Survivor’s story helps empower Ohio county dog wardens

Key Takeaways

The days of “free bites” in Ohio are almost over for vicious dogs.

Despite the authority that the state grants to dog wardens, who are appointed by county commissioners, it hasn’t been enough to prevent some horrific injuries before they were allowed to take action against a dog. Larry Williams has felt a lot of frustration about how his hands were tied in Licking County, where he serves as chief dog warden and must wait for a dog to attack once to be classified as dangerous.

“We can’t even protect the public from some of these dogs that we’ve had issues with,” he said. “You can designate a dog as ‘vicious’ after it bites someone the first time, but then there’s concern about if it’s going to happen again. Will it be worse next time?”

On March 18, that will change, thanks in large part to the willingness of a young dog attack survivor who gave voice to an effort to increase authority given to county dog wardens.

State law currently gives wardens the authority to oversee dog licensing, conduct dog bite investigations and conduct investigations of dogs attacking livestock. Animal cruelty and neglect cases, on the other hand, are handled by the humane society. 

Williams, who was named 2025 warden of the year by the Ohio County Dog Wardens Association, had been working with state Rep. Kevin Miller on legislation to give wardens more authority after an 11-year-old girl, Avery Russell, was attacked by two pit bulls in a friend’s relative’s Franklin County house and saved by a neighbor who fought off the dogs with a power washer.

“I was just trying to use the restroom — I never imagined something so ordinary would turn into something so tragic,” she told the House Public Safety Committee in June 2025. “I truly thought I was going to die.”

The dogs’ owner was fined $450 and sentenced to four days in jail and three years of probation. 

Rep. Meredith Lawson-Rowe, who co-sponsored Miller’s bill, dubbed Avery’s Law, noted the disparity between the girl’s injuries and the dog owner’s penalty.

 “[The owner] received a slap on the wrist for her role in an event that left Avery with lifelong scars,” she said.

Meanwhile, Russell faced a long and painful series of surgeries to repair the physical damage, including facial scarring and the loss of both ears, to say nothing of the trauma she suffered, but when her family learned of the effort in the statehouse, she testified in support of the bill. 

“Her mother had to quit all of her jobs to take care of this little girl for a year through about a dozen surgeries to put her back together. They could have run away and just said ‘We want to forget about this terrible thing,’ said Licking County Commissioner Tim Bubb. “Avery got up in front of House and Senate committees and told her story about almost being killed, and that she didn’t want this to happen to any other little children.

“Instead of running away, they fixed it, and they stood up big time with the counties and made this case to the legislature. The story she told connected with the legislators, and they could relate to Avery and what it would be like for their child or grandchild to be attacked by a vicious dog.”

Avery’s Law passed quickly, within about six months of introduction, with unanimous support.

“You don’t see this kind of support for impactful legislation that really does something,” Bubb said. “These days, it usually only happens for something like naming a road, so that speaks to how important legislators saw this issue and how well Avery persuaded them.”

The law imposes criminal penalties on a dog owner who negligently fails to keep their dog from committing an unprovoked attack and gives the county dog warden the authority to seize the dog immediately. The investigation and enforcement requirements in the event of a complaint that dog law has been violated and allows the euthanasia of a dog if it kills or seriously injures a person, though the law includes protections for dogs that are defending themselves, their owners or their property. It also requires owners of dangerous dogs to carry $100,00 in liability insurance.”

Many of the dangerous dogs Ohio dog wardens encounter have been bred for their disposition, Williams said. 

“For whatever reason, they want a protective dog,” he said. “Sometimes they’re doing something illegal and don’t want anyone in the house. Maybe they’re breeding fighting dogs. Regardless, if the owners don’t contain them, they become a public safety threat.”

Bubb said the attention that Russell’s testimony attracted will help spread the news that county dog wardens across the state are equipped to meet the threat more effectively. 

“There are a lot of irresponsible dog owners out there, and they’re going to find out they won’t get a slap on the wrist if they don’t even bother to have a good fence in their yard or contain their dog,” he said. “These dogs aren’t going to go away and these people aren’t going to go away. But maybe, maybe when they become educated, and they know that we have some teeth in the dog law now, maybe they’ll act more responsibly. That’s what I hope.”

And Williams continues to look up to Russell for her courage.

“She was probably the bravest person that I’ve ever met,” he said. “We had been working on this law before she was attacked, but her willingness to speak up for kids like her across Ohio helped focus everyone on making the legislation pass.”