There is an old saying: “Every dog is entitled to one bite.” At one point in time this legal tenant was accurate. It stood for the proposition that the owner of a dog must have notice that his canine was likely to attack other people before he could be held legally responsible for an attack which resulted in injuries. However, the law has subtly changed. Now, the victim of a dog attack has to prove that the owner was aware that his dog had vicious propensities. In other words, the dog exhibited aggressive behaviour towards other people or animals. It is not necessary to prove that the dog had previously bitten or attacked another person.
