ASK A LAWYER - Report Dogs’ Aggressive Behavior Now

Orlando Sentinel, October 13, 2008

Question:We live on a lake with lots of ducks and three sandhill cranes.

My dad, who is 78, feeds them. My neighbor, who lives a quarter-mile down the road, turns his two dogs loose two or three times a day, and they often come into my yard and several times have tried to bite me.

Do I have the right to kill them on my property if they are endangering my dad or me?
R.K
Oveido


FRANK POHL
Pohl & Short, P.A.

Answer:Based upon the fact these dogs have repeatedly come onto your property and tried to bite you, you should immediately contact the nearest animal-control authority and report these dogs as dangerous.

Under Florida law, the animal-control authority has an obligation to investigate any report that a dog is dangerous. Florida law also provides that any animal that is the subject of a dangerous-dog investigation – if not immediately impounded with the animal-control authority – must be safely confined by the owner in a securely fenced or enclosed area pending the outcome of the investigation.

If there is no animal-control authority in your area, the county sheriff shall act in its place.

In the interim, if these dogs were to attack you unprovoked on your own property, you could protect yourself in any reasonable manner.

Visit our website for more information on this subject.

Frank Pohl founded Pohl & Short, P.A. based upon the belief that a high quality small commercial law firm was needed in the Orlando, Florida area as an alternative to the large commercial law firms. He still believes that client responsiveness and satisfaction has a place in a fast changing legal profession. Frank has been involved in the Central Florida community for more than twenty-five years. He has been a dedicated past board member of many local organizations over the years. Frank graduated magna cum laude with a B.G.S. Degree from the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida; attended the University College at the University of London as an undergraduate studying British literature and British history; obtained his Juris Doctorate Degree in 1979; and obtained a Masters of Law and Letters Degree (LL.M.) from New York University School of Law in 1980. Frank is a member of The Florida Bar, the California Bar, and the District of Columbia Court of Appeals. He is also admitted to the U.S. Supreme Court. He has served on the Orange County Bar Association Real Estate Committee and is a member of the The Florida Bar’s Real Property and Corporation and Business Law Section. He has also served on the Florida Bar Grievance Committee.