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As Introduced
136th
General Assembly
Regular
Session
H. B. No. 241
2025-2026
Representatives Thomas, C.,
Lawson-Rowe
To
amend section 955.222 and to enact section 955.13 of the Revised Code
to
require a 10-day quarantine period for a dog following an attack and
to require a court, under certain circumstances, to hold a hearing to
determine the dog's disposition.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section
1.
That
section 955.222 be amended and section 955.13 of the Revised Code be
enacted to read as follows:
Sec.
955.13.
(A)
If a dog injures, seriously injures, or kills a person, in addition
to any applicable penalties in section 955.99 of the Revised Code,
the dog shall be quarantined for a ten-day period at a suitable place
for impounding dogs provided by the board of county commissioners in
accordance with section 955.15 of the Revised Code. During the
ten-day quarantine, the dog warden or applicable law enforcement
agency shall conduct an investigation into the incident that resulted
in the injury, serious injury, or death of a person. At the
conclusion of the investigation, the warden or the law enforcement
agency shall determine one of the following:
(1)
That it is safe to have the dog remain in the community without
training and rehabilitation;
(2)
That there is probable cause that the dog injured, seriously injured,
or killed a person without provocation as defined in section 955.11
of the Revised Code and the seriousness of the attack warrants that
the dog be released, but only on the condition that the dog be
trained and rehabilitated;
(3)
That there is probable cause that the dog injured, seriously injured,
or killed a person without provocation as defined in section 955.11
of the Revised Code and the seriousness of the attack warrants that
the dog be humanely destroyed.
(B)(1)
If the warden or the law enforcement agency determines that it is
safe to have the dog remain in the community without training or
rehabilitation under division (A)(1) of this section, the warden or
agency shall release the dog to the dog's owner, keeper, or harborer.
(2)
If the dog warden or the law enforcement agency makes a determination
as specified in division (A)(2) or (3) of this section, the warden or
agency shall petition the municipal court or county court that has
territorial jurisdiction over the residence of the dog's owner,
keeper, or harborer to order the dog to either be humanely destroyed
or be released on the condition that the dog be trained and
rehabilitated, as applicable.
(C)
The court, within ten days after receiving such a petition, shall
hold the hearing and issue one of the following:
(1)
An order that the dog be humanely destroyed, at the expense of the
dog's owner, keeper, or harborer, by a licensed veterinarian, the
county dog warden, or the county humane society;
(2)
An order that the dog be released to the dog's owner, keeper, or
harborer;
(3)
An order that the dog be released to the dog's owner, keeper, or
harborer on the condition that the dog be trained and rehabilitated.
If the court orders the dog to be trained and rehabilitated, the
expense of such training and rehabilitation shall be the
responsibility of the dog's owner, keeper, or harborer.
(D)
The dog's owner may appeal the court's final determination as in any
other case filed in that court.
(E)
During the pendency of a court's determination under division (C) of
this section or an appeal under division (D) of this section, the dog
that is the subject of the determination or appeal shall remain in
quarantine. While the dog is being held in quarantine, the cost of
the quarantine shall be the responsibility of the dog's owner,
keeper, or harborer.
Sec.
955.222.
(A)
The municipal court or county court that has territorial jurisdiction
over the residence of the owner, keeper, or harborer of a dog shall
conduct any hearing concerning the designation of the dog
that is not humanely destroyed under section 955.13 of the Revised
Code
as a nuisance dog, dangerous dog, or vicious dog.
(B)
If a person who is authorized to enforce this chapter has reasonable
cause to believe that a dog in the person's jurisdiction is a
nuisance dog, dangerous dog, or vicious dog, the person shall notify
the owner, keeper, or harborer of that dog, by certified mail or in
person, of both of the following:
(1)
That the person has designated the dog a nuisance dog, dangerous dog,
or vicious dog, as applicable;
(2)
That the owner, keeper, or harborer of the dog may request a hearing
regarding the designation in accordance with this section. The notice
shall include instructions for filing a request for a hearing in the
county in which the dog's owner, keeper, or harborer resides.
(C)
If the owner, keeper, or harborer of the dog disagrees with the
designation of the dog as a nuisance dog, dangerous dog, or vicious
dog, as applicable, the owner, keeper, or harborer, not later than
ten days after receiving notification of the designation, may request
a hearing regarding the determination. The request for a hearing
shall be in writing and shall be filed with the municipal court or
county court that has territorial jurisdiction over the residence of
the dog's owner, keeper, or harborer. At the hearing, the person who
designated the dog as a nuisance dog, dangerous dog, or vicious dog
has the burden of proving, by clear and convincing evidence, that the
dog is a nuisance dog, dangerous dog, or vicious dog.
The
owner, keeper, or harborer of the dog or the person who designated
the dog as a nuisance dog, dangerous dog, or vicious dog may appeal
the court's final determination as in any other case filed in that
court.
(D)
A
Subject
to a quarantine period required under section 955.13 of the Revised
Code, a
court,
upon motion of an owner, keeper, or harborer or an attorney
representing the owner, keeper, or harborer, may order that the dog
designated as a nuisance dog, dangerous dog, or vicious dog be held
in the possession of the owner, keeper, or harborer
from
the time the quarantine expires, if applicable,
until
the court makes a final determination under this section or during
the pendency of an appeal, as applicable. Until the court makes a
final determination and during the pendency of any appeal, the dog
shall be confined or restrained in accordance with the provisions of
division (D) of section 955.22 of the Revised Code that apply to
dangerous dogs regardless of whether the dog has been designated as a
vicious dog or a nuisance dog rather than a dangerous dog. The owner,
keeper, or harborer of the dog shall not be required to comply with
any other requirements established in the Revised Code that concern a
nuisance dog, dangerous dog, or vicious dog, as applicable, until the
court makes a final determination and during the pendency of any
appeal.
(E)
If a dog is finally determined under this section, or on appeal as
described in this section, to be a vicious dog, division (D) of
section 955.11 and divisions (D) to (I) of section 955.22 of the
Revised Code apply with respect to the dog and the owner, keeper, or
harborer of the dog as if the dog were a dangerous dog, and section
955.54 of the Revised Code applies with respect to the dog as if it
were a dangerous dog, and the court shall issue an order that
specifies that those provisions apply with respect to the dog and the
owner, keeper, or harborer in that manner. As part of the order, the
court shall require the owner, keeper, or harborer to obtain the
liability insurance required under division (E)(1) of section 955.22
of the Revised Code in an amount described in division (H)(2) of
section 955.99 of the Revised Code.
(F)
As used in this section, "nuisance dog," "dangerous
dog," and "vicious dog" have the same meanings as in
section 955.11 of the Revised Code.
Section
2.
That
existing section 955.222 of the Revised Code is hereby repealed.