Dog owners are having an easier time fostering and adopting children across Ohio these days.

In 2012, Ohio removed 25-year-old language from its dog laws that had automatically declared any “pit bull” or “pit bull” mix as inherently vicious. That meant the state Department of Job and Family Services no longer had to exclude families with such dogs from fostering or adopting children.

“Back when the law defined a ‘pit bull’ as a vicious animal, we followed that law,” said Julie Malkin, spokesman for Lucas County Children’s Services. “Now, it depends on the dog’s behavior. We are looking for a responsibly maintained animal.”

Some states, such as Massachusetts, have different policies. While Massachusetts’ state dog laws are breed-neutral, the Department of Children and Families’ policy is not. The policy states no child younger than 12 will be placed in a home with a Rottweiler, “pit bull,” or German shepherd, or any mixed dog containing the breeds, unless the dog is a service animal for someone in the household with a verified disability or if a review determines the placement is in the best interest of the child.

Andrea Grossman, a department spokesman, earlier this month provided to The Blade sections of the department’s policy related to animals in prospective foster or adoptive homes. After numerous attempts over the last week to obtain comment from the department, including the reasoning behind the policy’s breed-specific language, the department refused to comment Monday.

“We do not have any further information to provide for this story,” Ms. Grossman said in an email.

Issues with animals in Lucas County foster and adoptive homes have been “very few and far between,” Ms. Malkin said. If the department believes it must address a situation with a dog, it is usually quickly resolved without escalating.

“Of the thousands of homes that have been licensed over the years, nobody has called anything specific to my attention,” she said. “Generally, when we bring it up, the owner addresses it by removing the animal.”

The vast majority of families seeking to adopt are first approved as a foster family, Ms. Malkin said. Dog owners must prove the dog is properly licensed and up to date on vaccinations. Case workers inspecting the home then use their judgment as to the dog’s behavior and how the owner manages the canine.

“There is nothing in the rules that says we can’t license somebody who has a dog characterized as nuisance, dangerous, or vicious. However, it’s a judgment call,” Ms. Malkin said. “We would have to assess whether that person would get any placements because we deal with kids who have been traumatized already. We don’t want to put them in an environment where there’s anything they’d have to be afraid of.”

A Springfield Township couple, Marty and Jerry, are fostering a baby girl — their fifth foster child in close to four years. The Blade agreed not to identify them using their last name to protect their foster child.

The couple has a biological 13-year-old son, Dylan, and an adopted daughter, 3-year-old Bella, whom they fostered first. They also have a 160-pound, 4-year-old Newfoundland dog named Bowser.

If children are scared of Bowser, it has so far been just because of his enormous stature, not because of his personality.

“They’re unsure because he’s so huge,” Marty said. “But once they’re around him, it’s not a problem.”

Bowser loves the kids and will play with them outside, Jerry said, and knows he has a safe place if he wants to get away from the youngsters.

“If he gets annoyed by the kids, he’ll just get up and go lay down in his kennel,” Jerry said.

Because of Bowser’s size and habit of running to the door if someone approaches the house, the baby is never placed directly on the floor without Marty or Jerry sitting there as well. He also gets excited to meet new people, so he is kept in his kennel until he calms, then allowed to say hello while leashed.

“It’s just common sense with a dog,” Marty said.

At least one Massachusetts family claiming they were denied an adoption based solely on their dog’s breed has taken to petitioning the governor to change the department’s breed-specific policy. A petition by Lisa Acquaviva of Mansfield, Mass., at Change.org has garnered more than 105,000 signatures in about two months.

Contact information for Ms. Acquaviva could not be located, and applications for adoption are confidential. The petition’s narrative says she has a 2-year-old daughter, Emily, and a dog, Astro, but does not say what breed he is. Ms. Acquaviva calls the department’s policy “ridiculous at best and ineffective at worst.”

“Our dog, ​Astro, is the kindest, sweetest animal​, ​gets along great with our own biological daughter and has been behaviorally [and] temperament assessed to be great with children of all ages​,” she wrote. “Why would we be considered fit to raise Emily but unfit to offer the same love to an adopted child?”

The Massachusetts policy does provide a work-around for prospective foster or adoptive families with a dog of a regulated breed. Among several factors to consider, the department can contact animal control to review any available history of incidents with the dog and look at the family’s overall management of the animal. The department can also require the family to pay for a canine behavior and temperament assessment.

Contact Alexandra Mester: amester@theblade.com, 419-724-6066, or on Twitter @AlexMesterBlade.

First Published October 27, 2015, 4:58 a.m.