Former bill for statewide dangerous dog registry gains traction after 8-year-old boy's death

    VOLUSIA COUNTY, Florida (WESH) -- The Volusia County Sheriff's Office says it will soon charge the owner of two dogs that mauled an 8-year-old boy to death.

WESH 2 talked to some people in DeLand who now support a statewide registry for dangerous dogs, especially after the tragic death of 8-year-old Michael Millett this week.

Last year, HB 873, also known as the Pam Rock Act, did not make it to a vote.

It was named after a postal worker who died after being attacked by five dogs in Putnam County in 2022.

The bill proposed tougher penalties for dog owners to prevent violent incidents. It stated that a dog would be labeled dangerous if it aggressively bites, attacks, or severely hurts someone.

If that happened, the owner would be required to get liability insurance and secure their dog in a locked fence.

A violation would have cost up to $1,000.

The bill aimed to have Animal Control and the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services keep track of violent incidents.

"Some dog owners, unfortunately, are irresponsible and that was what last year's legislation was intended to address, and a lot of these bills don't make it through the first time," said Mike Beltran, a former state representative who was one of the bill's sponsors. "Hopefully it'll make it through in the future."

According to Florida Department of Health, more than 600 Floridians are hospitalized each year due to dog bite injuries and children between 1 and 9 years old are at the highest risk.

Some people want the legislature to revisit the proposed registry.

"Well, it gives the dog owner the responsibility you should have, and it allows the other citizens in the area to realize which dogs to be aware," said Bob Manzano, a dog owner.

"There are two sides of this: yes, we love dogs, we own Gurrs & Purrs, we love animals, but we need people to be responsible for their animals," said Rhonda Hobbs, owner of Gurrs & Purrs in downtown DeLand. "Behavior is a big thing these days. We put them in situations where we're not real sure what's going to happen, so we got to be careful and protect everybody involved."

"Once an animal harms a human being, I mean, it's going to happen again," said Arthur Romano, a Central Florida resident.

"We should all know if there's a dangerous dog in the neighborhood if nothing else just to be prepared," said Randi Romano, a Central Florida resident.

One dog owner said the registry would give certain dogs a bad rep.

"My pitbull is the biggest gentle giant because it's the way he's raised," the woman said. "I don't think there should be any label on any sort of dogs... you could put it as if like somebody came up to a person – it's a dog's instinct; they feel threatened."

Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood says the state attorney will make the final decision on charges after they finish the investigating Millett's death.

He said that they don't have any documented information about past incidents involving the dogs, which makes it tough to determine the charges for the owner due to state law.

Chitwood said he wants to advocate for changes to the law, especially since it has not been updated since the 1800s.