Guest Blogger - Straight from the Woof Report

Wednesday, August 1, 2007

The Ohio Supreme Court's Devastating Decision

In an unbelievable move today, the Ohio Supreme court rendered their decision in the Tellings v. Toledo case. Their decision has dog owners across the USA stunned in disbelief as they decided against Tellings and supported Toledo.

Back in April when the case was presented to the Justices I, like hundreds of you, sat and listened to testimony. While Tellings' attorney was lacking in knowledge regarding the dogs, Justice O'Conner seemed to not only understand arguments but greatly assisted our side in presenting arguments against another Justice. After all was said and done, I spoke with some fellow very well respected BSL fighters and we all felt good about the case and its outcome.

Then, some 3 months later, we were shot down. Shocking given the evidence and prior court cases. Heck, they had ruled in 2 other cases non-pit bull specific that laws based on breed were unconstitutional. So why the change? All of the scientific evidence supports our position, all of the national canine organizations support our position, and there are several cases that support our position. What is wrong with the Ohio Supreme court?

As for Justice Maureen O'Connor, she concurred in judgment only, and entered a separate opinion expressing her "disapproval" of the provision of state law classifying all pit bulls as "vicious dogs." She wrote that data cited by the trial court regarding pit bull attacks did not reflect inherent violent characteristics of the breed but rather arose from deliberate efforts by some owners, including drug dealers, to increase a dog's aggression and lethalness through abuse or aberrant training."

What is that? If you stand against something, don't believe it to be right why would you vote for it? Very disappointing.

~ The Woof Report

If you would like to read the written decision, you can by clicking here.