Donald Fohrman Expresses Skepticism about Dangerous Dog Law Reforms

A Chicago suburb is considering a change to the way it classifies dangerous and vicious dogs. At a recent meeting, the Elgin City Council voted seven to one to consider a change to current law. The proposed change may allow dogs to lose their dangerous or vicious status after a certain amount of time.

Chicago dog bite attorney Donald Fohrman expressed skepticism about the possible change. "I understand how inconvenient it is for a dog owner when a dog gets the dangerous or vicious label," he explained. "However, I've dealt with a lot of dog bite cases and I'm just not sure that a dog can ever truly change, no matter how much time has passed."

Under current Elgin law, a dog that bites someone and is labeled as dangerous must wear a muzzle when outdoors and the dog's owner must carry extra insurance to cover potential bites. Dogs labeled as vicious face even more serious restrictions with regard to time spent outdoors and insurance coverage.

Under the proposed change, the city council would model a new law after one recently implemented in Oregon. That law allows for dogs to lose their labels and restrictions after going one to two years without harming anyone. Advocates of the law say that it appears to be working.

Donald Fohrman, a dog bite attorney in Chicago, explained that it's not always that simple and it may be too soon to know whether the reformed law in Oregon works. "Very often, we see cases where the dog has gone years without having an incident," he reported. "But something sets off a trigger in the dog and it attacks. Now, under the reform, a dog like that would be considered safe. The problem is that you can't really ever know what a dog is thinking. Once a dog bites, you have a clear signal that it's willing to do so again in the future, no matter how much time passes."

Mr. Fohrman cautioned Elgin leaders from moving forward with the reform and cautioned that it could lead to more bites in the future.

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