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Dog-attack bills finally conform
Dangerous-dog bills from Del. Orrock and Sen. Houck now have the same language and appear headed toward passage.Date published: 3/7/2006 RICHMOND--A Senate committee yesterday conformed Del. Bobby Orrock's dangerous-dog bill to a similar one of Sen. Edd Houck, paving the way for a final agreement on that legislation this week. Houck's bill, which was approved by the House Courts of Justice Committee last week, allows owners of a dog that causes serious bodily injury to a person to be charged with a felony. It also makes it a class 1 misdemeanor for the owners of dogs that attack, but don't kill, a person, and a lesser misdemeanor for the owner of a dog that attacks a companion dog or cat, although it does not spell out punishment for owners of dogs that attack other companion animals. The House Courts committee's version of Houck's bill is a compromise and, while Orrock's is now the same, he's not thrilled with the end result. Orrock said yesterday that animal control officers don't like the latest version of the bill, because it makes some changes to the definitions of "dangerous" and "vicious" dogs by saying that dogs are dangerous only if they attack a companion dog or cat, not other pets. However, he's willing to accept it if it means getting the bill passed this year. "While I may not like 100 percent of the language," Orrock said, it's better to accept it than risk having the bill go into a conference committee, where lawmakers may be less qualified to tinker with it than the numerous lawyers who make up the courts committees. "I don't want it to go to conference," Orrock said. "We better take what this is, and if we see problems, that is a bill for future years." Both Houck's and Orrock's bills came about after a neighbor's pit bulls killed elderly Spotsylvania County woman Dorothy Sullivan. The owner of the dogs, Deanna Large, was convicted of involuntary manslaughter. She may appeal but while that is pending, legislators have removed from Houck's bill a provision allowing negligent owners of dogs who kill a person to be charged with a felony. Both houses are scheduled to vote on the two bills later this week. To reach CHELYEN DAVIS:
Date published: 3/7/2006
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