Vote Yes and pass the NJ Responsible Dog Ownership Act (A2401 / S3607).  

On March 16th, 2021, 3 year old Aziz Ahmed was brutally murdered while playing in his own backyard by his neighbors 2 large pitbull dogs who were left unsupervised to dig underneath a dilapidated fence. First responders on the scene reported that “we have a 3 year old with a total evisceration of the head neck and thighs”. Aziz’s mother was also severely injured in the attack while trying to save her son. Aziz’s siblings were forced to watch this horrific killing while calling 911. These dogs had previously ran at large yet were returned by the town to the owner despite the unsafe fencing and lack of registration. Yet even after all this, the attorney general still failed to bring criminal charges against the owner (citing limitations of current laws) and was able to offer only “thoughts and prayers”. If Aziz was accidentally shot with a gun, or hit by a car, the perpetrator would have faced charges of criminally negligent homicide. 

NJ due to its lack of regulations on dog owners has failed this child and his family by allowing murder by dog attack to become de facto legal. The family is destroyed forever. Justice has not been served and the public is no safer than before this horrific incident. 

We should not have to live in fear for the safety of our children or small pets when they play outside; at risk of attack by uncontrolled large, dangerous dogs.  Families should not be held hostage in our communities, homes and public spaces due to the actions of some irresponsible dog owners.

Existing NJ dog ownership regulations and leash laws are not strong enough in protecting the safety of our children from serious dangerous dog attacks. This bill helps address gaps in both preventative measures and adding criminal consequences for offenders.

Bill A2401 expands on the existing state definition of child endangerment and imposes felony charges against reckless owners who’s dogs injure a child - this is a critical component of this bill and is desperately needed to deter irresponsible owners who today face no criminal liability for their actions – even in the case of fatal attacks.  NJ allows victims to pursue civil remedies (assuming the dog owner has insurance or assets, which is often not the case), but when a vicious large dog becomes a deadly weapon, it must be treated as such.

Regarding the bill’s fencing requirements, securely containing your dog is a basic criteria for responsible pet ownership. This is necessary for the safety of both dogs and the community, especially in the case of large breeds that have the physical ability to do serious harm to children.  Dogs are known escape artists, and minimum guidelines on maintaining appropriate containment standards are common sense regulation. Dog ownership requires many responsibilities including making sure a dog is under control at all times. 

Flexibility has already been added into the bill regarding different fencing compliance options for different types of housing communities. We suggest as a further amendment, that owners who wish to keep their dog leashed and supervised at all times outside should also be considered in compliance and not subject to the fencing requirements. If a person is found to violate the leashing mandate, they would become subject to the fencing requirement.  Such a change would drastically reduce the financial burden on responsible dog owners who choose to utilize leashing and supervision as a containment measure instead of fencing.

This bill directly addresses the very weaknesses in current laws that directly led to this tragic situation:

1) The state of the fence of the dog owner was in extreme disrepair and not capable of containing dogs of that size.  However there are no laws to enable the township to mandate the dog owner to create a safe enclosure.

2) The dogs previously ran at large, yet current leash laws carry such insignificant fines and enforcement so weak, that the dogs were simply returned to the owners by the town without question.

3) The attorney general failed to file criminal charges as the law does not explicitly allow for felony charges in the event of vicious dog attacks.  The owner who caused a child to be killed through his reckless actions walked free with a small fine for unregistered dogs.

This problem is getting worse every year - In 2021, we have already seen 16 large dog attack fatalities in just 6 months in the US. 2 children have already died in New Jersey.  We thank the bill sponsors Assemblyman Benjie E. Wimberly, Assemblywoman Yvonne Lopez and Assemblyman Craig J. Coughlin for their attention to this issue. We implore you to take action in addressing this threat to public safety and hold owners of large dogs responsible for preventing attacks on our children. What happened to Aziz Ahmed must never be allowed to happen in NJ again.