What to do if a dog bites?

Statement of the bite to the mayor

As the owner of the dog, you must report the bite to the town hall of your municipality of residence.

If your dog is under the care and supervision of another person, that person must make the declaration to the town hall of his municipality of residence.

Any professional who has knowledge of the event in the performance of his duties (doctor, veterinarian, insurer...) can also make this declaration.

Health surveillance of the dog

You must have your dog monitored by a veterinary health officer to check that it does not carry the rabies virus.

The list of veterinarians with the health authorization in your department is available on the website of your prefecture or on request from the departmental directorate for population protection.

You must subject your dog to this health surveillance whether or not he is vaccinated against rabies.

This monitoring consists of 3 visits to the same veterinarian over a period of 15 days:

• The 1^re visit should be done within 24 hours of the bite
• The second^e The visit should be made no later than 7 days after the bite
• The 3^e should be done on 15^e day after the bite.

In the absence of symptoms leading to a suspicion of rabies, the veterinarian shall establish, after each of the first two visits, a provisional certificate that your dog shows no suspicious signs of rabies.

After 3^e visit, the veterinarian writes a final certificate stating that your dog did not at any time show any symptoms that might suggest rabies.

The veterinarian shall draw up each certificate in 5 copies. 3 copies are provided. You have to give 1 to the person who's bitten and 1 to the city hall.

During the monitoring periodHowever, you may not sell or give away your dog, have it vaccinated against rabies, slaughter it or have it slaughtered without the authorization of the veterinarian.

During the surveillance period, if any signs of disease occur or if your dog dies, you must take your dog or its remains to the veterinarian without delay.

If your dog escapes and disappears, you must also immediately inform the veterinarian.

If rabies is suspected, your animal is kept under observation and strictly isolated, unless this would justify its immediate slaughter.

If your dog is found to be carrying the rabies virus, it is shot.

Behavioral assessment of the dog

You, or the keeper under whose custody your dog is, must submit the animal to a behavioral assessment by a veterinarian selected from a departmental list drawn up by the National Council of the Veterinary College.

The expense of this assessment are at your expense, as owner of the dog.

Behavioral evaluation should be done during the period of health surveillance.

The list of competent veterinarians is available on the website of the National Council of the Veterinary College.

The purpose of the behavioral assessment is to assess the potential danger your dog may pose.

There are 4 levels of danger. The veterinarian classifies your dog at one of these 4 levels. And, depending on the level of danger your dog is classified in, you may or may not need to renew the behavioral assessment within a certain time frame:

Depending on the classification level of your dog, the veterinarian offers preventive measures with the aim of reducing its dangerousness.

The veterinarian also formulates recommendations in order to limit contact with certain persons and risk situations.

The veterinarian communicates the results of the behavioral assessment to your city hall.

Following that assessment, the mayor may order you to take training on canine education and behavior and accident prevention.

This training leads to a certificate of fitness to keep a dog.

The duration of this training is one day. It includes a theoretical part on dog knowledge, the relationship between the handler and the dog, aggressive behavior and its prevention. This training also includes a practical part consisting of demonstrations and scenarios.

Training costs are at your expense.

If you don't meet these obligations, the mayor can order that your dog be impounded.

It may, in the case of serious and immediate danger and after a veterinarian has given his opinion, have him euthanized.

As the owner or keeper of the dog at the event, you are civilly liable for the damage caused by the animal, i.e. you must to compensate the victim for the damage that she suffered.

You must make an immediate claim with your home insurer.

When declaring an accident, you must specify the circumstances of the event: date, place, contact details of the victim and witnesses.

Your insurer compensates the victim for the consequences of the bite.

If it is established that the victim has committed a mistake which caused the attack on the animal, your responsibility is not questioned.

If you're not insured, the victim can to bring proceedings before the court of justice competent to make good personal injuries.

If the accident was due to your negligence, the victim may complain.

If the victim deceased you can be prosecuted for the bite. Such aggression may constitute a manslaughter.

The public prosecutor may decide to sue you. If he decides that a trial must take place, he takes place before the correctional court.

You could face up to 5 years in prison and €75,000 of fine.

The penalties are increased to 7 years' imprisonment and €100,000 fines in the following cases:

• Ownership or detention of the dog was prohibited by law or a court order
• You were clearly intoxicated or under the clear influence of narcotics
• The dog is a 1st or 2nd category dog and you don't have the training to be able to hold such a dog
• The dog is a dog of 1^re or 2^e category and you don't have a detention permit
• The dog of 1^re or 2^e category was in a public place and was not muzzled or leashed by an adult
• The dog was abused by you
• Vaccination of the dog against rabies is not up to date (when mandatory).

The penalties are increased to 10 years' imprisonment and €150,000 a fine where at least 2 of those circumstances were present when the manslaughter occurred.