Ohio’s New Dog Bite Law Takes Effect: What Victims (and Owners) Need to Know

Dog bite laws are tightening in Ohio as of March 20, 2026, when “Avery’s Law” takes effect.

The legislation closes gaps in prior law and increases responsibilities and penalties for owners of dogs deemed a danger to the public.

Under Ohio’s new dog bite law, the idea of a “one free bite” is largely eliminated. Even a first serious attack can now lead to criminal consequences, and dogs with a documented history of dangerous behavior may be subject to stricter requirements, including insurance, registration, and confinement.

With more than one-third of Ohio households owning at least one dog, Avery’s Law has the potential to affect millions of owners across the state, as well as those Ohio law defines as dog “keepers” and “harborers.” It also carries important implications for those injured in dog attacks.

How Avery’s Law Changes Dog Attacks in Ohio

Avery’s Law is named after Avery Russell of Columbus, who was seriously injured in a dog attack in June 2024 when she was eleven years old.

She spent a month in the hospital and now lives with lasting physical and emotional scars. The dogs that attacked her had a prior bite history, exposing weaknesses in Ohio’s dog laws, which many said did not go far enough in the aftermath of the attack. The dogs’ owner was fined $450 and sentenced to four days in jail.

Following that incident, the Cincinnati Enquirer, Columbus Dispatch, Akron Beacon Journal, and Canton Repository published a statewide investigation into vicious dog attacks. The reporting brought renewed attention to Ohio’s dangerous dog laws and how those laws had failed victims and their families.

In December 2025, Governor Mike DeWine signed legislation strengthening how dogs are classified, monitored, and regulated, particularly in situations where warning signs may have been missed or minimized. Avery’s Law gives authorities more tools to act before a serious attack occurs and increases accountability when one does.

Ohio’s new dog bite law calls for:

• New statutory categories for dog conduct: The law formally defines “nuisance dog acts,” “dangerous dog acts,” and “vicious dog acts,” creating a tiered system based on the severity of the dog’s behavior rather than relying solely on bite history.
• Broader criteria for classifying a dog as dangerous or vicious: A dog no longer needs to bite a person to trigger legal consequences. Serious injury to a person, killing or seriously injuring another dog, or repeated threatening behavior off the owner’s property can now support classification.
• Mandatory insurance and registration requirements: Owners of dogs classified as dangerous or vicious must register the dog ($100 fee) and carry at least $100,000 in liability insurance, along with complying with strict containment and control requirements.
• Expanded liability to “owners, keepers, and harborers”: The law applies not just to the legal owner, but to anyone who has control over the dog or allows it to remain on their property, potentially including dog trainers, sitters, and walkers.
• Escalating criminal penalties tied to the severity of harm: Offenses are now tiered to align with the law’s classification of canine behavior, ranging from minor misdemeanors to third-degree felonies, with penalties that can include prison time and fines up to $10,000.
• Enhanced authority for dog wardens and courts: Authorities have greater power to intervene, including the ability to seize dogs involved in serious incidents and impose conditions such as supervision, training, or confinement.
• Mandatory euthanasia in the most severe cases: If a dog kills a person or causes qualifying serious injury, the law allows—or in some cases requires—the dog to be euthanized.

The most direct consequences of Avery’s Law fall on Ohio dog owners and others responsible for a dog’s care by increasing their responsibilities and potential consequences for bites and attacks. The law also influences how dog bite claims are handled.

Avery’s Law and Dog Bite Injury Claims

In 2025, dogs bit around 15,000 people in Ohio—and that’s just the number reported to local public health officials. Many more bites and attacks go unreported.

Avery Russell required five operations within the first 10 months after her attack. Her recovery involved extensive treatment at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, including physical, speech, occupational, feeding, and trauma therapies, and she still requires further reconstructive surgeries for her nose and ears.

Avery’s mother told the Dispatch that her physical scars pale in comparison to her mental trauma. Avery suffers from PTSD and panic whenever she is around a dog in public. The word “dog” can’t even be spoken around Avery without triggering fear and flashbacks.

The criminal law that bears her name, unfortunately, can’t directly help Avery pay for her physical and psychological injuries. But Avery’s Law does have implications for dog attack victims in the way that incidents are documented, how responsibility is assigned, and what evidence may be available in a civil dog bite claim or workers’ compensation bite claim.

• More structured documentation after an incident: The law creates clearer categories of dog behavior and gives authorities more defined standards for classification. This may result in more consistent reporting—and related documentation—by animal control and law enforcement following an attack.
• Clearer record of a dog’s prior behavior: Classifications such as “dangerous” or “vicious,” along with documented complaints or prior incidents, may be easier to identify. In some cases, this information can help establish whether there were warning signs.
• Evidence of compliance (or noncompliance) with legal requirements: Once a dog is classified, the law imposes specific obligations, such as registration, confinement, and insurance. Whether those requirements were followed may become a relevant factual issue in a civil claim.
• Responsibility is not limited to the dog’s legal owner: Ohio law has long recognized potential liability for “owners, keepers, and harborers.” Avery’s Law does not change that framework, but it reinforces the importance of identifying who had control over the dog at the time of the incident.
• Insurance may play a larger role in some cases: For dogs that have been formally classified, required liability coverage may affect how compensation is pursued. However, the availability of insurance will still depend on the specific facts of the case.
• Medical records remain central to any claim: Dog bite medical records document the nature and extent of injuries, the care required, and the potential for long-term effects. In serious cases, ongoing treatment and future procedures may need to be considered.
• Timely reporting can affect what information is available: Because the law ties certain consequences to documented behavior and prior incidents, reporting an attack and creating an official record may influence what evidence exists for both current and future claims.

Bite Back: Talk to a Dog Attack Attorney at Graham Law

Ohio dog bite victims have rights, and those rights are shaped in part by the responsibilities the law places on dog owners. Personal injury claims resulting from dog bites may evolve in response to Avery’s Law in ways that are difficult to predict.

Changes to the law come and go, but our commitment to helping injury victims in Southeastern Ohio hasn’t changed for more than 100 years.