NEWS

Ohio bill would add teeth to vicious dog laws

Jessie Balmert
Gannett Ohio

Proposed changes would make prosecuting owners of dangerous and vicious dogs easier after a Dayton woman was fatally mauled by two dogs last year.

Klonda Richey had made more than a dozen calls about her neighbors' dogs dangerous behavior and their mistreatment before the mixed-mastiffs attacked Richey in her front yard in February 2014. She later died from the injuries. Her death and other dog attacks in the area prompted community meetings and proposed changes to state law, Sen. Bill Beagle, R-Tipp City, said Monday.

The bill would require dog wardens to investigate every call — something that didn't happen in Richey's case.

"Vicious dog calls are pretty low on police and courts' priorities," Beagle said. "We want to be careful not to send all our resources to dog attacks while robbers are going free. We're trying to walk that line."

That could stretch resources in areas with one dog warden and a few deputies, said Steffen Baldwin, president and CEO of the Animal Cruelty Task Force of Ohio.

The proposal also would increase the number of years a felon must wait to own a dog, from three years to five, and prevent child abusers from owning a dog for that same period of time.

Mary O'Connor-Shaver, a member of Ohio Voters for Companion Animals' steering committee, said it's important to keep people with a history of violence away from dogs.

To make prosecution easier, people who witness dog bites or maulings could provide statements about what happened. Current law requires a dog warden to witness the incident for the warden to issue a citation, Beagle said.

Witness reports would be helpful as long as they are paired with evidence of bites or injuries, Baldwin said. Some neighbors will call humane agents or dog wardens because of grudges against others unrelated to the animals and those instances should not result in charges.

"You have to look at totality of the circumstances," Baldwin said.

Under the proposal, prosecutors would no longer have to prove a dog wasn't provoked through teasing, torment or abuse when the dog attacked someone. However, the owner could use that argument as a defense, Beagle said.

Owners would be charged with a fifth-degree felony on the first offense if their dog killed a person and the dog would be euthanized. If a person were seriously injured, the dog could be euthanized, according to the bill. If a second violation occurred, the owner would face a fourth-degree felony. The bill also would allow charges if a dog kills or maims another companion animal.

Police dogs and dogs that attack people illegally trespassing on property would not be subject to those rules.

The bill has no language that would declare dogs dangerous based on breed. Ohio Voters for Companion Animals hopes it stays that way, O'Connor-Shaver said. Some city ordinances have labeled pit bulls vicious based on breed alone, but lawmakers removed that language from state law in 2012.

"We don't want any possibility that this could result in breed discrimination," O'Connor-Shaver said.

Beagle hopes to have hearings on the bill over the summer and a possible vote in the fall.

jbalmert@gannett.com

740-328-8548

Twitter: @jbalmert