Harris v. Anderson County Sheriff's Office
Supreme Court of South Carolina
673 S.E.2d 423 (2009)
A sheriff's deputy kenneled his police dog, which both he and the Anderson County Sheriff's Office (defendant) knew had a recent history of multiple unprovoked attacks, at a veterinary clinic while on vacation. The dog attacked and severely injured Jennifer Harris (plaintiff), a veterinary assistant at the clinic, who sued the sheriff's office under South Carolina's dog-bite statute; the trial court granted the sheriff's office summary judgment, reasoning that once the dog was left in the clinic's care, only the clinic — not the owner — could be held strictly liable, and Harris appealed.
Whether a dog owner may be held strictly liable for an unprovoked dog bite under South Carolina's dog-bite statute even when the dog was in someone else's care at the time of the attack.