Drenner Sponsors Bill to Penalize Owners Of Dangerous Dogs That Attack

A recent dog attack on an elderly woman helped motivate state Rep. Karla Drenner (D-Avondale Estates) to sponor a bill penalizing the owners of dangerous dogs that attack.

The dog's owner said she overreacted and that his dogs were the victims.

Opinions are sharply divided on pitbulls and other dogs with the capability of attacking people. An August story in Decatur Patch headlined "Should You Adopt a Pit Bull?" was widely read and generated many reader comments.

Here's a press release from the Georgia House of Representatives about Drenner's legislation.

Monday marked the first day of the 2012 legislative session of the Georgia General Assembly, and State Representative Karla Drenner (D-Avondale Estates) is already working hard on House Bill 717, a new piece of legislation designed to help protect the public from dangerous dogs.

“These dangerous dogs prey on the children and elderly of our communities, and something must be done to stop them,” said Rep. Drenner.  “Georgians should be able to walk through their neighborhoods, parks, and communities without fear of being attacked by dangerous roving dogs.  The first step to making that happen is holding dog owners accountable for failing to secure their dogs, which is exactly what HB 717 does.” 

HB 717 would penalize negligent dog owners, whose failure to secure their dog results in a dog attack causing severe injury or death to a human being. 

The bill states that if a dog owner’s failure to secure a potentially dangerous dog results in a dog attack that causes severe injury or death to another human being, the owner can be charged with a felony, punishable by one to three years of imprisonment and/or a fine up to $20,000.

Rep. Drenner was led to co-sponsor HB 717 after two American bulldogs attacked a local DeKalb County woman in her front yard on Wednesday.  The dogs attacked the 71 year-old great-grandmother, Margie Hunt, while she was checking her mailbox.  Hunt was bitten on the chest, but used a kitchen knife to protect herself from more serious injuries. 

This recent attack follows another incident in DeKalb County, where 10 year-old Erin Ingram lost part of her left arm after two pit bulls attacked her in her Lithonia neighborhood in March 2010.

According to the American Humane Association, an estimated 4.7 million dog bites occur in the United States each year, and nearly 800,000 of these require medical care. 

These bites total more than $1 billion in damage each year.  Approximately 58 percent of attacks that caused human deaths involved unrestrained dogs on their owners’ property.  

For more information about HB 717, please click here.