There are two systems, they keep separate files, and calling one does not notify the other. This trips up almost everybody.
County animal services or animal control handles the animal: investigation, quarantine where required, and any dangerous dog classification. For a civil claim this is usually the more valuable file, because it holds the investigation findings, the owner’s identity, and — critically — any prior complaints about that specific dog.
The Florida Department of Health office for your county handles the public health side, principally rabies risk assessment. A hospital will often notify them automatically. That does not mean an animal services report exists.
So if your only contact was the emergency room, assume no animal services report has been opened and call them yourself.
Ask two specific questions when you call. Whether the dog has any prior history or complaints, and whether a sworn affidavit is needed to start a classification case — since 2025 the statute requires one from a person seeking to have a dog classified as dangerous.
Reporting is not suing and commits you to nothing. What it does is create a dated, independent record while the facts are still checkable. Animal control files close and get purged, and the window is shorter than people assume.
Find your county’s agency through the county’s own website rather than a search result.