Councilman sets the record straight on dog legislation

Avon Lake Fourth Ward Councilman David Kos is pushing back against the city of Lakewood following local television coverage of its controversial, breed specific dog legislation under consideration by Lakewood City Council.

Kos, who chairs the Council safety committee, expressed concern at the Jan. 8 Avon Lake City Council meeting about television coverage the past two weeks citing Avon Lake’s 2015 ordinance on nuisance dogs as the basis for an ordinance under consideration by Lakewood Council which proposes breed specific restrictions.

“Three out of the four news channels that I saw this on, they stated that Lakewood was basing their law on Avon Lake’s law,” Kos said. “And for the record, I take exception that Lakewood is stating that this is based on Avon Lake’s law primarily because our law is not breed specific.

“Their law that they are proposing has breed specific language in it and we went out of our way to not have that.”

On Jan. 2, Lakewood Council discussed ending its ban on pit bulls with a new dangerous dogs ordinance which would, among other things, require owners of that breed along with pit bull mixes, American Staffordshire terriers, Staffordshire bull terriers, American pit bull terriers, American bulldogs, canary mastiff dogs and Cane Corso dogs, to abide by a number of additional restrictions.

Lakewood Law Director Kevin Butler confirmed the city did draw heavily from Avon Lake’s code in drafting the legislation.

“Avon Lake’s code is welldrafted,” Butler said. “We most certainly borrowed from it because it had many provisions that applied to all dogs that the mayor found to be compelling.

“The mayor also chose to add a provision that does regulate certain types of dogs that did not come from Avon Lake.”

Lakewood also added language pertaining to nuisance dogs and dogs entering other municipalities based upon Avon Lake, he said.

Owners of these dogs would only be allowed to own one of these breeds and required by the city to purchase additional insurance along with undertaking a number of safety measures to secure the pets on and off their property, according to the proposal.

When dogs are on the property, they must secured in one of the following ways:

• Inside an enclosure with a secured top, including a house.

• In a locked fenced yard in the rear of the property also tethered to the ground on a tether no longer than 10 feet, or on a tether controlled by someone 18 or older.

• In a locked pen, with a secure top, and supervised by someone 18 or older.

Dogs of these breeds off the property must be secured in one of the following ways:

• Muzzled and on a leash no longer than six feet in length and have a person controlling them who is 18 or older.

• Inside an enclosure with a secured top, including a house.

• In a locked fenced yard in the rear of the property also tethered to the ground on a tether no longer than 10 feet or on a tether controlled by someone 18 or older.

• In a locked pen, with a secure top, and supervised by someone 18 or old

Jan. 2 reports by Channel 19 and News 5 attributed Lakewood Mayor Mike Summers saying the legislation was based on similar ordinances in Avon Lake and Rocky River, which caught Kos’ attention.

Avon Lake’s dangerous and nuisance dog ordinance passed in 2015 avoided targeting specific breeds, however, enabled city authorities to establish a process to identify dangerous and nuisance dogs through an investigative process which includes observing behavior, obtaining witness testimony and the dog’s upbringing.

Dogs identified as nuisance or dangerous animals would require owners to follow many of the same conditions outlined in Lakewood’s proposal, including muzzling them when off the property and constructing a six-foot high fence along with posting signs and obtaining additional insurance.

Kos said after reaching out directly to Lakewood City Council President Sam O’Leary offering to discuss Avon Lake’s ordinance, but said he received no response.

“I did not hear back from the council president there, but obviously they looked up our law and it’s been passed along by members of the community there that it’s based on Avon Lake’s,” he said.