Tougher dogs and looser law tend to aggravate a problem

The "dog days of summer" refers to those lazy, hazy days, when any self-respecting dog is content to lie in the shade (and, coincidentally, when Sirius, the Dog Star, makes its reappearance in the predawn skies). Spring, however, signals a time when dogs are more likely to be on the prowl, and events of recent days in Youngstown show that this can be a dangerous time, especially with breeds that are temperamentally inclined to attack and large enough to do damage.
"For the last few weeks, it's just been crazy for some reason," said Mahoning County deputy dog warden Dave Nelson the other day.
Wednesday night a Youngstown police officer shot and killed a pit bull that tried to attack him at Mariner Avenue home on the East Side. Thursday, a Rottweiler attacked a 10-year-old boy on the North Side; Friday, dog wardens caught a 220-pound mastiff that was terrorizing another East Side neighborhood and vicious pit bulls were reported at Pasadena and Homestead avenues.
Not isolated incidents
It appears the city has to do some gearing up to respond to the threat of dangerous dogs roaming free. But past years have shown that this is not a Youngstown problem. Vindicator files show stories reporting incidents of loose and vicious dogs in Struthers, Liberty, Lordstown and Leavittsburg. Two years ago in Warren, the city's law director, Greg Hicks, was attacked by a pit bull in his own backyard.
Ohio law prohibits any dog from running loose. But in a wrong-headed ruling two years ago, the Ohio Supreme Court, by a 4-3 vote, took the teeth out of laws aimed specifically at vicious dogs.
The court declared a state statute regarding vicious dogs to be unconstitutional because it did not provide a hearing process before criminal charges were filed. Giving a presumption of innocence to Rottweilers and pit bulls is very high-minded, but it shouldn't come at the expense of towns and cities that are trying to protect people, expecially children, and smaller dogs and cats from attack.