News Summary

HAMILTON — City Council will vote tonight, July 9, on an expanded vicious dog ordinance intended to help the police department control the pet population.

City council meets at 7 p.m. in council chambers on the first floor of 345 High Street. A work session precedes the meeting at 5 p.m.

Dr. Bill Karwisch, the Hamilton Public Health director, said that currently any reports of a vicious dog on the loose have to be funneled through the health department. He said the police department has had an increase in calls lately for pit bulls, which are labeled by the state as vicious dogs, roaming at large.

Police have requested increased power to handle the situations. "They can cite him (the dog's owner) right on the spot without calling the health department (if the ordinance is passed)," Karwisch said.

The ordinance comes a few weeks after City Council voted to cut funding for animal control as it cuts its budget because of a projected financial crisis. The city was paying about $85,000 per year to the county for a dog warden to patrol the city and to the county's shelter. Council opted to discontinue payment because the city is in financial straits and the county is required by state law to serve all areas within its borders.

Karwisch said the ordinance was not a result of the cut in funding for animal control.

Animal Friends Humane Society Executive Director Leland Gordon said he doubted the ordinance as written would do anything to put a dent in Hamilton's pit bull population, which is quite large.

Rather than allowing police to cite residents under the new ordinance, Gordon said a more effective solution would be to mandate dog breeds classified as vicious to be spayed or neutered.

"It's not going to reduce the population of pit pulls or make the population (of owners) more law abiding," he said.

Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2190 or jrinaldi@coxohio.com.