O.C. supervisors to consider dangerous dog ordinance
Orange County supervisors on Tuesday are slated to consider an ordinance that would create a Megan’s Law-style website for dangerous dogs.
The website probably would list the addresses of homes where dogs deemed to be dangerous or vicious are being kept, along with a description of each animal and how it got into trouble.
If county supervisors approve the proposal, the website would cover dogs being kept in the 17 cities and unincorporated areas served by OC Animal Care, said Ryan Drabek, spokesman for the county agency.
“It’s important for residents to be educated on where dangerous animals live,” Drabek told The Times. “When people go for walks, it’s good to know.”
Last year, there were 2,281 reports of dog bites in the area his agency covers, Drabek said.
The proposed ordinance generally defines a dangerous dog as one that has been cited twice for attacking in a three-year period or that, unprovoked, severely injures a person or kills an animal. It defines a vicious dog as one that was trained to fight or participated in fighting or that, unprovoked, severely injures or kills a person.
If a dangerous or vicious dog is kept at a home, the owner could be required to get $100,000 in liability insurance, sterilize the dog and post signs on the home identifying the dog as violent.
A dog could be euthanized if the director of OC Animal Care determines it is necessary for public safety, though Drabek said such determinations are rare.
There were 264 potential dangerous dog investigations last year, and 66 of those dogs were euthanized.
“We know where dangerous sex offenders are living in our community,” county Supervisor Todd Spitzer told The Times. “The public has the right to know where owners are harboring a dog declared vicious or dangerous.”
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