Two different dangerous-dog systems operate across this county, one built by City ordinance and one built by state statute. Which one applies depends on the address where the dog is kept.
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Six boxes, about thirty seconds. You pick when to be called back, and that is when the phone rings.
Or call (213) 953-1047State law defines the categories. Food and Agricultural Code section 31602 describes a potentially dangerous dog as one that, unprovoked, on two separate occasions within the prior 36-month period required defensive action by a person off the owner's property, or bit a person causing a less severe injury than the statute's severe-injury definition, or twice within that period killed or injured a domestic animal off the owner's property. Section 31604 defines severe injury as muscle tears or disfiguring lacerations, or injuries requiring multiple sutures or corrective or cosmetic surgery, and section 31603 reserves the vicious label for aggravated cases. Section 31683 then allows a city or county to run its own program, including more restrictive terms, while providing that no program shall be specific as to breed.
Under section 31621, where an officer has determined probable cause, the chief officer of the shelter or animal control department, that officer's immediate supervisor, or the head of the local law enforcement agency petitions the superior court of the county where the dog is owned or kept, and the proceeding is a limited civil case. The same section lets a city or county establish an administrative hearing procedure to hear those petitions instead. Notice and a copy of the petition are served personally or by first-class mail with return receipt requested, the hearing is held within no less than five working days nor more than ten working days after service, and it is open to the public.
Los Angeles County has taken up that option. County Code section 10.37.110 permits the Director to petition the Superior Court or to serve a petition for an administrative hearing, sets the hearing between five and ten working days after service, provides that there is no jury and that the standard is a preponderance of the evidence, and requires a neutral hearing officer who neither signed the petition nor is junior in rank to the person who did (County Code 10.37.110). County Animal Care and Control describes a Dangerous Dog Investigations Unit that investigates reported bites and attacks and may seek those declarations, alongside a Safe Neighborhoods Program property inspection (Protecting People).
Inside the City of Los Angeles, Municipal Code section 53.34.4 governs. It lists eleven categories of evidence the Department may consider in deciding whether an animal is dangerous, and it sets out what may follow a finding, including conditions on keeping the animal and, in stated circumstances, humane destruction. Where a hearing produces a finding that an animal is not dangerous, the section still contemplates that a license may be revoked or reissued with conditions. The order timing is written into subdivision (d): the General Manager signs an order within two days after the time for appeal has run, or within five days after service on the Board.
Municipal Code section 53.18.5 supplies the procedure. A Hearing Examiner appointed by the General Manager presides. Written notice is given at least ten days before the hearing. Subpoenas are available through the authority in Charter section 217. Relevant evidence is admitted if it is the sort responsible persons rely on in serious affairs, hearsay may supplement but cannot by itself support a finding, and a recording or transcript is made. The Department carries the burden of proving its allegations by a preponderance, and the Examiner reports to the General Manager within fifteen days with a summary of the evidence and recommendations. Los Angeles Animal Services notes that ordinances adopted in July 1987 authorized these administrative hearings, that reports of dangerous animals go to the nearest shelter, and that an animal may be impounded for observation (Administrative Hearing Guide).
The state consequences are concrete. Section 31641 requires licensing and vaccination and a notation of the designation in the registration records, with an additional fee permitted. Section 31642 requires the dog to be kept indoors or in a securely fenced yard and, off the premises, on a substantial leash under the control of a responsible adult. Section 31643 requires written notice to animal control within two working days of the animal's death, sale or removal from the jurisdiction. Section 31645 allows destruction of a dog declared vicious where public safety cannot otherwise be protected, and section 31646 allows a prohibition on owning any dog for up to three years.
A hearing is a public-safety proceeding, not a compensation proceeding, and nothing decided in it awards anyone anything. Its value afterward is documentary: sworn complaints, incident reports, a summary of testimony, findings, and a dated order, all produced by people who were not parties to any later civil dispute. County Veterinary Public Health is explicit that a bite report is not itself a dangerous-animal finding and that a separate report to local animal control is required (Reporting Animal Bites).
The material here summarizes published ordinances, statutes and agency pages for general information. It is not legal advice, and it does not describe any particular hearing. Questions about a specific notice or hearing date belong with the attorney who advertises on this site.
Dangerous Dog Hearing Lawyer in Los Angeles. Call (213) 953-1047 and a Los Angeles lawyer reviews the claim and the deadline that applies. Nothing is signed on that call.
Call (213) 953-1047Los Angeles Municipal Code section 53.06.2 requires a dog off its keeper’s premises to be under a competent person’s control on a substantial chain or leash no longer than six feet, except for the stated dog exercise or training-area exception.
Why it matters: For a bite on a City sidewalk, street, or common area, the exact location and restraint details may be evidence worth preserving; this City rule is not automatically the rule for every County address.
Source: codelibrary.amlegal.com
Los Angeles County Animal Care and Control says its Dangerous Dog Investigations Unit investigates reported dog bites and attacks. An investigating officer may prepare a petition for an administrative hearing officer, who may impose conditions or restrictions and, in some cases, order euthanasia.
Why it matters: A dangerous-dog case is a public-safety process that can generate records, but it is separate from the Public Health report and from a civil injury claim.
Source: animalcare.lacounty.gov
A Public Health Reports study using Los Angeles County Department of Public Health surveillance data recorded 23,103 reported dog bites from 2009 through 2011, 88% of 26,169 reported animal-to-human bites; Pasadena, Long Beach, and Vernon were excluded because they had separate health departments and rabies-control protocols.
Why it matters: The dated data shows why the correct reporting jurisdiction matters and why an incident record should identify the exact city and agency rather than use “Los Angeles” as a catch-all.
Source: pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
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