Oregon Dog Bite Law

How dog bite liability works in Oregon

Oregon never adopted a general dog bite statute. The rule comes from the Supreme Court's 1978 decision in Westberry v. Blackwell: the owner of a dog is strictly liable only if the owner "knows or has reason to know of the animal's dangerous propensities"⁴. A prior bite does not settle the point automatically, but it can be enough. In Westberry a superficial bite an hour earlier, at the same visit, let the jury decide⁴. The same case confirmed a separate negligence claim for failing to confine or control a dog⁴.

In 2005 the legislature rewrote the state's dog-control law. It created two classes, the potentially dangerous dog and the dangerous dog, and added ORS 609.115. Once a court has found a dog potentially dangerous, its keeper is strictly liable for the economic damages from any later injury, with exceptions for provocation and trespass^1,2. Pain and suffering still requires proof of knowledge or negligence. Because the rule only applies after a court finding, most first bites fall outside it.

Oregon courts have also refused to treat leash-law violations as automatic negligence. In Kathren v. Olenik the Court of Appeals held that a bite is not the harm a running-at-large ordinance was meant to prevent, because dogs as a class do not normally attack people⁵. That puts more weight on the dog's history than in neighboring Washington or California, whose statutes make owners liable for bites regardless of history. Idaho and Nevada also have no general bite statute. See the national table and the one-bite rule.

The Oregon dog bite statute

If a court has determined under ORS 609.990 that a dog is a potentially dangerous dog, and the dog later causes physical injury to a person or damage to property, the keeper is strictly liable for the resulting economic damages¹. Economic damages are objectively verifiable losses such as medical bills and lost income; pain, suffering and emotional distress are excluded¹². The statute does not apply to a person who provoked the dog, assaulted its keeper, or trespassed on premises the keeper may lawfully close to others¹. A first bite, or one by a dog never brought before a court, falls outside it.

• Law: ORS 609.115 (Liability for injury or property damage caused by potentially dangerous dog), enacted 2005; last changed Unchanged since enacted (Oregon Laws 2005, chapter 840, § 1); the definition it relies on was amended in 2015 and 2025
• Injuries covered: Any injury the dog causes (bites, knock-downs, chases)
• Where: Public places, or lawfully on private property
• Who is liable: The owner, or a keeper or harborer
• Damages: Economic (out-of-pocket) damages only

Other ways to prove liability

Two common-law claims carry most Oregon cases. Strict liability applies to a possessor who knows or has reason to know of the dog's "dangerous propensities abnormal to its class". In Westberry v. Blackwell the Supreme Court said "any knowledge of the animal's propensity to bite or attack, whether in anger or play," is sufficient⁴. Negligence applies under Restatement (Second) of Torts § 518 when the possessor fails to prevent harm that a reasonable person would foresee⁴. The Court of Appeals measures that duty by what the keeper knew about this dog^5,26. Negligence per se is limited: Kathren v. Olenik held that breaking a running-at-large ordinance is not negligence per se for a bite, and that an ordinance making a keeper who "fails to prevent" a bite a nuisance also requires knowledge of the risk⁵.

Defenses owners raise

Provocation

ORS 609.115 does not apply to an injury to "a person provoking the dog"¹. Provocation also matters on the public side: a dog is only potentially dangerous or dangerous if it acted "without provocation"^2,18.

Trespassing

The statute also excludes a person who "trespasses upon premises from which the keeper may lawfully exclude others"¹.

Committing a crime

ORS 609.115 excludes injuries to a person "assaulting the dog's keeper"¹.

Assumption of risk

Oregon abolished implied assumption of the risk in ORS 31.620⁸. A defendant cannot argue that you knew dogs might bite. That conduct can only count as fault that reduces your award^6,7.

Other defense

No notice of the danger: outside the statute, the defense usually argues that the keeper had no reason to know the dog would cause this kind of harm. Oregon courts do not charge owners with general knowledge that dogs bite or run into people (Newport v. Moran, 80 Or App 71 (1986))^26,5.

Shared fault

Modified comparative fault (barred at 51%) (ORS 31.600).

Your own fault does not bar recovery if it was "not greater than the combined fault" of the defendants (and anyone you settled with), but the award is reduced by your percentage⁶. At 50% you still recover half; at 51% you recover nothing. Since 1975 the statute compares "fault", not only negligence, and in Sandford v. Chevrolet Division of General Motors (1982) the Supreme Court applied it to a strict products liability claim⁷. No appellate decision we found applies it to a claim under ORS 609.115, but its wording reaches any action to recover damages for injury to person or property⁶.

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

Oregon dog bite statute of limitations

2 years (ORS 12.110(1))

An action "for any injury to the person" not arising on contract must be filed within two years, which runs from the bite⁹. A claim against a city, county, the state or another public body needs a written or actual notice of claim within 180 days of the injury, plus up to 90 days while the injury or minority prevents notice, and suit within two years¹¹. A claim for an injured pet or other personal property has six years²⁵.

Children. The two years are tolled while the child is under 18, but the extension may not exceed five years or run past one year after the 18th birthday, whichever comes first¹⁰. A young child's claim can therefore expire before they turn 18. A parent's claim for the child's medical bills is tolled for the same period¹⁰.

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

Damages

A common-law claim allows economic damages (medical bills, lost income, loss of earning capacity) and noneconomic damages: pain, mental suffering, emotional distress, humiliation and interference with normal activities, which covers scarring¹². A claim under ORS 609.115 alone reaches only the economic part¹. Since a 2021 amendment, Oregon's $500,000 cap on noneconomic damages applies only to wrongful death claims, not to injuries¹². Punitive damages need clear and convincing proof of malice, or of reckless and outrageous indifference to a highly unreasonable risk¹³. In a criminal case the court may also order the keeper to pay restitution³.

Landlords and property owners

A landlord does not owe the tenant's dog's victims a general duty, but can be liable on the terms set in Park v. Hoffard, 315 Or 624, 847 P2d 852 (1993)¹⁴. For an attack off the rental property, the landlord must have consented to or known of the dog when making or renewing the lease, or letting a periodic tenancy continue. The landlord must also have known or had reason to know that keeping it "will unavoidably involve an unreasonable risk of harm"¹⁴. In Park, a month-to-month landlord who knew of a "potentially dangerous dog" sign posted after an earlier bite faced a jury trial¹⁴. Park decided only the off-property question; we found no Oregon Supreme Court decision setting the rule for bites on the rented premises themselves¹⁴.

Insurance

No Oregon statute limits how homeowners or renters insurers use a dog's breed; the insurance trade-practices chapter, ORS chapter 746, contains no such rule²⁹. State law also does not require the keeper of a potentially dangerous or dangerous dog to carry liability insurance, though a city or county ordinance may^3,22.

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

Why a court finding matters so much in Oregon

ORS 609.115 is easy to misread. It does not make keepers strictly liable for every bite. It applies only when a court has already determined, in a proceeding under ORS 609.990, that the dog is potentially dangerous, and only to injuries that happen afterward¹. A ruling by a county dog control board under ORS 609.090 is not on its face a court determination under ORS 609.990^19,1. No appellate court we found has said whether such a board finding counts. Even when the statute applies, it covers economic damages only: medical bills, lost wages and similar verifiable losses^1,12. For pain and suffering you still need the common-law proof from Westberry: that the keeper knew or had reason to know of the dog's dangerous propensities, or was negligent⁴. In practice, an earlier nuisance citation or court finding is also strong evidence of that knowledge. That is one reason victims and owners alike keep the paperwork from any earlier incident.

Bite reports and quarantine

Any person with direct knowledge of an animal bite that breaks the skin must report it immediately to the local health officer (ORS 433.345)¹⁵. The Oregon Health Authority's July 2026 guidelines name physicians, veterinarians, animal control, police and owners, and ask for a report within one working day. The local health department investigates¹⁷.

A dog that bites a person must be held for observation until the 10th day after the bite. It stays in an enclosure or under restraint, supervised by a veterinarian or someone the local public health administrator designates¹⁶. The local health department may allow responsible owners to confine low-risk dogs at home; otherwise it uses a shelter. The guidelines say the owner should preferably pay¹⁷. Properly vaccinated police dogs may be exempted at the administrator's discretion¹⁶.

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

Questions about Oregon dog bite law

Is Oregon a one-bite state?

Mostly. Oregon has no general dog bite statute, so a claim usually needs proof that the keeper knew or had reason to know the dog was dangerous, or was negligent⁴. A first bite can be enough if the dog had shown a propensity to bite or attack, even in play⁴. The one statutory exception, ORS 609.115, covers economic damages only, for a dog a court has already found potentially dangerous¹.

Does breaking Oregon's leash law make the owner automatically liable?

No. In Kathren v. Olenik the Court of Appeals held that violating a running-at-large ordinance is not negligence per se for a bite, because a bite is not the risk such an ordinance targets⁵. The loose dog is still evidence in a negligence claim, but you need to show the keeper had reason to expect harm^5,26.

How long does a parent have to sue for a child's dog bite in Oregon?

The two-year limit is extended while the child is under 18, but the extra time stops at five years or at one year after the 18th birthday, whichever comes first^9,10. For a child bitten at age 5, that can mean a deadline at age 12. The parent's claim for the child's medical bills runs on the same clock¹⁰.

Can my dog be put down after one bite in Oregon?

It can. A county dog control board may order a dog that bit a person killed, after written findings on the ORS 609.093 factors, without any criminal charge^19,20. The keeper has 10 days after notice to petition for a writ of review, and the order cannot be carried out during review¹⁹. A dog cannot be euthanized during its 10-day rabies observation without health-officer approval¹⁶.

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

Only in limited cases. Under Park v. Hoffard, a landlord is liable for an off-property attack by a tenant's dog only if the landlord knew of the dog when leasing or renewing and knew or had reason to know it posed an unreasonable risk of harm¹⁴. See landlord liability.

Can I sue a city if its police dog or shelter dog bit me?

Claims against Oregon public bodies follow the Tort Claims Act. You must give notice of claim within 180 days of the injury and sue within two years¹¹. Properly vaccinated police dogs may be exempted from the 10-day observation at the health administrator's discretion¹⁶. See police dog bites.

Official contacts

Sources

1. ORS 609.115, liability for injury caused by a potentially dangerous dog, Oregon Legislature. Checked 17 October 2026.
2. ORS 609.035, definitions (as amended by Oregon Laws 2025, chapter 170), Oregon Legislature. Checked 17 October 2026.
3. ORS 609.990, penalties and disposition of dog by court, Oregon Legislature. Checked 17 October 2026.
4. Westberry v. Blackwell, 282 Or 129, 577 P2d 75 (1978), Oregon Supreme Court (via CourtListener). Checked 17 October 2026.
5. Kathren v. Olenik, 46 Or App 713, 613 P2d 69 (1980), Oregon Court of Appeals (via CourtListener). Checked 17 October 2026.
6. ORS 31.600, comparative negligence, Oregon Legislature. Checked 17 October 2026.
7. Sandford v. Chevrolet Division of General Motors, 292 Or 590 (1982), Oregon Supreme Court (via CourtListener). Checked 17 October 2026.
8. ORS 31.620, implied assumption of risk abolished, Oregon Legislature. Checked 17 October 2026.
9. ORS 12.110, two-year limitation for injury to the person, Oregon Legislature. Checked 17 October 2026.
10. ORS 12.160, tolling for minors, Oregon Legislature. Checked 17 October 2026.
11. ORS 30.275, notice of claim against a public body, Oregon Legislature. Checked 17 October 2026.
12. ORS 31.705 and 31.710, economic and noneconomic damages; wrongful death cap, Oregon Legislature. Checked 17 October 2026.
13. ORS 31.730, standards for punitive damages, Oregon Legislature. Checked 17 October 2026.
14. Park v. Hoffard, 315 Or 624, 847 P2d 852 (1993), Oregon Supreme Court (via CourtListener). Checked 17 October 2026.
15. ORS 433.345, report of animal bites, Oregon Legislature. Checked 17 October 2026.
16. OAR 333-019-0024, management of animal bites, Oregon Secretary of State, Administrative Rules. Checked 17 October 2026.
17. Animal Bites and Rabies: Investigative Guidelines (July 2026), Oregon Health Authority. Checked 17 October 2026.
18. ORS 609.098, maintaining a dangerous dog, Oregon Legislature. Checked 17 October 2026.
19. ORS 609.090, impounding dogs; county disposition orders, Oregon Legislature. Checked 17 October 2026.
20. ORS 609.093, factors before a dog is killed, Oregon Legislature. Checked 17 October 2026.
21. ORS 609.095, dog as public nuisance, Oregon Legislature. Checked 17 October 2026.
22. ORS 609.015, local dog ordinances not limited, Oregon Legislature. Checked 17 October 2026.
23. ORS 161.605, 161.615, 161.625 and 161.635, maximum sentences and fines, Oregon Legislature. Checked 17 October 2026.
24. Enrolled Senate Bill 733 (2025), Oregon Legislature. Checked 17 October 2026.
25. ORS 12.080, six-year limitation for injury to personal property, Oregon Legislature. Checked 17 October 2026.
26. Newport v. Moran, 80 Or App 71, 721 P2d 465 (1986), Oregon Court of Appeals (via CourtListener). Checked 17 October 2026.
27. Legal Referral Service, Oregon State Bar. Checked 17 October 2026.
28. ORS 433.365, rabies inoculation of dogs, Oregon Legislature. Checked 17 October 2026.
29. ORS chapter 746, trade practices in insurance, Oregon Legislature. Checked 17 October 2026.
30. ORS 153.018, maximum fines for violations, Oregon Legislature. Checked 17 October 2026.
31. Rabies, Oregon Health Authority, Public Health Division. Checked 17 October 2026.