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Avery County board reverses sheriff's 'potentially dangerous' dog determination
Summary
At a Sept. 22 special meeting, the Avery County Board of Commissioners sitting as the Dangerous Dog Appeals Board reversed a sheriff's determination that two dogs owned by Sabrina Kees were "potentially dangerous," finding no evidence of the severe injury required under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 67-4.1.
The Avery County Board of Commissioners, sitting as the county's Dangerous Dog Appeals Board, reversed a sheriff's determination on Sept. 22, 2025, that two dogs owned by Sabrina Kees were "potentially dangerous." The special meeting was held at the Avery Community Center in Newland.
The board heard testimony from the dog owner, Sabrina Kees; a neighbor, Arizona Gragg; and Officer Michael Watson of the Avery County Sheriff's Department, and reviewed the sheriff's written determination, the incident/investigation report and security-camera footage provided by the neighbor. The board noted N.C. Gen. Stat. § 67-4.1(a)(2) requires that a dog must kill or inflict severe injury on a domestic animal on the owner's real property to be deemed "potentially dangerous." The board said it received no evidence showing the neighbor’s dog suffered the kind of severe injury described in the statute (for example, broken bones or disfiguring lacerations).
Commissioner and Vice‑Chair Dennis Aldridge moved to reverse the determination; Commissioner Wood Hall Young Jr. seconded. "Motion by Dennis Aldridge and second by Wood Hall Young, Jr. to reverse the determination that the dogs are potentially dangerous dogs," the meeting record states. The motion carried unanimously with those present, 3-0. The board also unanimously authorized the County Attorney to prepare a written order reflecting the board’s decision and to present it to the chair for signature.
The board's order lists its findings of fact and conclusions of law, reversing the sheriff's determination and directing the County Attorney to prepare the final order. No further penalties or restrictions are recorded in the meeting minutes. The special meeting adjourned at 2:58 p.m.
The statute cited in the hearing, N.C. Gen. Stat. § 67-4.1, establishes the legal standard the board applied; the board's action reverses the administrative determination made by the Avery County Sheriff’s Office and directs county counsel to memorialize that reversal in a signed order.
