Developments in dangerous dog law
From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 2004:
DENVER–Colorado Governor Bill Owens on April 21, 2004
signed into law a bill which allows dog attack victims to sue the
legal owners of the dogs “regardless of the viciousness or dangerous
propensities of the dog or the dog owner’s knowledge of those
tendencies,” but prohibits breed-specific municipal ordinances.
Previously Colorado operated under the “one free bite”
standard established in English Common Law, holding that a dog may
not be considered dangerous if the dog had not previously attacked
someone.
Recognizing that the “one free bite” standard is of little
practical use in trying to prevent harm by dogs whose first bite may
be fatal, several states have recently tried to introduce stricter
liability standards.
However, the New York state Court of Appeals in February
2004 ruled in a 4-2 split verdict that a Rottweiler mix who facially
disfigured Matthew Collier, 12, in 1998 could not have been
considered a potentially dangerous dog, even though the dog was
normally kept away from visitors, because the dog had not previously
bitten anyone. The dog attacked Collier while held on a leash by
owner Mary Zambito, who was attempting to introduce the dog to the
boy.