Community Insider Spring 2020 | Page 35

bites two people within 48-month period, or has bitten a person causing substantial injury or death, then they can be deemed a “dangerous dog.” The best protection your association can have when pets go rogue is to make sure that the associations governing documents clearly spell out in advance what steps will be taken by the association. It takes a proactive Board to implement the appropriate discipline, which may require that the dog be removed from the community. In cases where dog bites or attacks are reported to Animal Control, authorities will sometimes open an investigation into the case. In some instances, the case might be referred to as a Dangerous Dog Task Force requiring certain steps be taken to evaluate the case further. For further guidelines regarding regulating dangerous and public nuisance animals, please refer to County of San Diego Animal Services. Sometimes the destruction of the dog may be requested. In other cases, certain restrictions may be imposed on the dog and its owner such as obtaining and maintaining a liability policy of insurance, building a specific fence to restrain the dog from getting out, and requiring a muzzle. Getting the dog microchipped and altering the dog may help with such aggressive behavior. As a last alternative for getting Fido out of the association if the owner does not comply with these restrictions, a misdemeanor citation may be issued to the association to impound or euthanize the dog. /cai.sd /in/caisandiego WWW.CAI-SD.ORG | 35