In LA city, they only have to send you a letter. It doesn’t have to be certified. They don’t have to prove you received it – although they now typically send emails along with regular mail. So if you think a letter from Animal Control is junk mail and throw it out without reading it, or it never comes, you can be found to have missed the hearing. 

WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU DON’T SHOW UP TO A HEARING?

There will still be a hearing if you don’t show up. The case will be decided without your input, so you are likely to lose. What’s worse, you lose your right to appeal the decision. So, if the ruling says you have to give up your dog, or get expensive liability insurance, or keep a muzzle on your dog, your only recourse would be a civil suit called a Writ of Mandate in the Superior Court. 

WHAT OUTCOMES CAN HAPPEN FROM A HEARING? 

You can be ordered to surrender your dog (and they might “destroy” your dog); remove your dog from the jurisdiction; be restricted from owning any dog for up to three years; keep your dog but only if you abide by a set of “conditions and restrictions;” or have your case dismissed (not common).  You can face civil or criminal charges.

WHO IS THE “PLAINTIFF” BRINGING THE CASE AGAINST YOU?

Animal Control is the party accusing you and bringing the case. The person who complained is now only a witness — the accuser, just like in a criminal trial. In other words, this is a case of the Animal Control Department versus you as one of the jurisdiction’s citizens who AC claims violated the laws that were written to protect public safety (despite that these laws are almost all roughly 40 or so years old and very out of date and unaligned with the current thinking about dogs and family).

WHO CAN BE THE JUDGE IN YOUR CASE?

The “judge” is a hearing officer, since this is not a court case but an administrative hearing. The hearing officer is either another Animal Control Department employee or someone hired by the Department to be a hearing officer. So there is an inherent bias against you that you must overcome to win. 

WHO CAN SHOW UP AT YOUR HEARING?

Animal Control can summon/subpoena anyone. And the complainant can bring witnesses and an attorney if s/he wants. You can bring anyone able to support your story and the credibility of you or your dog, including a trainer, for example.

WHAT CAN YOU DO AT THE HEARING?

You have the right to present evidence, call witnesses, cross-examine opposing witnesses, and testify yourself. It is essential that you come prepared to a hearing. Some people may tell you that it’s very informal and not to worry. It is typically informal, but that actually usually works against you, because the rules of evidene don’t apply, for one thing. And for another, you typically relax and just tell your story, expecting to be treated fairly; but you usually end up saying things that are used against you.

 WHAT SHOULD YOU DO BEFORE GOING TO A HEARING?

You must request a copy of your entire file, because those records are what the hearing officer is going to use against you. You have to be able to defend yourself against the evidence and to make your own case. Be prepared to fight or prepare to be surprised!  (for LA city, for example, contact ani.recordrequest@lacity.org, ) Contact us for other locations. 

We highly recommend retaining an attorney for this entire process. Ideally BEFORE you ever allow Animal Control to talk you into letting the take your dog pending the hearing.  You have ways to refuse to allow your dog to be impounded by animal control prior to a hearing.  If you let animal control take your dog, it is extremely difficult to get the dog back before the hearing and hearings can take longer than a year to be heard.  What is worse, Animal Control charges you daily impound fees the entire time.