States Move to Tighten Dangerous Dog Laws After Pit Bull Attacks

A cluster of serious dog attacks in 2022, several involving pit bulls and resulting in both criminal charges and civil liability exposure, has pushed state legislatures across the country to consider new laws targeting dangerous dogs and the owners who keep them, The New York Times reported ^[1].

One of the most closely watched cases emerged in Colorado. In September 2022, two pit bulls attacked 88-year-old Mary Gehring and her 12-year-old grandson in the backyard of a home on West 1st Avenue in Golden, Colorado ^[4]. Jefferson County District Attorney Alexis King filed multiple counts of unlawful ownership of a dangerous dog against Kayla Mooney and Victor Bentley ^[4]. Mooney faced four counts and Bentley faced two. Under Colorado statute, a conviction on the most serious felony count could expose Mooney to up to six years in prison, while Bentley faced a maximum of three years. Fines in such cases can reach $100,000 ^[4]. Colorado law holds that causing the death of a person through ownership of a dangerous dog constitutes a strict liability crime [1-16].

The Colorado case illustrates a broader legal framework taking shape in multiple states. Most felony dangerous-dog statutes require prosecutors to show the owner had prior knowledge of the animal's propensities and demonstrated reckless disregard in failing to control it [1-3,1-4]. States differ sharply, however, on when that knowledge threshold is met, and critics have long argued that existing laws leave prosecutors with limited tools [5-1]. According to The New York Times, the 2022 wave of attacks prompted several states to weigh new legislation that would either lower that threshold or impose stricter owner-accountability requirements ^[1].

The legislative debate sits within a contentious legal landscape. Breed-specific legislation, known as BSL, encompasses laws that restrict or ban particular dog breeds, and its constitutionality has been tested repeatedly in appellate courts [14-1,14-2]. At least eight state supreme courts have upheld such laws as constitutional, and a dozen federal courts have ruled favorably on their constitutionality, including the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit as recently as November 2022 in Danker v. City of Council Bluffs [20-6,20-7]. At the same time, anti-BSL statutes have been enacted in roughly 21 states, restricting the ability of local governments to target specific breeds [14-8]. That tension places legislators in a narrow corridor: expanding owner criminal liability may draw broader support than outright breed bans, which face both statutory preemption and organized opposition [12-8,12-9].

Civil liability runs parallel to the criminal exposure. Dog owners face strict liability suits in many states regardless of prior knowledge, and the average cost of a dog bite insurance claim in the United States reached approximately $55,000 in 2022 [10-2]. Insurers and legal experts note that owners without sufficient liability coverage can face personal financial ruin when damages escalate [10-5]. The American Veterinary Medical Association and the ASPCA have urged lawmakers to pursue breed-neutral, behavior-based laws rather than blanket bans, arguing that a 2022 study published in Science found that breed accounts for only about 9% of variations in individual dog behavior [15-13,15-14,16-3]. Proponents of tighter restrictions counter that the statistical concentration of fatal attacks in certain breeds justifies targeted legislative action [10-9,10-10]. The debate is unlikely to resolve quickly, and the 2022 cases are expected to continue producing both case law and legislative proposals well into the coming legislative sessions.

References

[1] The New York Times. (2022, December 01). After a String of Dog Attacks, States Weigh New Laws. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/01/us/dog-attack-breed-ban-legislation-2022.html

[2] Colorado Public Radio. (2022, October 25). Charges filed against owners of pit bulls that attacked and killed Golden resident. https://www.cpr.org/2022/10/25/charges-filed-against-owners-of-pit-bulls-that-attacked-and-killed-golden-resident/

[3] National Association of Insurance Commissioners. (n.d.). Breed-Specific Legislation. https://content.naic.org/insurance-topics/breed-specific-legislation

[4] Wikipedia. (2025). Breed-specific legislation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breed-specific_legislation

[5] DogsBite.org. (n.d.). Restricted Breed Law FAQ. https://www.dogsbite.org/legislating-dangerous-dogs-restricted-breed-faq.php

[6] ASPCA Pro. (n.d.). Are Breed-Specific Laws Effective? https://www.aspcapro.org/resource/are-breed-specific-laws-effective

[7] Malm Legal. (n.d.). Holding Pit Bull Owners Liable After a Dog Attack. https://www.malmlegal.com/blog/holding-pit-bull-owners-liable-after-attack/