955.29 Claim of owner.

OHIO STATUTES AND CODES

Any owner of an animal that the owner believes has a fair market value of ten dollars or more and that has been injured or killed by a dog not belonging to the owner or harbored on the owner’s premises, in order to be eligible to receive compensation from the dog and kennel fund, shall notify a member of the board of county commissioners or dog warden within three days after the loss or injury has been discovered. A commissioner who is notified shall immediately notify the dog warden of the loss or injury. The warden shall investigate or have the loss or injury investigated promptly, and the person making the investigation shall provide the owner with duplicate copies of the claim form authorized by section 955.36 of the Revised Code and assist the owner in filling it out.

The owner shall set forth the kind, grade, quality, and fair market value of the animal, as estimated by the owner, the nature and amount of the loss or injury, the place where the loss or injury occurred, and all other facts in the possession of the claimant that will enable the warden to fix responsibility for the loss or injury. The owner shall also sign a statement that the information set forth is a true account of the loss or injury and that, on the date the loss or injury occurred, the claimant did not own or harbor an unregistered dog required to be registered under section 955.01 of the Revised Code. No claimant who owned or harbored an unregistered dog on that date may recover from the dog and kennel fund.

If the warden finds all the statements that the owner made on the form to be correct and agrees with the owner as to the fair market value of the animal, the warden shall promptly so certify and send both copies of the form, together with whatever other documents, testimony, or information the warden has received relating to the loss or injury, to the board of county commissioners.

If the warden does not find all the statements to be correct or does not agree with the owner as to the fair market value, the owner may appeal to the board of county commissioners for a determination as provided in section 955.35 of the Revised Code. In that case the owner shall secure statements as to the nature and amount of the loss or injury from at least two witnesses who viewed the results of the killing or injury and who can testify thereto and submit both copies of the form to the board of county commissioners or a member thereof not later than ten days after the warden finds that not all of the owner’s statements are correct or disagrees with the owner’s estimated fair market value, whichever is applicable. The warden shall submit to the board of county commissioners whatever documents, testimony, or other information the warden has received relating to the loss or injury.

As used in this section and sections 955.32 to 955.38 of the Revised Code:

(A) “Animal” and “grade animal” have the same meanings as in section 955.51 of the Revised Code.

(B) “Fair market value” means the average price that is paid for a healthy grade animal at a livestock auction licensed under Chapter 943. of the Revised Code and selected by the applicable board of county commissioners.

Effective Date: 03-23-1981; 2008 HB281 08-22-2008