Judge: Ohio Dog Accused of Biting Not ‘Dangerous’

A judge has sided with an Ohio dog owner who argued her small bichon frise shouldn’t be labeled as “dangerous” under a new state law, which opened the door for canines other than pit bulls to be deemed dangerous for inflicting even minor injuries to people.

Authorities had told Shannon Mills that her 2-year-old dog, Hershey, would be labeled dangerous and that she would be required to pay extra insurance after a 12-year-old boy reported that Hershey bit him on the ankle May 26 while he was walking on a sidewalk near Pataskala in central Ohio.

Mills, of Pataskala, challenged the designation in Licking County Municipal Court in Newark, where a judge ruled that animal control workers didn’t prove Hershey meets the standard for a dangerous dog. Mills said that she didn’t know whether her dog had bit the boy but couldn’t understand how the case got so far.

“We just felt like our case was not the reason this law went into effect,” Mills told The Columbus Dispatch.

The law that went into effect May 22 no longer automatically deems pit bulls “vicious,” but it allows any dog to be labeled “dangerous” for actions like nipping at someone’s heels.

The law defines a “dangerous dog” as one that has injured a person without being provoked, killed another dog or gotten loose three or more times.

A “vicious” dog is defined as one that has seriously injured or killed someone, and a dog that has approached a person in a menacing way without being provoked and off its own property can be labeled a “nuisance.”

The law requires owners to follow numerous rules for dogs labeled as dangerous. The dogs have to wear special tags and be confined by a fence. Owners are required to have them spayed or neutered, post signs that a dangerous dog lives on their property and maintain liability insurance for the animal if a judge orders it.

Neither the boy nor his mother was in court, and no one had photographed a wound. The judge ruled that much of a Licking County Animal Control employee’s testimony was hearsay.

The county dog warden said his office must investigate bites and injuries reported to the health department, regardless of whether it believes a dog is dangerous.

Dog Warden John Silva told The Advocate newspaper in Newark that he didn’t realize witnesses were needed at the hearing and that his office is still “learning in this process.”

Mills said she and her husband have confined their animals to the backyard with an invisible fence and posted signs warning that dogs are on the property.

Matt Granito, president of the Ohio County Dog Wardens Association, said the law does provide an opportunity to hold owners responsible when their dogs attack someone.

“Prior to this law, we couldn’t do anything,” he told the Dispatch.

Topics Legislation Ohio