In Reynoldsburg, Ohio, no person shall own, keep, or harbor any vicious dog, which includes any pit bull dog. A violation is a misdemeanor of the second degree, and the vicious dog shall be seized, impounded, and humanely destroyed.
505.01 DEFINITIONS.
505.35 CONTROL AND HARBORING OF VICIOUS OR DANGEROUS DOGS AND OTHER VICIOUS OR DANGEROUS ANIMALS.
As used in this chapter certain words are defined as follows, unless the context otherwise requires:
(a) "Animal" means any live, vertebrate creature, domestic or wild.
(b) "Dangerous dog or other dangerous animal" means a dog or other animal that meets any of following:
1. A dog or other animal, that without provocation and subject to subsection (m)(2) below, has chased or approached in either a menacing fashion or an apparent attitude of attack, or has attempted to bite or otherwise endanger any person, or causes physical harm to property as defined by section 501.01(n) or serious physical harm to property as defined by section 501.01(z), while that dog or other animal is off the premises of its owner, keeper or harborer and not under the reasonable control of its owner, keeper, harborer or some other reasonable person, or not physically restrained or confined in a locked pen which has a top or other locked enclosure which has a top.
2. A dog or other animal that behaves in a manner that a reasonable person would believe poses a serious and unjustified imminent threat of serious physical harm or death to one or more persons, domestic animals or farm animals.
3. “Dangerous Dog” does not include either of the following:
A. A police dog that has chased or approached in either a menacing fashion or an apparent attitude of attack, or has attempter to bite or otherwise endanger any person while the police dog is being used to assist one or more law enforcement officers in the performance of their official duties.
B. A dog that has chased or approached in either a menacing fashion or an apparent attitude of attack, or has attempted to bite or otherwise endanger any person while that person was committing or attempting to commit a trespass or other criminal offense on the property of the owner, keeper or harborer of the dog.
(c) "Domesticated" means any animal which is accepted by the general public as tameable and bred as a tamed animal for the purposes of man. These include, but are not limited to, dogs, house cats, gerbils, and guinea pigs.
(d) "Exotic Animal" means any animal which is foreign and generally not native by birth to the local community.
(e) "Farm animal" means, but is not limited to, cattle, sheep, goats, poultry or fowl, swine, horses, or mules.
(f) "Hybrid" means the cross breeding of two or more species of animals that would not normally be bred together, including but not limited to, wolf-dog, coyote-dog, ocelot-house cat.
(g) "Menacing fashion" means that a dog or other animal would cause any person being chased or approached to reasonably believe that the dog or other animal will cause physical injury to that person.
(h) "Own, keep or harbor" means to have legal title to or custody or control over any dangerous animal or wild animal in the city, except as otherwise provided in Section 505.33.
(i) "Owner" means any person, firm, association, or corporation owning or having a proprietary interest in or possession, custody, or charge of a work animal.
(j) "Person" means any natural person, association, partnership, organization, or corporation.
(k) "Police dog" means a dog that has been trained, and may be used, to assist one or more law enforcement officers in the performance of their official duties.
(l) "Serious physical harm" means serious physical harm as defined in section 501.01(y) and section 501.01(z).
(m) "Vicious dog or other vicious animal" means a dog or other animal that meets any of the following:
1. Without provocation, has killed or caused serious injury to any person:
2. Without provocation, has caused injury, other than killing or serious injury, to any person, or has killed another dog or other animal;
3. A dog or animal that has been trained for dog/animal fighting, or bred, or abused, or is kept primarily or in park for the purpose of dog/animal fighting.
4. Any dog or animal with a known propensity, tendency or disposition to attack unprovoked, to cause injury or to otherwise endanger the safety of human beings or domestic animals.
5. Belongs to a breed that is commonly known as a pit bull dog. The ownership, keeping or harboring of such a dog, commonly known as a pit bull dog, shall be prima facie evidence of the ownership, keeping or harboring of a vicious dog or other vicious animal.
6. "Vicious dog" does not include either of the following:
A. A police dog that has killed or caused serious injury to any person or that has caused injury, other than killing or serious injury, to any person while the police dog is being used to assist one or more law enforcement officers in the performance of their official duties;
B. A dog that has killed or caused serious injury to any person while that person was committing or attempting to commit a trespass or other criminal offense on the property of the owner, keeper or harborer of the dog.
(n) "Wild Animal" means any non-domesticated animal which generally lives in its original natural state, and is not normally domesticated, and/or falls under the jurisdiction of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.
(o) "Without provocation" means that a dog or other animal was not teased, tormented or abused by a person, or that the dog or other animal was not coming to the aid or the defense of a person who was not engaged in illegal or criminal activity and who was not using the dog or other animal as a means of carrying out such activity.
(Ord. 76-96. Passed 6-10-96; Ord. 77-01. Passed 6-25-01; Ord. 72-03. Passed 9-8-03.)
505.35 CONTROL AND HARBORING OF VICIOUS OR DANGEROUS DOGS AND OTHER VICIOUS OR DANGEROUS ANIMALS.
(a) No person shall own, keep, or harbor any vicious dog or other vicious animal, as defined in section 505.01(m) within the municipality.
(b) Whoever violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor of the second degree, on each subsequent offense is guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree and the vicious dog or other vicious animal shall be seized, impounded; and humanely destroyed.
(Ord. 76-96. Passed 6-10-96; Ord. 131-2000. Passed 11-27-00; Ord. 72-03. Passed 9-8-03.)