The Unicameral approved a new dog law that may call for jail time for someone who keeps a vicious dog.
NANCY HICKS / Lincoln Journal Star | Posted: Monday, May 25, 2009 12:00 am
When she was 9, Jennifer Brown was attacked by the neighbor's dog, a pit bull named J.D.
Seventeen years later, she still has the scars - 21 puncture wounds dotting her arm. You also can see the definition between the two halves of her biceps, where the dog ripped apart the muscle.
Brown, who had two surgeries and spent months in physical therapy, still has problems. Occasionally, if she bumps that arm, the nerves will "like go dead. I won't be able to feel anything for half an hour."
Brown thinks a new law that could mean jail time for someone who keeps such a vicious dog is long overdue.
Under the new law, a dog's owner could face misdemeanor charges the first time a dog bit a person and a felony the second time.
The charges are reserved for serious bites, ones requiring medical treatment involving sutures, surgery or broken bones.
Sen. Beau McCoy, sponsor of the measure (LB494), hopes the law makes dog owners more responsible, since they will face potential jail or prison time.
After he had introduced the bill, McCoy said he found out an Omaha woman was seriously hurt by a dog just a half-mile from his own home.
When she was bit years ago, Brown had played with the pit bull. So she wasn't afraid when she set her bike down near the tree where J.D. was chained.
The dog grabbed her arm and started shaking his head while biting down.
A neighbor pounded the dog's head with a pipe. As the dog crawled away, "he reached out and got a hold of my bottom," Brown said in an interview this spring.
Brown's parents found out later the dog had attacked humans - including a mail carrier - at least four times.
The dog was put down, against the owner's wishes. But the owner faced no penalties and moved from the state after Brown's parents filed a civil suit seeking damages, she said.
Senators said during debate the bill focuses on people who want to have vicious, dangerous dogs.
The new law will go into effect Aug. 30, assuming the Legislature finishes this year's session May 29 as expected.
Reach Nancy Hicks at 473-7250 or nhicks@journalstar.com.