Owners of dogs shall be liable for any damage done by their dogs to any person, domestic animal, livestock, or property, or for any costs incident to taking up and keeping their dog. Additionally, the owners of any dog which shall bite any person while such person is on or in a private place, including the property of the owner, shall be liable for such damages as may be suffered by persons bitten, regardless of the former viciousness of such dog or the owner's knowledge of such viciousness.
A person is lawfully upon private property of such owner within the meaning of this section when he or she is on such property in the performance of any duty imposed upon him by the laws of this state or by the laws of postal regulations of the United States, or when he or she is on such property upon invitation, expressed or implied, of the owner thereof; or when he or she is on such property in the performance of a duty relative to public safety, which shall include policemen, firemen, or other authorized members of boards or agencies of city government; provided, however, no owner of any dog shall be liable for any damages to any person or his property when such person shall mischievously or carelessly provoke or aggravate the dog inflicting such damage. (Ord. 1270 § 2, 2006: Ord. 980 § 7, 1988)