What are dog owner's rights?

Full question:

Owner's dog bit a child in the arm that was leaning over the owners fence into the owners yard. The bite did require some surgery. The owner was cited with harboring a dangerous animal even though the dog had never bitten anyone before. What are the owner'rs rights and defense? The humane society has seized the dog pending an investigation. What are dog's rights? The biting occurred in Nebraska.

• Category: Misc
• Date: 04/07/2025
• State: Nebraska

Answer:

Nebraska law on dog bites is here:
http://law.justia.com/nebraska/codes/s54index/s54index.html

Specifically note 54-601: the owner would be liable for the damages to the child unless the child was a trespasser. Merely having been hanging over the fence would not be determinative of trespassing. It would depend on whether the owner was observing and consenting (including, possibly, consent by silence) to the child's so doing, and/or whether the owner had previously so consented.

But your question is more concerned with the status of the dog. You say "the humane society" has seized the dog, that being a private organization rather than a department of the government - that is a bit strange, but may be immaterial to the situation. You say the owner was cited for harboring a dangerous animal, though the animal had never bitten anyone.

Please note 54-617 at the above link.

(3) Dangerous dog shall mean any dog that, according to the records of an animal control authority: (a) Has killed or inflicted severe injury on a human being on public or private property;

(7) Severe injury shall mean any physical injury that results in disfiguring lacerations requiring multiple sutures or cosmetic surgery or one or more broken bones or that creates a potential danger to the life or health of the victim.

Note 54-620:

"Any dangerous dog may be immediately confiscated by an animal control officer if the owner is in violation of sections 54-617 to 54-624. The owner shall be responsible for the reasonable costs incurred by the animal control authority for the care of a dangerous dog confiscated by an animal control officer or for the destruction of any dangerous dog if the action by the animal control authority is pursuant to law and if the owner violated sections 54-617 to 54-624."

Owner's dog has apparently been classified as a Dangerous Dog due to the severe injury (per the definition) it inflicted. And it was apparently lawfully confiscated.

There is some question as to whether "according to the records of an animal control authority" means that those records had to be pre-existing, or whether the records can be contemporaneous to a first biting incident (which does seem to be the case based on all the statues).

There will be a court hearing to decide what happens to the dog. Owner must attend this hearing. It would be advisable for owner to retain a local attorney who has represented dog owners to represent owner at this hearing and plan owner's arguments and strategy. A key point will be that the dog has never bitten anyone before.