Oyster Bay, NY Animal Ordinances: Breed Restrictions (2026)

Article III, adopted in 2002, was written because the state's Agriculture and Markets Law penalizes dog attacks on livestock but not on other dogs, so the Town Board created a local procedure to cover dog-on-dog and dog-on-domestic-animal attacks. Section 103-14 defines "dangerous dog" as any dog that attacks or bites another domestic animal that is peaceably conducting itself somewhere it may lawfully be, or any dog owned, harbored or trained for dog fighting or for attacking a person or domestic animal on command. This is a conduct-based standard with no breed named anywhere in the definition, so any breed can be declared dangerous through the same process.

Anyone can complain to a Town dog control officer, and a Town of Oyster Bay dog control officer must swear a complaint before a District Court judge under Section 103-15. The judge decides probable cause, can order immediate seizure of the dog, and must hold a hearing within five days on at least two days' written notice to the owner. If the judge is satisfied the dog is dangerous, the order is either immediate euthanasia or permanent secure confinement, with an option to also require muzzling and supervised handling whenever the dog is outside its enclosure.

Section 103-15D provides defenses if the dog was defending itself, its den or its young, or was responding to being tormented or to a crime being committed against its owner.