Ohio Valley Dog Owners, Inc.
Protecting dogs, dog owners and our neighbors
through education and community service
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Ohio Valley Dog Owners, Inc.Protecting dogs, dog owners and our neighbors
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HB 189 has been stalled in the legislature for more than a year. In an attempt to move HB 189, Representative Shawn Webster introduced HB 533 (http://www.legislature.state.oh.us/bills.cfm?ID=126_HB_533) to separate the repeal of breed specific language from the court-ordered rewrite of the state's dangerous dog law.
Ohio dog owners have a chance to restore sanity to the state's vicious dog law while holding dog owners accountable for the actions of pets that are dangerous to the community.
Introduced by Representative Kathleen Walcher of Norwalk, and Representative Shawn Webster, a veterinarian from Millville, the introduced version of HB 189 (http://www.legislature.state.oh.us/bills.cfm?ID=126_HB_189) changes the breed-specific portion of the definition of vicious dog from "Belongs to a breed that is commonly known as a pit bull dog" to "Has been possessed, trained, or used for purposes of dogfighting."
Introduced in the wake of an Ohio Supreme Court decision (http://www.sconet.state.oh.us/rod/newpdf/0/2004/2004-ohio-4777.pdf) that declared a substantial portion of the state's animal control law to be unconstitutional, the bill also provides for due process for dog owners whose pets have been accused of aggressive behavior; authorizes appointment of hearing officers who have received training in canine behavior; and offers a detailed description of required confinement for vicious and dangerous dogs.
HB189 deserves the active support of every dog owner in Ohio and of out-of-state owners who are interested in fair and equitable animal control laws. It removes the potential for harassment of owners of dogs identified as 'pit bulls' and bases confinement and insurance requirements on the dog's behavior, not its physical appearance. It also protects owners whose dogs have been accused but not convicted of bad behavior and holds owners responsible for the actions of their pets if an allegation is proven.
The Ohio Dog Warden's Association plans to fight to keep the 'pit bull' language in the bill, and they have gained the support of the Ohio County Commissioners Association. However, we have the numbers on our side ... if we band together, stay on message, and remain persistent, we can win.
In September 2004, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled that a substantial portion of the state's dangerous dog law was unconstitutional because it denied dog owners their day in court. The law allowed dog wardens to designate a dog as dangerous or vicious without providing owners an opportunity to challenge that assessment unless they risked further charges by violating the order to buy insurance or confine the dog in a locked pen.
The case was State of Ohio v Cowan (see link above). It involved two German Shepherd Dogs classified as vicious based on a neighborhood complaint. The dog owner refused to abide by the designation and was further cited for failure to provide insurance or confine the dogs.
In its decision, the court noted that dogs are property in Ohio and said that "We find it inherently unfair that a dog owner must defy the statutory regulations and become a criminal defendant, thereby risking going to jail and losing her property, in order to challenge a dog warden's unilateral decision to classify her property."
HB189 fixes this failure by providing an opportunity for owners of accused dogs to request a hearing before being required to purchase $100,000 liability insurance or building a pen to confine the dog.
Ohio is the only state that labels a type of dog as vicious and therefore requires that owners abide by all of the regulations affecting vicious dogs regardless of their dog's behavior. These requirements include confining the dog in a locked pen, restraining it on a chain link leash or tether, and purchasing $100,00 liability insurance policy.
The law has been the basis of neighborhood complaints against responsible owners of well-behaved pets, allowed some overzealous dog wardens to harass responsible owners based on the appearance of their dogs, caused the death of good dogs when owners could not afford to purchase the required insurance or opted to surrender their dogs in a plea bargain, generated hysterical media coverage of any incident involving a 'pit bull,' and led to dozens of additional restrictions or bans on these dogs in cities and villages throughout the state.
Many dog wardens consider the following breeds and mixes to be 'pit bulls' and require owners to purchase the insurance and build the pen required by law. Some cities add requirements such as muzzling when the dog is in public or prohibit owners from having more than one vicious dog. The latter restriction prohibits breeders and exhibitors in those jurisdictions from owning more than one show or breeding dog, keeping a puppy from a litter of any of these breeds, or continuing a breeding program unless they dump their non-breeding dogs on shelters, sell them or give them away, or have them euthanized. The law's definition of pit bull is ambiguous, so many dog wardens have defined it themselves to include the following breeds and mixes:
HB 189 is not limited to the portion of state law that defines and deals with dangerous or vicious dogs. The bill amends much of ORC 955.11 and 955.22, a substantial portion of the state's animal control law. Along with providing for due process for dog owners and eliminating breed-specific restrictions, the bill ...
We'd like to see a couple of changes in the bill.
Read the bill at http://www.legislature.state.oh.us/bills.cfm?ID=126_HB_189, then help end this breed-specific travesty and improve due process for animal owners in Ohio by
The bill has been assigned to the Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee and hearings are expected to be held in May; you can watch for HB 189 on the House committee schedule at http://www.legislature.state.oh.us/house_committee_schedule.cfm. The Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee generally meets on Wednesday mornings at 8:30 a.m.
HB189 can be found at http://www.legislature.state.oh.us/bills.cfm?ID=126_HB_189
Your representative can be found at http://www.house.state.oh.us/jsps/Representatives.jsp
Representative Kathleen L. Walcher
77 S. High St., 13th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215-6111
Telephone: (614) 466-9628; Fax: (614) 644-9494; Email: district58@ohr.state.oh.us
Representative Shawn Webster DVM
77 S. High St., 13th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215-6111
Telephone: (614) 644-5094; Fax: (614) 644-9494; Email: district53@ohr.state.oh.us
Jim Aslanides (R), Chairman
77 S. High St., 12th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215-6111
Telephone: (614) 644-6014; Fax: (614) 644-9494; Email: district94@ohr.state.oh.us
Jim McGregor, (R), Vice chairman
77 S. High St., 11th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215-6111
Telephone: (614) 644-6002; Fax: (614) 644-9494; Email: district20@ohr.state.oh.us
John Domenick (D; ranking minority member)
77 S. High St., 10th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215-6111
Telephone: (614) 466-3735; Fax: (614) 644-9494; Email: district95@ohr.state.oh.us
Timothy J. Cassell, (D)
77 S. High St., 10th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215-6111
Telephone: (614) 644-6074; Fax: (614) 644-9494; Email: district63@ohr.state.oh.us
Tony Core (R)
77 S. High St., 11th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215-6111
Telephone: (614) 466-8147; Fax: (614) 644-9494; Email: district83@ohr.state.oh.us
L. George Distel (D)
77 S. High St., 10th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215-6111
Telephone: (614) 466-1405; Fax: (614) 644-9494; Email: district99@ohr.state.oh.us
Matthew J. Dolan (R)
77 S. High St., 12th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215-6111
Telephone: (614) 644-5088; Fax: (614) 644-9494; Email: district98@ohr.state.oh.us
Clyde Evans (R)
77 S. High St., 13th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215-6111
Telephone: (614) 466-1366; Fax: (614) 644-9494; Email: district87@ohr.state.oh.usdistrict87@ohr.state.oh.us
Jennifer Garrison (D)
77 S. High St., 10th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215-6111
Telephone: (614) 644-8728; Fax: (614) 644-9494; Email: district93@ohr.state.oh.us
Bob Gibbs (R)
77 S. High St., 11th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215-6111
Telephone: (614) 466-2994; Fax: (614) 644-9494; Email: district97@ohr.state.oh.us
Mike Mitchell (D)
77 S. High St., 11th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215-6111
Telephone: (614) 466-8010; Fax: (614) 644-9494; Email: district26@ohr.state.oh.us
Steve Reinhard (R)
77 S. High St., 12th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215-6111
Telephone: (614) 644-6265; Fax: (614) 644-9494; Email: district82@ohr.state.oh.us
Allan R. Sayre (D)
77 S. High St., 10th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215-6111
Telephone: (614) 466-8035; Fax: (614) 644-9494; Email: district96@ohr.state.oh.us
John M. Schlicter (R)
77 S. High St., 12th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215-6111
Telephone: (614) 644-7928; Fax: (614) 644-9494; Email: district85@ohr.state.oh.us
Derrick Seaver (R)
77 S. High St., 13th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215-6111
Telephone: (614) 466-1507; Fax: (614) 644-9494; Email: district78@ohr.state.oh.us
Arlene Setzer (R)
77 S. High St., 13th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215-6111
Telephone: (614) 644-8051; Fax: (614) 644-9494; Email: ddistrict36@ohr.state.oh.us
Jeff Wagner (R)
77 S. High St., 12th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215-6111
Telephone: (614) 466-1374; Fax: (614) 644-9494; Email: district81@ohr.state.oh.us
Kathleen L. Walcher (R)
77 S. High St., 13th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215-6111
Telephone: (614) 466-9628; Fax: (614) 644-9494; Email: district58@ohr.state.oh.us
Tyrone K. Yates (D)
77 S. High St., 11th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215-6111
Telephone: (614) 466-1308; Fax: (614) 644-9494; Email: district33@ohr.state.oh.us
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