Dangerous dog attacks provoke stronger legislation
Attorney
(866) 735-1102 Ext 645
As a result of two recent dog attacks, one of which resulted in a personal injury, the other resulting in a fatality, Ivan Harmon, a County Commissioner of Knox County in Tennessee, has proposed an ordinance which would allow for the control of dangerous animals in the county.
Under the proposed ordinance, if an officer from either animal control or law enforcement finds that an immediate threat to public safety is posed by a dog, pending a court hearing, they may "immediately seize and impound the dog." Some case may require a dangerous dog's owner to carry liability insurance of $100,000.
One incident occurred on November 12 when 21-year-old Jennifer Lowe was in an attack in which two pit bulls mauled her to death. In August, the dogs had been declared dangerous; however, there was little that could be done by the authorities to control them under the ordinances at the time. The other incident occurred on January 5 when a 9-year-old girl in Lonsdale, Tennessee was attacked and injured by a rottweiler.
After the November 12 attack, one of Lowe's family members shot and killed on pit bull. The other was later euthanized.
Provisions are contained in the ordinance for the owner to make an appearance in General Sessions Court in order to determine whether or not the dog should be designated as dangerous.
Dogs are defined by the ordinance as being "level one" dangerous or "level two" dangerous. "Level two" is the more serious designation of the two.
Dangerous dogs are becoming more of a problem all over the country. It seems that dogs are just becoming more and more dangerous. Could this trend be a reflection of the increase in violence among humans?
North Carolina has similar laws which are intended to protect the public against dangerous dogs.