Animal Control Issues in St. Johns County 

St. Johns County Animal Control is located in beautiful, historic St. Augustine, Florida. The department handles all sorts of animal-related issues. St. Johns animal control does everything from pet adoption to leash laws. 

Animal control in St. Johns county also handles injuries from dogs. Unfortunately, there are millions of dog bites every year. Dogs make great companions, but at the end of the day, they're animals, with animal instincts and a powerful predator's bite. If you've been bitten by a dog in St. Johns county, animal control needs a report. You can also consider asking the owner for damages. DoNotPay can take care of both.

About St. Johns Animal Control 

St. Johns Animal Control offers a variety of services, including but not limited to:

• Pet adoption
• Enforcement of leash laws and ordinances
• Reuniting lost pets with their owners
• Trap and contain animals that are sick, lost, stray, or dangerous
• Control rabies concerns in the county
• Enforcement of county breed requirements

Animal control officers are there to take care of dangerous animals, including animals that bite or harm a human. They're also there to help animals in need. Animals who are being abused or neglected fall under the purview of St. Johns Animal Control, and may be confiscated from their owner.

Getting in Touch with St. Johns Animal Control 

There are a few ways to get in touch with St. Johns County Animal Control.

1. Call. The St. Johns Animal Control number can be found on the website
2. Visit. If you want to adopt a pet, visit the pet center on N. Stratton road in St. Augustine. To make a bite report, calling is better. St. Johns County Animal Control Officers are out about seven days a week. If you stop by the animal control office, you may miss them. 

If there's an animal-related emergency outside of business hours, try calling the on-call Animal Control Officer at (904) 209-0746. Bite victims can also consider calling 911, or the local police station. Dog bites are serious and should be seen by a medical professional. Even if you feel the bite doesn't require stitches, a doctor may still prescribe prophylactic antibiotics to ward off infection. Here’s some info on how to contact animal control in St Johns.

St. Johns Dog Bite Laws

Animal Control officers in St. Johns are in charge of collecting dangerous animals. But what constitutes a dangerous animal in St. Johns? That is determined by the dog bite laws.

Dangerous Animals

According to section 22 of ordinance 2017-36, a dangerous animal is:

• The animal bit someone "aggressively"
• The animal injured or killed another animal more than once
• The animal has been trained to fight
• The animal aggressively chased someone without provocation, in public

If you were injured by an animal that meets one or more of these criteria, contact animal control. They'll take a report, and might collect the animal to determine its dangerousness. In some cases, the animal may be put to sleep. This only happens after a hearing. The owner will have an opportunity to appeal, and the animal will not be put to sleep while appeals are ongoing.

Owner Liability 

If you've been bitten by a dog or another animal, seek medical attention. Animals carry bacteria on their claws and in their mouths. Even superficial injuries can easily become infected. In Florida, the owner is liable for any medical bills you incur.

According to For The Injured, Florida holds owners liable for any injury their pets cause. It doesn't matter if the owner was negligent or not. Just being injured by an animal is enough for you to seek damages for your injuries.

It also doesn't matter if the dog was previously declared dangerous or not. Owners are still responsible for everything their dogs do, even if they didn't know the dog was aggressive beforehand. 

If you have been bitten by a dog, and want to seek compensation from the owner, a demand letter is the first step. This letter will tell the owner about your injuries, and let them know you are serious about compensation. 

If you want to send a demand letter or report a dangerous animal, DoNotPay has you covered.

Report an Animal-Related Injury with DoNotPay

If you want to report an animal-related injury but don't know where to start, DoNotPay has you covered in 3 easy steps:

1. Search "animal" on DoNotPay, find the Animal Control product, and select whether you've sustained a physical injury.

    

2. Select whether you would like to report this incident to your local government agency, or demand compensation from the pet owner.

    

3. Tell us more about the incident, including when and where you were injured, a description of the animal that caused the injury, and the contact information for the pet owner (if known).

    

And that's it! DoNotPay will file the demand letter or government report on your behalf with your incident details! You should hear back from them directly with further questions/confirmation regarding your demands.

DoNotPay is fast, easy, and successful. You can report your injury to the local animal control quickly and from the comfort of your computer. Save yourself the trauma of a difficult in-person report. Tell DoNotPay about what happened, and they'll take care of the rest.