Henrico County, VA Animal Ordinances: Breed Restrictions (2026)

2-6540(K) bars a court from finding an animal to be a dangerous dog solely because it is a particular breed. The statute also blocks a dangerous-dog finding if the victim was committing a crime or willful trespass on the owner's property, was provoking or tormenting the dog, if the dog is a police dog performing its duties, if the dog was defending itself, its offspring, its owner or its owner's property, or if the injury occurred during lawful hunting or an organized dog-handling event. Getting to a hearing starts under subsection B: a law-enforcement or animal control officer who believes an animal is dangerous applies to a magistrate for a summons ordering the owner to appear in general district court.

Under subsection C, officers may not seek that summons where a companion-animal fight caused no serious injury and both animals share an owner, the incident began on the biting dog's own property, or a person's injury was only a minor scratch or abrasion. Once a summons issues, subsection D bars the owner from disposing of the dog for 30 days except by surrender or vet-performed euthanasia with documentation, and subsection F lets an animal control officer confine the dog, or let the owner confine it, pending the hearing.

Under subsection H, the evidentiary hearing must happen within 30 days absent good cause, following misdemeanor trial and appeal procedure with a right to a jury. If the court finds the dog dangerous, subsection I orders the owner to comply with the state's dangerous-dog registration and confinement statutes and lets the court order restitution to injured victims and reimbursement of the county's custody costs. Subsection J lets a court instead defer the case without a finding if the owner implants registered electronic identification within three business days, dismissing the case entirely once conditions are met.