West Bloomfield, MI Animal Ordinances: Breed Restrictions (2026)

Chapter 7's dangerous-dog article is entirely behavior-based; nowhere does it name a breed. Sec. 7-16 defines 'dangerous dog' as one afflicted with rabies, or one that bites or attacks a person causing serious injury, or that bites or attacks another dog or domesticated animal causing serious injury while that animal was on its owner's property or under control. The definition carves out dogs that bite trespassers, provoked or tormented dogs, and dogs acting in self-defense. Under Sec. 7-22(a)-(b), a sworn complaint triggers a district court summons, and the owner must surrender the dog within 24 hours to an animal control authority, humane society, veterinarian, or boarding kennel pending a hearing, at the owner's expense.

After a hearing, Sec. 7-22(c)-(d) requires destruction if the dog caused serious injury or death to a person, and allows it if the dog is likely to reoffend or has been previously adjudicated dangerous, whether toward a person or another animal. Sec. 7-22(e)-(f) lets the court substitute lesser remedies, permanent identification, enclosure, sterilization, muzzling, or liability insurance, when the dog has not caused serious injury or death. Sec. 7-23 layers a municipal civil infraction or, for a bite, a criminal misdemeanor onto the owner, plus court-ordered restitution.