Animals & injury
What to write down after a dog bite
After a dog bite, a record needs the owner's name and contact details, a description of the dog and whether it was restrained, exactly where and when it happened, and the names of anyone who saw it — gathered at the scene, because the owner and the witnesses both leave.
This page won't say whether anyone was at fault, what any of it is worth, or what to do about an injury. Those are questions for a professional, and the rules vary by state.
What it does say is what a record of the incident needs to contain. That part is the same everywhere, and it is the part that stops being possible once people walk away.
Both directions
The owner of the dog keeps the same record, and has the same reason to. Both people were there, both will be asked what happened, and the one who wrote down the time, the place and what was said is the one able to answer rather than recall.
Write it down
The things to note, in your own words, while they are still exact.
- 01
The owner's name, phone and address
Before they leave. An owner identified only as "a man walking a shepherd" is not identified.
- 02
The dog: breed, colour, size, and its name if given
Recorded together these describe one animal. Any one of them on its own describes hundreds.
- 03
Whether the dog was leashed or otherwise restrained
Note what you saw, not what you concluded. "Off leash, no collar visible" is a description; "it was running wild" is an argument.
- 04
The licence or tag number, if the dog is wearing one
The number on the tag is what an animal control office can look up. It is also gone the moment the dog does.
- 05
The exact place and time
Which corner, which side of the path, what time of day. Locations get vaguer every time they are retold.
- 06
What was said, in the words that were used
By the owner, by anyone else, by you. Write it as speech rather than as a summary of the mood.
- 07
Any report you made, and its reference number
Animal control, or police if they attended. The reference number is what makes the report findable later.
- 08
Every witness's name and number
Ask in the first few minutes. People who stopped to help do not stay, and are almost never traced afterwards.
Save it while it exists
The things to capture before they are moved, cleaned, edited or deleted.
- 09
The injury, photographed on the day
Wide enough to show where on the body, close enough to show what it is. An injury changes appearance quickly and the first day's photograph cannot be recreated.
- 10
The dog, from a safe distance
Whole body if it can be done safely. Never move closer to get a better frame.
- 11
Where it happened
The spot itself, plus anything nearby that explains the scene — a gate, a path, a fence line, a sign.
- 12
Damage to clothing or anything you were carrying
Torn or marked items get thrown out within days, and they are part of the description of what happened.
Related
Prefer to do it on your phone? The same list, as an app.
Open Dog Attack→It saves to that device only, with no account and nothing sent anywhere. A new phone, a cleared browser or a lost handset loses everything in it. Export what matters and keep a copy somewhere else.
Reviewed September 12, 2026 · no statute cited · education on documenting, not legal advice