With the effective date for the repeal of state-level BSL just a few months away, Ohio residents must now turn to a much more difficult task: tackling the BSL and breed bans that are embedded in city and county ordinances throughout the state.
Dozens of municipalities in Ohio essentially copy-pasted the old breed-specific state law directly into their ordinances. Still other municipalities went a step further, passing heavier restrictions or outright bans on certain breeds of dogs. These local ordinances are unaffected by the state-level repeal; they must each be addressed individually.
Residents are asking the following Ohio cities to examine their breed-specific ordinances in the wake of the state-level repeal. If you live in or near these cities, please respectfully encourage them to repeal their BSL.
Loveland, OH
Please attend the Loveland city council meeting on Tuesday, February 28 at 8PM in the City Council Chambers at the Municipal Buildings, 120 W. Loveland Avenue. Ask to speak during the open forum section of the meeting. State your name, your address (or a family member’s if in Loveland) and say “Please remove breed specific language from our city ordinances.”
You may also contact city council and RESPECTFULLY request that they remove breed-specific language from city code:
City of Loveland, 120 West Loveland Avenue, Loveland, Ohio 45140
Ph: 513-683-0150, Fax: 513-583-3040
City Council email block:
rweisgerber@LovelandOH.com; dbednar@LovelandOH.com; pleeper@LovelandOH.com; mfitzgerald@LovelandOH.com; asettell@LovelandOH.com; lcox@LovelandOH.com; bzuch@LovelandOH.com
Lakewood, OH
Lakewood doesn’t appear inclined to repeal their pit bull ban, but they have “clarified” and amended parts of it over the last few months, and now intend to “review” it due to HB 14’s passage.
Please contact Lakewood city council and ask them to repeal the pit bull ban.
Council email block:
david.anderson@lakewoodoh.net; tom.bullock@lakewoodoh.net; shawn.juris@lakewoodoh.net; mary.madigan@lakewoodoh.net; brian.powers@lakewoodoh.net; monique.smith@lakewoodoh.net; ryan.nowlin@lakewoodoh.net
The next Lakewood city council meeting is March 5 at 7:30 PM in the Municipal Building, 12650 Detroit Ave, Lakewood, OH. We do not know if this issue will be on the agenda. However, there is a Public Comment forum at the end of every council meeting where residents may speak on issues not on the agenda.
All alerts for Lakewood, OH: http://stopbsl.com/?s=%22lakewood%2C+oh%22
Cincinnati, OH
The Cincinnati breed ban repeal effort has been ongoing for years, but has gained strength with the passage of HB 14.
Online petition for Cincinnati residents to sign: http://www.change.org/petitions/end-breed-discrimination-cincinnati
CapWiz easy-email form to contact Cincinnati lawmakers:
http://capwiz.com/bestfriends/issues/alert/?alertid=50832746
Or, write your own email asking Cincinnati to repeal their breed ban:
E-mail all Council Members: CityCouncil@cincinnati-oh.gov
Join a Facebook group working to repeal the ban:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Repeal-the-Cincinnati-Pit-Bull-Ban/208496165855447
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ohio-Coalition-of-Dog-Advocates/95316100681
We expect many more cities, towns, and counties in Ohio to re-examine their BSL now that state law has changed. We’ll do our best to report on those efforts. If you are working on BSL repeal in a particular town in Ohio, please let us know via our handy online BSL alert form: http://stopbsl.com/i-want-to/send-an-alert-to-stopbsl/
Fred M. Kray
krisdiaz9
Stop BSL 
please stop blaming breeds of dog for their humans. these dogs that are so called vicious are harmless. their owners make them what they are, so dont blame the whole breed.
any thing on stark county? i called and asked and they said in 100 days from signituer it would go into effect, the radio was saying that there was an addendum that said you had to prove your dog was not vicious to drop your insurance in ohio is that right?
Kelly, I would need more details to speak to what you heard on the radio, but as far as the state law is concerned, that is not true. HB 14 as passed says this about dogs that are currently labeled vicious under the old state law (in plain English, it says if you had a “vicious” dog before, you have a “dangerous” dog now and you must follow the new dangerous dog rules–EXCLUDING dogs that were “vicious” for no other reason than their being a pit bull):
SECTION 3. (A) Except as provided in division (B) of this section, an owner, keeper, or harborer of a dog who was required to comply with the requirements pertaining to a vicious dog prior to the effective date of this act shall be required to comply with the requirements pertaining to a dangerous dog on or after the effective date of this act.
(B) Division (A) of this section does not apply to an owner, harborer, or keeper of a dog who was required, with respect to that dog, to comply with the requirements pertaining to a vicious dog prior to the effective date of this act solely because the dog belongs to a breed that is commonly known as a pit bull dog.