Confiscation by Dog Control Officer; Payment of Costs for Recovery; Euthanasia

  1. Law
  2. Georgia Code
  3. Animals
  4. Dogs
  5. Responsible Dog Ownership
  6. Confiscation by Dog Control Officer; Payment of Costs for Recovery; Euthanasia

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  1. A dangerous dog or vicious dog shall be immediately confiscated by any dog control officer or by a law enforcement officer in the case of any violation of this article. A refusal to surrender a dog subject to confiscation shall be a violation of this article.
  2. The owner of any dog that has been confiscated pursuant to this article may recover such dog upon payment of all reasonable confiscation and housing costs and proof of compliance with the provisions of this article, unless such confiscation is deemed to be in error by a dog control officer, an authority, as defined in Code Section 4-8-23, or a probate court. All fines and all charges for services performed by a law enforcement or dog control officer shall be paid prior to owner recovery of the dog. Criminal prosecution shall not be stayed due to owner recovery or euthanasia of the dog.
  3. In the event the owner has not complied with the provisions of this article within 14 days of the date the dog was confiscated, such dog shall be released to an animal shelter, as such term is defined in Code Section 4-14-2, or euthanized in an expeditious and humane manner. The owner may be required to pay the costs of housing and euthanasia.

(Code 1981, §4-8-30, enacted by Ga. L. 2012, p. 1290, § 4/HB 685; Ga. L. 2014, p. 371, § 3/SB 290.)

The 2014 amendment, effective July 1, 2014, inserted "dog" near the beginning of the first sentence of subsection (a); in subsection (b), in the first sentence, inserted "all" near the middle and added ", unless such confiscation is deemed to be in error by a dog control officer, an authority, as defined in Code Section 4-8-23, or a probate court" at the end; and, in subsection (c), substituted "14 days" for "20 days" near the middle and substituted "shall be released to an animal shelter, as such term is defined in Code Section 4-14-2, or euthanized in an expeditious and humane manner. The owner" for "shall be destroyed in an expeditious and humane manner and the owner" near the end. See Editor's notes for applicability.

Editor's notes.

- Ga. L. 2014, p. 371, § 6/SB 290, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: "This Act shall become effective on July 1, 2014, and shall apply to all violations and confiscations which occur on or after that date."

Law reviews.

- For article on the 2012 enactment of this Code section, see 29 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 180 (2012). For annual survey on local government law, see 71 Mercer L. Rev. 189 (2019).

JUDICIAL DECISIONS

Cited in Wyno v. Lowndes County, 305 Ga. 523, 824 S.E.2d 297 (2019).

RESEARCH REFERENCES

ALR.

- Liability for injuries inflicted by dog on public officer or employee, 74 A.L.R.4th 1120.

Landlord's liability to third person for injury resulting from attack on leased premises by dangerous or vicious animal kept by tenant, 87 A.L.R.4th 1004.


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