17.03.030 Declaration of dangerous or potentially dangerous dog – Notice, hearing and appeal.
(1) Whenever an Animal Control Officer finds any dog in violation and determines that said dog should be declared dangerous or potentially dangerous, the Officer shall prepare a notice declaring said dog to be a dangerous or potentially dangerous dog, and serve the notice as required for a summons on the owner of the dog; except that if the summons cannot be served it may be posted on the residence. The notice shall contain the following:
(a) The name and address of the owner of the dog being declared potentially dangerous;
(b) The breed, color, sex, and license number (if known) of said dog;
(c) The facts upon which the determination of potentially dangerous dog is based;
(d) That the dog shall immediately be restrained as required in CCC 17.03.060 or 17.03.070;
(e) That the dog shall be registered within 10 days of receiving the notice unless a hearing is requested as provided for in subsection (1)(g) of this section;
(f) In the case of a potentially dangerous dog, that if there are future similar problems with the dog, the dog could be declared a dangerous dog pursuant to CCC 17.03.020, and required to be registered as provided for in CCC 17.03.050;
(g) That the notice constitutes a final determination that the dog is dangerous or potentially dangerous, unless the owner of the dog requests a hearing in writing to an appropriate District Court of Clallam County within 21 days of service of the notice.
(2) In the event the owner of a dog requests a hearing as provided for in subsection (1)(g) of this section, a hearing shall be held within 30 days of the receipt of the request for hearing, unless it is continued for good cause. The District Court shall notify the owner of the date, time and place of the hearing, as well as the right to present evidence as to why the dog should not be declared dangerous or potentially dangerous. The hearing shall be informal and open to the public. At the hearing, the records of the responsible Animal Control Officer shall be admissible evidence as to whether the dog is a dangerous or potentially dangerous dog; the owner of the dog may require the officer compiling the record to be present at the hearing; the owner of the dog may present evidence and examine witnesses present; and the burden shall be on the Animal Control Officer/County to establish by a preponderance of the evidence that the dog is a dangerous or potentially dangerous dog.
(3) The District Court Judge shall notify, in writing, the owner of the dog of his/her decision within 10 days of the hearing. The District Court decision may be appealed as provided under the general laws of the State of Washington.
(4) If the potentially dangerous or dangerous dog declaration is upheld the owner has 10 days from the notification date to comply with the registration requirements.
(5) A finding that a dog is not a potentially dangerous or dangerous dog shall not prevent the Animal Control Officer from seeking to have the dog declared dangerous or potentially dangerous as the result of any subsequent action by the dog.