A new bill is aimed at protecting people and their pets by making sure you know if you live near a dangerous dog.

Johnny Ferretti, 8, of Levittown, is lucky to have his dog Benny alive today. Two years ago, his family's dog was viciously attacked by their neighbor's dog. He was seriously injured but has since recovered.

The dog that attacked him was returned to its owner but was deemed a dangerous dog by a judge for two years. But what was most frightening for Johnny's father, Nassau County Legislator John Ferretti, was that no one in the area knew about this dangerous dog after it attacked Benny.

Since then, Legislator Ferretti has been working on a bill to let people know when these attacks happen.

"Under this bill, the Nassau County Police Department will contact the Nassau County SPCA to create and maintain an online registry of judicially determined dangerous dogs," says Ferretti.

The online registry would include the address of the property where the dangerous dog is housed, the date of the incident, the duration of the dangerous dog designation, and the breed, weight, age, and color of the dog.

Ferretti says the owner of the dangerous dog would have to send a letter to neighbors within a 1,000-foot radius warning that their dog has been in an incident with another dog.

Ferretti's neighbor Katie DeVito thinks this bill is a great idea.

"I have an autistic son and when I walk with him, there was some people that didn't have a dog on a leash, and it was very frightening for him," she says.

Ferretti says there will be a $500 fine for any violation, and $100 any day thereafter. The bill will go before the full Legislature on Feb. 22.