I’ve been monitoring dog attack stories in my two daily-read fish wraps — the Houston Chronicle and the Austin American-Statesman. Either their not covering all of the attacks made by Golden Retrievers, Redbone Coonhounds, and Shih Tzus — or there really is a problem with one specific breed of dog.

Like these two poor girls:

Ruth (12) said she was walking home from her school bus stop about 4 p.m. when the two pit bulls approached her in the 3900 block of Cypress Knee Lane. She said she froze as the black and white dogs approached, hoping they would leave her alone. They passed her, but when Lopez turned around to see if they had left, they were following her.

“They started chasing me and I started screaming,” Ruth said. “I dropped my backpack and the white one got in front of me and I tripped, and the black one got behind me and grabbed my ankle with his teeth. I was crying and screaming.”

She said a neighbor tried to beat the dogs away with a stick, but the dogs attacked him as well. Ruth and the neighbor then ran to a nearby truck and climbed into the bed.

Meanwhile, someone had called an ambulance, Ruth said. Five or 10 minutes after it arrived, the dogs attacked the 7-year-old girl farther down the street, dragging her along the sidewalk as neighbors and paramedics rushed to her aid.

The dogs finally released the girl and escaped into a nearby wooded area, where they were shot and killed by the deputies, who were searching for them in the brush.

The article goes on to say that authorities have not determined “whether any charges will be filed” against the owner.

Which is complete bullshit.

Owners of all dogs should be lible for any harm their dogs inflict on other people. And in the case of Pitt Bulls, which are known for their aggressivnes, that liablity should include criminial charges against the owner in addition to any punitive damages.

The owner of these two dogs should be in jail.

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It looks like our state law makers are finally getting tired of reading these same horror stories. Several law makers are proposing legislation — such as Senate Bill 405, introduced by Sen. Jeff Wentworth (R-San Antonio) — will require tighter control of dogs. And Sen. Rodney Ellis (D-Houston), has introduced legislation to give Harris County the power to ban dangerous pets.

Another bill is also being proposed that is aimed at “increasing criminal penalties for owners whose dogs cause serious bodily injury or death”:

It’s currently a Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail.

The owner of a dog that kills someone unprovoked could be charged with a second-degree felony punishable by two to 20 years in prison under House Bill 1355 by Rep. Dan Gattis, R-Georgetown. Serious injury could draw a third-degree felony charge, punishable by two to 10 years.

The owner would have to be criminally negligent or know that the dog was dangerous and fail to properly secure it.

If it’s a pitt bull, then you know it is dangerous. If it is out attacking people, it was not properly secured. Case closed.