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Dorothy Sullivan's daughter Doris Phelps hugs Gov. Tim Kaine as Linda and Jim Sullivan, Betty Greene and other relatives look on. |
RICHMOND--More than a year after Dorothy Sullivan's death from a dog mauling, her children and grandchildren got a measure of closure yesterday when Gov. Tim Kaine officially signed legislation increasing penalties for owners of dogs that attack people.
Thirteen of Sullivan's relatives came to the state Capitol for the ceremonial signing of the bill, which had been sponsored by Sen. Edd Houck, D-Spotsylvania. Similar versions were sponsored by Del. Bobby Orrock, R-Caroline, and Del. Ken Melvin, D-Portsmouth.
"It's a great day for the Sullivan family to have their mother memorialized by this law," Houck said before the signing.
Sullivan was killed in March 2005 by a neighbor's pit bulls, which attacked her and her dog Buttons in her Spotsylvania County yard.
The tragedy spurred Spotsylvania Commonwealth's Attorney Bill Neely to examine the state's laws regarding dog attacks, and he was troubled to find there was no provision to charge the owner of a dangerous dog that attacks another person.
Neely successfully prosecuted Deanna Large, the owner of the dogs in the Sullivan attack, for involuntary manslaughter. Large is appealing her conviction.
In the meantime, Houck went to work trying to change the state law to provide stiffer penalties for irresponsible dog owners.
In its final form, the bill allows owners of a dog that causes serious bodily injury to a person to be charged with a felony. It also makes it a class 1 misdemeanor for the owners of dogs that attack, but don't kill, a person, and a lesser misdemeanor for the owner of a dog that attacks a companion dog or cat, although the legislation does not spell out punishment for owners of dogs that attack other companion animals. The new law also imposes new requirements on owners of dangerous dogs, and requires the state to keep a registry of dangerous dogs.
The legislation went through numerous convolutions, and Sullivan's adult children--who circulated petitions, testified for the bill and lobbied for its passage--got a crash course in the unpredictable ways of the General Assembly.
To have it finally signed, daughter Betty Greene said yesterday, "feels great."
"We're just amazed by it and how smoothly it all went," she added. "We're real pleased with it."
Greene said the signing represents a sort of closure for the family, who worked through their grief by working for the bill.
Their mother, Greene said, would be proud--she always urged her children to vote, and Greene said Sullivan would have been thrilled to know a state senator like Houck.
The family doesn't know if they'll remain politically active now that this legislation is signed. But, Greene said, they think the accountability incorporated into the bill will make a difference.
Kaine applauded the Sullivan family for turning their grief into something positive.
"These tragic instances revealed some real gaps in Virginia law," Kaine said. "There's never been a way to legislate common sense or responsibility," but, he added, the law can create punishments for people who lack either one.
"Hopefully when you put the right law in place, you get people to be more responsible," Kaine said.
To reach CHELYEN DAVIS:
Email: cdavis@freelancestar.com
