A Rockbridge cyclist was successful in having a pitbull registered as a dangerous dog under Virginia’s Dangerous Dog Act. This 2006 Virginia law provides requirements for any dog that has bitten, attacked, or inflicted injury on a person and establishes restrictions and penalties for their owners.
In May, a 65 year old Rockbridge County woman was bicycling on a rural road in the George Washington National Forest. While passing a parking area at a forest trailhead, another woman came off the trail with her unleashed pit bull terrier. The pitbull charged the cyclist, biting her on the leg.
The cyclist pressed charges under the 2006 law.
The General District court in Rockbridge County found the dog to be a “dangerous dog” as defined under Virginia’s statute. This required the dog’s owner to pay a $100 fine, have a fence approved by the animal control officer and to carry liability insurance.
If you are bitten by a dog in Virginia, here’s what you should do: https://www.vabike.org/dangerous-dogs-campaign/
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As a responsible owner of rescued American Pit Bull Terriers, I am glad to see things being dealt with in this manner.
Irresponsible owners who allow their dogs to cause trouble are as much of a threat to people like me as they are to our communities, in that they jeopardize my right to own the breed of dog I love.
Thank you Virginia, for dealing with dogs based on actions, not breed. There are dangerous dogs of all breeds, and many Pit Bulls who are no more dangerous than a cupcake.
Daisy:
While this is a single incident, it is rather disconcerting to look at the Virginia Dangerous Dog Registry; a majority of the dogs listed are either pit bulls or german shepherds. That certainly sends a message to me.
I’m a dog lover as much as anyone but I’ve been chased and bitten more than once while hearing, “Oh, but my dog is friendly!” Most dogs are friendly to their owners but when they see a cyclist wearing a helmet or hiker with a backpack and walking sticks, the dogs frequently aren’t. (Once, while hiking, I had a clueless woman literally tell me how friendly her dogs were while her pack of five mutts were trying to eat me alive. Friendly ? Right!)
I have very little patience or tolerance for people who don’t control their dogs, especially on hiking trails, no matter the breed.
Clearly, some breeds are more aggressive than others and in the Rockbridge case, walking a pit bull unleashed in the forest is simply irresponsible and reckless. I have little sympathy for this dog’s owner and the difficulties she faces because of her irresponsible and casual behavior.
So we agree.
I NEVER have my dogs off leash in public, and my dogs are highly people friendly. However, dogs and bikes are a bad match unless they are desensitized to them. I too have little sympathy for the owner of this dog.
When you look at any numbers, consider canine population. Here is what is currently available on Petfinder:
Boston Terrier – 1100
Pug – 1900
Yellow Lab – 2100
Golden Retriever – 2700
Rottweiler – 3300
Black Lab – 4800
German Shepherd – 7300
Beagle – 8200
Pit Bulls (American Pit Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier and Staffordshire Bull Terrier) – over 17000
Pit Bulls are by far the most over bred dog right now – so when you say there are more of them involved in incidents, it doesn’t mean that the breed is bad.
Again, I TOTALLY SUPPORT dangerous dog laws like this that are not breed specific.