(A) If a person is bitten or otherwise attacked by a dog while the person is in a public place or is lawfully in a private place, including the property of the dog owner or person having the dog in the person's care or keeping, the dog owner or person having the dog in the person's care or keeping is liable for the damages suffered by the person bitten or otherwise attacked. For the purposes of this section, a person bitten or otherwise attacked is lawfully in a private place, including the property of the dog owner or person having the dog in the person's care or keeping, when the person bitten or otherwise attacked is on the property in the performance of a duty imposed upon the person by the laws of this State, the ordinances of a political subdivision of this State, the laws of the United States of America including, but not limited to, postal regulations, or when the person bitten or otherwise attacked is on the property upon the invitation, express or implied, of the property owner or a lawful tenant or resident of the property.
(B) This section does not apply if, at the time the person is bitten or otherwise attacked:
(1) the person who was attacked provoked or harassed the dog and that provocation was the proximate cause of the attack; or
(2) the dog was working in a law enforcement capacity with a governmental agency and in the performance of the dog's official duties provided that:
(a) the dog's attack is in direct and complete compliance with the lawful command of a duly certified canine officer;
(b) the dog is trained and certified according to the standards adopted by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Training Council;
(c) the governmental agency has adopted a written policy on the necessary and appropriate use of dogs in the dog's official law enforcement duties;
(d) the actions of the dog's handler or dog do not violate the agency's written policy;
(e) the actions of the dog's handler or dog do not constitute excessive force; and
(f) the attack or bite does not occur on a third party bystander.
HISTORY: 1986 Act No. 343; 2013 Act No. 62, Section 1, eff June 12, 2013.