Staff Writer
A bill before legislators in Austin could put more bite in the penalties assessed on pet owners whose dogs attack humans.
Natalie Smith, animal control officer under Smith County Constable Frank Creath, said the new bill would "shore up" current laws if made into law.
"I think these bills give us more teeth," she said. "I really do. And I believe it shores up the criminal law making it a serious crime for pet owners who fail to prevent their dogs from attacking."
The proposed laws could land a person in jail for 20 years under legislation tentatively adopted Tuesday by the House.
The measure, passed on a voice vote, is one of several dog-control measures being considered by the Legislature this year.
The bill by Rep. Dan Gattis, R-Georgetown, would make it a third degree felony - punishable by two to 10 years in prison and an optional $10,000 fine - if the owner failed to secure a dog that makes an unprovoked attack.
If the victim dies, the crime would be a second degree felony, punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
For a dog owner to be charged with a crime under current law, the dog must have been classified as dangerous from a previous incident - a provision critics call "one free bite."
The Gattis bill eliminates the dangerous dog requirement.
Rep. Tony Goolsby, R-Dallas, questioned whether the measure would make it too easy to penalize less serious dog attacks.
Gattis said the law would only apply to "ripping the flesh, tearing the muscle" and the type of injury that could cause death.
"We don't want to criminalize every dog ... just the most serious," Gattis said.
Current law classifies an unprovoked attack by a dangerous dog as a class C misdemeanor, punishable by up to $500. The penalty increases if the attack causes serious bodily injury or death.
Officer Smith said the dog attacks in Smith County are on the rise because of the population explosion in the southern portion of the county.
"We had 14 complaints this past weekend of dog attacks, and five of those were on people," she said.
One of those people was a man riding his bicycle, who Smith said was able to outrun the dog.
Earlier this month, a Flint girl was attacked by a 170-pound Bullmastiff everyone in the neighborhood considered docile.
The young girl required multiple stitches and survived the attack because her friend fought the dog off.
Two Flint women were attacked by pit bulls last April, and one woman underwent major surgery to repair several broken bones in her leg.
"We see this on a daily basis and it is dangerous for people and other animals," Officer Smith said. "The other attacks this weekend left other animals dead."
The recent flurry of legislation related to dog attacks largely stems from the 2005 death of an elderly woman who was mauled by a neighbor's six dogs while she mowed her front lawn.
Jose Hernandez, the dogs' owner, last month was found not guilty of criminally negligent homicide in the November 2005 death of 76-year-old Lillian Stiles.
The legislation has become known as "Lillian's Law."
Investigators have said Stiles was walking back to her house after getting off her riding lawn mower when the dogs attacked.
The legislation is House Bill 1355. Similar bills still pending in the Senate are Senate Bill 411 and Senate Bill 405.
While Officer Smith said she wanted the bill to pass, she questioned how it would be enforced.
"Where are they going to find the people to enforce all of these complaints? I mean if we are getting 14 calls a day, then that's more than one person can handle," she said.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Reference:tylerpaper
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