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Dog Law

Section 459-305. Confinement of Dogs

It shall be against the law for the owner or keeper of any dog to fail to keep at all times such dog either:

  1. required by law to be confined within the premises of the owner;
  2. firmly secured by means of a collar and chain or other devise so that it cannot stray beyond the premises on which it is secured; or,
  3. under the reasonable control of some person, or when engaged in hunting, exhibition or field training allowed by the law.

Section 502-A. REGISTRATION

(a) SUMMARY OFFENSE OF HARBORING A DANGEROUS DOG – Any person who has been attacked by one or more dangerous dogs, or anyone on behalf of such person, a person whose domestic animal has been killed or injured without provocation, the State dog warden or the local police officer may file a complaint before a district justice, charging the owner or keeper of such a dog with harboring a dangerous dog.  The owner or keeper of a dog shall be guilty of the summary offense of harboring a dangerous dog if the district justice finds beyond a reasonable doubt that the following elements of the offense have been proven:

(1) The dangerous dog has done one or more of the following:

(i)   Inflicted severe injury on a human being without provocation on public or private property.
(ii)  Killed or inflicted severe injury on a domestic animal without provocation while off the owner’s property.
(iii) Attacked a human being without provocation.
(iv)  Been used in the commission of a crime.

(2) The dangerous dog has either or both of the following:

(i)   A history of attacking human beings and/or domestic animals without provocation.
(ii)  A propensity to attack human beings and/or domestic animals without provocation. A propensity to attack may be proven by a single incident of the conduct described in paragraphs (1)(i), (ii), (iii) or (iv).

(3) The defendant is the owner or keeper of the dangerous dog.

(a.1) EFFECT OF CONVICTION – A finding by a district justice that a person is guilty, under subsection (a), of harboring a dangerous dog shall constitute a determination that the dog is a dangerous dog for purposes of this act.
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(c) ATTACKS CAUSING SEVERE INJURY OR DEATH – The owner of any dangerous dog that, through the intentional, reckless or negligent conduct the dog’s owner, aggressively attacks and causes severe injury or death of any human shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree.  In addition, the dog shall be immediately confiscated by a State dog warden or a police officer, placed in quarantine for the proper length of time and thereafter humanely killed in a expeditious manner, with costs of quarantine and destruction to be borne by the dangerous dog’s owner.