HOUSE BILL REPORT

ESSB 5301

BYSenate Committee on Judiciary (originally sponsored by Senators Halsan, Talmadge and Kreidler)

Regulating vicious dogs.

House Committe on Judiciary

Majority Report:  Do pass.  (12)

      Signed by Representatives Armstrong, Chair; Crane, Vice Chair; Brough, Hargrove, Heavey, Locke, Moyer, Padden, Patrick, Schmidt, Scott and Wang.

House Staff:Charlie Gavigan (786-7340)

AS PASSED HOUSE APRIL 8, 1987

BACKGROUND:

Current law holds a dog owner strictly liable for any injury that a person suffers from a dog bite.  Counties and cities may impose licensing requirements and prohibit dogs from roaming loose in the city limits or in areas designated by a county.  Guard dogs are subject to more stringent registration and notice requirements.

SUMMARY:

"Potentially dangerous dog" and dangerous dog" are defined.

The owner of a dangerous dog is required to obtain a certificate of registration from the animal control authority.  To obtain the certificate, the owner must show that he or she has a surety bond or insurance policy in the amount of $50,000 covering the owner against any injuries inflicted by the dog.  In addition, the owner is required to show that there is a proper enclosure for the dog.

It is unlawful for the owner of a dangerous dog to permit the dog to be outside the proper enclosure unless the dog is muzzled, restrained by a substantial leash, and under the physical restraint of a responsible person.

A dangerous dog which is not properly licensed or maintained must be confiscated by an animal control authority.  The owner is guilty of a gross misdemeanor.

If a dangerous dog of an owner with a prior conviction under these provisions attacks or bites, the owner is guilty of a class C felony and the dog must be quarantined and subsequently destroyed.

The owner of any dog that causes severe injury or death to any human, irrespective of the dog's previous classification, is guilty of a class C felony and the dog must be quarantined and destroyed.

Dogs are not considered dangerous if the injury or threat is sustained by a person who commits a wilful trespass upon the owner's premises, or by a person who torments, abuses, or assaults the dog.

Potentially dangerous dogs are regulated by local, municipal, and county ordinances.

Any person entering a dog in a dog fight is guilty of a class C felony.

Fiscal Note:      Not Requested.

House Committee ‑ Testified For:    Roger K. Childress, Jr., Washington State Federation of Humane Societies; Don McCulloch, Bull Terrier Club of America.

House Committee - Testified Against:      None Presented.

House Committee - Testimony For:    Even though a dog owner is responsible for injury caused by the dog, many owners refuse or are financially unable to pay.  The insurance requirements for dangerous dogs addresses this concern.  Requiring proper enclosure of dangerous dogs will lessen the risk of serious harm being done by these dogs.

House Committee - Testimony Against:      None Presented.