For many years the state of Ohio considered dogs deemed to be pit bulls vicious based solely on appearances. As with all these laws, it is a misnomer to say that this law was based on breed because the actual breed of the dog was not considered, just that the dog looked a certain way.
After years of hard work involving many people and groups, the breed specific portion of state law was dropped in 2012. We have seen many repeals on the smaller municipal level in response to this. Now it appears that Norwalk may follow suit.
City Law Director Stuart O’Hara has said that the state law sufficiently covers the needs of the community when dealing with dangerous dogs, implying that local law should mirror state law.
Currently Norwalk’s ordinance classifies a dog deemed to be a pit bull as vicious, mirroring the old state law. From the ordinance:
(d)“Vicious dog” means a dog that meets any of the following: (3)Except as set forth herein below, belongs to a breed of dog commonly known as pit bull dog. The ownership, keeping or harboring of such a dog shall be prima-facie evidence of the ownership, keeping or harboring of a vicious dog…
This declaration of being vicious carries a long list of requirements, including confinement (kennel) requirements, muzzling, insurance and special registration. The full ordinance can be found here.
Residents and locals: Please reach out to offer encouragement and support for a repeal of Norwalk’s breed discriminatory law.
Council information:
Steve Euton: euton1@frontier.com
Deborah Lucal: dlucal15@aol.com
Robert Carleton: bcarleton1942@gmail.com
Samantha Ludwig: samludwig10@gmail.com
Chris Mushett: cmushett@hcjpc.com
Kelly Beck: kellysarahbeck@aol.com
Scott Meyer: ripwing212@aol.com
Stephen Schumm: sfschumm@aol.com
Fred M. Kray
krisdiaz9
Stop BSL 