Fatal dog attacks like the one that killed a 73-year-old woman in Pickaway County last week are rare but not unusual.
Police, prosecutors and the dog warden in Pickaway County are investigating the death of Jo Echelbarger and are expected to release a statement Monday about potential criminal charges. Generally, violations of Ohio’s dangerous dog laws are misdemeanors.
Echelbarger died Thursday when she was attacked by two dogs in her yard in a condo complex on Kildow Court in Ashville.
In July, 6-year-old Jaxson Dvorak died when his uncle’s dogs attacked him in Lorain. And in February 2023, Bonnie Varnes, 58, a school bus driver in the Toledo area, got pulled down in her backyard and mauled to death by her daughter’s dog.
Nationally, 468 people lost their lives in dog attacks between 2011 and 2021, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
What does Ohio law say about dangerous dogs?
Every county must have a dog warden who enforces Ohio’s dangerous dog laws. They work under the sheriff’s office or county commissioners. In some counties, wardens exercise police powers, such as making arrests and carrying firearms, but in others, they do not.
Wardens investigate dog bites, while humane agents handle animal cruelty cases.
In 2012, Ohio revamped its dog laws to move away from restrictions targeted at specific types of dogs, such as pit bulls, in response to complaints from owners of those breeds.
The current law focuses on the behavior of the dogs, not the breeds.
Aggressive dogs fall into three categories − nuisance, dangerous and vicious. The behavior must be unprovoked and documented. Here’s how it breaks down:
- Nuisance: have acted in a menacing way toward someone, such as chasing, growling or snapping.
- Dangerous: have been convicted three times for running loose or have caused a non-serious injury to a person or killed another dog.
- Vicious: have caused serious injury — permanent incapacity, disfigurement, maiming — or killed someone.
Owners of dangerous or vicious dogs face extra requirements, including leashing, tethering or keeping them in locked enclosures with tops while at home and muzzling and on a short chain-link leash when elsewhere. They have to post a warning sign as well. Liability insurance, microchipping, spaying or neutering, vaccinations and a dangerous dog registration are also required.
The owner must buy an annual dangerous or vicious dog tag through the county auditor.
Once a dog has been categorized as dangerous, failure to confine fines escalate to $250 for a first offense and $500 for subsequent offenses. Failure to confine a vicious dog can bring a fine of $1,000 on the first offense and $5,000 on subsequent offenses.
Dog bites that break the skin are supposed to be reported to the local health department. In 2023, there were 17,200 bites reported, but experts say at least that many may go unreported.
When do dangerous dogs get put down?
Judges have the discretion to order euthanasia of dangerous or vicious dogs after the first unprovoked attack. Often, it’s left up to the dog owner.
If a dog is already deemed vicious, gets out and kills a second person, the judge must order euthanasia.
How do you know if a dangerous dog lives in your neighborhood?
Local governments don’t have to post dog bite reports or dangerous dog registrations, so the public can easily find and search them.
However, under Ohio’s open records law, you can file a records request with your local county auditor for the dangerous dogs registered in your area.
Laura A. Bischoff is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.
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