A bite in New York City generates paperwork in at least three systems: a public health record, a shelter file if the animal is impounded, and a medical chart. Each is created on a different deadline, and each says something a later dispute will ask about.
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Six boxes, about thirty seconds. You pick when to be called back, and that is when the phone rings.
Or call (646) 914-9310New York City Health Code 11.03(a) lists an animal bite, or an exposure to rabies, among the conditions reportable to the Department. Section 11.27(b) is more specific about who must act: when a person or a susceptible animal is bitten or otherwise exposed, the person bitten or a parent or guardian of a minor, the person who owns or controls the biting animal, the person controlling the animal that was bitten, and any other person having knowledge of the bite must immediately notify the Department by telephone. Department guidance states that any type of animal bite must be reported within twenty-four hours of the event.
Health Code 11.05 identifies the reporters within the health care system, including physicians, dentists, licensed chiropractors, doctors of osteopathy, physician's assistants, nurse practitioners, the person in charge of a hospital, clinic or institution, and clinical laboratories, along with their designees. Where no such person is in attendance, the head of a private household or the person in charge of an institution must report. City data for 2024 shows why the redundancy matters: 2,947 of 3,814 reported bites, seventy-seven percent, were documented as treated by a medical provider, and at least eleven percent of provider-treated bites, 333 of them, were not reported by a medical provider.
Health Code 11.27(e) requires the owner of a biting dog, cat, ferret or livestock animal to observe it closely for ten days and to report: an immediate telephone call if the animal dies, with delivery of the remains to the Public Health Laboratory; a call if it becomes ill; an immediate call if it escapes; and a call plus return of the Department-supplied postcard if it is healthy on the final day. Section 11.27(f) provides that an unowned biting animal is held ten days, or humanely destroyed after two days. Section 11.27(d) covers an exposed animal rather than a biting one: unvaccinated animals are isolated six months at the owner's expense under daily veterinary supervision, while vaccinated animals are revaccinated immediately and observed closely for forty-five days.
Health Code 161.07(b) requires a shelter to report to the Department no later than the first business day after a dog is admitted, or after a sheltered dog injures a person, with the circumstances of the incident, contact information for injured persons, the owner and witnesses, and the types of injuries. Section 161.07(c) requires ten days of rabies observation at the shelter, extended by another ten days if a new incident occurs, with euthanasia and testing if signs of rabies appear and early release possible where the owner reports daily. Section 161.07(e) makes a failure to produce a dog for behaviorist examination evidence that the dog is dangerous.
Animal Care Centers of NYC states that shelters are required to hold a stray animal with no identified owner for three days, after which the animal may be adopted, transferred, fostered, sent to rescue or in rare cases euthanized for serious medical or aggression problems, and directs anyone who finds a pet outside business hours, or one that is sick, injured or a threat to public safety, to call 9-1-1. Agriculture and Markets Law 117 sets different statutory periods for seized dogs: five days for an unidentified dog, seven days after personal notice for an identified one, and nine days from mailing, with impoundment fees beginning at not less than ten dollars and rising for each additional twenty-four hours. The two figures come from different authorities and should not be merged.
Health Code 161.02 gives the paperwork legal weight. A Department record of a bite report made under section 11.03, or a record of a dog bite or other injury made by a police officer, is prima facie evidence that a dog is dangerous within the meaning of that article. The same section defines a dangerous dog as one that menaces, threatens, attacks or bites a person who is peacefully conducting himself where he may lawfully be. Section 161.07(l) adds that a medical provider must forward records of an injury inflicted by a dog when the Department makes a written request.
Reporting only helps if the animal and its keeper can be identified. City figures for 2024 record that thirty-nine percent of reports were missing a complete owner address or telephone number, and that of 2,314 reports where the Department had a way to contact an owner, only 1,146, about half, produced a response about the dog's health, with 1,500 reports carrying no contact information at all. The age of the person bitten was missing from twenty percent of 2024 reports, against four percent in 2015. A name, an apartment number and a phone number taken at the scene, where it is safe to do so, fills the gap the system leaves.
Animal Care Centers and Bite Reports in New York. Call (646) 914-9310 and a New York lawyer reviews the claim and the deadline that applies. Nothing is signed on that call.
Call (646) 914-9310New York Agriculture and Markets Law §123(10) makes the owner or lawful custodian of a dangerous dog strictly liable for medical costs resulting from an injury caused by that dog.
Why it matters: That medical-cost rule is narrower than many people expect. A claim for pain, lost income or other damages still commonly depends on proof that the owner knew or should have known the dog had dangerous or vicious tendencies, so the file must preserve both treatment evidence and proof of prior behavior.
Sources: nysenate.gov · nycourts.gov
NYC Health requires any type of animal bite to be reported within 24 hours of the event, and the city coordinates follow-up with the animal, owner and person bitten to assess rabies risk.
Why it matters: The Health Department report is a time-stamped public-health record that can help identify the dog and owner. It should be made promptly alongside medical care, while the separate evidence of notice, prior behavior and property control is preserved.
Sources: nyc.gov · portal.311.nyc.gov
NYC Health reported 3,814 dog bites to city residents in 2024, the highest count of the 2015-2024 period, 51% above the 2,525 reported in 2020 and 28% above the 2,984 reported in 2016.
Why it matters: The citywide count underscores why a prompt Health Department report and a careful evidence record matter. A report addresses public-health follow-up; a civil claim still needs facts about the dog's prior behavior, the owner's notice and, in a building, any party with control.
Sources: nyc.gov · data.cityofnewyork.us
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