Changes to vicious dog law in Ohio - 13abc.com Toledo (OH) News, Weather and Sports

Changes to vicious dog law in Ohio

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Ohio Governor John Kasich is expected to sign legislation that would no longer automatically label all pit bulls as vicious. It's been a hard fought battle that has sparked heated debates for years.

State law currently defines a vicious dog as one that's hurt or killed a person, killed another dog or is among those commonly known as pit bulls. The bill, which was sponsored by State Representative Barbara Sears of Sylvania removes the reference to pit bulls from the definition.

Barbara Sears says, "We're giving good dog owners the benefit of the doubt and we're going to nail bad owners and hold them accountable." She goes on to say its important to point out that bad dogs, no matter what their breed, will be dealt with and there are different categories for behavior. "You can have nuisance dogs, dangerous dogs and vicious dogs and it appropriately classifies it and puts restrictions on the dog and the owner regardless or breed."

It was a first on Friday at the Lucas County Dog Warden's Office. For the first time ever, a rescue group other than the Humane Society was able to adopt pit bulls.

Laura Simmons with the Lucas County Pit Bulls. Dog Warden's Office says, "Before now we were only able to transfer pit bulls from the county Dog Warden's office to the Toledo Area Humane Society for adoption, but we recently changed that policy and we're now able to adopt to other transfer partners. Some are rescue groups, others are foster home based and some have facilities."

Karma and Faith were adopted by the Lucas County Pit Crew on Friday. "We've been on this for five years and it seems like a long time to get to this place but it takes time when people have been misled...they're afraid so we've gone back to the beginning and we're working to educate people," Jean Keating says. Keating, who works with the Pit Crew says Karma and Faith are just the start of a great partnership. "Last year we adopted out 49 dogs. This year we've adopted six so far. And now with our new partnership with the Dog Warden's Office, we hope to adopt out twice as many in the coming year."

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    Wednesday, May 22 2013 6:17 AM EDT2013-05-22 10:17:54 GMT
    NB I-75 shut down north of Cygnet due to accident involving school bus
    Around two dozen people were injured Tuesday night in a bus crash on I-75. It happened around 10:30 p.m. in the northbound lanes of I-75, just north of the Cygnet exit
  • Thursday, May 16 2013 6:03 PM EDT2013-05-16 22:03:23 GMT
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  • Tuesday, May 21 2013 5:11 PM EDT2013-05-21 21:11:44 GMT
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