Sec. 14-239Sovereign immunity
Plain English: what this chapter covers
This chapter covers keeping animals in town: loose dogs and livestock, rabies shots and tags, reporting bites, cruelty and neglect, impoundment at the city's designated shelter, and the rules for dogs classified as dangerous or vicious. A word of caution: a lot of it is printed twice (rules from 2001 and again from 2011), and two different sets of dangerous-dog rules are still on the books, so it's worth asking the city which version they enforce.
It is the intent of this article that the owner of a classified dog shall be solely liable for any injury to or death of a person caused by such dog. Pursuant to § 4-8-31, Under no circumstances shall a local government or any employee or official of a local government be held liable for any damages to any person who suffers an injury inflicted by a dog as a result of a failure to enforce the provisions of this article. Under no circumstances shall the city or any of its employees or officials which enforce or fail to enforce the provisions of this article be held liable for any damages to any person who suffers any injury or damages inflicted or caused by any dog, including but not limited to any classified dog, any dog that has been reported to the dog control officer for investigation and classification, any dog that a dog control officer has determined is not a classified dog, any dog that the dog control officer has failed to determine is or is not a classified dog, any classified dog that was not kept or restrained in the manner described in this article, or any classified dog whose owner has not maintained insurance coverage as required in this article.
History: (Ord. No. 15-04, § 3(Exh. A), 5-7-2015)
This is a plain-English guide, not legal advice. The official code is on Municode and at City Hall. Our copy is from April 30, 2026.
Online: https://jamesburgessleads.com/city-code/PTIICOOR_CH14AN_ARTVICLDODAVI_S14-239SOIM
Official version: https://library.municode.com/GA/Ashburn/codes/Code_of_Ordinances?nodeId=PTIICOOR_CH14AN_ARTVICLDODAVI_S14-239SOIM
Paid for by James Burgess