Reporting a Dog Bite in San Diego: A Complete Guide

If you were bitten by a dog in San Diego County, report the incident to the animal control agency that has jurisdiction where the bite happened. That is not always San Diego County Animal Services. Different cities use different animal control providers.

Reporting promptly serves two practical purposes. It starts the process for identifying and observing the dog for rabies, and it creates a contemporaneous record of the incident. That record may later help identify the dog and owner, locate witnesses, confirm licensing and vaccination information, and uncover prior bite or animal control reports.

If you need medical care, get it first. Then report the bite as soon as reasonably possible. In unincorporated San Diego County, County Code section 62.615 generally requires a known animal bite to be reported as soon as practicable, and treats a failure to report within 24 hours as a violation unless earlier reporting was impossible.

This guide covers who to call, what the investigation involves, how the 10-day quarantine works, and how the resulting record can matter later. For an overview of how these claims work in California, see our San Diego dog bite claims page.

Who to Call After a Dog Bite?

The correct agency depends on where the bite occurred.

• San Diego Humane Society, Humane Law Enforcement. Covers Carlsbad, Del Mar, El Cajon, Encinitas, Escondido, Imperial Beach, La Mesa, Oceanside, Poway, San Diego, San Marcos, Santee, Solana Beach, and Vista. Call 619-299-7012 and press 1, or email investigations@sdhumane.org. The line is staffed 24 hours a day.
• Chula Vista Animal Care and Control. Covers Chula Vista and Lemon Grove. Call 619-476-2476.
• Coronado Police Department. Covers Coronado. Call 619-522-7350.
• National City Animal Control. Covers National City. Call 619-336-4478. For an animal emergency, call Police Dispatch at 619-336-4411.
• San Diego County Department of Animal Services. Covers the unincorporated areas of the county. Call 619-767-2675, or the 24-hour animal emergency line at 619-236-2341.

San Diego Humane Society currently provides animal services to 14 San Diego County cities, which is why a bite in a city such as Encinitas or Oceanside does not go to County Animal Services.

Agency contracts can change. If you are not sure which agency covers the location, the County publishes a list of other local animal control agencies.

What to Include in Your Report?

Give the investigating agency as much accurate information as you can. Useful details include:

• The date, time, and exact location of the bite
• A description of the dog, including breed or type, size, color, and identifying features
• The dog owner’s or handler’s name and contact information, if known
• The names and contact information of witnesses
• A brief description of what happened before, during, and after the bite
• Photographs or video of the dog, injuries, scene, torn clothing, blood, damaged property, or an inadequate fence or gate
• Where you received medical treatment
• Any information you have about prior aggressive behavior or earlier incidents involving the same dog

Do not guess about facts you do not know. It is better to say that a detail is unknown than to put an inaccurate statement into the official record.

If you obtain additional photographs, witness information, or medical information after the initial report, ask the agency how to supplement the file.

Who Is Required to Report?

California and local rabies control rules require animal bites to be reported, but the specific reporting duties can depend on the jurisdiction.

Title 17, section 2606 of the California Code of Regulations requires notification of the local health officer when a person is bitten by an animal of a species subject to rabies in a declared rabies area. California has declared all 58 counties to be rabies areas.

San Diego County’s local rule is more specific. County Code section 62.615 requires notification by the person bitten, a parent or guardian of a bitten minor, a treating physician, an owner or custodian of the animal, and any other person who knows of the bite. Notification must be made as soon as practicable, and a failure to report within 24 hours is treated as a violation unless the person shows that reporting earlier was impossible.

Cities may use their own ordinances and procedures. The safest practical rule is simple: report the bite promptly to the agency responsible for the place where it occurred.

Should You File Your Own Report if the Hospital Already Reported It?

Yes. Emergency rooms and other medical providers frequently generate bite reports, but their focus is medical treatment. A provider’s report may not include the complete circumstances of the attack, witness information, photographs, property conditions, or everything you know about the dog and owner.

Filing your own report gives you an opportunity to make sure the investigating agency receives your account and the evidence you have preserved.

What Happens After Your Report?

Animal control typically follows up to identify the dog and owner, determine the animal’s license and rabies vaccination status, assess the circumstances of the bite, and decide how the required rabies observation will be handled.

The investigation may include statements from the victim, owner, witnesses, or others; photographs; licensing information; vaccination records; and a search for earlier incidents involving the same dog.

The scope of the investigation varies with the seriousness of the bite and the information available.

The 10-Day Dog Bite Quarantine

A dog that bites a person is generally subject to a 10-day rabies observation period beginning on the date of the bite, even if the dog is currently vaccinated against rabies.

San Diego County explains that the agency determines where and how the quarantine will occur. A dog involved in a first reported minor bite may be allowed to remain at home if it can be securely isolated. If safe confinement cannot be assured, animal control may require the dog to be held at a shelter or other approved facility.

The 10-day period matters because a dog that remains healthy through the observation period was not shedding rabies virus in its saliva at the time of the bite. If the animal cannot be located, becomes ill, or presents an unusual rabies risk, public health officials and the treating medical provider may make different recommendations.

Do not delay medical care while waiting for the animal control investigation. Dog bites can also cause serious bacterial infections, nerve or tendon injuries, scarring, and other complications. Our guide to dog bite infections and medical complications explains the risks that may require follow-up treatment.

The Animal Control Record

An animal control report can become an important part of the evidence in a dog bite claim, but its value is practical rather than automatic. Not every statement or conclusion in a government or agency file is admissible in court.

The record can still preserve information that would otherwise be lost, including:

• The identity of the dog and its owner or custodian
• Witness names and early statements
• Photographs and descriptions of the injuries or scene
• Licensing and vaccination information
• The location and circumstances of the bite
• Prior bite reports or animal control contacts involving the same dog
• Information about fencing, restraint, or other safety issues

Those details can lead to admissible evidence even when a particular statement in the report itself is disputed.

California’s dog bite statute does not require proof that the dog had bitten before. Under Civil Code section 3342, a dog owner is generally liable when the dog bites a person in a public place or while that person is lawfully on private property, regardless of whether the dog was previously vicious or the owner knew it was dangerous.

Our guide to California’s dog bite strict liability law explains the rule and its limits in more detail.

Significance of Prior Bites

Strict liability does not make prior incidents irrelevant.

Earlier bites, attacks, escape incidents, or complaints may help establish additional negligence theories, show that an owner knew the dog posed a danger, or become relevant to claims against a landlord or another person who had the ability to control the risk.

Animal control databases can also help link multiple incidents to the same dog when the owner is identified. This is one reason it is important to report even when the owner asks you to “handle it privately.”

For a deeper discussion, see proving liability in San Diego dog bite cases.

What's a Dangerous Dog Process?

A serious bite or a history of attacks can trigger a separate dangerous dog process.

San Diego County’s local framework uses the designations Public Nuisance Animal and Dangerous Dog. Under the County rules, a dog may qualify as dangerous if it attacks or bites two people within a 48-month period, or if a single attack or bite causes substantial injury or death.

The County may impose conditions intended to protect the public. Depending on the case, those conditions can include secure fencing, restraint, muzzling, microchipping, special registration, and liability insurance.

The 2023-2024 San Diego County Grand Jury report on dog bites found that a dog declared dangerous must be muzzled in public, display a dangerous dog tag, have warning signs at property entrances, and be backed by at least $100,000 in liability insurance. The Grand Jury also reported that dangerous dog hearings are relatively rare, and that bite victims are required to testify in the proceeding.

Local procedures are not identical throughout every city in San Diego County. The animal control agency handling the report can explain which ordinance and hearing procedure applies in that jurisdiction.

A bite is also legally different from an attack that causes injury without teeth breaking the skin. Our article on dog attacks versus dog bites under California law explains why the distinction can affect the legal theory.

How to Obtain the Animal Control Report

After the investigation has progressed, ask the agency that handled the bite how to request its incident or investigation records.

The procedure depends on the agency. Records held by a government agency may be available through a California Public Records Act request, subject to exemptions and redactions. San Diego Humane Society and other contracted providers may use their own records request procedures.

Ask specifically whether the agency has separate documents for the initial bite report, investigative notes, photographs, quarantine paperwork, prior incidents, and the quarantine release. Do not assume that receiving one document means you have received the entire file.

An attorney handling a serious dog bite case may also request related records from other sources, including prior animal control agencies, property owners, insurance carriers, medical providers, witnesses, and law enforcement.

Other Steps You Should Take

The animal control investigation addresses public health and animal control issues. It is not designed to build your personal injury case for you.

After a significant bite, preserve photographs of the wound as it changes, identify witnesses, save torn or bloodied clothing, follow your medical provider’s recommendations, and keep documents relating to medical treatment and missed work.

Our guide to the steps to take after a dog bite in San Diego covers the immediate evidence and medical issues in more detail.

Deadlines to Bring a Dog Bite Claim

For most adult personal injury claims, Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1 provides a two-year period to file a lawsuit.

Exceptions can change the deadline. Claims involving minors, public entities, delayed discovery, or other unusual circumstances may be governed by different rules.

The reporting deadline and the lawsuit deadline are separate. A late animal control report does not automatically eliminate an otherwise valid claim under Civil Code section 3342, but delay can make the facts harder to prove and evidence harder to preserve.

See our guide to the California personal injury statute of limitations for the major deadlines and exceptions.

Key Takeaways

After a dog bite in San Diego County:

1. Get appropriate medical care.
2. Report the bite promptly to the animal control agency with jurisdiction where the bite occurred.
3. File your own report even if a hospital or urgent care has already submitted one.
4. Provide accurate identifying information, photographs, and witness details.
5. Cooperate with the 10-day rabies observation process.
6. Ask how to obtain the investigation and quarantine records.
7. Preserve your own evidence rather than relying solely on the agency file.
8. If the injuries are serious, consider legal advice before evidence disappears or important deadlines approach.

Hulburt Law Firm

Hulburt Law Firm represents people and families facing serious injuries from dog bites and animal attacks, including cases involving surgery, permanent scarring, nerve damage, infection, emotional trauma, and injuries to children.

Conor Hulburt and Leslie Hulburt accept a limited number of serious injury cases so each one can receive direct attorney attention, careful investigation, and preparation for the insurance company or jury that may ultimately decide the claim.

If you would like us to review what happened, contact Hulburt Law Firm or call 619-821-0500 for a free, confidential case review.

Related Resources

• Children and Dog Bites: Legal Protections in San Diego
• Homeowner’s Insurance and Dog Bite Claims in San Diego
• Compensation for Dog Bite Victims in San Diego