Dog warden and his hero, Avery Russell, 12, honored for strengthening vicious-dog law

Audio By Carbonatix

Two people at the center of attention during the Licking County Commissioners’ first meeting of the year were a burly guy in a green-and-tan uniform and a wisp of a young girl whose name is on a law that will help him do his job better.

That includes saving lives.

The man is Licking County Chief Dog Warden Larry Williams – named warden of the year in 2025 by the Ohio County Dog Wardens Association – who was a key resource for state Rep. Kevin Miller, R-Newark, and two of his legislative colleagues as they crafted a bill to better address dangerous and vicious dogs. Miller, a former Ohio State Highway Patrol trooper, said he called Williams at all hours of the day and night for details that would help with the bill.

The girl is Avery Russell, 12, of Blacklick, in eastern Franklin County, who was brutally attacked by two dogs and lived to tell about it. And did she ever. She told her story of pain, multiple surgeries and survival to news reporters, state lawmakers and the governor – and other survivors of such attacks.

She is the brave, scarred face on a story that has played out thousands of times in Ohio, and when Avery’s Law takes effect on March 18, Ohio’s county dog wardens such as Williams and his partner, Assistant Chief Dog Warden Jeremy Grant, will have much stronger tools to deal with dog owners whose pets are deemed dangerous or vicious.

All of them were honored Thursday, Jan. 8, at the Licking County Administration Building in Newark by Licking County Commissioners Rick Black, Tim Bubb and Duane Flowers, along with Miller and one of his two legislative colleagues, Rep. Meredith Lawson-Rowe, D-Reynoldsburg, who worked on the bill that became Avery’s Law when Gov. Mike DeWine signed it on Dec. 19. Rep. Cecil Thomas, D-Cincinnati, who also contributed to the bipartisan bill, did not attend the brief ceremony.

The bill passed unanimously in both houses in about six months, Miller said, describing it as “light speed” for Statehouse action. The law does the following:

1. Imposes criminal penalties on a dog owner if he or she negligently fails to keep their dog from committing, without provocation, an attack;

2. Gives the local dog warden the authority to seize a dog immediately following such an attack;

3. Revises the investigation and enforcement requirements for when an authority receives any complaint that indicates a possible violation of any provision of the dog law;

4. Includes protections for dogs that are defending themselves, their owners, or their property;

5. Says that after due process, euthanization of the dog is mandated if it kills or seriously injures a person.

Lawson-Rowe said that after two pit bulls attacked Avery at a Reynoldsburg house in June 2024, the city law director suggested that Lawson-Rowe take legislative action. When she learned that Miller and Thomas also had prepared bills, they worked together to combine the three.

Lawson-Rowe said her one non-negotiable in the bipartisan effort was that the bill carry Avery’s name – “my hero, Avery Russell.”

She said that in the weeks and months after the attack, Avery would ask her why it happened to her.

“I told her that God has a plan for you, and he only gives his toughest battles to the strongest people,” Drew Russell said.

Avery’s mother, Drew Russell, said Thursday that the day of the attack changed their lives in ways they couldn’t imagine. She said it was “like a bomb” went off, and Drew Russell found herself shifting most of her attention to Avery’s recovery.

And as she and Avery stood clutching bouquets of roses on Jan. 8, Drew Russell said that Avery quickly embraced that challenge.

Drew Russell said that some people have suggested that she is exploiting her child in the campaign to bring change.

“No,” Drew Russell said. “She wants to do this” with the goal of protecting other children.

The push for Avery’s Law came after The Cincinnati Enquirer, Columbus Dispatch, Akron Beacon Journal and Canton Repository published a statewide investigation into vicious dog attacks in March 2025, explaining in detail how Ohio’s dog laws fail the victims and their families.

The series showed that about 17,000 dog bites are reported each year to local public health agencies in Ohio – and that many more go unreported. The series detailed how some of the attacks cause serious injuries, including disfigurements, amputations and deaths.

“Children are disproportionately represented in the serious injuries and deaths,” the series said. “Pediatric hospitals across Ohio treat hundreds of children for dog bites each year.”

And the series showed that “the owners of vicious dogs pay relatively small fines and may face misdemeanor charges. In rare cases, prosecutors were able to bring felony charges against dog owners if there is a documented history of the dog’s aggressive behavior.”

That changes on March 18 when Avery’s law takes effect.

___

This story was originally published by The Reporting Project and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.