Another fatal pit bull attack in Toledo.

 August 13, 2012

Lucas County Ohio

There has been another fatal pit bull attack in Toledo, the second in just a month's time.  This attack was reported in the Toledo Blade.  It must be tough for the Blade reporters to write these stories and it is surprising that the Blade is publishing them.  The Blade was at the center of the effort to re-write Ohio law in order to deregulate pit bulls in Ohio.  That effort was successful in 2012 and in the nine years since passage of HB 14 Ohio has seen 22 fatal dog attacks.  It must be noted that Ohio had five fatal dog attacks in the decade prior to the passage of HB 14, sponsored by Ohio Representative Barbara Sears of the Toledo area and written by lawyers employed by Best Friends Animal Society of Kanab Utah.  One may ask why breed activists from Utah were allowed to re-write Ohio law and that would be a good question.  I can't answer it.  

Javon Stokes, age 26, suffered a grand mal seizure at the home where a friend,  Amanda Knezvich resided.  Jackson, a pit bull owned by Knezvich and Austin Dotson of the same address, attacked Stokes, biting his neck.  Mr. Stokes was transported to Mercy Health St. Vincent Medical Center where he was declared dead. 

Jackson has a history.  On August 2, 2021, the dog left the front porch of the residence and bit a neighbor passing by.  It was reported that Jackson had only been in the home for two weeks prior to the incident having been obtained from a family member.  Jackson's new owners were cited for dog running at large, told to get the dog a rabies shot and a license.  The shelter planned a recheck on Jackson on August 23 but Jackson killed Mr. Stokes on August 12th. 

Kelly Sears, director of the County Shelter made excuses for Jackson's behavior, just as she did for Romeo, another local pit bull that killed Emily Kahl just a month ago.  

It is not known whether Kelly Sears is related to HB 14's sponsor Representative Barbara Sears.  It is also not known what former Representative Barbara Sears may think about the impact of HB 14 upon the safety of residents of Ohio.  She and the authors of HB 14 assured us that the breed-neutral mess of a law that was passed by unthinking Ohio legislators would make Ohio "communities safer." 

Epic fail. 

Update -  The Lucas County Coroner's report states that the cause of Mr. Stokes's death is a dog bite and ruled an accident.  No one witnessed a seizure.  The dog was seen nudging and  licking the victim so of course, Ms. Knezvich thought her pit bull was attempting to assist the victim and "wake him up."  After all, she did not see any blood on the dog.  Did she look at the victim?  

The living arrangements in the household are unclear.  It was stated that Jackson "loved" Mr. Stokes and slept with him.  How many adults lived in this household?  Mr. Stokes's mother wants charges filed against Knezvich and Dotson.  She strongly favors accountability.  So do we. 

There is a gofundme set up to help with funeral expenses.    

Another pit bull attack fatality in Ohio.

A Fostoria Ohio pit bull owner died Thursday evening after he was bitten as he attempted to stop an attack by his pit bull, Mia, upon a leashed pit bull being walked in the neighborhood.

Here is the story per WTOLl1News "Just after 11 p.m. Thursday night, 60-year-old Michael Parks let his pit bull Mia outside. The dog ran across Davoli street and began fighting with another pit bull being walked on a leash by its owner." "While trying to break up the scuffle, Michael was bit directly on his recently installed dialysis shunt and began bleeding profusely. He was pronounced dead at the hospital later that night."Mr. Parks family is surprised. They describe Mia as a "gentle giant" who played with neighborhood children.  Per the family "everybody loved Mia, "she was not vicious at all."

How many times will we hear the same statements made by shocked pit bull owners?  When will Ohio lawmakers admit the mistake they made when they allowed Best Friends Animal Society to write Ohio law?  Does Ohio Representative Barbara Sears feel any responsibility for the fatal attacks since she joined with Best Friends to pass HB 14 to deregulate pit bulls in Ohio?

This is the second dialysis patient killed by a pit bull since passage of HB 14 in 2012. Ronnel Brown was attacked by his pit bull designer dog mix.  He was bitten on his dialysis shunt and bled out in his apartment while first responders waited for police to arrive and shoot the violent dog before they could get to their patient.  

 
Blood stained pavement.


For those interested in fatal dog attacks in Ohio since passage of HB 14, here is more information. It should be noted that in the decade prior to passage of HB 14 Ohio had six fatal dog attacks.  In the five years since the passage of the law written by lawyers employed by Best Friends Animal Society Ohio has had thirteen fatal dog attacks. How good does HB 14 look now? 

The first fatality was Makayla Darnell, 3 weeks old, killed by her grandmother’s pit bull.    http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/05/18/three-day-old-baby-girl-mauled-to-death-by-family-dog-in-ohio.html

The second was Ronnell Brown, a 40-year-old man, killed by his designer dog pit bull mix.  Brown was a dialysis patient and the report was that the dog tore his dialysis graft during the attack and he quickly bled to death.  First responders had to wait for police to shoot the dog before they could get to Brown and by then it was too late.  http://www.wcpo.com/news/local-news/hamilton-county/cincinnati/avondale/avondale-man-dies-after-attacked-by-dog  BTW, Brown had two puppies of the same breed mix in his apartment at the time of the mauling and area residents lined up to adopt these puppies.  http://www.wafb.com/story/18997840/man-dies-after-being-mauled-by-dog

The third was Dawn Jergens, 76 years old killed by her own two dogs, Cane Corsos.  What was a 76-year-old woman doing with two Cane Corsos? 

http://www.whio.com//news/news/trotwood-woman-76-killed-by-pet-dogs/nR34M/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOR3-UmoUZk

Number 4 was Elizabeth Hurt, 94 years, attacked by the family Boston Terriers.  She died a couple of weeks later.  http://www.abc22now.com/shared/news/top-stories/stories/wkef_vid_10115.shtml

The fifth was Rachael Honabarger, 35 years old, killed by her family German Shepherd.  http://www.coshoctontribune.com/article/20130504/NEWS01/305040004/Woman-dies-after-dog-attack?nclick_check=1

Mia Gibson was number six, three months old, killed by family dogs, two Shiba Inus.   http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2013/12/11/dog-bite-death.html

The seventh was 57-year-old Klonda Richey of Dayton Ohio, killed by dogs that she called pit mastiff mixes.     http://www.whio.com/news/news/crime-law/dog-mauling-investigation-continues-owners-out-jai/ndJ3W/  Misdemeanor charges, Andrew Nason got 180 days in prison and community service.  Julie Custer got 90 days in jail and community service. 

Eight,  Jonathan Quarles Jr age 7 months.  http://www.whio.com/news/news/crime-law/dog-owner-indicted-in-fatal-mauling-of-8-month-old/nm45C/

http://wdtn.com/2014/08/04/woman-whose-dog-killed-baby-guilty-in-another-case/

Pit bull owner Kimiko Hardy was sentenced to 3 years in prison.     

Nine. Cindy Whisman, age 59, killed by her daughter’s pit bull while babysitting her toddler grandson in Madison Twp. Ohio.  Death ruled accidental, no charges.  

http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/crime/2014/08/04/butler-co-coroner-responds-to-reported-dog-attack/13583555/

Ten.  Aiden Jonathon Grimm, three days old was killed by a Shepherd mix dog inside his grandmother’s home.  The coroner’s report stated there were no bite injuries on the body.  It appeared that the dog picked the infant up by the head to remove the child from a laundry basket serving as a temporary crib.  All the dogs in this household slept in laundry baskets. 

http://www.wfmj.com/story/31180204/death-of-youngstown-infant-ruled-an-accident

Eleven. Annie Williams, age 71, a great grandmother, was killed by a family member’s pit bull.  The dog was owned by Bobbie Green and her adult son Leon Morton.  Leon Morton pleaded guilty to felony charges to spare his mother a possible jail term.  Morton was sentenced to 30 months in prison with credit for 106 days already served.

http://www.cleveland19.com/story/29533488/woman-dies-following-pit-bull-attack

http://www.cleveland.com/court-justice/index.ssf/2016/04/prison_sentence_dealt_for_keep.html

Twelve. Maurice Brown, age 60 years, was killed by a pit bull kept chained in a Dayton Ohio Back yard on April 25, 2017. 

http://www.whio.com/news/local/dog-attack-family-man-killed-pit-bull-wants-answers-action/cc6fIH9GaSECPK8nHBRF2N/

Thirteen. Michael Parks, 60, of Fostoria Ohio.  This dialysis patient was bitten as he attempted to break up a dog fight between his pit bull and a leashed pit bull being walked in the neighborhood. Parks was bitten on his dialysis shunt and bled out. 
  http://www.wtol.com/story/35943544/fostoria-man-dies-after-being-bitten-while-breaking-up-pit-bull-fight

7/23/2017 Update.  The Toledo Blade, the most pit bull positive newspaper in the country has finally reported this fatality but neglects to note the breed of dogs involved.  The Blade simply does not report pit bull attacks. The Blade did mention the condition of the attacked dog, very serious and may not survive.

 http://www.toledoblade.com/Police-Fire/2017/07/23/Fostoria-man-fatally-mauled-after-breaking-up-dogfight.html

Pit bull roundup, Fulton County drama continues, take this pit bull PLEASE and we will throw in a gift card, real police dogs and pit bull "police dogs"

12/30/2015
Cleveland Ohio
Cuyahoga County



Just when we thought we were done with 2015 this turned up.  another "take this pit bull PLEASE" offering.  This one comes with a $50 gift card!  Simon is waiting for you at the Cleveland City Pound.  An opportunity like this is rare, better hurry.



The Cleveland Pitties Facebook page features lots of available pit bulls.  Simon must be special because he is the only one that comes with a gift card.

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1/1/2016
Columbus Ohio
Franklin County

King the pit bull was promoted by a local TV station in November.  The cheerful video stated clearly that King is dog aggressive (And presumably other animals as well.  Got a cat?  Probably King is a poor choice for you)  and was available to an adopter without other dogs in the household.  Does the widow next door have a Poodle?  The Franklin County shelter has given no consideration to the widow's Poodle in their eagerness to get King out the door.

On January 1st the NBC4 News trots King out again.  Now King is now in the custody of the I Have a Dream Rescue.  The rescue's trainer assures the public that King  "may slowly be introduced to other dogs" and after he has had some time to decompress he will be available for adoption to someone willing to "work with him."




The rescue still promotes King as only suitable for a household with no other dogs. It is not likely that King has changed much in just a few weeks.  The desperation to place this aggressive animal increases.

On January 1st 2016 a search on the Petfinder website for pit bulls in Ohio gives us 18,497 available pit bulls, this is JUST on the Petfinder site.  Why would anyone choose a known dog aggressive pit bull picked up as a stray (failed in at least one household, that's why he was on the streets) taken to a County Shelter where he was deemed too risky to adopt out directly to the public, and transferred to a rescue to limit liability for the county?

Mandatory neuter and spay would solve a lot of problems here.

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1/2/2016
Sandusky Ohio
Erie County

It is only January 2nd and the Sandusky police scanner sounds a warning "a caller advises that an attacking pit bull is running loose on E. Forrest Dr."  So much for a peaceful start to the new year in Sandusky!

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1/3/2016
Akron Ohio
Summit County

I'm stuck on "take this pit bull PLEASE" listings and I need to get over it, but just one more.  I promise.  This is Clyde.





I swear, Clyde is listed as a Basset Hound!!!! You can visit this "Basset Hound" at the Summit County Animal Control facility.  Lets change the available pit bull count to 18,498.

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1/3/2016
Cleveland Ohio
Cuyahoga County

Cleveland police shot at two Bull Mastiffs that were attacking another dog. A neighborhood resident was also attacked. Lets not even pretend that we don't know that Bull Mastiffs are 60% Mastiff and 40% pit bull.  The condition of the dogs, and the human victim were not reported.



Update - New reports indicate that the attacking dog was a "bull Mastiff mix" and it was shot while attacking a pedestrian and the pedestrian's dog.  The attacking dog was killed.  Appropriate.

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1/3/2016
Medina County Ohio

The Medina County Sheriffs Department has made a $12,400 deposit on two new police dogs, both German Shepherds.  The price for each dog is $12,400, total of $24,800.  These dogs were bred in Slovakia and trained in the Czech language for tracking and narcotics detection.  The dogs were imported by Excel K-9 Services.

Please note, these dogs were bred for police work.  They are already trained for tracking and narcotics detection but will not be ready to begin working for another 14 weeks.  They will have an additional six or eight weeks of individual training plus another six weeks of training with two deputies.  Please note this is 14 more weeks of training for these two, already trained police dogs. This will be important later.

This training is normal for police dogs, they are working dogs. Congratulations to Medina County!


The new Medina County police dogs were purchased with money raised by the community.  Wonderful story!


Here is where we are going to take a look at other police dogs.  The Cities of Poughkeespie New York, and the Normangee Texas have new police dogs too.  They both have new pit bull K9 officers. This is a non traditional choice and there is an explanation for this.  That answer is the relentless promotion of pit bulls by the Animal Farm Foundation.

A bit of background here.  New York state is the home of Jane Berkey, wildly wealthy heiress and pit bull fanatic.  She owns both the Animal Farm Foundation and the National Canine Research Foundation, both are run out offices on her farm in rural New York state, in Dutchess County New York to be exact.  The money train that funds pit bull advocacy leaves the station from Berkey's farm. Poughkeepsie in the county seat for Dutchess County New York.

Some economic facts on Poughkeepsie from Wikipedia. " The median household income in the city was $29,389, and the median income for a family was $35,779. Males had a median income of $31,956 versus $25,711 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,759. About 18.4% of families and 22.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 30.3% of those under age 18 and 13.8% of those age 65 or over."

Poughkeepsie is not a big money community and one would expect that a K9 officer (remember the purchase price of the German Shepherds in Medina County) given free of charge to the city police department would be accepted.  Especially when that gift comes from a prominent member of the community.

Enter Kiah, pit bull police dog provided to the cash strapped Poughkeepsie police department free of charge, a gift from the Animal Farm Foundation.  Kiah is expected to serve as a narcotics detection dog and as a tracking dog, AND, as a "breed ambassador."  Who could see that coming?  Kiah was a stray found in a Texas shelter, as was Wilson, a pit bull police dog given to the Normangee Texas Police department by the Animal Farm Foundation.

Background information on Normangee Texas from Wikipedia "As of the census^[1] of 2000, there were 719 people, 277 households, and 185 families residing in the town. "
"The median income for a household in the town was $28,594, and the median income for a family was $34,444. Males had a median income of $29,375 versus $16,042 for females. The per capita income for the town was $18,336. About 16.1% of families and 17.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.2% of those under age 18 and 17.6% of those age 65 or over."
A very small town with economic challenges.

The feel good piece written about Wilson gives a bit more information on the pit bull police dogs provided by the Animal Farm Foundation.  These dogs have received all of FOUR WEEKS of training.   Video on the Normangee link tells us that the Animal Farm Foundation has provided seven of these strays-to-K9-officers-in-just-four-weeks to police departments across the United States.  Presumably these dogs were accepted by police departments with economic challenges.

Kiah and Wilson will have specialized duties, drug sniffer and tracker, not your typical police K9. These limited duties will keep Kiah and Wilson out of high stress situations where their prey drive might lead to injury to the public.  Oh, they will be "breed ambassadors" alright, lots of photo ops with the pit bulls posed in front of police cars, this is pure publicity stunt.

Click here for the thoughts of another blogger on the free pit bull police dogs, and the man behind the fraud.  Thank you to the blogger at the Sudden, Random, Unprovoked and Violent  Blog!

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1/5/2016
Wauseon Ohio
Fulton County

The drama over Bosco the pit bull continues.  Quick review.  Bosco was a stray, picked up October 18th in Toledo Ohio  Bosco was placed with a Fulton County family by the Lucas County Pit Crew, headed by Jean Keating.  Bosco bit a member of his new family just three days after placement, December 26th.  Click here for the back story, it will be found in about the middle of the post.

Bosco has been designated a dangerous dog by the Fulton County Dog Warden and is in quarantine at the Fulton County Pound.  Jean Keating plans to fight this, and goes on to state that "There is a really good chance that Bosco wasn't even involved."  By making this statement Keating, who was not present at the time of Bosco's attack, has called the victim of the attack a liar, as well as all those present at the time.  Keating speculates that since there was another dog inside the house at the time of the bite, that dog was responsible for the bite.  Keating points to a year old bite report for that dog as her proof.

After Bosco's bite, the victim's wife called the Lucas County Pit Crew requesting immediate pick up of the pit bull, The family was uncomfortable keeping Bosco because they have children.  Logical. The victim went to a local hospital for stitches.  Bosco was taken by a representative of the Pit Crew to a Pike Township foster home for quarantine. The Lucas County Pit Crew resisted efforts by local authorities to quarantine Bosco at the Fulton County Pound. Keating refused to reveal the location of Bosco and gave the Fulton County Health Department contact information for her attorney.  Dale Emich, the attorney, gave up the address a day later.  Bosco's fosters refused to turn the dog over to authorities so the county obtained a warrant and seized the pit bull.  Bosco is now quarantined at the Fulton County Pound.

Keating continues to threaten the Fulton County Dog Warden with a lawsuit and ethics complaint. Laughably, she stated "It's misuse of your public office to target an individual or a specific organization because you're angry" while she is targeting the dog warden and the county commissioners because she is angry. Keating has targeted this dog warden for an extended period of time, this is not a new behavior.  The dog warden did not bite Bosco's new owner, the dog placed by the Lucas County Pit Crew bit the new owner. That is the responsibility of the Lucas County Pit Crew.

The dog warden did exactly as he was supposed to do, per the law pushed on the residents of Ohio by Jean Keating and Barbara Sears. For a bit of background here we are going to stroll over to national blog Sudden, Random, Unprovoked, and Violent for a blast from the past video interview by Keating.  She makes this statement regarding the law written by lawyers for Best Friends Animal Society (headquartered in Utah) for Ohio. "[The new law] is much more proactive. It identifies dangerous dogs before they hurt people. That's where our focus needs to be: identifying these dogs long before these incidents occur. Dog attacks occur with every breed, in every city, and most of them are equally horrific.¹ Keating wants dangerous dogs identified before they hurt someone but she did not focus on Bosco, she passed him on with the statement that he was just "jumpy."

The Pit Crew, responsible for placement of Bosco,  did not identify Bosco as a dangerous dog prior to the December 26th bite of the new owner. They continue to deny this despite the bite report and quarantine of Bosco. Dog Warden Banister did as his job requires. After "the incident" he declared Bosco dangerous and quarantined him.  Hating and persecuting the man for doing his job is unproductive.  PLEASE click on the link to watch Keating's interview.  My favorite part of the video is Tom Skeldon getting the opportunity to say "I told you so" about the  failure of the Keating/Sears bill.  Read the thoughts of the SRUV blogger on the failure of the "proactive" Keating/Sears bill.

I digress.  A quote from the Blade "Ms. Keating said Bosco is being treated as a pawn as part of a disagreement between the rescue and Fulton County.  The group is participating in grass-roots efforts to investigate the pound's overall operations, they have been critical of the dog warden, county commissioners, and county policies."  A second quote "We have pending litigation with (dog warden Brian) Banister in another situation. We've shown the public that he doesn't do his job.  He saw an opportunity to take it out on this poor dog."

Wow, I can't imagine why Fulton County officials do not favor Ms. Keating or her Lucas County organization.

It is important to note that a county dog license is considered proof of ownership of a dog.  The Lucas County Pit Crew did not bother to obtain a license for Bosco in Lucas County or in Fulton County.  The Pit Crew did not license Bosco until the day after they picked him up, December 27th. I can't explain this but a quote from the Toledo Blade states "The tag number listed in the sheriff's report returns two different registrants in 2014 and 2015, and neither dog listed to those owners matches Bosco's description."  What tag did the Pit Crew put on Bosco?

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1/6/2016
Wauseon Ohio
Fulton County

Fulton County officials have filed criminal charges against Jean Keating, head of the Lucas County Pit Crew, and against volunteers Kevin Bauer and Andrea Walters.  All three face misdemeanor charges in Fulton County Western District Court.   Keating and Walters face second degree misdemeanor charges of obstructing official business and a minor misdemeanor charge for violating a rabies quarantine.  Bauer is facing a charge of violating a rabies quarantine.  Hearings are scheduled on February 9th.

In a first ever event, Keating refused to comment to Blade reporters.  Keating is now represented by a new attorney, Kirsten Knight, Knight did also not respond to Blade requests for comments either.

A quote from the Blade "The Pit Crew's board of directors released a short statement on the charges Tuesday afternoon.  'The Lucas County Pit Crew is an all volunteer, non profit organization that is comprised of dedicated individuals who will always stand up and speak our when they feel a dog is being mistreated.  Nobody within the organization engaged in any criminal conduct and the evidence will speak for itself.  Our focus remains on the return of Bosco to our care unharmed."

The Pit Crew will file for a court hearing to contest the dangerous dog designation given by Fulton County Dog Warden Brian Banister.

The Fulton County Commissioners have issued a statement "Upon expiration of the quarantine, the dog's owners will be responsible for the dog."  Fulton County considers the Fulton County couple who adopted Bosco from the Lucas County Pit Crew to be the legal owners.  Keating considers the Pit Crew to be the lawful owners of Bosco.  Keating claims that the couple transferred ownership of Bosco to the Pit Crew when the dog was picked up but the dog was not signed over.

Crowd funding to pay the Pit Crew's legal expenses for this fiasco totaled $3000 on the first day.  Pit bull activists have never donated a cent to a pit bull victim to pay medical bills but they donate $3000 to defend a biter, Remember, Pet Finder tells us that there are 18,497 available pit bulls in Ohio and this one, a biter, gets $3000 donated for legal expenses.
   
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After all that drama, lets remember why we are here.



This is Xavier Strickland.  He was walking with his mother in their Detroit neighborhood on the day of his attack, December 2nd.  Xavier's mother is a volunteer at the local grade school, that was their destination.  Xavier and his mother were attacked by three pit bulls, Xavier was dragged across the street and under a gate, mauled and disemboweled by four pit bulls.  His mother, and horrified neighbors were unable to reach him, the gate was locked.

This is Judge Lydia Nance-Adams listening to witness testimony at a preliminary hearing for the owner of the pit bulls.  The only possible appropriate response.



Judge Nance-Adams was asked by the defense attorney to reduce the one million dollar bond for the pit bull owner.  The judge refused.

1/7/2016 Update
The owner of the pit bulls that killed Xavier Strickland will stand trial on second degree murder charges. Per WTKG "A judge said Thursday there's enough evidence to send Geneke Lyons to trial on the murder charge and other crimes."


For more information please click here.

Ohio woman killed by her daughter's pit bull. Will Ohio lawmakers PLEASE quit allowing breed specific advocates/animal rights advocates write and influence Ohio law!

Cindy Whisman, a 59 year old grandmother was killed by her daughter's pit bull as she was babysitting her grandson at her home in Madison Township Ohio.  Cindy Whisman was dead at the scene, her two year old grandson was found uninjured in the yard when a neighbor rushed to help, beating the pit bull away with a walking stick.

Neighbor Wayne Walker with his walking stick.

Julie Whisman, daughter of Cindy Whisman and the owner of the pit bull, named Polo, stated that her son and another dog were in the yard  at the time of the attack.  Julie Whisman identified both her dogs as pit bulls. Other sources have identified the dog not involved in the fatal attack as a Lab or a Lab/German Shepherd mix.  Julie Whisman stated "As far as I know my neighbor told me she saw her and the dog outside,"  "She thought they were playing back and forth like this, then all of a sudden she saw her on the ground and kept saying Polo, Polo, because that was the dog's name, and she was rolling over, so she (the neighbor) called 911 and then she didn't see her no more."  The 911 call included this  “Hurry! My neighbor’s dog is biting her,” the woman tells the dispatcher in between cries for help. “It’s a pit bull, she’s all bloody.”

There was no history of violence from either of Julie Whisman's dogs.  Per WCPO, Whisman will have the option of going through a hearing process if she wants the dog back.  Whisman stated to a reporter that she does not want Polo back but she had this to say about Polo “He loved my son. He would never hurt my son. They played together– my son would sit on him, lay on him. Smack him in the face. He wouldn’t do anything,”    



Cindy Whisman, killed by her daughter's pit bull.

Since the passage of HB 14 in 2012 Ohio has had nine fatal dog attacks, four by pit bulls, one by dogs identified repeatedly by the victim in complaints to animal control as pit/mastiff mixes, and four by all other breeds combined.  Historical note - in the previous 25 years Ohio had six fatal pit bull attacks and six fatal attacks by all other breeds combined.  HB14, sold to foolish legislators as "finally giving dog wardens the tools to deal with dangerous dogs"  is an epic fail.  Here is another historical note, HB 14 was written by Ledy Vankavage's staff at Best Friends Animal Society headquartered in Kanab Utah, the deal was brokered by private citizen and pit bull advocate Jean Keating, and pushed through the Ohio Legislature by Keating's personal friend, Representative Barbara Sears assisted with a media blitz by the Toledo Blade.  All these facts come from documents obtained via public records requests.

Just a week or so ago Jean Keating was interviewed for a story by NBC24.com.  She stated on camera that Ohio law since the passage of HB 14 is "much more proactive, it identifies dogs that are dangerous before they hurt people."   Given the nine fatalities, not so much.  Watch the video, Tom Skeldon is also interviewed. He gives very honest information.  Per NBC24.com "Skeldon says the amended law was a mistake. "At the rate we're going, you're going to have a lot more deaths due to dogs. And, it doesn't have to be that way." Skeldon has the opportunity to say "I told you so."  


This is Polo.

8/5/2014 Update.  Julie Whisman is having second thoughts about Polo.  Per WHIO "Julie Whisman, Cindy’s daughter and the dog’s owner, said today she wants to see the results of that investigation and better understand what happened before making a determination about Polo’s fate. She said after thinking about the situation for 24 hours, she is “indecisive.” 

There is a link to video of Polo at the shelter. The reported stated that Polo was aggressive to both dogs and the dog warden.  

This is insane.  The dog is a killer.  The death has been ruled accidental.

Laws in Ohio, and pit bull violence in Cincinnati. "Bad rap" or simply more of the same?

This post is about laws and politics.  I expect it will wander a bit, even across state lines.



Some good news (I think), the long promised changes to Ohio law regarding dangerous dogs have appeared.  HB 541 is sponsored by Ohio Representatives Winburn and Blair.  Quick review, Representative Winburn was a co-sponsor of HB 14, the bill written by an out of state special interest organization (Best Friends Animal Society) to suit their tastes and agenda.  Representative Blair voted in favor of HB 14.   Since the passage of HB 14, the bill that was sold as "finally gives dog wardens the tools to deal with dangerous dogs" in 2012 seven Ohio residents have been mauled to death by dogs. In the previous 25 years Ohio had 6 fatal dog attacks.  History lesson over.

Here are some highlights of the proposed bill.  Sec. 109.73 (13)" Establishing requirements for the training of dog wardens and deputies for the purposes of division (E) of section 955.12 of the Revised Code."

Some tinkering has been done to the definitions of nuisance dog, dangerous dog and vicious dog.  Please feel free to review the entire proposed law, click here.

Moving along to 955.12 we find that wardens and deputies will now have the authority (if the bill passes) to make arrests.

In 955.13 the Ohio Attorney General is directed to establish and maintain a registry of this chapter and complaints regarding possible violations of it.  The registry will include any dog that is the subject of a complaint, by breed, color, hair type, registration number, and name, the name and address of the owner, gender and DOB.  The registry will also include details of the complaint or possible violations plus name, address, gender and DOB of victims. Descriptions of any enforcement action will be there.  Sternly worded post it notes left on a dog owner's door probably will not cut it. A new section 955.60 (c) states that after posting the the violation notice on the dog owner's door that dog owner must respond within 48 hours, with a bit of wiggle room built in as "reasonable".  Dog owners not responding will be fined $25 whole dollars, after 96 hours the fine jumps to $40 and after one week the courts may issue a summons or warrant for the arrest of the dog owner, keeper, or harborer.  Expect breed specific advocates to hate the registry.

Vicious dogs will be defined as any dog has killed a person or any companion animal (955.11 (6)(a).   If a dog has been determined to be vicious via the unwieldy process written into Ohio law by HB 14 and appeals are denied it will be euthanized.

Killing or serious injury of a person by a dog on a first offense will become a fifth degree felony and the dog will be humanely euthanized.  It would be a felony of the fourth degree if the dog owner has been cited previously. Killing or serious injury of a companion animal by a dog can be a felony of  the fifth degree if the dog owner has been cited previously.

As expected, the Toledo Blade is unhappy with HB 541.  The headline of a Blade article dated 6/2/2014 "Proposed law would demand 'vicious dogs' be put to death" the Blade whines " A proposed law introduced after the mauling death of a Dayton woman would create a statewide registry to track dog violations and complaints and give judges no choice but to order a dog destroyed once it’s been legally declared “vicious.”

This is a problem for the management of the the Blade?  No choice?  The Blade would rather return killer dogs to the community?  Or hustle them off to some other town with no disclosure of previous attacks?

Barbara Sears, sponsor of HB 14 voices her opinion on HB 541 “In some parts of the bill they seem to be broadening it and in other parts seem to be narrowing it down,” she said. “Somebody needs to explain that in more detail. I always knew when we did [House Bill 14 in 2012] that there was going to be a rule or jurisdiction that somebody would need to adapt. I’m much more a fan of letting the locals root those issues out.” Sears is reportedly not a fan of the registry which would track vicious dogs but somebody needs to track these things.  At least she has admitted that it is appropriate for "locals to root these issues out" because pit bull advocates meeting resistance to demands for changes in local law in Parma and Reynoldsburg have threatened to take their demands to the state legislature for a bill prohibiting breed specific legislation.  Good to know that Barbara Sears would not support that.   Interestingly, in the Blade article Representative Sears states that she does not own a dog and never has.  

                                                                    * * *

The City of Lima Ohio has revised the wording but not the intent of their local laws regarding pit bulls.  I find this quote notable " “We are adopting pre-aggression legislation.”  “The difference is we are not defining pit bulls as inherently dangerous, but we wanted to have something in place on a rational basis of what goes on in the city.”

Lima will continue to restrict pit bulls.  Last year in Lima there were 19 reported pit bull bites compared to the next closest with five bites by Shepherd breeds.  Per limaohio.com ,  Those concerns were amplified recently when two people suffered injuries from two 6-month-old male pit bulls and were treated at St. Rita’s Medical Center.

                                                                  * * *

Newark Ohio City Council passed a new law giving local judges discretion to order euthanization of a dog the first time it bites someone and causes serious injury.  Councilman Jeff Rath, sponsor of the bill stated "This is about protecting kids and holding irresponsible dog owners accountable."  Can't argue with that.  This brings us to Cincinnati Ohio.

                                                                 * * *



On June 4, 2014 six year old Zainabou Drame was attacked by pit bulls owned by a neighbor.   This attack occurred while the little girl was playing outside with her brother and other children.  Zainabou's injuries are so severe that until 6/20/2014 she was in a medically induced coma in Cincinnati Children's Hospital and homicide detectives were assigned to her case.  During the attack  Zainabou's mother ran from her home to defend her daughter with a baseball bat (note the sidebar article on Ft. Thomas, we are going there eventually) but was unable to drive the dogs away.  Police were called to the scene of the attack and the pit bulls turned on them as well,  both dogs were shot.  911 audio is available at the link (note the sidebar article on pit bull regulations in the Tri State area) we will get to that as well.  Dashcam video of police arrival and reactions are available here.

Reactions from neighbors may be seen at this link.  There has been no history of violence from these pit bulls and they were reportedly at large frequently. While some neighbors stated they were afraid of these it bulls this was the first documented "bite" from them. Cincinnati, having dropped their breed ban in 2012, allows every dog a first bite and this was a stunner.  Zaiabou's face was ripped away, her jaw was "basically ripped off", her tongue was so damaged that it had to be removed. one eye was sewn shut because the muscle below it no longer functions.  She is now alert and awake but has many surgeries ahead of her.  She will never speak without a tongue, how will she eat?  Her life is changed, who can give her back a normal life?

This attack has cost the City of Cincinnati a great deal of money to date,  police, paramedics, homicide detectives,  it is doubtful that the owners of the pit bulls has any insurance to pay for Zainabou's medical expenses, how many surgeries?  How much money?  The sky is the limit.  Rehabilitation costs?  The expenses don't end.  Zainabou will not be able to speak,  she will hear but not speak.  She will likely learn American Sign Language and will require an interpreter whenever she is in a hospital or medical facility and this cost falls to the hospital.  How about school?  Are schools required to provide interpreters?    My guess is yes and I have no problem with this, this child deserves the full protection of the ADA.

The owners of the pit bulls have been arrested on drug and gun charges.  Zontae Irby is a convicted drug dealer and is currently being held on $75,000 bond.  Police have been to the family home in the past.  Irby is the brother of Dierres Lee who admitted to killing a high school student over a drug deal gone wrong. Valores White has been charged with permitting drug abuse, a felony.  Per a judge's order, White is never to own dogs again.  The County is attempting to seize White's home as a public nuisance due to drug activity going back to 2007.  Given the speed of charges in Cincinnati, why is Dayton so slow to file charges against Custer and Nason, owners of the dogs that killed Konda Richey.   But, I digress.


These are exactly the type of people described in this 2006 research  "Ownership of High Risk (vicious) Dogs as a Marker for Deviant Behavior."     Please note that everyone involved in this research project is from Cincinnati, and participants from the Cincinnati SPCA are among them.  We may return to this research later.


               Zontae Irby                                     Valores White

A spokesman for the Hamilton County ASPCA blames neighbors for what he calls a "preventable tragedy." He stated that neighbors should have called in complaints about loose dogs.  How many unanswered "loose dog" complaints are made in Cincinnati?  This WKRC reporter indicates that it might take many complaints before action is taken.  Harold Dates of the Cincinnati SPCA makes a statement.

The Cincinnati City Council has responded to the near fatal mauling of Zainabou Drame by asking if state law might be strengthened to prevent drug dealers, gang members, and criminals might be prevented from having "those dogs."    A thoughtful city council member might read existing state law.  ORC Section 955.54 states

955.54 Possession of certain dogs by convicted felons prohibited.

(A) No person who is convicted of or pleads guilty to a felony offense of violence committed on or after the effective date of this section or a felony violation of any provision of Chapter 959., 2923., or 2925. of the Revised Code committed on or after the effective date of this section shall knowingly own, possess, have custody of, or reside in a residence with either of the following for a period of three years commencing either upon the date of release of the person from any period of incarceration imposed for the offense or violation or, if the person is not incarcerated for the offense or violation, upon the date of the person's final release from the other sanctions imposed for the offense or violation:

(1) An unspayed or unneutered dog older than twelve weeks of age;

(2) Any dog that has been determined to be a dangerous dog under Chapter 955. of the Revised Code.

(B) A person described in division (A) of this section shall microchip for permanent identification any dog owned, possessed by, or in the custody of the person.

(C)

(1) Division (A) of this section does not apply to any person who is confined in a correctional institution of the department of rehabilitation and correction.

(2) Division (A) of this section does not apply to any person with respect to any dog that the person owned, possessed, had custody of, or resided in a residence with prior to the effective date of this section.

Added by 129th General AssemblyFile No.75, HB 14, §1, eff. 5/22/2012.

Cincinnati is not finished with pit bull violence. On June 6th police responded  to a call about a street fight.  A man was using his pit bull to attack other people.  Police shot the dog.  On June 8th police shot another pit bull, it was menacing children but restraint was shown and a taser was deployed, it did not work so the pit bull was shot.

Cincinnati pit bull owners announced an event in response to the very public attack on a Cincinnati child.  The first thing that might come to mind is crowd funding for  Zainabou Drame's medical bills.  Anyone making that guess would be wrong.  The event was a Pit Pride Parade.  As an apparent afterthought a collection was taken and it was reported that $500 was collected to be used for Zainabou's medical costs.

Our next post will explain how Cincinnati's pit bull advocacy crosses state lines.  

Life in Ohio, thanks Barbara Sears!

These are true stories, sent to the blogger at Craven Desires and forwarded to me.  The writer gives us a peek at how the passage of HB 14 has impacted peaceful Ohio residents.  Please remember that HB 14 was sold to foolish and/or corrupt Ohio lawmakers as a means of giving Ohio Dog Wardens the "tools to deal with vicious dogs."  We see no evidence of this so far.  Here is what peaceful Ohio residents actually experience thanks to Barbara Sears and her relentless, thoughtless, but well funded sell out to pit bull advocacy.  The writer was willing to have her stories told here unedited except for removing identifying locations.

"My son would be dog meat now if it weren't for me having wasp spray handy two days ago.
I would have had my camera out if I wasn't trying to blind a pit bull. My son is terrorized. Absolutely terrified

He was crying so hard and shaking behind me when the pit bull tried to eat him on Oct 25th. Thanks to me wielding pesticides he is alive and not hospitalized.  I am gonna start wielding a knife in my purse and a camera. I want to help. I just could not grab a camera these last two times because the fear of being bit or having my son attacked was overwhelming.

Hey I have so much to share with you. I live in XXXX Ohio  (a large city in northeastern Ohio) .  Meth capital of the country and now pit bull haven. There are dozens of these dogs on every block. No exaggeration.  1 block away in one direction there are about 11 pit bull dogs between 3 families.  On this block there are 4 adult pit bull dogs and about 3 pups. Another block in the other direction there are pits and a cane corso. At least one cane corso. I can go on and on with the number of pit bull dogs that live within 5 blocks radius of my home. I can no longer walk or drive safely anywhere without spotting pit bull dogs.
To start I don't always think about pulling out my camera when I am faced with a frightening thing. Sometimes my mind goes blank and my body goes into action. So unfortunately my pit bull encounters are undocumented. 

My husband was driving myself and our three boys in our van to the store. As we turn a corner going down a side street we've always utilized to avoid traffic, we come upon a street wide pit bull fight blocking the lane and our van. There were between 7 and 9 dogs fighting (pit bulls) in a kind of dog pile line. Like they formed a line from one curb nearly to the other. Dogs gripping dogs on top of dogs. It was chaos. To this day I regret not recording the entire scene. People were trying to pull the dogs loose and getting bit in the meantime.  We revved up our engine and the dogs didn't budge instead continued to maul each other and surrounding humans. All the humans were the dog owners.  So I don't feel sorry for them. Anyway we were going to drive right through the pit bull fight line dog pile thing but we didn't want to hit any people. That'd be a nasty thing to file with the insurance company.  Being completely delayed in our trip we went another route and called the cops and reported dog fighting. 
The next encounter was worse. I am walking my son home from the store. It is a cool October day so we stop into a convenient store for hot cocoa for him and coffee for me. We are walking home hand in hand, arms laden with bags and chit chatting.  He is 5 years old. We reach this tall church near the entry to our street and we hear a loud menacing growling. I can't see the dog at this point but I pull my son close to me and stand still. I see it a big grey pit bull pounce from its front porch hair on its back straight up. I call to the owners to grab their dog. But no adults are in sight just children.  The oldest is 10 at most. He is freaking out and nobody can get the dog. He is pleading with me that the dog won't bite. She charges for my son... I pull out my was spray and blast this bitch in the eye. She runs off in the other direction and my son and I make it home safely. I call the pound and nothing has been done since we were not attacked."

 " October 9 11:08am

Hey I haven't corresponded with you in awhile. My life was topsy turvy for a good long time and Facebook was acting up. I attempted to send you a story about pit bulls gone wild here in XXXX ever since Ohio legalized pit bulls we can't walk half a block without seeing their ugly mugs.  And instead of being incredibly well behaved peaceful pups smoking peace pup pipes they are a menace at least."

(The writer tells the story of the pit bull street fight again but gives additional details.)

"Two blocks away there are three "families" or households that own somewhere in the range of 9-11 pit bulls all together. Well one day 9 of those freaking crazy animals all got out of their homes and yards and had a street wide dog fight. People were screaming and freaking out. The reason I know this is they were blocking traffic. It wasn't reported but we called the cops and the cops never showed up

They were in a literal dog pile. Dog on top of dog. Two dogs were locked in each others jaws. Like one dog sunk his teeth into the other dogs lower lip. And was locked on. There were other pit bulls some smaller some larger all just piling on each other and biting. Some people got bit but it was the owners not any innocent bystanders. I was in my van. The dogs were blocking traffic so I took another route but was totally inconvenienced.
The people had break sticks and weapons the biggest male owner was slapping the shit out of one dog and trying to pull it away from the fight but it bit the fuck out of him and got back in the mix.
It was 9 pit bulls. My husband and I counted to be sure. 9.
Thanks to Ohio's new law...."

"10/9, 11:24am

Then my mom and I were walking to the bus stop to get my son. A menacing white and black pit bull was sitting just inside a glass door. My mom said something and I said "that bitch is crazy. She told me to my face that the dog is vicious and even growls at her kids. There is no way I'd keep a dog in my house that growls like that" so this lady's neighbor comes to the defense of the dog I said "Bro this conversation was A B and you were not invited to comment. Your girl told me that the dog is mean. In her own words so mind your own business. I didn't ask you"

In fact her kids tell me the dog is mean. They are afraid of it. So she's just lacking common sense
Anyway those are my pitnutter stories. I know you can't use them over at cravendesires since I don't have proof or a source but I thought I'd fill you in on what good Ohio's law for pit bulls is doing to our neighborhoods and kids."



Thank you Craven Desires for sharing this material.

 

More thoughts on regulating rescues.

From Florida, a pit bull mix was trafficked out of Broward County to Helping Paws 22 Rescue, a 501c3 in southwest Florida.  Lilly failed her real world temperament test by attacking her current owner, her prospective owner, and her current owner's son.  Here is the Cliffs Notes version of the story per the NewsPress.com  "The dog was owned by Patricia Agnello, who runs Helping Paws, a non profit organization.  Her son, Christopher Agnello, told officers that Lilly had been playing all day, and when Shelley Loudermilk of Columbus GA., arrived to take Lilly, the dog attacked his mother and Loudermilk. Christopher Agnello stated he ran outside and jumped on the dog in an attempt to control it but the dog turned on him and began trying to attack his face.  A friend of the Agnellos, identified as Marie Wilton, called for help and then ran outside with a knife, stabbing the dog near the rib cage.  They were then able to muzzle the dog a on place it inside a kennel."  Lilly did not survive her injuries.  For more information on this attack please click here.

You can purchase this bumper sticker from Helping Paws for just one dollar.  Ms. Loudermilk was unable to complete the purchase prior to transport to a local hospital.

The Helping Paws 22 Facebook page includes a sad notice posted on August 8th.  Another rescue, OC Shelter dogs of Orange CA announced that a dog that they placed on 7/30/2013 had been returned to the group with the request that the dog be humanely euthanized because it attacked another animal in the new household.  In classic humaniac style, hysterical comments blamed the new owner and demanded identification, public shaming,  and placement on a Do Not Adopt list.  Here was the sales pitch for this dog  KOA Pet ID: A1263579 Sex: N Age: 6 Months Color: BLACK - WHITE Breed: PIT BULL - MIX 
*in kennel visit- Energetic,needs basic training,kissy,playful- can't wait to meet him out of kennel!
OC Animal Care
714-935-6848
561 The City Drive South
Orange, CA 92868 Map

RIP pitty, and RIP to your victim as well.

I'm sure that these groups feel strongly that they are serving the needs of unfortunate animals but in practice they put the public at unreasonable risk and must be regulated.  Emotion frequently interferes with common sense.



Some rescues have no problem with risk, others give no consideration to law.  The next two items go in that direction.  Speaking of rescues and regulation, this from the Toledo Blade regarding their favorite breed specific advocate, Jean Keating.  It must be remembered that the Toledo Blade is one of the two most pit bull friendly newspapers in the United States, both publications are owned by the Block brothers.  John Robinson Block was the recipient of the very first Hello Bully award.  A short quote from the Blade on this honor for Mr. Block.
"The group, Hello Bully, is presenting Mr. Block with the first Hello Bully Hero Award, an annual recognition of greatness in the community. Mr. Block is being commended for the work he did in Ohio with helping to change breed-specific legislation, said Nicole Meloy, director of development and events for the nonprofit group.  “We follow all [breed-specific legislation] issues very closely but especially this one in Ohio, since it was in our own backyard,” Ms. Meloy said. “We were recently made aware of John Block’s efforts in spearheading the initiative to eliminate Ohio’s BSL and were extremely impressed and grateful for what he had helped to accomplish. Any person that has that much passion about an issue, especially regarding pit bulls, is a remarkable individual in our eyes.”  
It is clear that breed specific advocacy is well aware of the tremendous influence of shameless Blade hucksterism on this issue and on the passage of  HB 14 to deregulate pit bulls in Ohio.  This bill was sold to foolish legislators as "finally giving dog wardens the tools to deal with vicious dogs."  Not so much, Ohio had four dog mauling deaths in the first year after the passage of the bill.   

But enough of that rehash and back to the Blade's favorite pit bull advocate, Jean Keating. It seems that Ms. Keating's home town, Sylvania has a zoning code regulation that limits the numbers of dogs that may be kept on a residential property.  Keating has run afoul of local law.   At the time that Ms. Keating was cited she had nine pit bulls at her home, three were her own dogs and six were fosters for Ms. Keating's organization, the Lucas County pit crew.  Current Sylvania law limits the number of dogs legally kept on a residential property to just three.

This is a short quote from the Blade that pretty much sums up Ms. Keating's thoughts.
"Resident Jean Keating questioned council recently on why she was told by Bob Oberly, zoning administrator, that she was in violation of a city ordinance limiting the number of dogs on a residential property. She told council she wanted limits on dogs removed from the code.

“I think dogs are considered property, and people should have as many as they can care for," she told council at a recent meeting."  Ms. Keating is quoted as stating that she feels that she should be able to house as many as ten pit bulls on her residential property but fails to fully understand that her current legal troubles have their basis in a complaint from a neighbor that she is not keeping the dogs she already has in a manner that makes neighbors feel safe. 

Ok now, Keating wants limits removed on her whim and she expects that this will simply happen without opposition.  She may be right, after all state law was changed to suit her tastes.  HB14 was introduced and relentlessly promoted by Keating's personal friend Representative Barbara Sears.  Sears used her position in the Ohio majority party shamelessly in order to promote the bill.  Sears partnered with an out of state animal rights PAC, allowing them to actually write the bill and to hire lobbyists to promote it.  Now the city of Sylvania is allowing Keating to submit suggestions on how local law might suit her better.  Holy cow...

Before I turn to other stories I would like to point out the photo of Keating with her three pit bulls that is found with the Blade article on Keating's refusal to abide by local law.  The dogs are named, Milo, Chief and a dog that is familiar in the Ohio Legislature, Wendy.  Wendy appeared at HB 14 hearings in the Ohio House and in the Ohio Senate.  She was introduced by Keating  "I have brought Wendy with me today. Wendy is being trained as a service animal for a young child with post-traumatic stress disorder, sensory integration dysfunction, low muscle tone, and panic attacks. Wendy was chosen because she has the temperament and physical characteristics to perform the work needed to assist this child in leading a more normal life. Those same physical characteristics currently identify Wendy as a vicious dog under Ohio law. The American Staffordshire Terrier, which is a breed commonly referred to as a pit bull type is a popular choice for a service animal because of some unique qualities. They are hardy, athletic, and very socially connected dogs. They are also very easy to train as they are eager to please."   Now it is made clear that Wendy is not a "service dog in training" she is simply one of Keating's dogs.  Was the Ohio Legislature too foolish to question the song and dance they got from breed specific advocacy or were they too corrupt to question the sell out to a well financed and organized special interest group?  



Moving along to more adventures with dog rescue.  Residents of Rittman Ohio may be sleeping a bit better.  Kristine Maxwell announced that she has closed up shop with her Presa Canario rescue in response to a health crisis with her very cute young GSD.  In comments on this thread Maxwell admits that she has five dogs of her own plus eight rescues.  She was wildly over the local limit of two dogs per residence.  For more on Maxwell's Presa Canario rescue please click here and here.  I sincerely hope this cute puppy does well for her.  I  had a young dog get a horrible diagnosis and understand her distress.  My dog did well and lived a long and full life.  I hope the same for her pup.  

From Texas comes this rescue disaster story posted by the Brownsville Herald on 8/18/2013.  A judge has decided that 240 dogs and several cats originally rescued by a group calling itself Animal Guardians of America and recently rescued from the rescue by The Denton County Sheriffs department and  the Humane Society of North Texas may be put up for adoption.  The Animal Guardians of America relinquished rights to the animals in lieu of paying fees.  A Humane Society spokesperson stated that urine and feces were "everywhere" on the property and that the property lacked proper water.  This situation was brought to the attention of local officials via complaints by citizens. 


Dog  rescues are not the only ones that run into trouble when animal lovers get in over their heads or fail to use common sense.   This story from Green Springs Ohio deals with an individual who thought she was "rescuing" cats.  Barbara Shockley's residence was raided and seventy living cats and four dead cats were removed from the home. The cats were taken to the Humane Society of Sandusky County, 34 cats were humanely euthanized due to medical conditions.  Shockley is expected to be charged with cruelty to animals, the statement was made that Shockley was not intentionally cruel but she was "neglectful."     




For my final rescue story for this post, there has been a decision on the disposition of the Effingham County GA dangerous pit bull named Kno.  For background on this story please click here.  The judge has recently decided that Kno may be trafficked to New York state.  Please note that per the Savannah Now article, Kno was turned over the the county after the attack on young Wesley Frye last year.  The county has been responsible for this dog for the last year and the legal system even provided Kno with a lawyer.  The receiving rescue, Glen Wild, has stated that they expect payment of $5000 for lifetime custodial care for this mauler.  Will Effingham County pay that bill too?  Current donations for Kno's care total only $235 as of 8/17/2013.


Hearings will be held in Ohio on a law to regulate high volume breeders.  This law will have some impact on rescues but what has been proposed is not enough.  Per the proposed law rescues must only register.  The law should allow inspection at any time, demand that county dog wardens be notified of any designated dangerous dogs to be moved into their jurisdictions prior to transport with a mandatory inspection of facilities, allow for audit of financial records, and recognize the authority of local law limiting the numbers of dogs to be housed.  The ODA did not go far enough.    

OHIO INFO: PUBLIC HEARING ON HIGH-VOLUME DOG BREEDER RULES TO BE HELD 8/29

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

The Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) will hold a public hearing to accept testimony on the proposed new administrative rules that relate to the regulation and licensing of high-volume commercial dog breeders.  The hearing will be held on Thursday, August 29, 2013.  It is important that those parties who may be regulated review the proposed regulations and provide comment to ODA.  

BACKGROUND:  In March, Ohio enacted a new law that defines “high volume commercial dog breeders” as anyone who both produces nine litters of puppies AND sells 60 dogs or puppies in a calendar year. Both criteria must be met to be subject to the licensing and other requirements.

Rescues are also required to be registered with the state if they keep, house, or maintain dogs in Ohio. This includes those who coordinate rescue efforts in the state. Rescues will not be required to comply with the proposed regulations for high-volume breeders, but must still complete and submit a registration form.

MEETING INFORMATION:  The hearing will be held on Thursday, August 29, 2013, at 9AM, in Hearing Room 133 (Seminar “B”) of the Bromfield Administration Building, 8995 East Main Street, Reynoldsburg, OH 43068-3399.  Any person affected by the new rules may appear at the hearing and be heard.  Any person who wishes to present his position, arguments, or contentions in writing, other than at the public hearing, may do so by mailing their written comments to:

Ohio Department of Agriculture
C/o Legal Section
8995 East Main Street
Reynoldsburg, OH 43068
FAX: (614) 995-4585

Written comments must be postmarked no later than August 29, 2013.  Fax submissions must be received by 5PM on August 29, 2013. 

RULES TO BE CONSIDERED:  The following rules will be open to comment at the August 29, 2013, hearing: 

901:1-6-01 – Definitions and general considerations
901:1-6-02 – Housing
901:1-6-03 – Socialization
901:1-6-04 – Food and water
901:1-6-05 – Health
901:1-6-06 – Transportation
901:1-6-07 – Record keeping and identification
901:1-6-08 – Licensing
901:1-6-09 – Inspections


8/25/2013 Update - The need to regulate the 'rescue' industry is not a uniquely American problem.  Please click here for thoughts from Australia.   

For a long look at the hazy line between "rescue" and hoarding, please click here.