Judge rules three dogs are vicious and must be confined

NEWTON FALLS — Newton Falls Municipal Court Judge Philip Vigorito ruled Thursday that the three German shepherd dogs owned by David Hanson of Newton Township are vicious under Ohio law, requiring Hanson to keep them confined, to carry $100,000 of liability insurance on each dog and other things.

The ruling came after a civil trial two weeks ago presided over by the judge without a jury.

The trial resulted after the Trumbull County Dog Warden declared the dogs vicious following an attack on an employee of Venture Plastics, which is next door to Hanson's property on Warren Ravenna Road. Hanson appealed the decision in municipal court.

The victim testified that she knew the dogs that left her badly injured in her feet and legs were Hanson's because she had seen them in the past and recognized them. Hanson's attorney argued that there was not sufficient evidence that the dogs were Hanson's.