The red chow mix dog that bit a 5-year-old girl on State Street on July 5 was healthy and had all of its vaccinations at the time of the bite, Santa Barbara police Sgt. Riley Harwood told Noozhawk on Friday.
SBPD’s Animal Control Unit is conducting a criminal investigation into the incident after the dog’s owner, a woman whose identity has not been released, gave the girl’s father false information after the bite, Harwood said. The girl was not seriously injured.
The woman was identified with the public’s help, when a photograph of her at the July 5 event was circulated on Noozhawk. Police said she is local but lives outside the city limits.
After a bite, animal owners are required to give the victim their name, contact information and license tag number of the animal, according to the California Penal Code. Failure to provide information on the status of the animal’s vaccinations within 48 hours can result in a fine of up to $100.
Owners are required to quarantine their animals, too, Harwood said.
Animal Control officers located the woman and her dog after the quarantine period, but were able to determine that the dog was healthy at the time of the bite.
— Noozhawk staff writer Giana Magnoli can be reached at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
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