Connecticut Dog Bite Law

How dog bite liability works in Connecticut

Connecticut's dog statute is old, with annotated decisions reaching back to the early 1900s, and the courts treat it as true strict liability¹. Section 22-357 does not ask whether the dog had bitten before or whether the owner was careless¹². It also reaches more than bites: the official annotations list a dog that frightened a man into a fall, a dog that ran in front of a car, and an exuberant unleashed dog that knocked a woman down¹. A dog's merely passive behavior is not enough, though; a claim based only on possible rabies exposure failed in 2012¹.

The statute names the owner and the "keeper", meaning anyone other than the owner who harbors or possesses the dog³. Public Act 24-108 confirmed in 2024 that the owner, the keeper, "or both" can be liable¹. A landlord or employer who merely allows a dog on its property is not a keeper (Auster v. Norwalk United Methodist Church, 286 Conn. 152 (2008))⁴. Such defendants can still be sued in ordinary negligence if they knew the dog was dangerous and failed to act⁸.

Two features catch families out. Connecticut does not pause the limitations period for a child: the negligence statute "provides no exceptions for minors" according to the official annotations⁶. And the parental immunity doctrine bars a child's statutory claim against the child's own parent¹. A child under seven, on the other hand, gets a presumption that they were not trespassing or teasing the dog, so the owner must prove otherwise¹.

The wording is close to the Massachusetts statute, down to the under-seven presumption. Across the border in New York, most bite victims must still prove the owner knew the dog was dangerous. See all states compared.

The Connecticut dog bite statute

If any dog does any damage to the body or property of any person, the owner, keeper, or both are liable for the amount of that damage¹. If the owner or keeper is a minor, the parent or guardian is liable¹. There is no exception for a dog with a clean record and no need to prove negligence². Liability does not attach if the injured person was committing a trespass or other tort, or teasing, tormenting or abusing the dog; a child under seven is presumed not to have done so¹.

• Law: Conn. Gen. Stat. § 22-357 (Damage by dogs to person or property); last changed 2024 (P.A. 24-108: "owner, keeper, or both"; P.A. 24-18: service animal training costs)
• Injuries covered: Any injury the dog causes (bites, knock-downs, chases)
• Where: Anywhere
• Who is liable: The owner, or a keeper or harborer
• Damages: All damages, under the ordinary rules

Other ways to prove liability

Alongside the statute, Connecticut keeps the common-law claim: an owner or harborer who knew or should have known of a dog's vicious propensity must restrain it, and failure to do so is negligence²⁸. The common-law route matters when the defendant is not the owner or keeper, such as a landlord or a church that only allowed the dog on its property⁴⁸. A violation of the roaming-at-large statute, § 22-364, can support a negligence count against the person who let the dog loose¹⁸. Plaintiffs often plead both counts; the statutory count avoids any need to prove knowledge².

Defenses owners raise

Trespassing

No recovery under § 22-357 for a person committing a trespass when injured¹. The Supreme Court has read this to require more than a mere technical entry onto land, and the annotations add that a casual trespass is not enough¹².

Provocation

No recovery for a person who was "teasing, tormenting or abusing" the dog¹. Friendly play and petting do not count; the Supreme Court held that a two-and-a-half-year-old who threw a rubber bone for a dog was not teasing it¹².

Committing a crime

The statute also bars a person who was committing an "other tort" at the time, which courts read as an intent to commit an injurious act¹. Careless driving that led to an accident with a dog was held not to be such a tort¹.

Police dogs

When a police dog lives with its handler, a household member of the officer is presumed not to be its keeper; the injured person must prove that the household member was a keeper with exclusive control¹. Bite claims against the agency itself raise governmental immunity questions, and the Appellate Court has held that § 52-557n does not open towns to strict liability¹.

Other defense

The injured person was the keeper. A person who takes custody of someone else's dog becomes its keeper and cannot recover under the statute; the Appellate Court applied this in 2023 to a plaintiff who agreed to take a dog along in a car¹. A negligence claim may remain.

Other defense

Parental immunity. An unemancipated child cannot sue their own parent under § 22-357, according to the Supreme Court decision cited in the official annotations¹.

Shared fault

Modified comparative fault (barred at 51%) (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-572h).

In negligence actions, your own negligence reduces your damages by your percentage of fault and bars recovery only if it is greater than the combined negligence of the defendants⁷. Section 52-572h speaks only of "causes of action based on negligence"⁷. Under § 22-357 the defenses are the statutory ones: the Supreme Court held that conduct falling outside the exceptions is no defense even if it might be contributory negligence, and a Superior Court ruled that assumption of risk has no place in a statutory claim¹.

How the five fault systems compare: provocation, trespass and shared fault.

Connecticut dog bite statute of limitations

3 years (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-577)

Superior Court decisions listed in the official annotations hold that a § 22-357 claim is controlled by the three-year tort statute, § 52-577, which runs from the date of the act, not from discovery¹⁵. A negligence count is subject to § 52-584: two years from when the injury was sustained or discovered, and never more than three years from the act⁶. Filing within two years keeps both theories open.

Children. Connecticut has no general tolling for minors: the annotations to § 52-584 note it "provides no exceptions for minors"⁶. A bitten child's claim, brought by a parent as next friend, runs on the same clock as an adult's, and the parent's own claim for the child's medical bills is a separate cause of action¹.

Work out your own date with the dog bite claim checker, or compare deadlines in every state.

Damages

Section 22-357 allows recovery of "the amount of such damage": medical costs, lost earnings, pain and suffering, scarring and other harm proven at trial¹. The statute sets no cap on that amount¹. Common-law punitive damages require wanton or malicious conduct and, in Connecticut, are limited to the plaintiff's litigation expenses less taxable costs, as the Supreme Court restated in 2025⁹. When two or more dogs kept by different people cause injury together, their owners or keepers are jointly and severally liable¹⁰.

Landlords and property owners

A landlord is not a keeper of a tenant's dog under § 22-357 just because it allowed the dog or could have ordered it removed⁴. In Giacalone v. Housing Authority of Wallingford, 306 Conn. 399 (2012), the Supreme Court held that a landlord's common-law duty to alleviate known dangers includes dangers posed by vicious dogs⁸. A landlord who knows of a dog with vicious tendencies in common areas it controls must take reasonable steps; failing to do so can make it liable in negligence⁸. More on landlord liability.

Insurance

No Connecticut statute limits insurers' use of dog breed in homeowners or renters underwriting as of October 2026. A 2025 bill banning breed-based decisions (S.B. 1386) passed the Senate but was never voted on in the House¹⁵. A 2026 bill narrowed the idea to service and therapy animals and stalled in the Judiciary Committee¹⁶.

More on coverage, breed exclusions and renters policies: dog bite insurance.

When a dog attacks your dog

Section 22-357 covers damage to "property", and since 2013 the statute has said that property includes a companion animal¹. The amount of damage for a pet expressly includes veterinary bills, the animal's fair monetary value and burial expenses; for a service animal it also covers all training costs, a rule updated in 2024 to cover any "service animal"¹. The attacking dog's owner is liable without proof of negligence, subject to the same trespass and teasing exceptions¹. If a dog off its owner's property attacks a service animal because the owner failed to leash it near the handler, § 22-364b adds the cost of rehabilitating or replacing the service animal and reasonable attorney's fees²⁰. A dog-on-dog attack also triggers the 10-day quarantine of the biting dog¹². More in when a dog attacks your dog.

Who counts as a keeper in Connecticut

Because the statute reaches keepers as well as owners, many Connecticut cases turn on that word. A keeper is anyone other than the owner who harbors or possesses the dog³. In Auster the Supreme Court explained that harboring means giving the dog lodging or shelter, and possession means dominion and control similar to an owner's; a person who feeds, waters, walks or shelters a dog, even for a short time, can qualify⁴. A church that let an employee keep his dog in the parish house was not a keeper, and the court said the same of a landlord who only tolerates a tenant's dog⁴. The flip side: a dog sitter or friend who takes custody may become a keeper and lose the statutory claim if bitten¹.

Bite reports and quarantine

The Department of Public Health states that bites by domestic animals to people or other domestic animals are reportable to the local animal control officer by the victim or the animal's owner¹³. Anyone who kills an attacking dog in self-defense must also file a complaint with the town's animal control officer¹¹. Confirmed or suspected rabies must be reported to the State Veterinarian within 24 hours¹².

When a dog bites or attacks a person, the animal control officer must quarantine it for 10 days; on day 10 the State Veterinarian or a designee examines it¹². A dog with a current rabies vaccination may serve the quarantine at home if the premises are adequate¹². An unvaccinated dog goes to a pound, veterinary hospital or approved kennel, unless a veterinarian finds home confinement medically necessary, and it must be vaccinated on day 10¹². The owner pays all costs; ignoring the order brings a $250 fine and seizure¹².

Dangerous-dog hearings, euthanasia orders and criminal penalties are covered on Connecticut dangerous dog law.

Questions about Connecticut dog bite law

Is Connecticut a one-bite state?

No. Section 22-357 makes the owner or keeper liable for any damage the dog does without proof that it had bitten before or that the owner was careless¹². The one-bite idea survives only in common-law negligence claims, which matter mostly against landlords and others who are not keepers⁸.

The dog knocked me over but did not bite. Can I still claim?

Yes. The statute covers "any damage" a dog does, and the official annotations include a plaintiff frightened into a fall and an unleashed dog that knocked a woman down¹. A claim based only on the dog's passive presence, such as possible rabies exposure, has failed¹.

How long does my child have to sue for a dog bite in Connecticut?

The same time as an adult. Connecticut does not pause the deadline until a child turns 18⁶. The statutory claim must be filed within three years of the attack under § 52-577, and a negligence count within two years under § 52-584¹⁵⁶.

Can I sue my landlord because a neighbor's dog bit me?

Not under the dog statute, unless the landlord was itself a keeper⁴. You may have a negligence claim if the landlord knew the dog had vicious tendencies and failed to take reasonable steps in common areas it controls, as in Giacalone (2012)⁸.

Will my dog be put down after biting someone in Connecticut?

Not automatically. The bite triggers a 10-day quarantine¹². Euthanasia requires a disposal order by the animal control officer after an investigation, and you can ask for a pre-appeal meeting and appeal to the Superior Court within 45 days¹¹. See dog bite euthanasia laws.

Can my homeowners insurer drop me because of my dog's breed?

Connecticut law does not stop it as of October 2026. A breed-discrimination ban passed the state Senate in 2025 but died in the House¹⁵, and a narrower 2026 bill on service and therapy animals stalled in committee¹⁶.

Official contacts

Sources

1. Connecticut General Statutes § 22-357, Damage by dogs to person or property (with official annotations), Connecticut General Assembly. Checked 17 October 2026.
2. Dog Bite Liability and Quarantine Process, OLR Report 2026-R-0022 (January 16, 2026), Connecticut General Assembly, Office of Legislative Research. Checked 17 October 2026.
3. Connecticut General Statutes § 22-327, Definitions, Connecticut General Assembly. Checked 17 October 2026.
4. Auster v. Norwalk United Methodist Church, 286 Conn. 152 (2008), Connecticut Supreme Court. Checked 17 October 2026.
5. Connecticut General Statutes § 52-577, Action founded upon a tort, Connecticut General Assembly. Checked 17 October 2026.
6. Connecticut General Statutes § 52-584, Limitation of action for injury caused by negligence (with official annotations), Connecticut General Assembly. Checked 17 October 2026.
7. Connecticut General Statutes § 52-572h, Negligence actions, Connecticut General Assembly. Checked 17 October 2026.
8. Giacalone v. Housing Authority of Wallingford, 306 Conn. 399 (2012), Connecticut Supreme Court. Checked 17 October 2026.
9. McCarter & English, LLP v. Jarrow Formulas, Inc., 351 Conn. 186 (2025), Connecticut Supreme Court. Checked 17 October 2026.
10. Connecticut General Statutes § 22-356, Damage by two or more dogs, Connecticut General Assembly. Checked 17 October 2026.
11. Connecticut General Statutes § 22-358, Restraint or disposal orders and appeals, Connecticut General Assembly. Checked 17 October 2026.
12. Connecticut General Statutes § 22-359, Control of rabies. Quarantine, Connecticut General Assembly. Checked 17 October 2026.
13. Rabies Statistics (bite reporting), Connecticut Department of Public Health. Checked 17 October 2026.
14. Connecticut General Statutes § 7-148(c)(7)(D), Municipal powers: animals, Connecticut General Assembly. Checked 17 October 2026.
15. Bill status: S.B. 1386 (2025), dog breed and therapy animals in insurance underwriting, Connecticut General Assembly. Checked 17 October 2026.
16. Bill status: H.B. 5264 (2026), service animals in insurance underwriting, Connecticut General Assembly. Checked 17 October 2026.
17. Connecticut General Statutes §§ 22-362 and 22-363, Annoyance by dogs on highway; Nuisance, Connecticut General Assembly. Checked 17 October 2026.
18. Connecticut General Statutes § 22-364, Dogs roaming at large, Connecticut General Assembly. Checked 17 October 2026.
19. Animal Control Unit, Connecticut Department of Agriculture. Checked 17 October 2026.
20. Connecticut General Statutes § 22-364b, Control of dogs near service animals, Connecticut General Assembly. Checked 17 October 2026.
21. Connecticut General Statutes § 22-367, General penalty, Connecticut General Assembly. Checked 17 October 2026.