Everything you need to keep your pooch (or the neighbor's) on a legal leash! America's estimated 50 million dogs are governed by many things: The stomach, the nose and the law -- laws that you as a dog owner, or as the neighbor of a dog, need to know. Every Dog's Legal Guide is a newly revised, up-to-date practical guide to the legal issues that affect dogs, their owners and their neighbors every day, including: -dog owners’ liability for injuries -dogs that bite or create a nuisance -animal cruelty -landlords, tenants and dogs -traveling with dogs -providing for pets at death -dealing with veterinarians -your rights when buying or selling a dog -restrictions on dangerous dogs -vaccinations, licenses and other local laws -guide, signal, service and therapy dogs The latest edition of Every Dog's Legal Guide is completely updated with the latest laws of your state that affect your canine.

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Dog Law Introduction D O M E S T I C A T I O N . D O G S A S C O M P A N I O N S D O G S A S T H E R A P I S T S . L E G A L H I S T O R Y First as scavengers, later as companions, servants and protectors, dogs have been with us a long, long time. But the fate of dogs in the crowded modern world is uncertain. Dogs fit easily into past human societies based on hunting and gathering, and later on agriculture, but less room is left for them in today's cities. Forty percent of U.S. households have at least one dog, according to the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association. There are approximately 68 million dogs in the United States -- but they're outnumbered by the 73 million cats. Writer Cullen Murphy summed up, only half-facetiously, the broader implications of this shift toward cats: Consider an America congenial to the dog: it was a place of nuclear or extended families, of someone always home, of children (or pets) looked after during the day by a parent (or owner), of open spaces and family farms, of sticks and leftovers, of expansiveness and looking outward and being outside....Consider an America conducive to the cat: it is a place of working men and women with not much time, of crowded cities, of apartment buildings with restrictive clauses, of day-care and take-out food, of self-absorption and modest horizons.1 Increasing intolerance for dogs is shown in more and more laws, which regulate when dogs must be confined, where their owners may take them and even how many may live in a house. But before getting into the legal rules, here's a brief look back at the shared history of people and dogs, and how they've come to play such a ubiquitous role in our society. A. A Little History Only two animals have entered the human household otherwise than as prisoners and become domesticated by other means than those of enforced servitude: the dog and the cat. -- KONRAD LORENZ, Man Meets Dog Most people think they know how dogs came to be part of the human family: someone living in a cave took in an orphaned wolf puppy and tamed it. Or wild dogs hung around human encampments looking for scraps and gradually got tame. Or jackals started hunting in cooperation with humans and were rewarded with a share of the kill. Probably none of these theories is accurate. But luckily for all of us who like to speculate, we may never know for sure. Experts differ on just when dogs were domesticated. Some say the evidence indicates domestication as far back as 14,000 to 10,000 years B.C.; others say 8,000 B.C. is more like it. Almost all agree that the dog was the first -- by as much as several thousand years -- domesticated animal. What wild animal metamorphosed into the modern dog -- an animal we now know so well that its Latin name is Canis familiaris? That's a mystery, too. Based on behavioral patterns, chromosomal evidence and the fossil records, the leading candidates are the wolf (most likely, a small subspecies such as the Asiatic wolf), the jackal or a common ancestor of both. The jackal is favored by some scientists because it is smaller and less threatening than the wolf, and so more likely to have been tolerated or welcomed by people. Those who push for the wolf as ancestor point to similarities between wolf and dog behavior. One well-known scientist, Michael Fox, argues that the dog was, essentially, already a dog by the time it became domesticated, and was later cross-bred with wolves to produce some of the more "wolfish" breeds, such as the Alaskan malamute and Siberian husky.2

 

Everything you need to keep your pooch (or the neighbor's) on a legal leash!

Introduction 1. Dogs and People A Little History The Dog's Place Today Dogs in the Law 2. State and Local Regulation Licenses How Many Dogs Can You Keep? Vaccinations Leash Laws Off-Limits Areas Impounding and Destroying Dogs Lost and Found Dogs Spay and Neuter Requirements Pooper-Scooper Laws Dogs in Vehicles Animal Burial Restrictions 3. Buying and Selling Dogs Regulating Sellers Putting a Sale Agreement in Writing Special State "Lemon Laws" Warranties: What Did the Seller Promise? What to Do If You're Unhappy After the Sale 4. Landlords and Dogs Negotiating a Fair Lease Elderly or Disabled Tenants Enforcing No Pets Clauses Condominiums and Planned Developments Landlord Liability for Illegal Evictions Landlord Liability for Tenants' Dogs 5. Veterinarians The Owner-Veterinarian Relationship Health Insurance for Dogs If a Dog Injures a Veterinarian Veterinarians' Duty to Treat Animals Euthanasia Complaining About a Vet Veterinary Malpractice Other Lawsuits Against Veterinarians 6. Traveling With Your Dog The Not-So-Friendly Skies Special Hawaii Rules International Travel On the Road Buses, Trains, and Ships 7. Barking Dogs Talking to Your Neighbor Mediation: Getting Another Person to Help State and Local Laws Animal Control Authorities Police Small Claims Court 8. Assistance Dogs Types of Assistance Dogs Access to Public Places Rental Housing Assistance Dogs in the Workplace Traveling With Assistance Dogs Exemptions From Local Regulations Income Tax Deductions for Guide Dogs Public Assistance Assistance Dogs and Creditors Penalties for Injuring Guide Dogs 9. If a Dog Is Injured or Killed When Killing a Dog Is Justified Unjustified Injury to a Dog Dogs Hurt by Other Dogs If the Dog Owner Is at Fault, Too Compensating the Dog Owner If Your Dog Is Hurt or Killeed Lawsuits Claims Against the Government 10. Providing for Pets Why You Can't Leave Money to a Dog-And What Happens If You Try Strategies for Taking Care of Pets Arranging for Veterinary Care Will Provisions That Order Animals Destroyed 11. Dog Bites For Dog Owners: How to Prevent Injuries If You're Hurt by a Dog Dog Owner Liability A Dog Owner's Legal Defenses Who Is Liable: Owners and Keepers What the Dog Owner Must Pay For Liability Insurance Negotiating With the Owner or Insurance Company Bringing a Lawsuit A Small Claims Court Case Injury to Livestock 12. Dangerous Dogs Dangerous Dog Laws Criminal Penalties for Owners of Dangerous Dogs Breed-Specific Restrictions 13. Cruelty What to Do If You Suspect Mistreatment Cruelty and Neglect Organized Dog Fighting Scientific Research Killing Animals for Religion or Food Appendix 1 Legal Research Finding a Statute or Ordinance Finding a Case Background Research State, Local, and Agency Websites Appendix 2 State Statutes Dog-Bite Statutes Assistance Dogs: Access to Places of Public Accommodation Assistance Dog Access: Housing

"Gathers a wealth of information in a coherent, easy-to-follow format, answers many common questions, and offers numerous practical tips and suggestions."

 

"An interesting look at how the law affects dog owners and their relations with the community."

 

"Stresses ways to resolve conflicts without lawyers and the courts."

 

Mary Randolph earned her law degree from the Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California, Berkeley. She is the author of The Executor's Guide: Settling Your Loved One's Estate or Trust, 8 Ways to Avoid Probate, Dog Law, and Deeds for California Real Estate. She is also a coauthor of the legal manual for Quicken WillMaker Plus. She has been a guest on The Today Show and has been interviewed by many publications, including the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, and more. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her family. Products by Mary Randolph, J.D.: 8 Ways to Avoid Probate Deeds for California Real Estate Every Dog's Legal Guide: A Must-Have Book for Your Owner The Executor's Guide: Settling a Loved One's Estate or Trust The Wise Donor's Guide to Giving to Charity

 

Every Dog's Legal Guide by Mary Randolph
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