Dog Bite: Owner Responsible? California, Texas, Washington

The short version

California and Washington: by statute, the owner of a dog is liable for the damages of a person the dog bites in a public place or lawfully in a private place. That is so regardless of the dog’s former viciousness or the owner’s knowledge of it.
Texas: the rule this site has verified comes from court decisions. The Supreme Court of Texas has held that a person who keeps a domestic animal, and has reason to know it has dangerous propensities abnormal to its class, is liable for the harm it causes even with the utmost care. The owner of an animal not known to be vicious can be liable for handling it negligently.
Where you were matters. Both statutes cover a person in a public place or lawfully in a private place, and each says when a person is lawfully on the dog owner’s property. The Texas rule excepts trespassers on the land of the person who keeps the animal.
In Washington, proof that the injured person provoked the attack is a complete defense. The California and Washington statutes also have exceptions for police dogs.
The general deadline to sue for an injury is two years in California and in Texas, and three years in Washington.

What each state’s law says about the owner

The three states do not answer this question the same way. California and Washington each have a statute written for dog bites. For Texas, the rule this site has verified comes from decisions of the Supreme Court of Texas.

When the owner of a dog is liable
California	Texas	Washington
California The owner of any dog is liable for the damages suffered by any person who is bitten by the dog while in a public place or lawfully in a private place, including the property of the owner of the dog. The owner is liable regardless of the former viciousness of the dog or the owner’s knowledge of that viciousness. Cal. Civ. Code § 3342(a)	Texas The Supreme Court of Texas held that suits for damages caused by vicious animals are governed by strict liability. Under the rule it adopted, the possessor of a domestic animal that the possessor has reason to know has dangerous propensities abnormal to its class is subject to liability for the harm the animal causes, even though the possessor used the utmost care to prevent it. The animal in that case was a hog, not a dog. Marshall v. Ranne, 511 S.W.2d 255 (Tex. 1974) In a 2008 case about a dog attack, the court said that an owner of a vicious animal can be strictly liable for harm, while an owner of a non-vicious animal can be subject to liability for negligent handling of the animal. It held that the owner of a dog not known to be vicious owes a duty to attempt to stop the dog from attacking a person after the attack has begun. It also said the owner of a non-vicious dog is generally not liable for failing to keep the dog restrained, but can be liable for failing to do anything to stop an attack after it has started. Bushnell v. Mott, 254 S.W.3d 451 (Tex. 2008)	Washington The owner of any dog that bites a person while the person is in or on a public place, or lawfully in or on a private place including the property of the owner of the dog, is liable for such damages as may be suffered by the person bitten. The owner is liable regardless of the former viciousness of the dog or the owner’s knowledge of that viciousness. RCW 16.08.040(1)

In plain terms, under the California and Washington statutes the person bitten does not have to show that the dog had been vicious before or that the owner knew it. In Texas, strict liability turns on what the owner had reason to know about the animal. An owner of a dog not known to be vicious can still be liable for handling it negligently.

Both statutes speak of a person who is bitten, and both speak of the owner. This site has no verified rule on an injury a dog causes in some other way, such as knocking a person down. It also has no verified rule on the responsibility of anyone other than the owner, such as a person who was looking after the dog or a landlord. If that is your question, ask the firm.

Where the bite happened

Both statutes cover a bite in a public place. For a bite in a private place, they cover a person who was there lawfully, and each statute says what that means on the dog owner’s own property.

When a person is lawfully on the dog owner’s property
California	Texas	Washington
California A person is lawfully upon the private property of the dog’s owner when the person is there in the performance of any duty imposed by the laws of California or by the laws or postal regulations of the United States, or when the person is there upon the invitation, express or implied, of the owner. Cal. Civ. Code § 3342(a)	Texas The strict liability rule the Supreme Court of Texas adopted makes the possessor of the animal liable to others, except trespassers on the possessor’s land. This site has not verified how Texas courts apply that exception in a dog bite case. Marshall v. Ranne, 511 S.W.2d 255 (Tex. 1974)	Washington A person is lawfully upon the private property of the dog’s owner when the person is there with the express or implied consent of the owner. That consent is not presumed when the property is fenced or reasonably posted. RCW 16.08.050

Both definitions are about the dog owner’s own property. Neither statute defines when a person is lawfully in some other private place, and this site has no verified rule on that. Whether a particular person was lawfully where the bite happened depends on the facts.

Provocation, and police or military dogs

An owner may answer a claim by saying the person bitten provoked the dog. This site has a verified rule on that for one state.

Provocation as a defense to a claim for damages
California	Texas	Washington
California This page has no verified rule on this for California. Ask us.	Texas This page has no verified rule on this for Texas. Ask us.	Washington Proof of provocation of the attack by the injured person is a complete defense to an action for damages. RCW 16.08.060

The Washington statute does not say what counts as provocation, and this site has no verified rule on that. California’s statute mentions a provoking act only in its exception for police and military dogs, set out below. This site has no verified rule on how California or Texas courts treat provocation in a claim for damages.

The California and Washington statutes each treat police dogs separately.

Police and military dogs
California	Texas	Washington
California The statute does not authorize an action against a governmental agency using a dog in military or police work if the bite happened while the dog was defending itself from an annoying, harassing or provoking act. The same is true if the bite happened while the dog was assisting an employee of the agency in apprehending or holding a suspect whom the employee reasonably suspects of involvement in criminal activity, in investigating a crime or possible crime, in executing a warrant, or in defending a peace officer or another person. The exception does not apply when the person bitten was not a party to, a participant in, or suspected of being a party to or a participant in, the acts that prompted the use of the dog. It applies only where the agency has adopted a written policy on the necessary and appropriate use of a dog for that work. Cal. Civ. Code § 3342(b), (c), (d)	Texas This page has no verified rule on this for Texas. Ask us.	Washington The dog bite statute does not apply to the lawful application of a police dog. A police dog is a dog used by a law enforcement agency, specially trained for law enforcement work and under the control of a dog handler. Lawful application means employment or specific use of a police dog as allowed by law. RCW 16.08.040(2); RCW 4.24.410(1)

These exceptions are limits on the two dog bite statutes. This site has no verified rule on what other claim a person bitten by a police dog may have, in any of the three states.

What people commonly do after a bite

The steps below are practical. They are what people commonly do in the first hours and days, not legal requirements. The rules that do apply to reporting follow the list.

Get medical care
See a doctor or other health care provider about the wound. Keep the records and the bills from every visit.
Find out who owns the dog
Write down the owner’s name, address and phone number. If someone else had the dog at the time, write down that person’s name too.
Ask about the rabies vaccination
Ask the owner for the dog’s vaccination record, or for the name of the veterinarian who has it.
Take photographs
Photograph the wounds, any torn clothing and the place where it happened. Take new photographs as the wounds heal.
Write down who saw it
Get the names and phone numbers of people who saw the bite.
Report the bite
Report it to the local animal control agency. Ask for a copy of the report or for its number.

Each state also has public health rules about rabies that speak to a bite. They are separate from a claim for damages.

Reporting a bite, and confining the dog
California	Texas	Washington
California In areas the state has declared to be rabies areas, the local health officer must be notified when any person is bitten by an animal of a species subject to rabies, whether or not the animal is suspected of having rabies. The regulation does not say who must give the notice. In those areas, a dog that has bitten a person must be isolated in strict confinement and observed for at least 10 days after the bite, or the local health officer may release it after five days of observation by a veterinarian who certifies that it shows no clinical signs or symptoms of any disease. This site has not verified which areas are declared rabies areas today. Cal. Code Regs., tit. 17, § 2606(a), (b)(2), (b)(3) The California Department of Public Health tells a person bitten by a dog to wash the bite area at once with soap and running water, to seek medical care if the bite is serious, and to report the bite and any information about the dog to the local animal control agency. This is the agency’s guidance, not a statute or regulation. California Department of Public Health, “Rabies” web page (updated February 11, 2025)	Texas A person who knows of an animal bite or scratch to an individual that the person could reasonably foresee as capable of transmitting rabies must report the incident to the local rabies control authority of the county or municipality where the person lives, where the animal is located, or where the exposure occurs. The report must include the name and address of the victim and of the animal’s owner, if known, and any other information that may help in locating the victim or the animal. The local rabies control authority must investigate the report. Tex. Health & Safety Code § 826.041	Washington When a local health officer receives a report that a mammal has bitten a person or otherwise potentially exposed a person to rabies, the officer may order a healthy dog to be confined and observed daily for at least ten days, with any illness reported to the officer. This site has no verified Washington rule that requires the person bitten to make the report. WAC 246-100-197(8)

Laws about the dog that are separate from your claim

Each state also has laws about what happens to a dog that has bitten someone, and to its owner. A person who was bitten may hear about them from animal control or the police.

Laws about a dog that has bitten, and its owner
California	Texas	Washington
California The owner of any dog that has bitten a human being has a duty to take such reasonable steps as are necessary to remove any danger presented to other persons from bites by the animal. When a dog has bitten a human being on at least two separate occasions, any person, the district attorney or the city attorney may bring an action against the owner to determine whether conditions have been changed so as to remove the danger. The same action may be brought after one bite that causes substantial physical injury by a dog trained to fight, attack or kill. The court may make any order it deems appropriate to prevent a recurrence, including removal of the animal from the area or its destruction if necessary. The action after two bites cannot be based on a bite inflicted on a trespasser, or by a dog used in military or police work while it was actually performing in that capacity. The section says it does not affect the owner’s liability under the dog bite statute. Cal. Civ. Code § 3342.5(a), (b), (c), (d), (f)	Texas Texas statutes on dogs that attack people set out crimes and animal control rules. An owner commits an offense if, with criminal negligence, the owner fails to secure the dog and it makes an unprovoked attack on another person, away from the owner’s real property, motor vehicle or boat, that causes serious bodily injury or death. A dog that makes an unprovoked attack causing bodily injury to a person, in a place other than an enclosure in which it was being kept and that was reasonably certain to keep it from leaving on its own, is a dangerous dog. If a person reports such an incident, the animal control authority may investigate. An owner who learns the dog is a dangerous dog has 30 days to meet listed requirements, which include registering the dog with the animal control authority and restraining it at all times on a leash in the immediate control of a person or in a secure enclosure. Tex. Health & Safety Code §§ 822.005(a)(1), 822.041(2)(A), 822.042(a), 822.0421(a)	Washington Washington’s dangerous dog law defines a dangerous dog to include any dog that inflicts severe injury on a human being without provocation on public or private property. It is unlawful for an owner to have a dangerous dog in the state without a certificate of registration. It is unlawful to permit a dangerous dog outside its proper enclosure unless it is muzzled, restrained by a substantial chain or leash, and under the physical restraint of a responsible person. Potentially dangerous dogs are regulated only by local, municipal and county ordinances. RCW 16.08.070(2); RCW 16.08.080(5); RCW 16.08.090(1), (2)

These are animal control and criminal laws. They are not the rules on the owner’s liability set out at the top of this page. For Texas and Washington, this site has not verified what part, if any, they play in a claim for damages.

Deadlines, shared fault and who pays

A lawsuit over a dog bite injury has to be filed within the state’s deadline. These are the general deadlines for injury claims that this site has verified, with the rule for an injured person under 18.

The general deadline to sue for an injury
California	Texas	Washington
California Generally two years for an injury caused by someone else’s wrongful act or carelessness. Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 335.1 In 1974 a California court of appeal held that an action under the dog bite statute is one for the recovery of damages for personal injuries. It applied the deadline for personal injury actions, which was one year at that time, and not a three year deadline found in another section. Pritchard v. Sharp (1974) 41 Cal.App.3d 530 If the injured person was under 18 when the claim arose, the time before their 18th birthday generally does not count. That does not apply to an action against a public entity for which a written claim must first be presented. Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 352	Texas A person must bring suit for personal injury not later than two years after the day the claim arises. Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003(a) If the injured person was under 18 when the claim arose, the time before their 18th birthday is generally not counted against the two years. It should not be assumed that this extends the notice deadline for a claim against a government agency. Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.001	Washington Three years for most injury claims. RCW 4.16.080(2) If the injured person was under 18 when the claim arose, the time before their 18th birthday generally does not count. RCW 4.16.190

Do not count your own deadline from this page alone. A claim against a government agency has notice rules of its own, which this page does not cover. A lawyer licensed in your state can tell you the deadline for your facts.

Each state also has a general rule for an injured person who was partly at fault.

The general rule when the injured person was partly at fault
California	Texas	Washington
California In negligence cases, California reduces an injured person’s damages in proportion to that person’s share of the negligence, and does not bar recovery at any percentage. Li v. Yellow Cab Co. (1975) 13 Cal.3d 804; CACI No. 405	Texas Texas reduces a claimant’s damages by the claimant’s percentage of responsibility. A claimant whose percentage of responsibility is greater than 50 percent may not recover damages. Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code §§ 33.001, 33.012	Washington In an action based on fault, a claimant’s share of fault reduces the damages in that proportion but does not bar recovery. One exception: it is a complete defense that the injured person was under the influence of alcohol or any drug, that this condition was a proximate cause of the injury, and that the person was more than 50 percent at fault. RCW 4.22.005; RCW 5.40.060

These are general rules. This site has not verified how any of them applies to a claim under the California or Washington dog bite statute, or to a strict liability claim in Texas. Washington’s statute has its own rule on provocation, set out above.

Who pays is usually an insurance question. Whether any insurance applies to a dog bite depends on the words of the policy, and this site has not read any policy.

When the question is about your own facts

None of this decides whether the owner is responsible for your bite. That depends on the state, on where it happened, on what the owner knew about the dog, and on what happened just before. A lawyer licensed in your state can advise on your facts. The firm’s intake team can tell you whether the firm can help. Call 800-411-9049.

Questions and answers

Is the owner responsible if the dog never bit anyone before?

In California and Washington, the statute makes the owner liable for a bite to a person in a public place or lawfully in a private place, regardless of the dog’s former viciousness or the owner’s knowledge of it. In Texas, strict liability applies when the owner had reason to know the animal had dangerous propensities abnormal to its class. An owner of a dog not known to be vicious can still be liable for handling it negligently.

Does it matter that I was on the owner’s property?

Yes. The California and Washington statutes cover a person who was lawfully in a private place, including the owner’s property. In California that means a person performing a duty imposed by state or federal law or by postal regulations, or a person there on the owner’s express or implied invitation. In Washington it means a person there with the owner’s express or implied consent, which is not presumed when the property is fenced or reasonably posted. The Texas strict liability rule excepts trespassers on the land of the person who keeps the animal.

What if the owner says I provoked the dog?

In Washington, proof that the injured person provoked the attack is a complete defense to an action for damages. The statute does not say what counts as provocation. This site has no verified rule on how California or Texas courts treat provocation in a claim for damages.

Do I have to report the bite?

It depends on the state. Texas law says a person who knows of an animal bite to an individual, and could reasonably foresee it as capable of transmitting rabies, must report it to the local rabies control authority. A California regulation says that in a declared rabies area the local health officer must be notified of any bite by an animal of a species subject to rabies. It does not say who must give the notice. This site has no verified Washington rule that requires the person bitten to make a report. Reporting a bite to animal control is a common practical step in all three states.

How long do I have to bring a claim?

The general deadline to sue for an injury is two years in California, two years in Texas and three years in Washington. If the injured person was under 18, the time before the 18th birthday generally does not count. A claim against a government agency has rules of its own. A deadline can turn on facts this page does not cover, so do not count yours from this page alone.

Sources

Primary sources for the rules on this page. Checked on October 4, 2026.

California

Texas

Washington

This site gives general legal information. It is not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney client relationship. Deadlines depend on the facts. Some are much shorter than the general rule. Do not rely on this page to decide how long you can wait.