If someone else lets the dog out, is the owner still liable?

Q: Is a dog owner liable if a third person releases the animal?

Georgia's statute turns on the owner's own careless management or allowing the animal to go at liberty. An animal released by someone else against the owner's instruction is a different case from one the owner let loose, though what the owner knew and arranged can still matter.

Q: Does keeping a dog crated protect the owner?

Securing an animal so it cannot release itself goes directly to whether the owner allowed it to go at liberty. It is not an absolute answer, because careless management can include the arrangements an owner made knowing others would be present.

Q: Do homeowner's policies cover dog bites?

Many do, but a significant number exclude particular breeds or exclude an animal with a known bite history. The exclusions are worth checking before an incident rather than after one.

Question

We keep an aggressive dog crated, and he cannot get out unless someone undoes the latches. A relative wants to bring children to the house at a time when we will not be there. If he opens the crate while we are away and a child is bitten, would we be liable?

A. Jason Velez · Accepted Answer

Georgia's dog-bite statute turns on the owner's own conduct, so who opened the crate matters. O.C.G.A. § 51-2-7 sets out what has to be shown: A person who owns or keeps a vicious or dangerous animal of any kind and who, by careless management or by allowing the animal to go at liberty, causes injury to another person who does not provoke the injury by his own act may be liable in damages to the person so injured. In proving vicious propensity, it shall be sufficient to show that the animal was required to be at heel or on a leash by an ordinance of a city, county, or consolidated government, and the said animal was at the time of the occurrence not at heel or on a leash. The phrase to focus on is by careless management or by allowing the animal to go at liberty. An owner who crates a dog that cannot release itself has not allowed it to go at liberty; a third person who undoes the latches has. That does not end the question — careless management can include what an owner knew and did about who would be in the house — but it is the right frame. Knowing that visitors are expected, and that children may be among them, is the part that moves the risk. The safer course is to remove the possibility rather than rely on the latch. ## What you can do 1. Do not leave the dog in the house at a time when someone may enter unsupervised. 2. Board the dog, or keep it with you, on any day visitors are expected while you are away. 3. Say clearly and in writing that no one is to open the crate, and that visitors are not authorized in your absence. 4. Check your homeowner's policy for a dog exclusion or a breed restriction before you need it. 5. Speak to a Georgia attorney if a bite does happen, before discussing it with anyone's insurer. ⏱ Time limits apply. O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33 requires actions for injuries to the person to be brought within two years after the right of action accrues. Waiting also costs evidence — footage is overwritten and memories fade — so the practical deadline is usually much earlier than the legal one. A Georgia attorney can tell you quickly how the facts here line up, and most will look at a matter like this at no cost.

If someone else lets the dog out, is the owner still liable?

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