18Dec

    Florida Dog Bite Law is Overturned After Review

    Recently, I wrote a post about a law that is being challenged in my hometown of Sarasota, Florida. The law I spoke about has been a source of controversy since it was enacted and says that any dog who bites a person hard enough to require stitches or reconstructive surgery, regardless of the reason behind the bite, has to be euthanized due to it being a danger to people. As you can expect, there are a number of reasons that this law has faced the amount of criticism that it has — the law is very cut and dry and unless there are concerted efforts at appeals, the law ignores any context behind the dog bite (even if the dog was biting an intruder during a home invasion).

    The law was finally brought under legal review when a dog named Padi bit a child’s ear after allegedly being instigated. What is agreed is that the dog moved to a corner to escape the child only to have the child follow it, leading to the eventual bite. Padi’s owner, Dr. Paul Gartenberg, brought the case to court where a judge ended up reviewing the law as a whole. Judge Andrew Owens ended up throwing both the case against Padi out of court, as well as declaring the law “arbitrary and unduly oppressive.”

    This overturning of the law and it being struck down is with no doubt a huge weight off of the shoulders of all dog owners in the state of Florida. Dogs are animals and even the best trained dog will lash out either in fear or panic when it is backed into a corner with no chance of escape. Just like you wouldn’t punish a human as fully for hurting someone in self-defence, the same should goes for dogs because they’re just animals. Hopefully this law will lead to less needless deaths for pets that are honestly more than just pets, they’re family members.

    If you’d like to read more, the link is here.

    13Nov

    Florida Dog Bite Law to be Challenged

    To many who own them, dogs are more than just pets. They are a part of the family. They can be protectors. They can be co-workers. They can be the one type of therapy that actually helps a person overcome trauma in their past. With so much emphasis, both emotional and economical at times, placed on our furry friends, a law in Florida is being reexamined and potentially updated and changed. As of now, if a dog bites a person hard enough to require any sort of serious medical attention (such as stitches), the dog is to be euthanized with no chance of explanation. This means that even if your dog is defending your property from an armed intruder, it will die.

    The law is being looked at thanks to Representative Greg Steube who rightly thinks that the law is absurd and gives the owner of the dog no chance to try to protect their beloved pet. The bill has already passed its first test in the government, with one hearing down and it receiving unanimous support. Now there is going to be a second hearing, followed by a third, and then it will be on Florida Governor Rick Scott’s desk by January if it all goes according to plan. I can’t think of many people who would vote against this sort of change to existing legislation. While obviously some dogs bite good people and some are dangerous, that doesn’t mean that a dog protecting its family deserves to die with no chance of reprieve.

    This current examining of the law was brought to light over a case currently in court. A dog named Padi bit a 4 year old on the ear, leading to him needing 3 reconstructive surgeries (though the child is fine in every other respect). Padi is a loved family dog with no previous issues in terms of biting or being dangerous. According to his owner (and witnesses), Padi only attacked after being cornered by the child and having toys thrown at him for minutes. Padi acted as any animal (humans included) would’ve when under attack and escape wasn’t an option. Does that mean he deserves to die?

    If you’d like to read more, the link is here.