Attorney Dale Emch testified against pit bull advocates who feel the dogs have been unfairly targeted. Part 1

Attorney Dale Emch, from our office, felt strongly enough about the issue that he teamed up with Mr. Skeldon and dog wardens across the state in resisting a proposed change to state law that would have stopped pit bulls from being labeled as vicious dogs. Here's a copy of the testimony Mr. Emch gave to an Ohio House of Representatives' committee that was considering the change:

Dale Emch's testimony

"Chairman Reinhard, thank you for allowing me to address this committee on this controversial and important issue. I am testifying in opposition to House Bill 366 because I think it would be a mistake not to keep pit bulls labeled as vicious dogs under the state law. The law provides dog wardens like Tom Skeldon in Lucas County and law enforcement officials throughout the state with a powerful tool to regulate ownership of dogs that have the ability, and apparently the propensity, to cause tremendous harm to people.

"I'm here today as an attorney who has dealt with the types of injuries pit bulls can cause in just a matter of seconds. In our Toledo law office, nine of the 23 dog bite cases we're handling involve pit bulls. That's 39 percent, which strikes me as being disproportionately high when you consider how many different breeds of dogs there are in our state. I recognize this is a such a small sampling that it is statistically meaningless in the broader context of this discussion, but it gives you at least a glimpse of what we're seeing. I'll leave it to Mr. Skeldon and his colleagues to provide the statistical information this committee needs to evaluate whether pit bulls should remain labeled as vicious dogs."

"I'd like to provide you with some evidence of just how much damage these dogs can do. In the three cases I'll discuss, it's worth noting that none of the attacks were provoked, nor is there any evidence that these dogs were trained to fight or that they were owned by gang members. Something tripped their switch and they attacked."