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Helping Pit Bull/mixes in Ohio Updated January 13, 2021
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Pit Bull Laws
House Bill 14 passed in February 2012. HB 14 removed pit bull type dogs from automatically labeled as vicious. HB 14 did NOT remove bans, restrictions or insurance requirements from local municipalities. What does this mean for you? Under state law, your pit bull type dog will be treated just like every other dog who has not been deemed a nuisance, dangerous or vicious. You will not:
Farmers Insurance will cover your dogs under their standard homeowner/renter policy for no additional cost. It is available at reasonable pricing. Dog owners should continue padlocking their gates and being sure their fences are in good repair. A good padlock prevents neighborhood kids, landscapers, meter readers from accidentally leaving your gate open. You can also call your local utility company and ask them to install remote readers, this is done at no cost to you. If you need assistance determining your local requirements email Lisa@hospets.org |
Rescues Assisting Pits
There are a few rescues in Ohio who accept pit bull type dogs or will assist with placement. Space is always limited. Before surrendering a dog to a rescue, please be sure you have verified they are a reputable rescue. Pit Bull friendly organization's in Central Ohio The Franklin Co Dog Shelter is an open admission shelter and will never turn any dog away that is brought to it's facility. Pit/mixes may be evaluated and placed on adoption floor and sometimes turned over to rescue. Central Ohio Pit Savers Adopt A Pit Citizens for Humane Action (CHA) Columbus Humane Pet Promise.org Peace For Paws Ohio.org Humane Society of Delaware Co Taking your pit bull to dog parks - this is a very controversial subject. Before taking your dog to a dog park, know your dog! Know how your dog reacts to other dogs that may nohave good manners. Know how your dog reacts if she gets over stimulated. Know how your dog reacts if a ball or toy gets thrown into the mix and another dog tries to take it away. If you are unsure of how your dog will react, please consider a muzzle or avoiding a dog park setting. |
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Info/Resources for Pits
Pit Bull Insurance Option found on our Dog/Cat Info page, scroll down to "I" for insurance |
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Dog Fighting
Dog fighting Hot Line 877- 847- 4787 answered 24/7 sponsored by HSUS You can receive an award of up to $5,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of a dogfighter. -all info is confidential -no one will know you called -you can leave a message, talk to an investigator, or get their e-mail address and leave your own. -If a dogfight is in progress, immediately call 911, then call the hot line Another Option If you suspect dog fighting anywhere in the USA, call Help Stop Dog Fighting. This is a group, lead by a former Marine, who will investigate and provide evidence to the local police for free. $5,000 reward for info leading to an arrest 877-215-2250 HelpStopDogFighting.com |
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Re-homing your Pit
We are sorry to hear you need to rehome your dog. Rehoming any dog is hard, rehoming a pit/mix is even harder. Because of the high number of emails and calls we receive regarding surrendering pit bulls, we have compiled the following info:
Behavioral Issues
If you are having issues, your best option will be to work through the issues you have so you can keep your dog.
----If you have a person or dog/cat aggressive dog, your chances of finding a rescue or shelter that will accept your dog are very slim. You don't want to place your dog in a situation where a child or a dog/cat could be harmed. Your only option may be to give the dog a gentle end without the stress of transition. We wish we could save every dog, but rehoming a known biter is rarely an option for a rescue/shelter because of the liability issue.
Training Options
www.SkyDogs.org They do great work with reactive dogs.
www.PetsAndPeopleInHarmony.com a veterinarian that can prescribe calming medicines
----For high energy, select a doggie day care for the dog to burn off energy.
www.ColumbusDogConnection.com/dogcat-info.html
----We offer low cost spay/neuter which will help with roaming, dominance issues:
www.ColumbusDogConnection.com/spayneuter-info.html
Moving
Apts that allow pit bulls Check this page for dozens of apts that allow pit bulls: scroll to A for Apts www.ColumbusDogConnection.com/dogcat-info.html
Other Reasons
----For other issues: allergy issues, you no longer want the dog, the dog belonged to a deceased family member, contact friends/family members that already know the dog and want to help you/your loved one.
Rescues/shelters are full of homeless pit bulls. Adoption of pit bulls is much slower because of housing limitations, breed restrictions and breed discrimination.
An option is to return the dog to the pet store, breeder or rescue you bought/adopted from.
Reputable breeders take dogs back for the lifetime of the dog.
If you have saved this dog from a bad situation & he/she is aggressive:
We recently had a pit that was in our foster care for 2 yrs. She had intensive training...she was phenomenal with people, but not other dogs. She did fine with the 2 small resident dogs in the home but the foster Mom was never comfortable to leave them alone together. Sadly, after she broke free from being tethered, she went after a small dog in a training class.
As a rescue, we could not knowingly adopt her out. With all the love we could muster, we gave her a gentle ending. As we tell our foster families, sometimes we are best option...we give them
love, consistency, training and a chance...but if we are not able to place them, we also have to make that gut wrenching decision to gently put them down.
You are likely not there yet....but it may be something you have to consider. I don't know of any rescues that will take a known aggressive dog and volunteer foster homes almost always have
other dogs.
We are sorry to hear you need to rehome your dog. Rehoming any dog is hard, rehoming a pit/mix is even harder. Because of the high number of emails and calls we receive regarding surrendering pit bulls, we have compiled the following info:
Behavioral Issues
If you are having issues, your best option will be to work through the issues you have so you can keep your dog.
----If you have a person or dog/cat aggressive dog, your chances of finding a rescue or shelter that will accept your dog are very slim. You don't want to place your dog in a situation where a child or a dog/cat could be harmed. Your only option may be to give the dog a gentle end without the stress of transition. We wish we could save every dog, but rehoming a known biter is rarely an option for a rescue/shelter because of the liability issue.
Training Options
www.SkyDogs.org They do great work with reactive dogs.
www.PetsAndPeopleInHarmony.com a veterinarian that can prescribe calming medicines
----For high energy, select a doggie day care for the dog to burn off energy.
www.ColumbusDogConnection.com/dogcat-info.html
----We offer low cost spay/neuter which will help with roaming, dominance issues:
www.ColumbusDogConnection.com/spayneuter-info.html
Moving
Apts that allow pit bulls Check this page for dozens of apts that allow pit bulls: scroll to A for Apts www.ColumbusDogConnection.com/dogcat-info.html
Other Reasons
----For other issues: allergy issues, you no longer want the dog, the dog belonged to a deceased family member, contact friends/family members that already know the dog and want to help you/your loved one.
Rescues/shelters are full of homeless pit bulls. Adoption of pit bulls is much slower because of housing limitations, breed restrictions and breed discrimination.
An option is to return the dog to the pet store, breeder or rescue you bought/adopted from.
Reputable breeders take dogs back for the lifetime of the dog.
If you have saved this dog from a bad situation & he/she is aggressive:
We recently had a pit that was in our foster care for 2 yrs. She had intensive training...she was phenomenal with people, but not other dogs. She did fine with the 2 small resident dogs in the home but the foster Mom was never comfortable to leave them alone together. Sadly, after she broke free from being tethered, she went after a small dog in a training class.
As a rescue, we could not knowingly adopt her out. With all the love we could muster, we gave her a gentle ending. As we tell our foster families, sometimes we are best option...we give them
love, consistency, training and a chance...but if we are not able to place them, we also have to make that gut wrenching decision to gently put them down.
You are likely not there yet....but it may be something you have to consider. I don't know of any rescues that will take a known aggressive dog and volunteer foster homes almost always have
other dogs.