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Executive Summary
Vicious Dog Policy
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Approximately 14 months ago, Council Member Matt Zone, Ward 17, convened a special meeting to discuss the problem stemming from the presence of vicious dogs in the City of Cleveland. This special meeting was attended by concerned Council Members, Chief Dog Warden John Baird of the City Kennels and representatives from the Departments of Law and Building and Housing, as well as neighborhood organizations. The major concern voiced by attending Council Members was the number of pit bulls and dangerous dogs running loose in Cleveland neighborhoods, creating a public nuisance and threatening the safety of residents and their pets.
As a result of this initial meeting, Council Member Zone convened a special committee to further examine this issue with the intent and purpose to review and evaluate the present “vicious dog” law, which is in the City of Cleveland Codified Code, to determine the level of the law’s effectiveness and to determine if additional revisions need to be made to the existing law.
This special committee began its examination during the fourth quarter of 2005. Existing laws and policies from other communities and breed specific legislation designed to ban certain breeds of dogs from localities have been examined. The pit bulldog type breed of dog, which has been defined under the City Code as vicious and is identified as the most common breed used in dog fighting contests, raised the most concern among members of the special committee during discussions.
This breed of dog, when it becomes aggressive, can inflict severe injuries on both adults and children during an attack. For example, 65-year-old Ernestine Smith was bitten numerous times by a pit bull that came running from a nearby house as she walked to the corner store. Fortunately, Sheriff’s Deputies arrived on the scene and shot the dog before it could inflict serious, lifesustaining injuries. Another Clevelander, Ms. Betty Shmiko, was walking her dog down the street when she and her pet were attacked by a pit bull. On April 29, 2006, 8-year-old Sara Lee Barnes was attacked in her own home by a pit bull that broke through the door of a neighbor’s home.
The issue of irresponsible dog ownership was also raised during the special committee hearings. Many of the problems associated with vicious dogs are the result of owners not taking the time to have their dogs properly trained or tested for temperament. Such owners do not participate in canine obedience training or take responsibility for their pets. In many cases, irresponsible dog owners, by not taking the appropriate steps to make certain that their dog is properly confined or securely fenced in on private property, may allow their pet to run loose through the neighborhood creating a nuisance or public health threat.
In order to further examine this issue, Council Member Zone commissioned a research paper to look closely at the issue of vicious and nuisance dogs and to recommend the most appropriate steps for dealing with this problem. The research paper provides attention to dog bites, considered a health epidemic nationwide, to making the enforcement process more comprehensive, to effectively examining the operations of the City Kennel and to recommending a seamless service operation involving several departments and the Animal Protective League (APL) to address the issue of vicious dogs. |
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Recommendations
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1. A comprehensive and seamless service approach involving law enforcement officers, animal wardens, fire inspectors and health inspectors should be developed where each of these divisions, within their appropriate departments, gather and share information directly relating to suspicious activities regarding vicious dogs, dog fighting and dog nuisance problems through a comprehensive Geographic Information Systems Database Software Program (GIS).
2. A comprehensive training curriculum should be developed for law enforcement officers, animal control wardens, fire inspectors, health inspectors, and building and housing inspectors on the City’s vicious and dangerous dog law and other related animal control laws, including State policy on vicious and dangerous dogs.
3. Consideration should be given to examining and revising the City of Cleveland’s Zoning and Health Codes, regarding dog kennels and backyard dog breeding activities and revising the nuisance dog ordinance as well as the feasibility of enacting a pet limitation law in order to prevent the development and occurrence of nuisance problems that may have a negative impact on the community.
4. It should be mandatory for irresponsible dog owners who have been found guilty of violating the City’s vicious and nuisance dog laws to attend an educational class on “responsible pet ownership.” An educational partnership could be created with the APL to provide these classes and language on this topic should then be added to all animal ordinances.
5. Owners of those dogs that may be considered vicious who have been found to be in violation of the City’s vicious dog law should be required to enroll their pet in an “obedience training” program and should be placed on probation for a specific period of time once the program is completed. The APL could provide these classes as well.
6. No fines should be suspended for anyone who is a repeat violator of any animal ordinance that is presently enforced in the City of Cleveland. Consideration should also be given to increasing penalties for repeat offenders in cruelty classes.
7. An “Animal Review Board” comprised of an animal warden, a member of the Ohio Veterinarian Association, an animal behaviorist, a law enforcement officer, a member of a canine organization and representatives from the Administration, Cleveland City Council and the APL, should be developed to review and examine animal policy issues on a regular basis. A due process procedure should also be established for pet owners that want to file an appeal regarding a judgment or decision made against their pet.
8. The City Kennel staff should be trained through the Police Academy in specific areas such as report writing, court testimony, gathering evidence, dealing with the public and any other related topic that may be available.
9. The feasibility of the local municipal court system to schedule all animal related violation cases one day per week before the court magistrate should be determined.
10. Police officers and other City field personnel should be instructed on how to recognize specific signs that dog fighting activity may be taking place and on how to recognize profiles of owners who engage in this illegal activity.
11. A comprehensive public educational awareness campaign on dog bites should be implemented trough public service announcements, utilizing the services of public access channel 23, through brochures and through seminars given by the APL.
12. The City Dog Kennel should receive more funding to hire additional animal control officers so that expanded 24 hour coverage on weekdays and weekends may be provided. This funding should also be used to hire an additional part-time veterinarian and a part-time registered animal health technician so that coverage can be extended to six days a week.
13. The existing Dog Kennel pamphlet should be revised to include more information for dog owners on the City of Cleveland’s animal laws and the penalties for violating these laws. The pamphlet should also be provided to owners who are issued a citation or complaint.
14. Municipal Court Judges and prosecutors should be provided with updates of specific changes and revisions made to any animal ordinance, especially vicious and nuisance dog laws, and should be briefed on these changes.
15. A five year physical improvement plan should be developed for the City Kennel to improve and expand the space so that more surgeries may be preformed, a larger number of sick and injured animals can be treated, and so that the shelter can house more abandoned animals. Funding mechanisms that can be used to defray the costs of such an expansion should also be determined.
16. An informational case record report of vicious dog cases that incorporates more specific data on vicious dog incidents should be developed. A profile matching database of vicious dog owners and dog fighters should be developed to determine if such activity is occurring.
17. An investigative process should be developed to determine if an owner of a vicious, pit bull type terrier has been involved in any dog fighting activities.l
18. The City Kennel should be given the ability to obtain search warrants to seize vicious dogs when violations of the City’s vicious dog ordinance are found. |
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Cleveland City Council
601 Lakeside Avenue
Room 220
Cleveland, OH 44114
(216) 664-2840
(216) 664-3837 fax
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