An Inventory of Ohio City Ordinances Related to Pediatric Dog Bite Injury

Background: Dog bites are a leading cause of non-fatal emergency department visits in children and remain a public health concern. Our objective was to audit regional city ordinances related to dogs, describe associations with incidences of pediatric dog bites in those cities, and identify potential limitations within current ordinances.

Methods: Three hundred fifty-nine cities in 34 Ohio counties were identified and selected based on coverage within the Partner’s for Kids (PFK) accountable care organization. City ordinances were identified using a non-Boolean Google search and sections applicable to dog ownership were located. A coding scheme was conceptualized, and data entry completed using REDCap. PFK data was extracted to evaluate dog bite incidence rates from 2011-2020 and joined to ordinance data by zip code, creating a final cohort of 280 cities in 34 counties. Summary statistics were generated (counts, percent, median, interquartile range (IQR), mean, and standard deviation (SD)). Point-biserial correlation was conducted to determine strength of correlation between incidence rate and whether cities had ordinances available. Wilcoxon Mann-Whitney U test was used to assess differences in incidence rates.

Results: Our cohort consisted of 9,695 children bitten by a dog and enrolled in PFK over 10 years. A majority were male (55.7%), White (69.2%), living in a metro area (58.9%), and did not require hospital admission (99.9%;Table1). Mean age was 8 years old (SD: 4.7). Of 280 cities, 27.1% (76/280) had city-specific ordinances available related to dog bites. The median incidence rate in 1000 people per year was clinically higher among cities without ordinances (3.7;IQR: 2.4, 5.5 vs 3.0;2.1, 5.0;p = 0.2), though the correlation between incidence rate and ordinance availability was low (rho = 0.0065;p = 0.9). Ordinances in 6.4% (18/280) of cities establish a specified person/ board to enforce ordinances, 4.6% (13/280) require a leash when off the owner’s property, and 2.5% (7/280) have specific penalties for dog bites. Five percent (14/280) of cities state a requirement to register as a dangerous dog after its bitten, and 23.6% (66/280) have ordinances for dangerous dogs. There are rules against surgical silencing of dogs in 4.6% (13/280) of cities and 14.3% (40/280) state that dog owners can be convicted of a felon due to their dog’s behavior (Table 2). There are no current ordinances which focus on safety education or psychological harm (0/280).

Conclusion: Having city-specific ordinances available did not statistically correlate with decreased incidence of pediatric dog bites. However, there are a limited number of dog-related ordinances across the state addressing prevention of this public health issue, with inconsistencies in breadth and depth. Although causative determinations are elusive due to a confluence of factors, instituting vigorous enforcement and creating consistent, practical requirements among ordinances (i.e. leash laws, safety education requirements) could potentially make an impact.