South Dakota Dangerous Dog Law

What happens right after a dog bites someone?

Three things can run at once: a rabies check, a local animal-control case and a civil claim. The rabies check comes first. The Department of Health can serve written notice ordering the owner of a dog or cat that bit a person to confine it for at least ten days, at the owner's expense²². The notice names the place: the owner's premises, a city pound or somewhere else. The department may examine the animal during that time²². Its guidance for doctors says a dog that stays healthy through 10 days of observation did not have rabies virus in its saliva when it bit²⁵. Ignoring a confinement notice is a Class 1 misdemeanor: up to one year in a county jail, a $2,000 fine, or both^22,34.

No state rule requires the bite itself to be reported; rabies is the reportable condition²⁴. In practice hospitals and police often pass bites on. In Davies v. GPHC, LLC, Aberdeen police came to the emergency room after hospital staff called them¹². See dog bite quarantine.

Does South Dakota have a dangerous dog law?

Only a short one, from 1988. Chapter 40-34 defines a vicious dog and makes owning or keeping one a public nuisance¹³. A dog is vicious if, unprovoked, it bites, injures or attacks a person, or approaches "in apparent attitude of attack", on a street, sidewalk or other public place¹⁴. On private property the definition covers only attacks on a mail carrier, meter reader, service worker, journeyman, delivery driver or other employed person who is there with permission or through a course of dealing¹⁴. Guests are not listed, and the Supreme Court read the list as a small class of workers, not tenants¹².

A dog cannot be declared vicious if the person hurt was committing a willful trespass or other tort on the owner's premises, was teasing, tormenting, abusing or assaulting the dog, or was committing a crime¹⁵.

The statute works through nuisance law. The remedies are a civil action, abatement and, for a public nuisance, criminal charges¹⁸. A public body or officer can sue to stop or abate the nuisance, and so can a private person it specially injures, with damages on top¹⁹. The statute sets no registration, insurance, enclosure or muzzle rules for a vicious dog^13,14.

Who decides that a dog is dangerous?

Mostly the city or county. Cities may regulate dogs and run pounds under SDCL 9-29-12, and counties may restrain dogs running at large and license them^28,29. Each ordinance sets its own classes, hearing and appeal. Sioux Falls amended its animal chapter in December 2024; it now defines "serious injury" and "contributing pack behavior" for dogs that attack together³². As reported at the time, the city sorts attacking dogs into two classes: a "restricted" dog the owner can get back by meeting conditions, and a "vicious" dog that is euthanized if the declaration is upheld, with an appeal from either³³. Read the ordinance of the place where the bite happened.

State law adds a sheriff's power. Under SDCL 7-12-29 the sheriff may take any animal suspected of being dangerous, hold it until a formal determination of the danger it poses, and dispose of it if it is found dangerous²⁶. When the animal attacked or bit a person or a pet, the determination must include consultation with the Department of Health for rabies control²⁶.

Can a dog be put down after a bite?

Yes. In City of Onida v. Brandt, 2021 S.D. 27, two Labrador mixes escaped and killed a neighbor's dog in February 2020, after earlier incidents in which they bit a neighbor²⁷. The city could not use its ordinance, because the owners had not received a vicious-dog notice before the fatal attack. The circuit court instead found the dogs dangerous under SDCL 7-12-29 and authorized the Sully County sheriff to dispose of them²⁷. The Supreme Court affirmed. The sheriff can act inside city limits, and a city ordinance cannot block the state statute²⁷. Consulting the Department of Health is mandatory whenever a person or pet was bitten, though skipping it was harmless in that case²⁷.

The statute sets no hearing or appeal deadline of its own. In Onida the city asked a circuit court for a declaratory judgment, and the owners had a trial and an appeal²⁷. See dog bite euthanasia laws.

What are the criminal penalties?

No statute makes a dog attack on a person a specific crime. An owner whose dog chases, worries, injures or kills poultry or a domestic animal commits a Class 2 misdemeanor, punishable by up to 30 days in jail and a $500 fine, and must pay the animal's owner^17,34. The Onida trial court found the owners violated that section²⁷. Keeping a vicious dog is a public nuisance that can be charged^13,18. Defying a rabies-confinement order is a Class 1 misdemeanor²². See dog bite criminal charges.

Are breed bans allowed?

No. Since 2014 no city, county or other local government may enact, keep or enforce an ordinance specific to the breed or perceived breed of a dog¹⁶. Rules that apply to all dogs are still allowed¹⁶. The courts take the same view in damages cases: breed alone does not make a bite foreseeable^3,12. See breed-specific legislation.

What changes if the dog bites again?

In a damages claim, a lot. A prior attack is generally enough to show the owner knew the dog was dangerous, and the owner then answers for the next bite regardless of how much care they took¹. A history of incidents is also what led to the disposal order in Onida²⁷. If you own the dog, see my dog bit someone.

Rules for a declared dog in South Dakota

South Dakota rules in brief

Reporting. No state rule requires a dog bite itself to be reported. Rabies in humans and animals is a Category I reportable condition, and physicians, hospitals and laboratories must report it²⁴. The Department of Health advises doctors on whether a bitten person needs rabies shots at (605) 773-3737 or 1-800-592-1861, and the Animal Industry Board handles exposed animals²⁵. Cities²⁸ and counties²⁹ set their own bite-reporting rules under their power over dogs.

Euthanasia. Under SDCL 7-12-29 the sheriff may seize an animal suspected of being dangerous, hold it until a formal determination, and dispose of it if it is found dangerous; when it bit a person or a pet, the determination must include consultation with the Department of Health²⁶. In City of Onida v. Brandt, 2021 S.D. 27, the Supreme Court upheld a court order letting the sheriff euthanize two dogs that killed a neighbor's dog after earlier attacks²⁷. The statute sets no hearing or appeal deadline; in Onida a circuit court made the determination and the owners appealed^26,27.

Criminal penalties. No South Dakota statute makes it a specific crime when a dog injures or kills a person. Keeping a vicious dog is a public nuisance, which can be charged by indictment or information^13,18. Owning a dog that injures or kills poultry or a domestic animal is a Class 2 misdemeanor, and defying a rabies-confinement notice is a Class 1 misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in jail and a $2,000 fine^17,22,34.

Breed rules. Since 2014, SDCL 40-34-16 bars any city, county or other local government from enacting, keeping or enforcing a breed-specific ordinance; rules that apply to all dogs remain allowed¹⁶.

Compare states: dangerous dog laws by state, bite quarantine rules, euthanasia after a bite. If your dog bit someone, start with what happens next.

Sources

1. Gehrts v. Batteen, 2001 S.D. 10, 620 N.W.2d 775, Supreme Court of South Dakota (CourtListener). Checked 17 October 2026.
2. Rowland v. Log Cabin, Inc., 2003 S.D. 20, 658 N.W.2d 76, Supreme Court of South Dakota (CourtListener). Checked 17 October 2026.
3. Ridley v. Sioux Empire Pit Bull Rescue, Inc., 2019 S.D. 48, 932 N.W.2d 576, South Dakota Unified Judicial System. Checked 17 October 2026.
4. SDCL 15-2-14 (personal injury, three years), South Dakota Legislature. Checked 17 October 2026.
5. SDCL 15-2-22 (tolling during minority), South Dakota Legislature. Checked 17 October 2026.
6. SDCL 26-1-1 (age of minority), South Dakota Legislature. Checked 17 October 2026.
7. SDCL 20-9-2 (comparative negligence), South Dakota Legislature. Checked 17 October 2026.
8. SDCL 20-9-1 (responsibility for negligence), South Dakota Legislature. Checked 17 October 2026.
9. SDCL 3-21-2 (notice of claim against a public entity), South Dakota Legislature. Checked 17 October 2026.
10. SDCL 3-21-3 (who receives the notice), South Dakota Legislature. Checked 17 October 2026.
11. Burgi v. East Winds Court, Inc., 2022 S.D. 6, 969 N.W.2d 919, South Dakota Unified Judicial System. Checked 17 October 2026.
12. Davies v. GPHC, LLC, 2022 S.D. 55, South Dakota Unified Judicial System. Checked 17 October 2026.
13. SDCL 40-34-13 (vicious dog as public nuisance), South Dakota Legislature. Checked 17 October 2026.
14. SDCL 40-34-14 (vicious dog defined), South Dakota Legislature. Checked 17 October 2026.
15. SDCL 40-34-15 (trespass, teasing and crime exceptions), South Dakota Legislature. Checked 17 October 2026.
16. SDCL 40-34-16 (breed-specific ordinances prohibited), South Dakota Legislature. Checked 17 October 2026.
17. SDCL 40-34-2 (dogs harming poultry or domestic animals), South Dakota Legislature. Checked 17 October 2026.
18. SDCL 21-10-5 (remedies against nuisances), South Dakota Legislature. Checked 17 October 2026.
19. SDCL 21-10-9 (civil action against a nuisance), South Dakota Legislature. Checked 17 October 2026.
20. SDCL 21-3-2 (punitive damages), South Dakota Legislature. Checked 17 October 2026.
21. SDCL 21-1-4.1 (hearing before punitive damages claims), South Dakota Legislature. Checked 17 October 2026.
22. SDCL 40-12-5 (confinement of a pet after it bites a person), South Dakota Legislature. Checked 17 October 2026.
23. SDCL 40-12-6 (confinement of a pet bitten by a rabid animal), South Dakota Legislature. Checked 17 October 2026.
24. ARSD 44:20:01:03 (Category I reportable diseases), South Dakota Legislature (Administrative Rules). Checked 17 October 2026.
25. Human Rabies Prevention Guidelines (December 2024), South Dakota Department of Health. Checked 17 October 2026.
26. SDCL 7-12-29 (sheriff may seize and dispose of dangerous animals), South Dakota Legislature. Checked 17 October 2026.
27. City of Onida v. Brandt, 2021 S.D. 27, 959 N.W.2d 297, South Dakota Unified Judicial System. Checked 17 October 2026.
28. SDCL 9-29-12 (municipal power over dogs), South Dakota Legislature. Checked 17 October 2026.
29. SDCL 40-34-5 (county power over dogs running at large), South Dakota Legislature. Checked 17 October 2026.
30. SDCL 15-2-13 (six-year limit, injury to goods or chattels), South Dakota Legislature. Checked 17 October 2026.
31. SDCL 21-5-3 (wrongful death, three years), South Dakota Legislature. Checked 17 October 2026.
32. Sioux Falls Code of Ordinances, Chapter 90: Animals and Fowl, § 90.001 Definitions, City of Sioux Falls (American Legal Publishing). Checked 17 October 2026.
33. Dog ordinance changes passed by Sioux Falls City Council (Dec. 18, 2024), Dakota News Now. Checked 17 October 2026.
34. SDCL 22-6-2 (misdemeanor penalties), South Dakota Legislature. Checked 17 October 2026.
35. SDCL 21-3-11 (damages cap limited to medical malpractice), South Dakota Legislature. Checked 17 October 2026.
36. SDCL 40-34-3 (joint liability of owners of dogs in packs), South Dakota Legislature. Checked 17 October 2026.
37. SDCL 40-34-1 (killing a dog that harms domestic animals), South Dakota Legislature. Checked 17 October 2026.