Dog Bite Cases Shed Light on Animal Laws
Louisville, Kentucky website wlky.com has posted a report regarding two dog bite cases that present potential flaws in dangerous animal laws. In one case, 10-year-old Evan Underwood was bitten in the face and required 12 stitches to repair the injuries that occurred. The boy’s parents believed that more action should have been taken against the owner of the dog as well as the dog itself.
Current laws in Kentucky require a dog to be quarantined for 10 days after any dog bit incident. However, the report states that according to the law that this quarantine can happen at any location the owner chooses, including the owner’s home.
In this incident, the Animal Control services in New Albany, KY (where the incident took place) and the Health Department allowed the owner to keep the dog in their home under quarantine. This incident was the second of two cases involving the same dog, according to the report. In the previous incident, the dog involved was taken away by the Kentucky Animal Services, however, according to the report; this decision was voluntary on the part of the dog’s owner. In the event that the court deems an animal to be dangerous, other restrictions in addition to the quarantine occur including higher fees for the owner, restraints for the animal and specific licenses to be attained by the owner.
This case demonstrates that although there could be laws put in place regarding a specific incident or situation, those laws may not always be enough to prevent dangerous or even fatal incidents from occurring. Sometimes laws may be deemed too lenient by the public, which was the case in this incident.
For more information on dog bites, visit Solomon & Relihan's Dog Bite website.
