Overview of Ohio Law Regarding Dangerous Dogs
An understanding of Ohio’s dangerous dog laws is important for dog owners in the state of Ohio. Essentially, the law is intended for everyone’s safety. After an incident involving injury or death, various levels of regulation for certain breeds and previous breeds are implemented.
The first law consolidating dangerous dog definitions in Ohio was passed in 1987. This 1987 Ohio law defined a vicious dog was "Any dog with a known tendency, tendency, inclination, or pre-disposition to attack, cause injury to, or kill humans or domestic animals." It also defined a vicious dog as one that "Without provocation, has killed, or inflicted serious injury on, or has created a reasonable probability of serious injury due to a dog bite upon, a human being or a domesticated animal in an attack other than acts of defense."
The 1987 vicious dog law was passed after a number of dog attacks occurred. One of the attacks was in Cincinnati, where a 40-pound dog mauled a woman. In 1996, while rescuing a cat from two fighting dogs a Union County man was mauled to death. In 1997, a three-year-old child was hospitalizes from injuries sustained after being attacked by his family’s dog, a German shepherd. An Akron dog maulings in 1991 injured a 10-year-old boy and killed a 75-year-old man.
The law has been amended and now reads (A) As used in sections 955.22 to 955 . 27 of the Revised Code, "dangerous dog" means any of the following:
- (1) A dog that, without provocation, has killed or inflicted serious injury on any person;
- (2) A dog that, without provocation, has killed or inflicted serious injury on another dog;
- (3) A dog that, without provocation, has killed or inflicted injury on a domestic animal that is not a dog;
- (4) A dog that, without provocation, has inflicted injury, other than killing, on a person or domestic animal that is not a dog;
- (5) A dog that, without provocation, otherwise kills or otherwise inflicts injury on a person, domestic animal that is not a dog, or livestock.
(A) As used in this section, "serious injury" means any of the following:
- (1) Any physical harm to persons that carries a substantial risk of death;
- (2) Any physical harm that involves some permanent incapacity, serious permanent disfigurement, or that results in substantial loss or impairment of a physical or sensory function;
- (3) Any physical harm to domestic animals that does any of the following:
(a) Places the domestic animal in a state of physical harm that, if left untreated, could cause serious injury or death;
(b) Results in permanent incapacity of the domestic animal or permanent serious disfigurement of the domestic animal that seriously affects its value.
In addition to these definitions, the Ohio Supreme Court has stated the dog’s owner will be held to a strict liability standard. This means the owner of the dog will be liable for the high costs of medical bills without fault for the dog attack. The only time they will not be held responsible or liable is if the dog owner can prove the victim provoked their dog.
In order to enforce these laws, they must match up with local ordinances and processes for reporting dangerous dogs and dog bites.
What Is a Dangerous Dog in Ohio?
Ohio Statute 955.11(A)(1) defines a "dangerous dog" as meaning:
(a) A dog that, without provocation, and on two separate occasions, engages in behavior that requires a precautionary action for the preservation of human life or property.
(b) A dog that, without provocation, and on a single occasion, seriously injures a person. For the purposes of division (A)(1)(b) of this section, "serious injury" has the meaning prescribed in section 2901.01(A)(3) or (4) of the Revised Code.
(c) A dog that, while at large, kills or seriously injures a domestic animal.
(d) A dog that, without provocation, attacks or assaults a person, causes a person to suffer an injury or an injury that requires medical attention, or otherwise places a person in reasonable apprehension of immediate serious physical injury or serious injury, so long as the dog is owned by a person that previously has been convicted of violating section 955.22 of the Revised Code.
In regard to a potentially dangerous dog, Ohio Statute 955.22(B)(1) defines a "potentially dangerous dog" as meaning a dog that, without provocation, and on one occasion, indicates an intent to fight or otherwise attacks, assaults, or inflicts injury, other than a "serious injury," as defined in section 2901.01(A)(3) or (4) of the Revised Code, upon a person.
What Are the Legal Obligations of an Owner of a Dangerous Dog?
Prior to the enactment of Ohio’s current statute concerning the owner responsibilities for the actions of their pets, the Ohio Supreme Court recognized the longstanding tradition within the courts of holding dog owners strictly liable for injuries imposed by their pets. See, Baird v. National Spinning Company, 169 Ohio St. 167 (1959); Matz v. Hedges, 43 Ohio St. 229 (1885). However, such strict liability was generally limited to situations where the animal would have been considered "vicious".
The current statute codified in R.C. 955.22 provides for four distinct classifications of dogs: normal, vicious, dangerous, and nuisance. Thus, only those animals deemed "vicious" or "dangerous" are the focus of regulatory control as detailed below.
R.C. 955.11 provides the following statutory definitions:
(A) "Owner" means any person, firm, corporation, organization, or department possessing a dog.
(B) "Dog" means a member of the species canis familiaris.
(C) "Vicious dog" means either of the following:
(1) A dog that, without provocation, on three separate occasions in the presence or near a person who is not in the control of the dog, meets any of the following conditions:
(a) The dog does any of the following: Bites, attacks, or inflicts injury on a person or a domestic animal;
(b) Displays or makes an open display of an aggressive temperament;
(c) Causes injury or endangers a person or domestic animal by an unprovoked attack;
(d) Is trained to participate in an exhibition of animal fighting;
(e) Is owned or trained primarily or in part for the purpose of dog fighting.
(2) A dog with a known propensity, tendency, or disposition to attack without provocation, to cause injury or endanger persons or domestic animals.
(D) "Dangerous dog" means either of the following:
- (1) A dog that, without provocation, and while off the owner’s property, attacks a person or domestic animal, causes injury or serious injury as defined in division (D)(2) or (3) of this section to a person or domestic animal, or kills a domestic animal.
- (2) A dog that, without provocation, and while on the owner’s property, attacks a person or domestic animal, causes injury as defined in division (D)(2) of this section to a person or domestic animal, or causes serious injury as defined in division (D)(3) of this section to a person or domestic animal.
- (3) A dog that, without provocation and while on or off the owner’s property, bites a person causing injury, or which previously bites a person or a domestic animal without causing injury.
(E) "Owner’s property" means real or personal property that is owned or possessed by the owner of a dog.
(F) "Serious physical harm to persons or domestic animals" means any of the following:
- (1) Any physical harm that carries a significant risk, now or in the future, of death or of injury that involves a substantial degree of permanent disfigurement or that involves a substantial permanent impairment of the function of any bodily member or organ;
- (2) Any physical harm that, if left untreated, is likely to cause serious permanent injury or that results in prolonged or obvious disfigurement;
- (3) Any physical harm that involves any temporary, substantial incapacity or that involves any partial permanent impairment of the function of any bodily member or organ.
The classification of a dog as "vicious" or "dangerous" triggers certain obligations upon the owner including, but not limited to:
• Microchip implant.
• Registration of the dog with the county auditor and payment of annual license fees.
• Confinement of the dog within a specified enclosure.
• Display of a warning sign upon the premises.
• Providing a certain prescribed degree of restraint of the dog when outside of an enclosure.
Ohio law is very complex and often times homeowners associations will desire to regulate pets that may not fit within the statutory definition of "vicious" or "dangerous". However, when it comes to Ohio law, the statutory definitions must be followed.
Penalties for Failing to Comply with Dangerous Dog Laws
Failure to comply with Ohio’s dangerous dog laws can bring about a range of penalties for the owner. Generally speaking, fines are the most common consequence, but Ohio Revised Code 955.22 can impose more severe penalties for repeated offenses.
Section (H) of Ohio Revised Code 955.22 states that if an owner or keeper of a registered vicious dog or dangerous dog fails to comply with the restrictions of the law, the owner or keeper is guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree. The maximum registry fines are based on the tiered system set forth in section (B):
First offense: no more than $500.00
Second offense: no more than $1,000.00
Third and subsequent offenses: $1,500.00 + civil charges
If a dog is classified as dangerous or vicious due to an attested attack on a child, senior citizen, or someone with a disability, and the dog subsequently attacks another victim while not properly restrained, the owner or keeper will face a fine of no less than $2,000.00, and the court must order the immediate confinement of the dog within the owner’s residence or regulated structure, in addition to whatever penalty is imposed under Section (H).
Ohio Revised Code 955.11 (A) states that if any dog that is owned, kept, or harbored by a person registered under Ohio’s dangerous dog laws is found running at large, and is not properly muzzled and restrained by a heavy chain or manufactured choke collar, then any person may impound the dog and deliver it to the Dog Warden or officer. Ohio’s dangerous dog laws also impose penalties on the victim and the community. Until the victim obtains a civil remedy based on the attorney’s fees, the owner or keeper of the dangerous dog is responsible for all costs associated with the veterinary treatment of the injury, as well as future care or services based on the injury. In addition, the court may require the dog to be humanely destroyed. Ohio Revised Code 955.221 states that the owner or keeper of a registered dog that attacks and severely injures or kills someone due to negligence will be liable for civil damages in any court of competent jurisdiction for all damages caused to the victim for the attack or severely injury by the dog, up to $25,000.00 for each individual attack.
Ohio’s Dangerous Dog Laws: Recent Amendments
In 2012, the Ohio House passed House Bill 14, which made significant changes to the definition of a dangerous dog. Prior to the amendment, a "dangerous dog" was a dog that "has, without provocation, killed or caused serious injury to any person; or has, without provocation, killed another dog." Under the new law, a dangerous dog is a dog that "has, without provocation, caused injury, other than killing or serious injury, to any person" and allows for both mental and physical injuries to count as injury, causes injury, other than killing or serious injury, to a person’s pet, livestock, domestic animal or poultry, or has killed another dog.
The law also added additional definitions for "pet", "serious injury" and "livestock," including:
• "Pet" means a domesticated animal normally maintained in or near the household of the owner, as a companion.
• "Serious physical harm to persons", used in the phrase "serious physical harm to person or companion animal," means any of the following:
1 . Any physical harm that carries a substantial risk of death;
- Any physical harm that involves some permanent incapacity, whether partial or total, or that involves some temporary, substantial incapacity;
- Any physical harm that consists of permanent, serious disfigurement;
- Any physical harm that involves acute pain of such duration as to result in substantial suffering;
- Any physical harm that results in loss or substantial impairment of the function of any bodily part or mental faculty;
- Any physical harm that involves any fracture of a bone or a break, severe bruising, or temporary, substantial incapacity of any portion of the body;
These amendments went into effect on March 27, 2012 and are intended to expand protection for Ohioans who have been bitten by another person’s dog. Prior to this amendment, the law may have not applied to those who have been bitten by a dog on less sensitive areas, such as the arm. Now, owners should take extra precautions to ensure that their dog does not bite or otherwise cause injury to others.
Case Law and Other Precedents
Among the most telling examples of how Ohio’s dangerous dog laws have been interpreted by the courts is the case involving two dogs owned by a man named Newcomb. In 2003, the dogs escaped from their owner’s yard and entered into a neighbor’s fenced-in yard. The owner of the neighbor’s dog stated that his dog had been in the fenced-in portion of their yard when the Newcomb’s dogs attacked his dog causing injuries. The owner of the Newcomb’s dogs was charged with having dangerous dogs pursuant to R.C. 955.22.
After a number of procedural arguments, the Newcomb’s owner was eventually convicted of violating R.C. 955.22 and sentenced to 180 days in jail, with 120 days suspended on the condition that he pay restitution for the victim’s veterinarian bills. Perhaps more importantly, restitution included the cost of boarding the neighbor’s dog from the date of injury until trial and its euthanization one month later due to complications from the injury.
A part of the statute at issue, R.C. 955.22(A)(1) reads: "No person shall own, keep, possess, or harbor a dangerous dog or vicious dog." Section (D) goes on to define the term "vicious dog" as "any dog that, without provocation, attacks, causes injury, serious disability, or kills a person or domestic animal." In the case against the Newcomb’s owner, the main thrust of defense counsel’s arguments concerned this interpretation of "without provocation." Citing a definition from Black’s Law Dictionary, defense counsel argued that a dog is provoked when it is deliberately provoked by another person. Furthermore, defense counsel argued that there must be evidence showing that a dog caused injury to a person or domestic animal intentionally and without provocation before it could fall under the definition of a dangerous dog. While the trial court did not write a full opinion before the appeal, the Bellevue Municipal Court found that the definition in R.C. 955.22 was not limited to intentional acts and noted that the word "injury" was not modified by the word "serious." It also cited to R.C. 955.11 which states "the phrase without provocation means without having been incited or roused to action, but does not mean without some degree of justification."
Ultimately, despite the arguments of defense counsel, the Bellevue Municipal Court found that the owner of the Newcomb’s dogs was guilty of violating R.C. 955.22 and upheld the conviction. The person who had been bitten by the Newcomb’s dogs did not testify at trial. However, prior to the trial, he gave a taped interview to the local news station as to how the Newcomb’s dogs came onto his property and attacked his dog. The Bellevue Municipal Court found that the owner of the Newcomb’s dogs could be found guilty of violating R.C. 955.22 even though the victim did not testify at trial and that the only testimony given regarding the victim’s injuries came from the victim’s mother.
Another notable case concerning Ohio’s dangerous dog laws is State v. Hubner, 174 Ohio App. 3d 752, 884 N.E. 2d 98 (Ohio Ct. App. 2008). In this case, owner of a dog named Bubba was found guilty of violating R.C. 955.22 and sentenced to 90 days in jail, with 80 days suspended on the condition that he pay the victim’s veterinarian bills. Bubba escaped from his house and attacked four people, injuring two of them.
Hubner’s main argument was that his dog did not cause physical injury to the victims, but rather left them with emotional trauma. According to his defense, this meant the victims were not able to meet the R.C. 955.22 definition of "physical harm to persons." The appellate court rejected this argument stating "the plain and ordinary meaning of physical injury as set forth in R.C. 2901.01(A)(3) includes psychological and emotional injury."
R.C. 955.22 is far-reaching and does not grant an individual facing charges related to it very many avenues for arguing a lack of guilt. In the case against the owner of the Newcomb’s dogs, substantial reliance was placed on a victim who did not testify at trial and there was no evidence presented at trial as to the severity or extent of his injuries. The testimony that was presented at trial with regard to the victim’s injuries in the Newcomb’s owner’s trial was from the victim’s mother. Similarly, substantial reliance was placed on the victim in the Hubner case who, in addition to her mother, did not testify at trial and who may not have suffered any physical injuries at all. If you are facing charges related to R.C. 955.22 or Ohio’s dangerous dog laws, it is important to have the assistance of someone who is specifically familiar with Ohio’s dangerous dog laws.
Ohio Dog Owners: Safety Tips
Prevention is always better than reaction. By implementing proven strategies to ensure the safety of your dog and those within your community, you can effectively reduce the risk of your dog being labeled as dangerous. Here are some best practices and practical safety tips for Ohio dog owners. Training & Socialization: Start early by enrolling yourself and your dog in one or more obedience courses. Such classes provide supervised opportunities to teach your dog how to behave properly around people and other animals, as well as allow them to interact safely with other canines. You should also expose your dog at an early age to various environments and experiences to ensure they are well-adjusted and less likely to be fearful or aggressive in new situations. A well-adjusted dog is less likely to engage in behaviors that could be perceived as dangerous. Supervision & Control: Dogs should always be supervised when children, the elderly or other pets are present, even in the home. Be aware of where your pets are at all times, including mentally, as children can be unpredictable. It’s important to intervene if you see a situation arising that may lead to aggressive behavior. Also, never leave a child alone with any dog, regardless of size or temperament. Furthermore, when out in public with your dog, always keep them on a leash and maintain a watchful eye for signs of trouble. Home Safety: It is recommended that you take extra precautions to ensure your dog is safely contained on your property. Whether you have a fenced-in yard with a secure gate or an open lot, make sure there is no way for your dog to escape. If you have a fenced-in yard, the gate should always be closed. If you do not, consider investing in a sturdy lead that can be placed into the ground and secured to your dog’s collar.
Ohio Resources for Dog Owners
Residents of Ohio have a solid variety of resources to assist them in understanding their pet ownership. In addition to general pet journals, websites and online forums, there are also community-based resources for those that need additional assistance. The following resources were developed with the best interests of pets and their owners in mind, and offer guidance on a host of topics related to pet ownership.
Local Animal Control: Law enforcement agencies and local animal control offices are often the first point of contact for pet owners in their communities. Office hours and contact information can be found online or in the local telephone directory.
Ohio Department of Natural Resources: The Ohio Division of Wildlife includes the Domestic Animals Program. This department provides technical assistance on wildlife/animal conflicts and the safe, humane capture and relocation of animals.
Ohio Veterinary Medical Association: The OVMA is a statewide professional organization for veterinarians . Their website includes a variety of informational resources, lists of local veterinarians, and links to veterinary schools which offer extensive continuing education opportunities.
City/County Parties Responsible for Animal Control: This may be the local police department, and ordinance officers or animal control officers. Many smaller municipalities will have a dedicated animal control officer that is responsible for patrolling the community and ensuring animal ordinances are being followed or for investigating complaints about pets.
Companion Animals Program: The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine provides this program, which works to increase the well-being and safety of people and their companion animals, through education, collaboration and service.
The Humane Society of Greater Dayton: This not-for-profit organization provides numerous services to pets and their owners, including resources such as pet adoption, veterinary services, education, animal cruelty and neglect prevention programs and by fostering relationships that help promote pet ownership as a positive experience.