Ask an Attorney: Legal advice from a canine’s perspective

This column will appear monthly in this newspaper as a public service. It is not intended as legal advice, and will address only general propositions. If you have a question about a matter which affects you, you should contact an attorney.

Attorney Andrew Heideman is spending the holidays in Nebraska with his family and he has asked his dog, Kenzie, to write the column this month.

Dear Attorney’s Dog:

Q. I loathe my mom’s no-account boyfriend. He has no job, wreaks of bourbon whiskey and cheap cigars, and is constantly monopolizing her time. I suspect his behavior is the result of improper breeding. I think I’d like to bite him, but do not want my mom to get in trouble. What are the possible consequences if I were to live out my dream and bite this usurper on the knee?

Signed: Local Dog (name withheld).

A: Your owner could face both civil or criminal consequences for your actions. Under Arizona Revised Statutes 11-1025, if a dog that bites a person when the person is in or on a public place or lawfully in or on a private place, including the property of the owner, the owner could be liable for the damages suffered by the person bitten.

This is true whether or not the owner has any knowledge of the viciousness of the dog. Dogs do not get “one free bite” in Arizona.

The only defense to the statute is proof that the injured party provoked the dog.

The issue of provocation has not been explored by the courts in Arizona, and dogs and people may have different ideas about what constitutes provocation. However, it is probably safe to assume that it would be difficult to show provocation sufficient to justify a harmful biting.

Under Arizona Revised Statutes 11-1020, a dog owner is also responsible for any injuries to a person or damage to any property by its dog while at large, meaning neither confined by an enclosure nor physically restrained by a leash.

Those statues cover the civil liability.

Arizona Revised Statutes 13-1208 makes a person who owns a dog that the owner knows or has reason to know has propensity to attack, to cause injury or otherwise endanger the safety of human beings without provocation, or that has been found to be a vicious animal by a court, and which bites, inflicts physical injury on or attacks a human being while at large, guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. Such a misdemeanor could result in jail time (for the owner).

Bottom line — do not bite the fellow. If you absolutely can’t help yourself, at least make sure that your owner’s homeowner’s insurance covers liability for your actions. And don’t say that you were not warned by an attorney’s dog.

Dear Attorney’s Dog:

Q. Whenever I am out on a walk with my dad, and I, Ahem, do my business, dad always picks it up with a plastic bag and carries it around until he finds a garbage receptacle. I’m not sure why he does this and I find it embarrassing for a man of his status and reputation. Why can’t he just leave it there? It seems like it would be good fertilizer.

Signed: Spot.

A. Untreated dog waste can be a source of harmful bacteria and nutrients, and can carry disease-causing organisms such as e-coli, cryptosporidium, giardia and salmonella. Unattended pet waste could potentially pose a disease risk to children, adults, or to other pets.

Not only that, but it is against the law to not clean up after your dog, as set forth in the Pima County Code.

As a practical matter, it is just good policy to clean up after dogs. There are people out there who understandably get upset by stepping in/having to step around dog waste. This increases animosity some have toward dogs, and could lead to more restrictive rules for dogs.

Such rules might inhibit our plan to take over the world. Wait; I fear I have said too much...

Attorney Heideman will be returning next month. You may e-mail questions to him or to his dog at aheideman@duffieldlaw.com.