‘I do think bad behavior of owners definitely can turn a good dog bad,’ the bill’s sponsor says.
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- Florida legislation proposes a dangerous dog registry and requires owners of listed dogs to have $100,000 in liability insurance.
- The bill, named the “Pam Rock Act,” is in response to the death of a mail carrier mauled by dogs in 2022.
- The bill aims to hold negligent owners accountable and prevent future dog attacks.
A bill to create a dangerous dog registry and require the owners of dogs listed on it to secure $100,000 of liability insurance is headed to the House floor.
The “Pam Rock Act” is named for a 62-year-old mail carrier mauled by five dogs in rural Putnam County in 2022. The dogs had broken out of a fenced yard and attacked Rock on a rural dirt road when her postal truck stopped running.
The measure by Rep. Judson Sapp, R-Green Cove Springs, and Sen. Jay Collins, R-Tampa, defines a dangerous dog as one that has “aggressively bitten, attacked, or inflicted severe injury on a human being” and “requires owners to securely confine them in a proper enclosure.”
Owners could be charged with up to a 3rd degree felony and a levied a $1,000 fine. A Senate version
Sapp recently told the House State Affairs Committee that Rock was killed by a known pack of aggressive dogs and her death was preventable: This bill “can’t stop every attack, but it will save lives, protect good dogs and hold negligent owners accountable,” he said.
A legislative staff analysis found dog attacks to be a growing problem. And Rock’s older sister Veronica Lakatos persisted in testifying for the bill despite having to repeatedly stop to collect herself. She read lawmakers a roster of people attacked by loose dogs since Pam’s death three years ago.
They included little Michael Millett, killed by dogs in Volusia County in January. The eight-year-old boy was riding his bike with a friend when he stopped to pet two dogs running free, and they attacked.
And Teresa Scroggin, a DeFuniak Springs Door Dash deliverer, who suffered severe head, arm and leg injuries when attacked by two dogs while making a delivery in February.
Sapp said last month his seven-year-old son had a close encounter with a wandering dog interupted by the family’s larger mastiff. The stray ran into a neighbor’s yard where it broke into a pen and mauled a deer.
Lakatos said families can be permanently traumatized by losing someone to a dangerous dog attack: “We are desperately needing and asking for your help. By supporting this bill, you can make a difference.”
Sapp said the proposal is “breed neutral” with a focus on making owners more accountable for their pet’s behavior. “I love my two dogs,” Sapp said. In addition to a mastiff he also owns a goldendoodle.
“We have to remember that they are animals, and just like a human animal, there are inherently bad and inherently good, but I do think bad behavior of owners definitely can turn a good dog bad,” Sapp said.
In fact, the Sapp/Collins bill contains a legislative finding that dog attacks “are in part attributable to the failure of owners to confine and properly train and control their dogs.”
Fred Rock, Pam’s oldest surviving sibling, said he understands Collins is preparing the bill for its final committee next week. The measure has yet to receive a no vote in either a House or Senate committee meeting.
James Call is a member of the USA TODAY NETWORK-Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at jcall@tallahassee.com and is on X as @CallTallahassee.
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