Vicious | Potentially Dangerous Dog Defense
Occasionally, a dog may injure a human or another companion animal, either in self defense or in defense of a human. In New Jersey, the law allows an Animal Control Officer to impound any dog that harms a human or other animal in an “Unprovoked” attack, and to require the dog’s family to appear in municipal court to defend the charges that the dog is either vicious, or potentially dangerous.
The consequences of a conviction are grave. Vicious dogs are euthanized – even if the offense was their first attack. Potentially dangerous dogs are required to be specially licensed (at up to $750 per year in special registration fees), kept in specialized and expensive enclosures with warning signs, muzzled and walked on special leashes. The owner may also have to provide special insurance that is difficult or impossible to procure.
Under no circumstances should a layperson or even an attorney who is inexperienced in such cases attempt to defend a dog that is charged under this act. Dog bite lawyers in New Jersey, animal attack lawyers in New Jersey, and animal rights lawyers are the only ones who can really properly defend this sort of case. Many cases are emotionally charged and result in a bad verdict for the owner, but are overturned on appeal if an adequate record is made at trial. Because this law is rarely invoked, most municipal judges and prosecutors are unfamiliar with its terms and provisions and need to be guided. Some defendants go to personal injury lawyers in New Jersey, but this is not the correct approach.
There are also cases where breeds are limited or restricted under local bylaws or acts. If you as the owner are finding these restrictions problematic, such as you run a pit bull breeding business and your town is seeking to ban pit bulls, you may want to hire a lawyer for animal attacks and dog bites to ensure that your interests and the interests of the animals under your care are taken to heart under such laws.
Such laws that seek to ban or exclude certain breeds are generally shortsighted and meant to appease a few individuals in a community. Research has shown that a dog can only be proven to be vicious on a case-by-case basis, and viciousness is not limited to breed. The smallest toy poodle can actually be quite vicious if subjected to abusive conditions by its owners.
Gina Calogero, an experienced animal lawyer, has probably handled more “vicious dog” defenses than any other lawyer in the State of New Jersey, starting with Splinter (shown in the photograph to the left). She has represented five Pit Bulls, four Rottweiler's, a Golden Retriever, two Labrador retrievers, two German Shepherd dogs and several mixed breeds. She litigated a case that resulted in the only reported decision on the Vicious Dog Act in the New Jersey books.