Thursday, September 6, 2012
City council eyes measure that would ditch the registration fee for “dangerous dogs.”
Per its 2008 ordinance, the city of Lakewood requires that owners of dogs deemed “dangerous” pay a $50 registration fee each year. That may change with an ordinance introduced this week by Lakewood City Council that would “eliminate the fees associated with the annual renewal of registrations of dangerous animals.” Ward 2 councilman Tom Bullock, who proposed the measure, said that the fee was included in the 2008 ordinance to cover the city’s initial cost of registration — including verifying that dogs were insured and had microchips implanted in them. “However, registration for subsequent years is less work-intensive,” Bullock said, adding that most of the work now consists of filling out a renewal form. “Given that our rationale for …
Friday, May 25, 2012
We asked readers earlier this week what they thought. They sure responded.
Lakewood Patch readers say it’s time to end the ban on breed-specific legislation. By a wide margin. In Ohio, pit bulls are no longer “vicious” animals, according to a new state law that went into effect on Tuesday. But that did little to change Lakewood’s ordinance, which considers them both dangerous and vicious. We asked Lakewood Patch readers earlier this week to take our poll on the matter. The vote was lopsided, with 89 percent (528 votes) in favor of ending the ban, and 10 percent (63 votes) in favor of keeping it going. (It's also important to note the dozens of comments that rolled in) The statehouse voted earlier this year to repeal the breed-specific language in the Ohio Revised Code, declassifying pit bulls as “vicious animals…
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
The state law removing pit bills as “vicious dogs” went into effect on Tuesday. What do you think?
In Ohio, pit bulls are no longer “vicious” animals, according to a new state law that went into effect on Tuesday. But that did little to change Lakewood’s ordinance, which considers them both dangerous and vicious. The statehouse voted earlier this year to repeal the breed-specific language in the Ohio Revised Code, declassifying pit bulls as “vicious animals” at the state level. However, it does not apply to local municipalities. Under the new law, a dog can be labeled vicious only if it kills or causes serious harm to a person while unprovoked. Kevin Butler, the city of Lakewood's law director, told Lakewood Patch earlier this year that Lakewood’s 2008 ordinance deeming all pit bulls and canary dogs as “dangerous animals” would stand…
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
The measure clarifies 2008 ordinance banning pit bulls, allows them to be housed in animal shelters, hospitals.
Pit bulls are still illegal in Lakewood. But on Monday night, Lakewood City Council passed a measure that will “temporarily” allow them to be housed by veterinarians, animal hospitals and animal rescues. Last month, council president Brian Powers introduced a measure that sought to clarify the 2008 ordinance that bans the breed from the city. About 18 pit bulls were grandfathered in when the original ban went into effect. “We wanted to make it absolutely clear that if one of these animals are in their possession for any period of time, it’s not a violation of the law,” Powers told Lakewood Patch. The ordinance did nothing to address the new state law signed last month by Gov. John Kasich that declassified pit bulls as dangerous and …
Friday, February 24, 2012
Gov. John Kasich signed a law this week aimed at redefining vicious and dangerous dogs in the state. Lakewood’s going to take a second look at its 2008 ban.
Pit bulls are no longer “dangerous” animals in Ohio. Gov. John Kasich signed House Bill 14 into law this week, aimed at redefining vicious and dangerous dogs in the state. Pit bulls are no longer automatically tossed into either category. It’s not yet clear what that means for Lakewood, with its own ban on pit bulls. The Lakewood ban, passed in 2008, required residents at that time who owned pit pulls and canary dogs to register the animals, carry special insurance and implant a microchip in the dogs. The measure also ruled that no new pit bulls could live in the city. Under the new state law, a dog will be labeled vicious only if it kills or causes serious harm to a person while unprovoked. Law director Kevin Butler said the city may not…
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Council introduces measure that would allow veterinarians, animal hospitals and clinics to temporarily house pit bulls. But don’t expect Lakewood to reverse its pit bull ban anytime soon.
Pit bulls were again a topic of discussion at Lakewood City Council. This time, council president Brian Powers introduced a measure that would clarify the 2008 ordinance that bans the breed from the city. The proposed amendment would allow pit bulls to “temporarily” be housed by veterinarians, animal hospitals and animal rescues. The measure comes on the heels of a state measure, introduced last week, that would de-classify pit bulls as vicious animals. But don’t expect Lakewood to reverse its pit bull ban anytime soon, said Powers. “(This ordinance) is just to clarify that certain professionals can hold those animals,” he said. “There are certain folks in our city who are grandfathered in. And we wanted to make it absolutely clear that …
Friday, February 3, 2012
But the Ohio legislature's bill isn't likely to affect Lakewood's 2008 ban.
Editor's note: This article has been edited to clarify that the letter Brian Powers wrote for the Lakewood Observer was in 2008. Lawmakers in Columbus are moving forward on a bill that would de-classify pit bulls as “vicious animals” at the state level, but would not apply to local municipalities. The Ohio Senate voted 27-5 Tuesday to repeal the breed-specific language in the Ohio Revised Code. The House of Representatives approved a version of the bill in June. Under the new law, a dog can be labeled vicious only if it kills or causes serious harm to a person while unprovoked. Kevin Butler, the City of Lakewood's law director, said Lakewood’s 2008 ordinance deeming all pit bulls and canary dogs as “dangerous animals” will likely stand. “I…
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Andrea Rocco, who helped launch and enforce the city's initiative to clean up nuisance properties, is leaving to take post as special counsel to the county executive.
The Lakewood official who helped to launch and enforce the city’s initiative to curb nuisance properties is leaving for a part-time job at the county. Andrea Rocco, the assistant to the mayor, will serve as special counsel to former mayor and current county executive Ed FitzGerald. Her last day with Lakewood is this Friday. “I am excited to work with Ed FitzGerald and to contribute the success he’s had so far,” said Rocco. “I am looking forward to working with the county." She is the third Lakewood employee to leave the city administration to work for county since FitzGerald took the post in January. Nathan Kelly, the former director of planning and development, and Nora Hurley, the former law director, both took positions with the county…
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Idea behind the legislation is to outline the process and the obligations of the city — as well as the rights and obligations of dog owners.
An ordinance clarifying the language in Lakewood 2008 pit bull ban is headed back to city council for a vote. City council’s public safety committee took a couple of suggestions from the Lakewood Animal Safety and Welfare Advisory Board on Monday night, and the slightly altered legislation head back to council as a whole next Monday. The 2008 ban required residents, who owned pit pulls and canary dogs, to register the animals, carry special insurance and implant a microchip in the dogs. The measure also ruled that no new pit bulls could live in the city. Kevin Butler, the city’s law director, said the idea behind the new legislation is to outline the process and the obligations of the city — as well as the rights and obligations of dog …
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
We've gotten a lot of comments on the issue. We thought we'd share some of the best.
A measure introduced by Lakewood City Council meant to clarfiy the language in a 2008 ban on pit bulls has opened some old wounds. Lakewood Patch readers — not usually silent on issues in the community — have let their voices be heard. Although the legislation was tabled until council reconvenes from its summer break, the discussion on Lakewood Patch continues. We thought we'd share a few of the best comments. "Let's get rid of the words "pit bulls" and substitute them for "animals showing dangerous anti-social behavior, such as biting." (I've known some great pit bulls too)" -Sandy "There are 3 pit bulls on my street. My dogs and husband have been attacked. My husband was severely wounded and underwent surgery We incurred high medical …
Crystal Winters
7:33 pm on Thursday, October 18, 2012
Jason, your hatetred for the breed stems from,what happened to have you wasting energy on fact based FASENESS. DO YOU THINK A DOG IS REALLY BORN HAPPY,LOVING,READY TO OBEY COMANDS AT BIRTH?? or do you think a dog is born, then a HUMAN treats the dog inhumanly,beats it,straps a 10-25pound chain thats only 3-6ft in length to their neck and leavs the dog to sit in an area of what,lets esstimate … more ›