OHIO -- Five Dayton-area residents were injured Saturday in two incidents with pit bull mixes as state lawmakers again consider passage of law that would end the breed’s unique designation as the only dog classified as vicious in Ohio.
On Saturday, doctors used 85 to 100 stitches to close two bites to a 4-year-old boy’s face from an acquaintance’s dog about 4 p.m. in Dayton. An hour later, four members of a Franklin family were treated for bites or scratches from their family dog, according to reports.
The Franklin family turned over the dog they had raised from a puppy for euthanization under the existing law. In the Dayton case, police fatally shot the dog after it charged police called to the incident on Dover Street, east of the University of Dayton.
“A lot of people own pit bulls. I wouldn’t own one. They bite too many people,” said Sgt. Kelly Hamilton of the Dayton Police Department, the supervisor assigned to investigate the officers’ use of their guns.
The Ohio Senate Judiciary - Criminal Justice committee is considering Sub. H.B. 14, which would end Ohio’s distinction as the only state in the nation with a breed-specific vicious dog law.
Passed in 1987, the state law defines pit bulls as vicious, but includes other breeds in that category only if there is a documented history of an individual animal killing or injuring a person or killing another dog.
It is the second time State Rep. Barbara Sears, R-Monclova Twp. has sponsored the law change.
“That’s as wrong as discrimination against anything else,” Sears told the Dayton Daily News last year as the last legislative session was coming to a close.
In June, a new bill was passed by the House and assigned to the Senate Judiciary-Criminal Justice Committee, chaired by Timothy Grendell, R-Chester Twp., and including Sen. Peggy Lehner, R-Kettering.
While some fear the breed, others love it.
“While we understand these dogs do get into trouble (because of irresponsible owners, bad breeding and about a million other reasons) there is far more good than bad about this breed,” according to www.pitbulllovers.com.
“The pit bull is blessed with tenacious athletic ability (the ultimate super dog), loyalty, intelligence, and high energy. “These dogs are not lap dogs or a dog for the lazy person,” according to the web site.
Last year, a Dayton Daily News examination of dog bites in Montgomery County found pit bulls led all breeds in the number of reported dog bites since January 2009. But boxers, German shepherds and Labradors collectively had more bites reported. All told, 83 percent of the reported bites did not involve pit bulls or pit bull mixes.
Dog fatally shot after biting 4-year-old Dayton boy
The 4-year-old boy bitten Saturday in Dayton was under the supervision of his mother’s friends at 68 Dover. The 45-pound dog bit him as he reached for a candy dish while visiting up the street at 76 Dover, police said.
“I’d seen it many a time. I never thought it would do this,” said Larry Honeycutt, in whose care the boy was left by his mother.
Blood spots marked the sidewalk on Dover where the boy ran home before being taken by ambulance to the hospital.
Police arrived after the ambulance and opened the door to the garage at 68 Dover, where the dog was taken after the biting.
“The dog charged the officers. They shot it,” Hamilton said.
Attempts to contact the residents of 68 Dover were unsuccessful.
“They didn’t want their dog shot,” Hamilton said. “They didn’t want it to bite a child. They’re remorseful about it.”
No arrests were made, but Hamilton said a vicious dog complaint would referred to prosecutors.
Franklin family gives up pet after incident
About 5:20 p.m. in Franklin, a 7-year-old pit bull mix injured four members of a family he had been living with for about seven years on Vernon Street. The dog was controlled and turned over to the Warren County Dog Warden for euthanization.
“They’ve had it since it was a puppy,” Warren County Dog Warden Nathan Harper said. The parents and two children were treated and released, according to authorities.
Harper said problems with pit bull bites were no more frequent than with other dogs in Warren County.
Still he objected to any steps that weakened animal control officers’ ability to take action against vicious dogs, particularly pit bulls.
“You get some of these pits that are friendly as can be,” he said. “It’s the potential they have if they do bite, the damage that they can cause.”
(Dayton Daily News - Nov 6, 2011)
