Law to Allow Seizing Dogs on First Bite to Be Drafted

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday ordered the drafting of a dangerous-animal ordinance that would permit the seizure of an animal after the first biting incident.

At the same time, the board rejected a proposal by Supervisor Kenneth Hahn to ban the ownership of pit bull terriers in the county’s unincorporated areas. Dog owners and supervisors voiced concern that such a plan would not survive a legal challenge.

“Just as you can’t ban BMWs and Porsches because ‘crack’ dealers happen to prefer them over Ford Pintos . . . it doesn’t make any sense (to ban pit bulls),” said Clabe Hartley, of Dog Owners Group (DOG), an organization representing owners of all breeds of dogs.

Public Concern a Factor

The new ordinance, which is expected to be returned for final approval in about a month, comes at a time of growing concern over vicious animals, particularly pit bulls and mixed-breed bull terriers. The particularly strong-jawed canines have been involved in a number of attacks recently on both people and other animals, and have generated extensive coverage by the news media.

Brian Berger, director of the county’s Department of Animal Care and Control, said that after a Los Angeles city animal control officer was recently mauled in a highly publicized attack by a pit bull, owners of 28 other pit bulls voluntarily brought their dogs in to county shelters for destruction. He said that none of the dogs were involved in biting incidents.

Berger told the board that he will propose that the current law, permitting seizure of a vicious animal only after the second biting incident, be strengthened so that impoundment can occur after the first reported bite.

The new ordinance, patterned after recent legislation approved for the City of Los Angeles, is also expected to alter the current process in which the county would have to prove that an animal is indeed vicious. The current law places the burden of proof on the county; the new law would require the owner to prove the animal is not dangerous.

Berger said that the new ordinance would probably affect about 100 dogs each year in the county’s unincorporated areas as well as 35 cities in the county that contract with the county for animal control services.