Reynoldsburg plans Avery’s Law for dangerous dogs after girl mauled by 2 pit bulls

Reynoldsburg plans to create stricter regulations and penalties for owners of animals, especially dangerous dogs, after Avery Russell, now 12, was mauled by two pit bulls last summer.

City Council has introduced an amendment to the city’s animals running at-large ordinance that rewrites the law to state owners must keep reasonable control of their animals, both on their property and while out in public.

The ordinance, introduced Monday, April 28, also adds specific provisions for dangerous dogs, stating that while the dog is on an owner’s property, it must be in a locked pen or in a locked fenced yard, so long as the animal is supervised and under the control of someone. And when off the owners’ property, owners must have the dog on a leash no longer than 6 feet, as well as one of the following:

• Keep the dog in a locked pen that has a top, locked fenced yard, or other locked enclosure that has a top.
• Have the leash controlled by someone of suitable age or securely attached to the ground or stationary object and have a person close enough to prevent the dog from causing injury to any person.
• Muzzle the dog.

A dangerous dog is one that a county dog warden has already designated as dangerous or one that the city proves has previously bitten someone but the incident wasn’t reported, City Attorney Chris Shook said after the meeting.

If an owner fails to control their dog and the animal causes serious physical harm to any person — regardless of whether there are prior convictions — it will be a first-degree misdemeanor. If a dangerous dog causes serious physical harm to any person, the owner can be charged with a first-degree misdemeanor and be sentenced to a minimum of 30 days in jail if convicted, the legislation states.

An Ohio lawmaker is also expected to introduce a new state law this week.

The Reynoldsburg law will be known as Avery’s Law, in honor of Russell, who was severely injured in a dog attack in June while in a Reynoldsburg backyard. She was rushed to Nationwide Children’s Hospital in critical condition for a nine-hour emergency surgery.

Russell was featured in a March investigation into Ohio’s weak dog laws published by The Dispatch and USA TODAY Network Ohio.

The sweet, smart and loving Russell has spent the last 10 months recovering. She has endured five surgeries, graduated from therapies at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, had her feeding tube removed, returned to school, and rejoined her basketball team as a shooting guard, The Dispatch previously reported.

Avery Russell attended the council meeting with her mother, Drew Russell, their attorneys and other supporters.

To the Russells, seeing legal changes happen as a result of what Avery endured is incredible, Drew Russell said in an interview after the meeting.

“It means that everything — all the pain and trauma that she suffered through — is not going in vain and unnoticed,” Drew Russell said. “The fact that this little girl can have so much impact to bring changes to the world is amazing. It is very unfortunate that this had to happen, but if it had to happen to bring changes, we’re okay with that.”

About 17,000 dog bites are reported yearly to local Ohio public health agencies, but many more go unreported. Some of the attacks cause serious injuries such as disfigurements and amputations and even deaths, The Dispatch previously reported.

This story has been updated with information from the Reynoldsburg City Council meeting.

Eastern suburbs reporter Maria DeVito can be reached at mdevito@dispatch.com and @mariadevito13.dispatch.com on Bluesky and @MariaDeVito13 on X.

This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.