A dog bite that left a man with an injured leg was the most serious of several animal complaints that sent Lawrence County deputies out to deal with dogs that weren’t staying where they belonged.
Dog Bite Leads to Citation
In one case, a man told deputies he was outside when a neighbor’s dog came onto his property and bit him on the leg.
The responding deputy observed and photographed the injury before speaking with the dog’s owner.
According to the sheriff’s report, the owner acknowledged the dog had gotten loose. The deputy issued a citation for failure to confine the animal.
Ohio Toughened Its Dog Laws
The incident comes after major changes to Ohio’s dog laws commonly known as Avery’s Law, which took effect in March.
The new law strengthened Ohio’s rules for nuisance, dangerous and vicious dogs and increased the consequences when owners fail to control dogs that injure people.
Ohio law now specifically defines an unprovoked dog attack that causes an injury to a person as a dangerous dog act in certain circumstances. More serious attacks, including those causing serious injury or death, can fall under the state’s vicious dog provisions.
Owners are also required to keep their dogs confined or restrained on their property or under someone’s reasonable control. That can mean a leash, adequate fence, secure enclosure or supervision that prevents the dog from escaping.
Dogs formally designated dangerous or vicious face much stricter requirements. Those can include secure confinement, restrictions when the dog is off the owner’s property and at least $100,000 in liability insurance.
More Dogs on the Loose
The bite wasn’t the only call involving dogs where they weren’t supposed to be.
Deputies handled additional complaints about loose animals, including dogs wandering onto neighboring property and concerns from residents about dogs repeatedly getting out.
Not every call ended with a bite or citation, but the reports show how quickly a loose-dog problem can go from a neighborhood nuisance to an injury.
And under Ohio’s newly strengthened dog laws, “my dog just got out” doesn’t necessarily end the owner’s responsibility when someone gets hurt.