Most Georgia dog bite pages will tell you that a leash-law violation proves the owner knew the dog was dangerous. That is true across most of Georgia — and it is not true in Macon. Macon-Bibb County repealed the sections of its code that contained a leash requirement in 2020, which closes the shortcut that carries ordinary dog bite cases everywhere else in the state. A Bibb County case has to be built differently, from day one.

Macon Dog Bite Lawyers

What this page covers

1. Georgia is not a strict liability state
2. Macon-Bibb has no leash law
3. How to prove knowledge without a leash law
4. The dangerous dog classification process
5. What to do after a bite in Macon
6. Who pays, and what the claim is worth
7. Courts, and getting help

Is Georgia a strict liability state for dog bites?

No — and in Macon that answer matters more than anywhere else in Georgia.

Many states impose strict liability: the dog bit someone, the owner pays, the dog’s history is irrelevant. Georgia does not work that way. O.C.G.A. § 51-2-7 provides that a person who owns or keeps a vicious or dangerous animal 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.

The words “vicious or dangerous” carry the weight. Georgia courts read the statute to require that the owner knew or should have known of the animal’s propensity to do the kind of harm it caused. That is the origin of the much-misunderstood “one bite rule” — the idea that every dog gets one free bite. As we will explain, that framing is wrong, but the underlying knowledge requirement is real.

The shortcut the statute provides

The second sentence of § 51-2-7 gives plaintiffs an evidentiary shortcut:

“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.”

Note that the statute expressly names a consolidated government — which Macon-Bibb County is. The legislature contemplated exactly this situation. In most Georgia counties this sentence does the entire job: prove the leash ordinance, prove the dog was loose, and the propensity element is satisfied without any evidence about the dog’s history.

And why it does not work in Bibb County

Because there is no such ordinance in Macon-Bibb County. The next section explains what happened. The short version is that the county repealed the relevant code sections in 2020, and the shortcut has nothing to attach to.

This is not a technicality. It is the difference between a case that is proved with one public record and a case that has to be investigated. Any Macon dog bite page that tells you a leash violation establishes liability is describing a legal landscape that stopped existing in February 2020.

Does Macon-Bibb County have a leash law?

No. This is the single most important fact about a Bibb County dog bite case, and it is stated wrongly almost everywhere.

An exhaustive search of the entire Macon-Bibb County Code Chapter 5 — the animal chapter, roughly 47,000 characters — finds the phrase “at large” zero times and the phrase “at heel” zero times. There is no running-at-large ordinance and no leash ordinance of general application.

What happened

The sections that once contained those provisions were repealed. The editor’s note in Article I of Chapter 5 records it plainly:

“Per Macon-Bibb County, the intent of § 5 of Ord. No. O-20-0013, adopted Feb. 18, 2020, was to repeal §§ 5-2—5-8, which pertained to the animal welfare department; regulations; definitions; impoundment; redemption of impounded animals; and impoundment and adoption fees.”

The code now reads “Secs. 5-2—5-9. – Reserved.” Municode reports the Macon-Bibb County code current through April 23, 2026.

What replaced it

The operative control provision is now § 5-12, “Care and control of licensed or permitted animals.” Subsection (b) requires the owner of any licensed or permitted animal to maintain control of it “at all times so as not to be a danger to the person or property of others,” and makes it a violation to allow the animal to:

• defecate on property other than the owner’s without immediate removal;
• chase moving vehicles including bicycles;
• molest, attack or interfere with persons in the use of the public rights-of-way; or
• otherwise act in a manner contrary to the public health, welfare or safety.

Fines under § 5-12(d) run $75 for a first offence, $150 for a second within a year, $225 for a third with a mandatory Municipal Court appearance, and $300 for a fourth, with a $5 education fee on every fine.

Read § 5-12 carefully, though. It applies by its terms to a “licensed or permitted animal.” That is narrower than a general leash requirement, and it is not obviously the kind of “required to be at heel or on a leash” ordinance that § 51-2-7 contemplates. Whether a § 5-12 violation can carry the statutory shortcut is an argument worth making in the right case — but it is an argument, not a given, and we would not build a case on the assumption that it wins.

The one real leash requirement

§ 5-30 does impose a leash requirement — but only on dogs already classified dangerous or vicious. A dangerous dog may not be off the owner’s property unless restrained by a leash no more than six feet long under the immediate physical control of someone capable of preventing it from engaging any human or animal, or contained in a closed and locked cage or crate. A vicious dog must additionally be muzzled, must be kept in a secure enclosure on the owner’s property, and may not be left unattended with minors.

So if the dog that bit you had already been classified, the § 51-2-7 shortcut is available — and it is available on strong facts, because a classified dog running loose is a plain violation. Finding out whether a classification exists is the first thing to do, and the next sections explain how.

How do you prove the owner knew, without a leash ordinance?

With evidence about the dog. This is where a Bibb County case is won, and it is why these cases need investigating rather than filing.

Steagald v. Eason — the case that matters most in Macon

Steagald v. Eason, 300 Ga. 717 (2017), is the Georgia Supreme Court decision that dismantles the “one free bite” idea. The Court held that an owner’s knowledge of a dog’s propensity can be established by conduct short of an actual bite — including prior snapping at people. The dog does not have to have bitten anyone before.

In a county with no leash ordinance, Steagald is not a supplement to the case. It is the case. What matters is whether the owner had reason to know this animal would do this kind of harm, and the evidence that answers it is scattered across records and people who are findable now and much harder to find in a year.

Where the evidence actually lives

Animal control and enforcement records. Prior complaints, prior investigations, prior bite reports, prior classification proceedings. In Macon-Bibb County these sit with Macon-Bibb County Animal Welfare, which operates as a division of the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office at 4214 Fulton Mill Road. This surprises people — animal control here is not a standalone county department and not a contracted nonprofit; it is staffed by public employees under the Sheriff.

Rabies-control bite-case files. Section 5-20(b) of the county code places on the rabies control officer the duty to keep “accurate and detailed records of all bite cases reported to the officer, and the investigation thereof.” Section 5-15 requires every physician or other practitioner to report the names and addresses of people treated for animal bites. Those records are a paper trail on a specific dog.

Neighbours. In practice this is the most productive source. Neighbours know which dog has lunged at the fence, which one has got out before, and who complained. They are also the people most likely to have said something to the owner — which converts “should have known” into “knew.”

The owner’s own conduct. A “Beware of Dog” sign, a reinforced fence, a muzzle, a habit of putting the dog away when visitors come, a warning given to a delivery driver. Each of these is an admission that the owner understood the risk.

Veterinary and boarding records, which sometimes carry behavioural notes or handling warnings. Social media, where owners post about their dog’s temperament with startling candour.

Getting the records

Use the Georgia Open Records Act, O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70 et seq. For animal enforcement files the custodian is the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office Open Records Unit at 111 Third Street, Macon, (478) 310-4360, which also runs an online public request portal.

One drafting point most pages get wrong: O.C.G.A. § 50-18-71 requires an agency to respond within three business days — by producing records, giving a timetable, or citing an exemption. It does not require production within three business days. Write “respond,” not “produce,” and set expectations accordingly.

One caution on the rabies files. Section 5-20 splits the record-keeping duty between the animal welfare department, now under the Sheriff, and the rabies control officer at the Macon-Bibb County Health Department, which is part of the state Department of Public Health’s North Central Health District. A request there may be processed as a state DPH request rather than a county one. Confirm the correct custodian by telephone before relying on a single route.

How does Macon-Bibb classify a dog as dangerous or vicious?

Article III of Chapter 5 sets out a full administrative process, and it tracks Georgia’s Responsible Dog Ownership Act, O.C.G.A. § 4-8-20 et seq., almost word for word. Knowing the procedure matters for two reasons: a classification already on file transforms your case, and a classification you initiate protects the next person.

The definitions

A dangerous dog under § 5-25 is one that causes a substantial puncture of a person’s skin by teeth without causing serious injury — a nip, scratch or abrasion is expressly not enough; or that aggressively attacks in a manner causing a person reasonably to believe it posed an imminent threat of serious injury, even where no injury occurs, though barking, growling and showing teeth are expressly not enough; or that, off the owner’s property, kills a pet animal.

A vicious dog is one that inflicts serious injury on a person, or causes serious injury resulting from reasonable attempts to escape the dog’s attack.

Serious injury is defined broadly: any physical injury creating a substantial risk of death; or resulting in death, broken or dislocated bones, lacerations requiring multiple sutures, or disfiguring avulsions; or requiring plastic surgery or hospital admission; or causing protracted impairment of health, including transmission of an infection or contagious disease, or impairment of the function of a bodily organ.

The procedure, step by step

1. Investigation. On a report, the dog control officer shall investigate. § 5-26(a)
2. Notice within 72 hours, in writing, by certified mail or statutory overnight delivery to the owner’s last known address. § 5-26(b)(1)
3. Fifteen days to demand a hearing, using a form the notice must include. § 5-26(b)(2)–(3)
4. Default: no timely request and the officer’s determination becomes effective for all purposes. § 5-26(b)(5)
5. The tribunal is the Macon-Bibb County Animal Welfare Appeal Board — a Georgia-licensed veterinarian practising in Macon-Bibb, a certified animal handler or trainer, a licensed health care provider, an at-large animal-welfare member resident in the county, and two at-large residents. Appointed by the Mayor with Commission approval, four-year terms; the Health Department Administrator serves as Secretary.
6. A $40 fee accompanies the hearing request, waivable on a showing of indigence. § 5-26(d)
7. Hearing within 30 days of the request, with at least 10 days’ written notice. The owner may testify and present evidence; the Board may sustain, modify or overrule. § 5-26(d)
8. Written decision within 10 days, with notice to the owner by certified mail or statutory overnight delivery within 7 days. § 5-26(e)
9. Judicial review lies in the Probate Court of Bibb County, under O.C.G.A. § 15-9-30.9. § 5-26(e)(3)

What classification triggers

Registration, a secure enclosure, and — under § 5-28(b) — clearly visible warning signs. The § 5-30 leash and muzzle restrictions above. Immediate confiscation for any violation of the article, under § 5-31(a). And under Georgia’s Responsible Dog Ownership Act, the owner of a dog classified vicious must carry $50,000 in insurance or a surety bond — which can be the only meaningful source of recovery where the owner has no homeowner’s policy.

Section 5-32 makes clear that a violation of the article is a county code violation “in addition to penalties imposed by state law.”

Two limits worth knowing

O.C.G.A. § 4-8-21(b) excludes classification where the dog was being used by a law enforcement or military officer in official duties, and where the injured person was committing a trespass, was abusing the dog, or was committing or attempting a criminal offence. Expect a defendant to reach for all three.

What should you do after a dog bite in Macon?

Get medical care, and get it early. Dog bites are puncture wounds and they infect. Pasteurella and other organisms are seeded deep by canine teeth, and a wound that looks trivial on the day can require debridement a week later. Emergency departments in Macon will also assess rabies and tetanus risk. Beyond the medicine, the record created that day is the record that proves the injury.

Report the bite to Animal Enforcement. Macon-Bibb County Animal Services, a division of the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office, gives its own instruction: for a bite, call Animal Enforcement at (478) 621-6791; after hours (478) 751-7500; in an emergency, 911. For a wild animal bite, call 911. Reporting does two things: it starts the ten-day quarantine that protects you medically, and it creates the record that proves the owner was on notice for the next person.

Understand the quarantine. Section 5-14(a) requires that every animal which bites a person be promptly reported to the rabies control officer and securely quarantined for ten days, released only by written permission. At the officer’s discretion the quarantine may be at the owner’s premises, at the county shelter, or at a veterinary hospital of the owner’s choice at the owner’s expense. Stray animals and animals of unknown ownership are quarantined at the county shelter.

Identify the dog and the owner. Name, address, phone number, and a description of the dog. If the dog is a stray or the owner will not identify themselves, the animal enforcement report becomes essential.

Photograph the wound before it is dressed, and photograph it again at intervals as it heals. Scarring cases are proved with photographs taken over time, not with a single picture.

Photograph the property. The fence and its condition, the gate and whether it latches, any warning sign, where the dog was confined, and where the attack happened relative to the boundary. Whether you were lawfully where you were is going to be litigated.

Get witness names. Neighbours especially — they are the people who know the dog’s history, and their knowledge is the case in a county with no leash ordinance.

Keep the clothing, unwashed, if it was torn or bloodied.

Do not accept a quick payment from the owner. Bite injuries are frequently worse than they look on day three, infection and scarring both develop, and a release signed early ends the claim permanently. Nor should you assume the owner personally will be paying — see below.

Say nothing recorded to the owner’s insurer. You are not required to give a recorded statement, and the questions are designed around provocation and trespass.

Who pays a Macon dog bite claim, and what is it worth?

Almost never the owner personally. In most cases the money comes from a homeowner’s or renter’s liability policy, which typically covers dog bites subject to breed exclusions, prior-bite exclusions and the policy limit. People are often reluctant to bring a claim against a neighbour or a friend. It helps to understand that what you are really making a claim against is an insurance policy that exists precisely for this.

Other sources

A landlord may be liable where they knew a tenant kept a dangerous animal and had the power to require its removal. A business is liable for a dog it keeps on its premises. Under Georgia’s Responsible Dog Ownership Act, the owner of a dog classified vicious must carry $50,000 in insurance or a surety bond — which is sometimes the only recovery available. And where the owner has no policy at all, an umbrella policy or a resident relative’s coverage occasionally responds.

What the claim is built from

Medical expenses, including the emergency visit, wound care, infection treatment, and reconstructive or plastic surgery, which in facial bite cases is frequently staged over years. Future care, particularly scar revision. Lost income.

Non-economic damages — pain, suffering and, in dog bite cases specifically, disfigurement. Georgia imposes no cap on non-economic damages in ordinary negligence, following Atlanta Oculoplastic Surgery v. Nestlehutt, 286 Ga. 731 (2010). Permanent facial scarring on a child is one of the few injuries where the non-economic component reliably exceeds the medical bills, and it should be documented with serial photography and, where appropriate, a plastic surgeon’s opinion on what revision can and cannot achieve.

Psychological injury is real and it is compensable. Children bitten by dogs frequently develop lasting anxiety around animals, sleep disturbance and avoidance behaviours. Treat it as a documented injury with a treating clinician, not as an afterthought in the demand letter.

Punitive damages are available where the conduct shows wilful misconduct or conscious indifference — an owner who let a previously classified dog run loose is the paradigm case. The cap is $250,000 under O.C.G.A. § 51-12-5.1.

What subtracts

Provocation is written into § 51-2-7 itself: the statute protects a person “who does not provoke the injury by his own act.” Expect the defence to raise it, and expect it to be raised against children, where it rarely succeeds. Trespass is the other standard defence, and O.C.G.A. § 4-8-21(b) supports it. And Georgia’s 50 percent bar under § 51-12-33 applies here as everywhere: at 50 percent or more of the fault, you recover nothing.

The deadline

Two years under O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33. A child’s own claim is tolled to age 18 under § 9-3-90, so a five-year-old bitten today generally has until twenty — but the parents’ claim for that child’s medical bills is not tolled and expires at two years. In dog bite cases, where the injured person is so often a child, that split deadline costs families the medical-expense claim more often than any other mistake.

Which court hears a Macon dog bite case?

The State Court of Bibb County or the Superior Court of Bibb County, both at 601 Mulberry Street. Jurisdiction is concurrent and neither has a monetary ceiling — O.C.G.A. § 15-7-4(a)(2) gives state courts jurisdiction over civil actions “without regard to the amount in controversy.” Magistrate Court is capped at $15,000 by § 15-10-2(a)(5) and is a no-jury small-claims forum; a serious bite case with reconstructive surgery does not belong there.

State Court has two judges, Chief Judge Jeff Hanson and Judge Sharell F. Lewis, with mandatory civil e-filing through PeachCourt in most cases. Superior Court sits in the Macon Judicial Circuit — Bibb, Crawford and Peach Counties. The dividing line between the two is equity, not money: O.C.G.A. § 23-1-1 puts equitable jurisdiction in the superior courts.

Separately, judicial review of a dangerous or vicious dog classification goes to the Probate Court of Bibb County under O.C.G.A. § 15-9-30.9 — a different court from the one that hears your damages claim, and a proceeding that can run in parallel.

Where the dog bite happened matters too

If you were bitten on government property — a county park, a housing authority property, a school — an ante litem notice is required and the window is measured in months, not years. Macon-Bibb County is a consolidated government, which makes the notice analysis unusual enough that it needs a lawyer’s attention in the first weeks. If you were bitten at Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park or on Robins Air Force Base, the Federal Tort Claims Act applies instead, with a two-year deadline that runs to written presentment to the agency rather than to filing.

One codified error, in case you go looking

Section 5-29 of the Macon-Bibb County Code cites “O.C.G.A. § 5-8-27” for the thirty-day registration requirement applying to owners moving into the state. There is no such provision. The correct citation is O.C.G.A. § 4-8-27. It is a typographical error in the codified text, and it is worth knowing about before you spend an afternoon looking for a statute that does not exist.

Talk to us

Macon dog bite cases take more investigation than they do in the rest of Georgia, because the shortcut that carries them elsewhere is not available here. That investigation is most productive in the first weeks, while neighbours remember, records are fresh and the animal enforcement file is being created. If you or your child has been bitten in Bibb County, call early.

Consultations are free and we work on contingency — no fee unless we recover. Call 901-300-5001 at any hour. Other Macon pages: Macon personal injury overview, car accidents, truck accidents, motorcycle accidents and premises liability.

Macon dog bite claims: frequently asked questions

Does Macon-Bibb County have a leash law?

No. The sections of the Macon-Bibb County Code that governed animals at large were repealed by Ordinance No. O-20-0013, adopted February 18, 2020, and the phrases “at large” and “at heel” appear nowhere in Chapter 5. The code now reads “Secs. 5-2—5-9. – Reserved.” The only leash requirement in the chapter is § 5-30, which applies to dogs already classified dangerous or vicious and requires a leash no longer than six feet.

Why does the missing leash law matter to my claim?

Because O.C.G.A. § 51-2-7 provides that a violation of a leash ordinance is sufficient to prove a dog’s vicious propensity, and the statute expressly names consolidated governments. In most Georgia counties that shortcut does the entire job. In Bibb County there is no ordinance for it to attach to, so an ordinary loose-dog case must instead be proved with evidence that the owner knew or should have known the dog was dangerous.

Is Georgia a strict liability state for dog bites?

No. O.C.G.A. § 51-2-7 requires that the owner kept a vicious or dangerous animal and, by careless management or by allowing it to go at liberty, caused injury to someone who did not provoke it. Georgia courts read that to require the owner knew or should have known of the animal’s propensity. Georgia is a knowledge state, not a strict liability state.

Does the dog get one free bite in Georgia?

No, and Steagald v. Eason, 300 Ga. 717 (2017), is the case that says so. The Georgia Supreme Court held that an owner’s knowledge of a dog’s dangerous propensity can be established by conduct short of an actual bite, including prior snapping at people. The dog does not have to have bitten anyone before. In Bibb County, where the leash-ordinance shortcut is unavailable, Steagald is the centre of the case.

How do I prove the owner knew the dog was dangerous?

Through records and people. Animal enforcement complaints and prior investigations held by the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office; rabies-control bite-case files, which § 5-20(b) of the county code requires the rabies control officer to keep; neighbours, who usually know the dog’s history and often complained to the owner; the owner’s own conduct, such as a warning sign, a reinforced fence, a muzzle or a habit of shutting the dog away; and veterinary or boarding records carrying behavioural notes.

Who do I report a Macon dog bite to?

Macon-Bibb County Animal Services, which operates as a division of the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office at 4214 Fulton Mill Road. The agency’s own instruction is to call Animal Enforcement at (478) 621-6791, after hours (478) 751-7500, or 911 in an emergency — and to call 911 for a wild animal bite. Reporting starts the ten-day quarantine required by § 5-14(a) and creates the record that establishes notice for the future.

How do I get the animal control file on the dog that bit me?

Through a Georgia Open Records Act request under O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70 et seq. Because animal services sits under the Sheriff, the custodian for enforcement files is the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office Open Records Unit at 111 Third Street, (478) 310-4360, which also runs an online request portal. Note that O.C.G.A. § 50-18-71 requires an agency to respond within three business days — by producing, giving a timetable, or citing an exemption — not to produce within three business days.

What makes a dog “dangerous” or “vicious” in Macon-Bibb County?

Under § 5-25, a dangerous dog is one that causes a substantial puncture of a person’s skin by teeth without serious injury (a nip, scratch or abrasion is not enough), or aggressively attacks so as to make someone reasonably fear imminent serious injury even without injury (barking, growling and showing teeth are not enough), or kills a pet animal while off the owner’s property. A vicious dog is one that inflicts serious injury on a person. These track O.C.G.A. § 4-8-21 almost word for word.

How does the classification hearing work?

The dog control officer must investigate and give the owner written notice within 72 hours by certified mail. The owner has 15 days to demand a hearing, with a $40 fee that is waivable for indigence. The hearing is before the Macon-Bibb County Animal Welfare Appeal Board within 30 days, on at least 10 days’ notice; the Board may sustain, modify or overrule, and must issue a written decision within 10 days. Judicial review lies in the Probate Court of Bibb County under O.C.G.A. § 15-9-30.9.

Who actually pays a dog bite claim?

Usually a homeowner’s or renter’s liability policy, subject to breed exclusions, prior-bite exclusions and the policy limit. A landlord may be liable where they knew a tenant kept a dangerous animal and could have required its removal. Under Georgia’s Responsible Dog Ownership Act, the owner of a dog classified vicious must carry $50,000 in insurance or a surety bond, which is sometimes the only available recovery. You are usually claiming against a policy, not against a neighbour’s savings.

My child was bitten. What is the deadline?

Two claims with two deadlines. The child’s own claim for pain, suffering and disfigurement is tolled under O.C.G.A. § 9-3-90 until they turn 18, so a five-year-old generally has until age twenty. But the parents’ separate claim for the medical bills they paid is not tolled and expires two years after the bite. Families lose the medical-expense claim on this point regularly, and in dog bite cases — where the injured person is so often a child — it is the most common expensive mistake.

What does it cost to hire a Macon dog bite lawyer?

Nothing up front. We work on a contingency fee — a percentage of what we recover, with no fee if there is no recovery — and the firm advances case expenses. The terms are in a written agreement before anything begins. Because Bibb County has no leash ordinance, these cases take more investigation than they do elsewhere in Georgia and the investigation is most productive early. Southern Injury Attorneys does not maintain an office in Macon; our only Georgia office is in Atlanta.

This page is legal information, not legal advice, and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Statutes, ordinances and case law change; every case turns on its own facts, and the Macon-Bibb County Code is amended from time to time. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Responsible attorney: Larry “Jimmy” Peters, Georgia Bar No. 936535. Southern Injury Attorneys does not maintain an office in Macon; our only Georgia office is in Atlanta, and Bibb County matters are handled from there and from our Memphis headquarters.