A 55-year-old Sahuarita resident and her six-year-old chihuahua, Kiki, were attacked by a pit bull inside a home on West Calle de Cobre, leaving the woman hospitalized. Sahuarita police are now investigating the attack, which happened October 5, after the woman reported it to officers the following Thursday.
According to Green Valley News, the homeowner's pit bull escaped from a bedroom and attacked Kiki; the woman was also attacked. She reported the incident to officers the following Thursday.
Police Investigate Dog Attack
Under Arizona Revised Statutes § 11-1025(B), when a dog bites someone in a public place or on private property where that person is lawfully present, the person responsible for the dog is legally obligated to provide the owner's contact information to the victim, according to the Arizona Legislature. Pima County requires a 10-day rabies quarantine for a domestic dog that bites a human and breaks the skin. The county also says officers must make in-person contact with the owner before closing the call, per Pima County.
What Arizona's Strict Liability Law Means Here
Arizona law holds dog owners strictly liable for injuries their animals cause in public or on private property where the victim is lawfully present, regardless of whether the dog had shown prior aggression or the owner knew of any dangerous tendencies, according to FindLaw. That standard, established under A.R.S. § 11-1025, removes the old common-law requirement that a victim prove the dog had bitten before or that the owner was negligent. Provocation remains the primary statutory defense against that liability under A.R.S. § 11-1027, evaluated on whether a reasonable person would expect a victim's actions to trigger an aggressive reaction. Victims pursuing a statutory strict liability claim face a one-year statute of limitations under A.R.S. § 12-541(5), compared with two years for standard personal injury negligence claims.
Notably, state law also bars courts, administrative hearing officers, and other legal decision-makers from considering a dog's breed when determining whether an animal is aggressive, vicious, or liable in a bite case, under A.R.S. § 11-1025(C). A separate statute enacted in 2022, A.R.S. § 20-1510, likewise prohibits insurance companies from denying, canceling, or adjusting homeowners or renters coverage based solely on the breed of dog kept on a property, according to Kutak Rock.
Sahuarita's Own Animal Control Operation
Unlike much of Pima County, Sahuarita handles bite investigations through its own agency. The town separated from Pima Animal Care Center services in July 2017 and established Sahuarita Animal Services to directly manage local bite investigations, stray containment, and welfare complaints, according to the Arizona Daily Star. The division partners with the Humane Society of Southern Arizona in Tucson, which shelters stray or impounded animals captured within town limits, per the Town of Sahuarita.
The woman was hospitalized after the attack.
