Responsibilities of a dog owner

DearPAO, My daughter received a dog from her class mate last week. I am thinking of returning the dog to my daughter’ s class mate my daughter will be responsible of the dog. I want to make sure that our dog will not cause any harm or damage to our neighbors. Do we have a law providing for the responsibilities to the safety of third persons?

Rafael Dear Rafael,

To answer your question, we shall refer to the provisions of Republic Act 9842 or the “AntiRabies Act of 2007”: “Sec. 5. Responsibilities of

Pet Owner. - All Pet Owners shall be required to:

“(a) Have their Dog regularly vaccinated against Rabies and maintain a registration card which shall contain all vaccinations conducted on their Dog, for accurate record purposes.

“( b) Submit their Dog for mandatory registration.

“(c) Maintain control over their Dog and not allow it to roam the streets or any Public Place without a leash.

“(d) Be a responsible Owner by providing their Dog with proper grooming, adequate food and clean shelter.

“( e) Within twenty- four ( 24) hours, report immediately any Dog biting incident to the Concerned Officials for investigation or for any appropriate action and place such Dog under observation

by a government or private veterinarian.

“(f) Assist the Dog bite victim immediately and shoulder the medical expenses incurred and other incidental expenses relative to the victim’s injuries.” (Emphases supplied) Applying the aforementioned law in your situation, you as a responsible pet owner should provide your dog with proper grooming, adequate food and clean shelter. You must likewise maintain control over your dog by not allowing it to roam the streets or any public place without a leash. Furthermore, you will have to assist your dog bite victim immediately and shoulder the medical expenses incurred and other incidental expenses relative to the victim’s injuries.

This opinion is solely based on the facts you have narrated and our appreciation of the same. The opinion may vary when the facts are changed or further elaborated. We hope that we were able to enlighten you on the matter.

Editor’snote:DearPAOisa dailycolumnofthePublic Attorney’sOffice.Questions forChiefAcostamaybesent todearpao@manilatimes.net.