Standing Committees

Potentially Dangerous Dog Appeal Committee

The Board of County Commissioners has developed a Hearing Panel Pool to hear appeal cases for dogs declared potentially dangerous under NC General Statutes Section 67 or animals declared dangerous under Orange County's Unified Animal Ordinance. This pool consists of members from different townships and backgrounds, who have applied to hear such cases, have been selected by the board, and trained to hear and decide appeals cases. 

The hearing panel for each case consists of two hearing pool panelists and one member of a 3-person team from the Animal Services Advisory Board. The ASAB member is the chair of each hearing committee called to hear a case. Appeals must be filed in writing from the guardian of the animal declared within three days of the date of declaration, and a date will be set for the appeal hearing within ten days of that date. Appeal decisions for the NC statute declarations can be challenged only through a de novo appeal to the NC Superior Court.

Ad Hoc Committees

The Animal Services Advisory Board may form ad hoc committees or task forces to research or review specific issues in accordance with county policy. Recent ad hoc committees have assessed whether crowing roosters should be considered a public nuisance under the county's animal ordinance and what requirements there should be for the recovery of stray cats and dogs. Past committees have address managing pet overpopulation and the tethering of dogs in Orange County.