“Ralphie,” a pit bull, is a certified member of Ohio’s Lake Metroparks Volunteer Companion Dog Patrol, promoting safety and acting as a good-will ambassador
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Old Harvey, a white Bulldog who “served with honor at the Battle of Franklin” alongside the soldiers of the 104th Ohio during the Civil War would today be classified as a “vicious dog” in Ohio.
“Pit bull” dogs in Ohio: a hodgepodge of dangerous nonsense
(The following is not intended as legal advice. For a comprehensive understanding of the animal control ordinance in your town, NCRC urges all dog owners to consult the statutes directly and/or legal counsel.)
Section 955.11 of the Ohio Revised Code defines the statutory meaning of “vicious dog.” Part of that definition reads as follows: “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.”
The Code does not define “pit bull,” merely defines it as vicious.
The cities of Ohio have added their own variations to the state’s theme.
For example, the Toledo Municipal Code, in Section 505.14, provides that, “No person or organization or corporation shall own, keep, harbor or provide sustenance for more than one vicious dog, as defined by Ohio R.C. 955.11, or a dog commonly known as a Pit Bull or Pit Bull mixed breed dog . . .” The Toledo code, also, does not define what it means by a pit bull.
In the case of Toledo v. Paul Tellings, Lucas County Dog Warden Tom Skeldon “acknowledged that there is really no way to tell if a dog is or is not a ‘pit bull’ and the determination is made by his or his deputy’s subjective judgment. Regardless of its parentage or behavior, however if a dog is labeled a pit bull, the owner would be charged under the state and city [Toledo] ordinance.”
In Columbus, a pit bull owner may have to submit to a hearing by an animal review board. The purpose of the hearing, according to the Columbus ordinance, is to determine whether or not the dog is vicious. However, since the state law defines a pit bull dog as vicious, the decision of the hearing board may well be a foregone conclusion. A dog owner might then have the choice of either surrendering his/her dogs for destruction, or relocating them.
As in the Toledo statutes, the Columbus ordinance does not define the term “pit bull.”
In Akron, a pit bull dog has to wear a green fluorescent collar. The owner must post on his or her premises at least one city-issued warning sign, which can be read from the street. Any dog identified as a pit bull must be tattooed with a code number provided by the city. The owner must either keep the dog in the house, or, if outside of the house, “in a locked enclosure which has a top, and has a concrete base with the fencing securely attached or anchored to the concrete perimeter to a depth of six inches.” The owner can only walk the dog, “muzzled and on a chain-link leash that is not more than six feet in length which is held in the hand of a person who is of suitable age and discretion and is outside with the dog.”
Other Ohio municipalities have their own breed-specific regulations, which they have piled on top of the state provision.
The relevant statutes from the State of Ohio, the City of Toledo, the City of Columbus, the City of Akron, and other municipalities can be accessed over the Internet. NCRC suggests that dog owners, in the interests of the safety of their dogs, familiarize themselves with the animal control ordinances of any jurisdiction before they move there.
National Canine Research Council