Pit Bull Decision May Affect County Dog Parks

Following a recent Court of Appeals decision animals, one Baltimore County Councilman says the county may have to look at rules governing its dog parks.

Councilman David Marks said he believes he and his colleagues will eventually have to take up the issue of pit bulls or other aggressive dogs. One of those areas could be more stringent regulations on county dog parks.

"It's a good question," Marks said. "I don't see that there are a lot of standardized regulations to go along with these dog parks, which are becoming very popular in the county."

Marks was involved in working to get a . The Perry Hall Republican said he's also had requests for similar parks from the Loch Raven Village and Rodgers Forge communities.

The possibility of opening up another debate on breed specific legislation may not excite many on the council who remember the emotional debate that stemmed from then-Councilman Vince Gardina's attempts to regulate dogs that are determined to be aggressive.

In 2007, Gardina proposed legislation requiring that those dogs be muzzled in public and, when outside in a yard, be kept in a locked run that was covered. The proposed law came in the wake of a near fatal attack on Dominic Solesky.

Solesky, then 10, was nearly killed while playing in an alley near his Towson home, when a pit bull escaped from its yard and attacked him and friend. The dog ripped away a large portion of Solesky's thigh and severed his femoral artery.

The boy survived after undergoing five hours of surgery and 17 days in a pediatric care unit.

Gardina's bill did not pass.

The Court of Appeals decision last week was directly related to a lawsuit filed by the Solesky family against the owner of the dog and the landlord of the property where the owners lived.

Marks said efforts related to the dog parks might not focus specifically on a particular breed.

"It might not be pit bulls," Marks said. "It might be aggressive dogs in general."