(a) For the purpose of this section, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
(1) “Dangerous dog.” A dog that, without provocation, and subject to the following sentence, has chased or approached in either a menacing fashion or an apparent attitude of attack, or has attempted to bite or otherwise endanger any person while that dog is off the premises of its owner, keeper or harborer or some other responsible person, or not physically restrained or confined in a locked pen which has a top, locked fenced yard, or other locked enclosure which has a top. “Dangerous dog” does not include a police dog that has chased or approached in either a menacing fashion or an apparent attitude of attack, or has attempted to bite or otherwise endanger any person while the police dog is being used to assist law enforcement officers in the performance of their official duties.
(2) “Menacing fashion.” A dog that would cause any person being chased or approached to reasonably believe that the dog will cause physical injury to that person.
(3) “Police dog.” A dog that has been trained and may be used to assist one or more law enforcement officers in the performance of their official duties.
(4) “Vicious dog.”
A. A dog that, without provocation and subject to division B. of this definition, meets any of the following criteria:
1. Has killed or caused serious injury to any person;
2. Has caused injury, other than killing or serious injury, to any person, or has killed another dog;
3. Belongs to a breed that is commonly known as a pit bull dog. The ownership, keeping, or harboring of such a breed of dog shall be prima facie evidence of the ownership, keeping or harboring of a vicious dog.
B. “Vicious dog” does not include either of the following:
1. A police dog that has killed or caused serious injury to any person or that has caused injury, other than killing or serious injury, to any person while the police dog is being used to assist law enforcement officers in the performance of their official duties.
2. A dog that has killed or caused serious injury to any person while a person was committing or attempting to commit a trespass or other criminal offense on the property of the owner, keeper or harborer of the dog.
(5) “Without provocation.” A dog acts “without provocation” when it was not teased, tormented, or abused by a person, or it was not coming to the aid or the defense of a person who was not engaged in illegal or criminal activity and who was not using the dog as a means of carrying out such activity.
(ORC 955.11(A))
(b) No owner, keeper, harborer, or handler of a dangerous or vicious dog shall fail to do either of the following:
(1) While the dog is on the premises of the owner, keeper, harborer, or handler, securely confine it at all times in a locked pen that has a top, locked fenced yard, or other locked enclosure that has a top; except that a dangerous dog may, in the alternative, be tied with a leash or tether so that the dog is adequately restrained. If a dangerous dog is restrained by a leash or tether, the leash or tether must be constructed out of materials that:
A. Will withstand the resistance of such dangerous dog without breaking;
B. Cannot be chewed apart or through by such dangerous dog; and
C. Is situated such that there are no structure or implement within the radius of such leash or tether that would sever such leash or tether after continued use.
(2) While the dog is off the premises of the owner, keeper, harborer, or handler, do at least one of the following:
A. Keep the dog in a locked pen that has a top, locked fenced yard, or other locked enclosure that has a top; or
B. Keep that dog on a chain-link leash or tether that is not more than six feet in length and:
1. Have the leash or tether controlled by a person who is of suitable age, size, and discretion; or
2. Securely attach, tie, or affix the leash or tether to the ground or a stationary object or fixture so that the dog is adequately restrained and station a person in close enough proximity to that dog so as to prevent it from causing injury to any person. Any vicious dog maintained under this subsection 618.16(b)(2)B. shall also be muzzled at all times with a muzzle that is designed and worn in a manner to prevent such dog from causing physical harm to any person or other animal.
(c) No owner, keeper, or harborer of a vicious dog shall fail to obtain liability insurance with an insurer authorized to write liability insurance in this state providing coverage in each occurrence, subject to a limit, exclusive of interest and costs, of not less than one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000.00) because of damage or bodily injury to or death of a person caused by the vicious dog.
(d) No person shall do any of the following:
(1) Debark or surgically silence a dog that the person knows or has reason to believe is a vicious dog;
(2) Possess a vicious dog if the person knows or has reason to believe that the dog has been debarked or surgically silenced;
(3) Falsely attest on a waiver form provided by the veterinarian under division (e) of this section that the person’s dog is not a vicious dog or otherwise provide false information on that written waiver form.
(e) Before a veterinarian debarks or surgically silences a dog, the veterinarian may give the owner of the dog a written waiver form that attests that the dog is not a vicious dog. The written waiver form shall include all of the following:
(1) The veterinarian’s license number and current business address;
(2) The number of the license of the dog if the dog is licensed;
(3) A reasonable description of the age, coloring, and gender of the dog as well as any notable markings on the dog;
(4) The signature of the owner of the dog attesting that the owner’s dog is not a vicious dog;
(5) A statement that division (F) of Ohio R.C. 955.22 prohibits any person from doing any of the following:
A. Debarking or surgically silencing a dog that the person knows or has reason to believe is a vicious dog;
B. Possessing a vicious dog if the person knows or has reason to believe that the dog has been debarked or surgically silenced;
C. Falsely attesting on a waiver form provided by the veterinarian under division (G) of Ohio R.C. 955.22 that the person’s dog is not a vicious dog or otherwise provide false information on that written waiver form.
(f) It is an affirmative defense to a charge of a violation of division (d) of this section that the veterinarian who is charged with the violation obtained, prior to debarking or surgically silencing the dog, a written waiver form that complies with division (e) of this section and that attests that the dog is not a vicious dog.
(Ord. 12-015. Passed 4-23-12)
(g) (1) If a violation of division (b) of this section involves a dangerous dog, whoever violates that division (b) is guilty of a misdemeanor of the fourth degree on a first offense and of a misdemeanor of the third degree on each subsequent offense. Additionally, the court may order the offender to personally supervise the dangerous dog that the offender owns, keeps, or harbors, to cause that dog to complete dog obedience training, or to do both, and the court may order the offender to obtain liability insurance pursuant to division (c) of this section. The court, in the alternative, may order the dangerous dog to be humanely destroyed by a licensed veterinarian, the county dog warden, or the county humane society.
(2) If a violation of division (b) of this section involves a vicious dog, whoever violates that division (b) is guilty of one of the following:
A. A felony, to be prosecuted under appropriate State law, on a first or subsequent offense if the dog kills or seriously injures a person. Additionally, the court shall order that the vicious dog be humanely destroyed by a licensed veterinarian, the county dog warden or the county humane society.
B. A misdemeanor of the first degree on a first offense and a felony, to be prosecuted under appropriate State law, on each subsequent offense. Additionally, the court may order the vicious dog to be humanely destroyed by a licensed veterinarian, the county dog warden or the county humane society.
C. A misdemeanor of the first degree if the dog causes injury, other than killing or serious injury, to a person.
(h) Whoever violates division (c) of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree.
(i) Whoever violates division (d) of this section is guilty of a felony to be prosecuted under appropriate state law. Additionally, the court shall order that the vicious dog be humanely destroyed by as licensed veterinarian, the County Dog Warden, or the County Humane Society.
(ORC 955.99(E) - (H), (J))