Count Kelley In Favor of Strict Liability For Dog Owners

One Baltimore County State Senator said she favors stricter laws that hold dog owners responsible when their animals attack because she was once the victim of a dog attack.

Sen. Delores Kelley told the story of being attacked by a dog when she was 4 years-old during a Senate debate on a bill that allow dog owners to present evidence that the didn't know their dog was dangerous at the time it attacked someone.

The bill is in response to a Court of Appeals ruling last year that declared pit bulls an inherently dangerous breed.

Kelley said she favors strict liability for dog owners because she herself was attacked by a dog as a child.

"I was bitten on the left buttock," Kelley said Tuesday. "You may not see the scar but emotionally it impacted me the rest of my entire life. I've almost been killed running across the street, into roads, to get away from dogs that probably never even saw me because of a primordial fear."

In another instance, Kelley said she was returning from the Democratic National Convention when a group she was in was approached by a security officer with a dog.

"I freaked out," Kelley said. "I can't help it."

Kelley said she favors a law that imposes strict liability on the owner of any dog that bites another person.

"If your dog did it it, that ought to be enough," Kelley said.