Dog mauling puts focus on vicious dog laws

State may review vicious dog law following Dayton woman's death


What do you think of Ohio’s vicious dog laws?

We asked readers on our Facebook page what they thought of Ohio's dog laws and labels for animals. Join the conversation at www.Facebook.com/daytondailynews or www.Facebook.com/whionews. Here's some of the responses:

Molly Stancliff: Had the prior calls been taken seriously, the new Ohio ordinances would have been effective if enforced. Maybe the city needs to give animal control more resources, or maybe they just need to follow the laws that are on the books. In any case, the reports seem to point to a serious lack of action on the city's part, and it's a tragedy that someone died because of it.

Mandi Riegle: Label the bad owners not the dogs. The dogs only got that way because of neglect and abuse. What's really bull is the "dangerous dog breeds" list.

Janet Woodworth Jennings: It doesn't need changed…it just needs to be enforced!

Nanette Scheve-Hall: Everybody should be happy that these labels or classifications are on the individual dog & no longer an entire breed. That being said, if the A.R.C. or other authorities don't become more proactive in follow through on complaints, no dog will ever be given any label or designation, thus making it all moot.

Local lawmakers respond to dog attack

Roland Winburn

State Representative, D-Harrison Twp.

“When I grew up it was the Doberman pincher, then it was Rottweilers, and then pit bulls. It changes decade to decade about what dog is vicious.”

Bill Beagle

State Senator, R-Dayton

“I don’t know if there is anything in the bill that would prevent attacks.” Beagle voted against the 2012 law change.

Peggy Lehner

State Senator, R-Kettering

“Any time you have a tragic death like this people want to know what happened.” “I think it’s appropriate for us to wait for the results of the investigation.”

Fred Strahorn

State Representative, D-Dayton

“I’ll take a look at it. Obviously, that was just a terrible, terrible thing.”

Continuing coverage

Our team of reporters will stay on this important story as it develops. More details have emerged about Klonda Richey’s life on Bruce Avenue and her tragic death. Read more in Sunday’s Dayton Daily News

Funeral arrangements

Visitation for Klonda Richey will be from 2 to 5 p.m. Saturday at the Baker-Hazel & Snider Funeral Home & Crematory, 5555 Philadelphia Drive. Richey was mauled to death by two mixed-mastiff dogs outside of her home at 31 E. Bruce Ave. on Friday. Police continue to investigate the case. No one has been charged in the attack.

State lawmakers will likely review Ohio’s dangerous dog laws in the wake of the mauling death of Klonda Richey, House Republican Caucus spokesman Mike Dittoe said Tuesday.

“Certainly cases like this often reignite an issue and reignite debate,” he said.

Richey’s body was found in the snow outside her home on East Bruce Avenue Friday morning by a passerby. When police arrived, two dogs, both mixed-mastiff breeds, charged at them, prompting the officers to shoot and kill them.

Ohio law used to automatically categorize pit bulls as vicious, which triggered higher insurance premiums. But legislators revamped the laws on dangerous dogs two years ago after pit bull owners objected to being charged more for homeowners’ insurance because of the breed of their pets, rather than the behavior of their dogs.

“When I grew up it was the Doberman pincher, then it was Rottweilers, and then pit bulls. It changes decade-to-decade about what dog is vicious,” said State Rep. Roland Winburn, D-Harrison Twp., who co-sponsored the 2012 law. He said the behavior — not the breed — should determine if a dog is dangerous.

The new law, which took effect in May 2012, created three definitions for problem dogs — nuisance, dangerous and vicious — and removed pit bulls from the definition of a vicious dog. It also created a process for owners to appeal the designation of their pet as a nuisance dog.

Nuisance dogs are those who, without provocation and off their owners’ property, chase or menace someone or attempt to bite a person. Dangerous dogs have, without provocation, injured someone, killed other dogs or had three or more violations of regulations covering the confinement or control of dogs. Vicious dogs are defined as those who have, without provocation, killed or caused serious injury to a person.

The dogs in the deadly mauling last week did not have any of those designations, authorities have said.

The dogs were registered to Richey’s neighbor Julie Custer, 25. Custer and Andrew Nason, 28, who lived at 35 E. Bruce Ave., next to Richey, were questioned by police over the weekend and released on Sunday. No formal charges have been filed against them. Richey had sought a civil protection order against Nason, but it was denied.

There also were a series of 13 anonymous complaints to the Montgomery County Animal Resource Center and more than 20 calls — some anonymous and other either from Richey or affiliated with Richey’s phone number – to the Regional Dispatch Center complaining about the dog issues, drug use and fireworks.

The new state law also eliminated a requirement that dangerous dogs be leashed or tethered on their owners’ property and replaced it with a more generic requirement that the dogs be adequately restrained on the owners’ property, such as in a locked fenced yard or in a pen with top.

People convicted of violent felonies or certain offenses regarding animals, weapons, drugs or corrupt activity are prohibited from owning or living with any unspayed dog older than 12 weeks or any dog that has been designated dangerous. These restrictions apply to people convicted after May 2012 and apply for three years after their prison or probation release. And these dangerous dog owners must microchip their dogs for permanent identification.

Dayton City Law Director John Danish said officers are empowered to cite dog owners under either the city ordinance or state law, though he has not studied which regulations are more stringent. Dayton last revamped its dangerous dog ordinance in 2004, he said.

The state action in 2012 represented a comprehensive review of the nuisance dog laws.

State Sen. Bill Beagle, R-Tipp City, voted against the bill, saying he was concerned about data showing a higher incidence of aggression in the pit bull breed. He noted that two pit bulls attacked a cyclist in Piqua, causing serious injury, around the time that the bill was being debated.

“I don’t know if there is anything in the bill that would prevent attacks,” he said regarding the death of Richey.

The 2012 bill that changed Ohio’s dog laws passed the Senate on a 27-5 vote and passed the House on a 69-29 vote. Miami Valley lawmakers were split on the matter.

The local lawmakers that voted for for the 2012 bill were: Winburn, State Sens. Peggy Lehner, R-Kettering; Chris Widener, R-Springfield; Keith Faber, R-Celina; Shannon Jones, R-Springboro; state Reps. Terry Blair, R-Washington Twp.; Jim Butler, R-Oakwood; Peter Beck, R-Mason; Bob Hackett, R-London; Ross McGregor, R-Springfield and Ron Maag, R-Lebanon.

The local lawmakers that voted against the bill were Beagle, former state Reps. Jarrod Martin, R-Beavercreek, and Clayton Luckie, D-Dayton, state Reps. John Adams, R-Sidney, Richard Adams, R-Troy, Jim Buchy, R-Greenville, and Mike Henne, R-Clayton.

State Rep. Fred Strahorn, a Democrat representing the district where Friday’s attack took place, said he is open to reviewing the dangerous dog law and seeing if any changes are needed.

“I’ll take a look at it. Obviously, that was just a terrible, terrible thing,” Strahorn said.

Winburn said, “First of all we need to look at the situation and get more investigation and facts around that particular situation, and then we need to look into the bill again. I don’t want to rush into anything.”

Lehner, who voted in favor of the 2012 revisions, agreed with Winburn.

“Any time you have a tragic death like this people want to know what happened,” she said. “I think it’s appropriate for us to wait for the results of the investigation.”

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