Megan Caico hopes the legislation can keep neighborhoods safer after her six-month-old puppy ‘Frank’ was killed by two German Shepherds who broke into her backyard.
JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla. — A Florida bill inspired by the death of a Putnam County postal worker is now awaiting the governor’s signature after unanimously passing through the state senate. The bill, HB 593, has been called the “dangerous dog” bill.
Back in 2022, Pamela Rock was attacked by five dogs in Putnam County. The 61-year-old died from her injuries.
The bill aims to strengthen regulations on dangerous dogs and increase the accountability of their owners.
That’s welcome news for Megan Caico, a Ponte Vedra woman who told First Coast News she recently lost her puppy in an attack, only to watch as the dogs involved were returned to their owners.
Caico said she came home from the gym to a horrific scene two weeks ago: her six-month-old puppy ‘Frank’ killed by two German Shepherds who broke into her backyard.
She said the dogs involved have already been returned to their owners.
“They look at dogs as property, so it’s the same as if those dogs came in and knocked over my lamp,” Caico said. “It is equivalent to them murdering my dog. He is equivalent to a lamp. He is considered property. He’s not considered a living being.”
The potential new law will be too late for Caico’s family, but hope it will keep pets and neighborhoods safer moving forward.
The bill mandates that owners of any dog that’s deemed dangerous must have liability insurance, get their dog microchipped and follow certain requirements for fences in their yard.
Caico said if the bill is signed into law, it would hold offending dogs and their owners accountable for the attacks, bringing justice to her dog, Frank, whom she says she lost too soon.
“Because it was another dog and not a human, we are going to eliminate the first bite free, so that means you don’t get to just bite once and go home with the fines and slap on the wrist,” she said.
The bill passed both the state House of Representatives and Senate in Tallahassee earlier this week, with full support. If the governor signs it, the dangerous dog bill would officially become law on July 1.
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