.

A lack of laws against cruelty and abuse to animals in the State of Ohio are allowing for dog fighting rings and other abuses to occur. The perpetrators of the abuse know that the offense will be considered a misdemeanor. Light fines and minimal jail sentences (which then are reduced for good behaivor) are inadequate in deterring the rampant abuse. Educating and alerting to what signs to look for and where to report it in the community will help is starting to correct the issue in hand.

Changing the laws will bring awareness to consequenses that are equivalent to the devestation that some perpatrators are doing. Strickter laws could reduce the production mills of dogs, who are being groomed strickly to fight. If things remain the same, there will be an increase in dumpsites of dead and/or severley injured dogs being abandond. No change will actually cost the City and or the State more, as they have to properly dispose of dead dogs and/or humanely put down the others who have no rehabilitaion possibilities.

If immediate action doesn't take place, then violent acts against dogs will only increase. I am not only a victim of a case where the law failed me, but there are also others in my neighborhood. The perpatrators are now moving on and doing it again as a challange because they know the worse that could happen is 180 days in a county jail. Some of the challenges that are out there not only entice the cruelty against certain breed of dogs, but these perpetrators are acting against anyone with that type of breed. Regardless if the dog has a pedigree, is a registered emotional support and or service dog. Cruelity and abuse needs to be stopped and laws changed so that the consequencese go hand in hand with actions.