In a flurry of bills signed on Friday was one that makes big changes in Ohio’s law on vicious dogs. It’s a victory to the family of the central Ohio middle school girl it’s named for, who’s still fighting her way back from a dog attack a year ago.
Avery Russel was visiting a friend’s home in Reynoldsburg near Columbus when she was attacked by two pitbulls in June 2024. The 12-year-old spent a month in Nationwide Children's Hospital and has had six surgeries.
"The hardest moment wasn't the surgeries, but it was the first time I saw myself. I didn't recognize the face looking back at me. I actually scared myself. That moment broke something in me," Russell told the House Public Safety Committee in June.
But she added that something beautiful happened when "my friends came to visit me and they didn't treat me any differently to them. I was still Avery. Just Avery. And that changed everything. That was the day I decided I will be okay. I accept what happened and I will fight to make sure it doesn't happen to another child."
Avery’s mother told lawmakers the current punishment for the dogs' owner—a few hundred dollars in fines and a few days in jail—is "ridiculous".
"Avery's had five surgeries. She still has no ears," Drew Russell said. "She has countless years of reconstruction and trying to build her life back. Why is the person who's completely negligent and irresponsible—her life is not interrupted. She's doing the same thing she was doing before. So I just feel like when it comes to accountability and penalties, penalties need to reflect the crimes their their lives need to be disrupted, just like ours are."
Stephanie Ayers was sentenced in September to $450 plus court costs and 30 days in jail, with all but four of those suspended. One of her dogs was put down the day of the attack; the other is in the custody of the Franklin County Animal Shelter. The dogs also attacked and injured an adult relative of Ayers' at the same time they mauled Avery Russell.
When it takes effect in March, House Bill 247, or Avery’s Law, will classify dogs that have attacked people as dangerous and dogs who injure or kill people as vicious. It will require owners to pay $100 to register those dogs. Owners of dogs deemed vicious must get $100,000 in liability insurance, and the law will up the penalties for those owners if their dogs attack. It also requires a dog that seriously injures or kills a person to be euthanized, and increases the penalties for owners of dogs designated as dangerous or vicious that are found running loose. Owners must also spay or neuter the dog in most cases, post warning signs and update the county when they change residences.
