Dog Attack Pushes Main Line Mom To Change State Dog Law

A Main Line mother's son was attacked by a neighborhood dog in summer 2016. When the dog was issued an "innocent" verdict by a judge, she launched a petition to close Pennsylvania's dog law "loophole."

Sarah Hermans, of Paoli, launched her petition on Change.org and is seeking 500 signatures.

Once complete, the petition will head to the desk of State Rep. Warren Kampf, who serves the Paoli area in PA's 157th District.

As of Wednesday afternoon, about 250 people have signed it.

Hermans says in her petition that her son was attacked in the summer last year, suffering multiple bites to his face that required plastic surgery.

She goes on to say the judge hearing the case agreed the attack was unprovoked and caused serious injury, but state law allowed the dog to be considered innocent, as "vicious propensity" couldn't be proven.

"In PA, getting a dog declared as dangerous requires proving beyond a reasonable doubt that the dog has a ‘vicious propensity’ in addition to proving the attack was unprovoked and caused severe injury," her petition reads. "While the law states that the incident itself 'may' prove vicious propensity (to attack), the lack of clarity in the law leaves a loophole."

Hermans says that word "may" must be stricken from the law as it opens the loophole which she claims can be used to dog owners' advantage "because a single attack causing severe injury without provocation does not legally guarantee such vicious propensity."

She says her son now has to face the attacking dog regularly and says the petition is not about punishment.

"A guilty verdict is required to make the owners, whose dogs commit these acts, take reasonable precautions," her petition reads.

Hermans' petition is available online here.

Image via Mandee Sear, Flickr Commons