By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
A Bowling Green couple’s dogs, stated to be “dangerous,” have actually bitten at least 5 individuals in the last 9 months, according to regional authorities.
The cops have actually reacted 13 times for the pit bull mix dogs running loose, discovering them as far as Kramer Road south of Bowling Green. Officers have actually taken reports from individuals who have actually been bitten, and have actually pointed out the owners – Ray and Kelley Stevens at 920 N. Summit St. – for failure to restrict their dogs.
The Wood County Dog Warden has actually reacted 8 times to capture the dogs as they were running loose.
“We have dealt with them multiple times,” Dog Warden Jodi Harding said previously today. “The dogs are strong and aggressive,” with 2 being considered harmful by Bowling Green Municipal Court.”
The owners have actually been pointed out in court 10 times, according to the dog warden. But they still aren’t adhering to the guidelines set by the state for the handling of harmful dogs. So Harding is dealing with the court to see if other actions can be required to keep the dogs from hurting individuals.
“We’re working with the courts to see if there is any more we can do,” Harding said.
When called today, Ray Stevens said the dogs are “pitskys,” or blends in between pit bulls and huskies. The dogs utilized to leap the fence, however on Friday he said he thinks that issue has actually been resolved.
“They can’t any more. I fixed it,” Stevens said. He included that he is waiting on a city license to build a personal privacy fence in the yard to make the home more secure. As of this week, the yard where the dogs have actually left from is a mix of wood and fabric type barriers.
When asked the number of dogs he has at the home, Stevens responded, “it doesn’t matter.” He said the dogs have actually received their rabies vaccinations, which he has equipment at your home to microchip them.
In November, Kelley Stevens was pointed out for stopping working to restrict her dogs after one supposedly bit a jogger 5 blocks from the Stevens’ home. Police gotten here on the scene to discover the jogger with a bite to his right lower leg. The jogger said 2 pit bulls started chasing him, then one bit him.
Police spoke with a witness who remained in a neighboring van when the bite happened. The witness said she saw the dogs swarm around the jogger, and she called cops simply as the jogger was bitten.
As officers were on that scene in the 400 block of North Summit Street, a dispatcher took another call that the dogs had actually bitten somebody on Ridge Street near the school.
Police called the county dog warden for support. The dog warden initially went to the BGSU arena to capture a 3rd dog, likewise supposedly owned by the Stevens. Police situated the other 2 dogs in between the 300 blocks of North Prospect and North Main streets.
In March, the cops reacted to a report of a female being bitten in the 300 block of Curtis Avenue. Police discovered the lady with a leak injury in her thigh from among the dogs.
When among the dogs supposedly charged the policeman in an aggressive way, the officer sprayed it with pepper spray.
Police then got another contact Curtis Avenue for 2 individuals concealing in their garage after a female had actually been bitten by the exact same dog. According to the cops report, the lady had injuries to her lower leg, elbow, butts and hand.
BGPD Lt. Adam Skaff said the cops cannot seize somebody’s dogs. The dogs are required to the dog shelter, then later on went back to the owners.
“We don’t have that authority,” Skaff said. “We’re aware it’s been an ongoing issue. It’s not like these are little poodles. These are dogs people are afraid of – and for good reason.”
Ray Stevens rejected that his dogs was accountable for the injuries to individuals on Curtis Avenue, given that the ticket he received from the cops noted the incorrect North Summit Street address. “I will not admit to that,” he said.
This previous week, the Wood County Humane Society was contacted us to the Stevens’ home for a report of supposed animal cruelty. The gentle representative was accompanied by cops and dog warden staff since of the history of the dogs.
Erin Moore, gentle society shelter supervisor, said the gentle representative did not discover indications of animal abuse. “The dogs are in good shape,” she said.
However, Moore revealed issues about the harmful dogs not being restricted effectively. Dogs running loose is one issue, however “it hits a whole new level when dogs are biting people,” she said. “There are strict laws and laws need to be followed.”
In most cases when a gentle representative is contacted us to a home, the focus is on making the owners knowledgeable about their obligations.
“Most of them end up in owner education. We love it to go that way,” Moore said.
But in this case, Moore wishes to inform the general public about the risks of the dogs at this home. While the gentle representative remained in the North Summit area previously today, she was approached by a yard care employee who said he had actually been bitten by among the dogs previously, and no longer operates in the location since of that.
“The dog warden has done what she can do,” Moore said, keeping in mind there is no arrangement in the state law for seizing and euthanizing somebody’s dog. Harding said she has actually provided to waive the citations if the owners give up the dogs to the county dog shelter.
“These dogs are still getting out. Heaven forbid someone is more seriously injured or killed,” Moore said.
The dogs are big, and in a video taken by the gentle representative today, among the owners, Kelley Stevens, had a tough time managing the dogs herself.
“They are large enough they can do damage,” Moore said.
“I’m a dog lover,” Moore said. “But at the end of the day, it’s about safety. If a dog’s been deemed dangerous, it’s troubling that they are running around.”
The state needs that all regional animal bites be reported to the Wood County Health Department. The health department has actually received reports of 5 victims of the dogs at 920 N. Summit St., in between June of 2022 and March of 2023, according to Jen Campos, neighborhood outreach planner at the health department.
The health department function is for security of the victims’ health – particularly from rabies, Campos said. Quarantine orders are provided for 10 days and the animal owner is needed to have a vet analyze the dog, and confirm that rabies vaccinations depend on date at the end of quarantine.
In 2012, Ohio embraced brand-new dog laws ranking the character of dogs based upon their habits, not on their breed.
Under the old laws, pit bull type breeds were immediately considered “dangerous.” Under the existing law, there are 3 classifications of issue dogs, some which feature requirements for their owners.
If a dog satisfies the meaning, the dog warden or police officer is needed to designate a dog as a problem, harmful, and/or vicious. All unprovoked dog bites will lead to the dog’s automated classification as a harmful or vicious dog.
The 3 categories of dogs are:
• “Nuisance” suggests a dog that, without justification and while off the properties of its owner, keeper, or harborer, has actually chased after or approached an individual in either an enormous style or an obvious mindset of attack or has actually tried to bite or otherwise threaten anybody.
• “Dangerous” suggests a dog that, without justification, has actually done any of the following: triggered injury, besides eliminating or major injury, to anybody; killed another dog; has actually been discovered running loose 3 or more times.
• “Vicious” suggests a dog that, without justification, has actually killed or triggered major injury to anybody.
The owner of a “dangerous” or “vicious” dog should adhere to the list below requirements:
• Post indications showing the existence of a harmful or vicious dog.
• Spay or sterilize the dog, which supposedly has actually not been made with the Stevens’ dogs. Harding is dealing with the owners to get the dogs scheduled for surgical treatments with Humane Ohio.
• Microchip the dogs.
• Obtain and preserve existing rabies vaccinations.
• Obtain particular liability insurance protection.
• Register the harmful or vicious dog each year.
Confinement of harmful or vicious dogs should remain in accordance with rigorous requirements. And the owners are likewise needed to alert authorities when the dogs get loose – which the Stevens have actually not been doing, according to the dog warden’s workplace.
