Yes. Doctors in New York have to report dog bites. Under the State Sanitary Code, any healthcare provider who treats a patient exposed to an animal that might be rabid must notify the local health authority immediately, and in practice that captures nearly every dog bite that walks into an emergency room or urgent care.1New York State Department of Health. New York State Sanitary Code – Reporting of Suspected Rabid Animals and Persons Exposed to Them The report sets a public health investigation in motion and can lead to a 10-day observation of the dog, and in some cases a separate court proceeding against the owner.
The Rule Behind the Reporting Duty
The obligation sits in Section 2.14 of the State Sanitary Code, which carries out the rabies-control provisions of the Public Health Law. It requires every treating provider to report the patient’s full name, age, address, and telephone number, together with all relevant facts about the exposure, whenever the provider suspects the animal involved may have rabies.1New York State Department of Health. New York State Sanitary Code – Reporting of Suspected Rabid Animals and Persons Exposed to Them A second report is required when the provider decides to start rabies post-exposure treatment.
The word the code uses is “immediately.” Providers are expected to notify the local health department before beginning post-exposure treatment, unless waiting would compromise the patient’s health.1New York State Department of Health. New York State Sanitary Code – Reporting of Suspected Rabid Animals and Persons Exposed to Them Because a clinician examining a bite wound rarely has enough information to rule rabies out on the spot, the standard approach is to report and let public health officials investigate the dog’s vaccination history.
What Gets Sent to the Health Department
The report identifies the patient by name, age, address, and phone number, and describes the circumstances of the bite. Providers document and pass along a description of the animal, its vaccination status if known, and the owner’s contact information if available. That gives officials what they need to locate the dog, evaluate rabies risk, and decide on confinement.
HIPAA Isn’t a Barrier
Sharing patient information without consent is permitted here. Under HIPAA’s privacy rule, a covered entity may disclose protected health information when disclosure is required by state or local law, and separately when it goes to a public health authority collecting information to prevent or control disease.2eCFR. 45 CFR 164.512 New York’s bite-reporting rule fits both categories. Providers should still disclose only the minimum necessary to meet the requirement, not a full medical file.
What Happens to the Dog After the Report
Once the local health department receives the report, the next step is usually a 10-day confinement period for the dog. The window works because a dog capable of transmitting rabies through a bite will show signs of illness within that time. If the animal is still healthy after 10 days, it was not shedding the virus when it bit.
A healthy, vaccinated, normally-behaving dog can typically stay confined at the owner’s home. Health officials will require facility confinement, at the owner’s expense, when the vaccination history is unknown, when there are compliance concerns, or when the dog isn’t behaving normally. Facility options include veterinary offices, animal shelters, and kennels. Before the dog is released, the local health department must verify it is healthy, sometimes through a veterinary exam the owner pays for.3New York State Department of Health. Guidance Regarding 10-day Confinement of Animals for Rabies
A Bite Report Can Trigger a Dangerous-Dog Case
The rabies investigation is separate from a legal proceeding under New York Agriculture and Markets Law Section 123. Anyone who witnessed the attack, or a dog control officer with reason to believe a dog is dangerous, can file a sworn complaint with a local judge, who then holds a hearing within five days.4New York State Senate. New York Agriculture and Markets Law AGM 123 – Dangerous Dogs The complainant must prove the dog is dangerous by clear and convincing evidence.
A dog qualifies as dangerous under the statute if it attacks a person or another animal without justification and causes injury or death, or if it behaves in a way a reasonable person would view as a serious and unjustified threat of serious physical harm. When a judge makes that finding, the court must order the dog neutered or spayed and microchipped, and add at least one further condition: a behavioral evaluation and training program at the owner’s expense, secure confinement, a leash-and-muzzle requirement (leash no longer than three feet) when off the owner’s property, or liability insurance covering injuries caused by the dog.
Euthanasia or permanent confinement is available in the most serious cases: where the dog caused serious physical injury or death, where it has a documented history of prior unjustified attacks causing serious harm, or where it killed or seriously injured another animal and has a similar track record.4New York State Senate. New York Agriculture and Markets Law AGM 123 – Dangerous Dogs
Penalties an Owner Can Face
Section 123 sets civil penalties for a first offense and escalates to criminal charges when a previously declared dangerous dog bites again:
- Negligently allowing a dog to cause physical injury: civil penalty up to $400.4New York State Senate. New York Agriculture and Markets Law AGM 123 – Dangerous Dogs
- Serious physical injury (first offense): civil penalty up to $1,500, reducible by restitution the owner pays for unreimbursed medical costs, lost earnings, and other damages.4New York State Senate. New York Agriculture and Markets Law AGM 123 – Dangerous Dogs
- Serious injury caused by a previously declared dangerous dog: misdemeanor punishable by up to $3,000, up to 90 days in jail, or both; the fine can be offset by restitution.4New York State Senate. New York Agriculture and Markets Law AGM 123 – Dangerous Dogs
- Death caused by a previously declared dangerous dog: Class A misdemeanor, whether or not the dog escaped through the owner’s fault.4New York State Senate. New York Agriculture and Markets Law AGM 123 – Dangerous Dogs
The Victim’s Right to Sue
None of the above replaces a bite victim’s right to bring a civil claim for compensation. New York used to follow a modified one-bite rule: an owner was strictly liable for medical costs only if the dog had previously been declared dangerous or had known aggressive tendencies, and other damages required proof of negligence.
In April 2025, the New York Court of Appeals ruled in Flanders v. Goodfellow that negligence is a proper basis for dog bite liability even without proof the owner knew the dog was aggressive. A victim can now argue the owner failed to take reasonable precautions to prevent the bite. Damages available in a successful case include medical bills, lost income, pain and suffering, scarring and disfigurement, and, in rare cases involving extreme recklessness, punitive damages.
If a Doctor Doesn’t Report
The reporting rule exists because health officials cannot investigate a bite they never hear about. When a provider skips it, a potentially rabid animal goes unmonitored and the patient may not get timely post-exposure treatment. Rabies is almost always fatal once symptoms appear.
On the professional side, failing to meet a mandatory reporting obligation can draw disciplinary action from the New York State Education Department’s Office of Professional Discipline, which oversees medical licenses. Sanctions range from a reprimand or mandatory education to suspension or revocation, depending on the circumstances and whether the lapse caused harm. That risk is real enough that most emergency departments and urgent care clinics build the report into their intake procedures, so it happens automatically once a provider documents an animal bite.
Does a Service Dog Change the Answer
No. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, a handler can be asked to remove a service dog that bites, jumps on people, or is out of control, and the decision has to be based on the individual dog’s actual behavior rather than its breed or the handler’s disability. If a service dog is removed for biting, the business must still let the handler use its services without the animal.
ADA protections do not override New York’s dangerous-dog laws. A service dog that bites is subject to the same reporting, quarantine, and dangerous-dog proceedings as any other dog. Its role may be relevant context at a hearing, but it is not a legal shield.