Lawmakers Hear Emotional Testimony for ‘Avery’s Law’ as Committee Adopts Substitute

Lawmakers in the House Public Safety Committee on the second hearing of House Bill 247 heard repeated calls to tighten Ohio’s dangerous-dog laws and accepted a substitute that sponsors described as combining several bills into a single measure called "Avery’s Law." The substitute would require mandatory liability insurance for owners of dogs deemed dangerous or vicious, increase penalties in some cases and add confinement, registration and reporting requirements.

The bill’s supporters led with personal testimony. "I was violently attacked by two vicious pit bulls," said Avery Russell, who told the committee she underwent nine hours of surgery, a medically induced coma and multiple reconstruction procedures. "The fight for Avery’s Law gives me hope," she said, asking lawmakers to prevent future attacks on children and other vulnerable people.

Avery’s mother, Drew Russell, urged accountability and called the proposed changes "not a partisan issue." She told the committee that local ordinances—like Reynoldsburg’s…