Ban on dangerous dogs OK'd by county in Florida

[RockaFowler]

Horrific stories of people mauled and pets killed by attacking dogs punctuated passage Tuesday night of new a ordinance requiring the euthanasia of dangerous dogs in Alachua County.

County commissioners saw photos ranging from the bloody wounds of injured people to the face of a blue-eyed cat named Lucy killed by marauding dogs.

Snip

The dangerous dog ban will start Feb. 1. Dogs that are now declared dangerous will be grandfathered in, but subsequent violations will trigger the ban.

"Our intent is public safety," said Animal Services Director Ray Sim. "If animals reach this level of aggression, we want to investigate it and and then remove those animals from Alachua County."

Two of the 12 speakers from the audience expressed concerns over the ordinance. Toni Fair, owner of a dangerous dog named Elvis, said that with the assistance of Animal Services she has learned how to properly confine the dog and that no further trouble has occurred.

http://www.gainesville.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060125/LOCAL/201250329/1078/news

I don't know if I like this. Who determines what type of dog is dangerous. What if a little dog bites everyone. Is that a dangerous dog??

[MisterP]

1. our Gov. Lebensborn authorized this in Calif.

but with breed-specificity

[Coexist]

2. The answer to your question is in the article:

The county uses state laws to define a dangerous dog based on four criteria, any one of which can trigger the designation:


A dog that has more than once severely injured or killed a domestic animal while off its owner's property.

A dog used for dog fighting or trained for fighting.

A dog that has, when unprovoked, chased or approached a person on any public grounds in a menacing fashion or apparent attitude of attack.

Incidents are reviewed by Animal Services investigators, who can then declare the dog dangerous. The owner has several avenues of appeal.

[newscott]

4. I call these dogs, people eaters.

I went for a walk on Sunday and decided to take a side street alternate route. Big mistake. Woke up the whole frigging neighborhood. People have small bears chained to their tiny porches woofing and barking and growling at every leaf that blows by.

I love dogs.

[HysteryDiagnosis]

3. When I was in W. Palm, there was a house down the lane that had

two LARGE rottweillers, they would frequently get out, and I found them in my front yard one day... talk about a threatening pose and attitude to boot. These dogs scared the crap out of me and I am not afraid of dogs, in fact, I used to charge most dogs with my bicycle when they would come out, but these buggers, forget about it.

[Trillo]

5. This seems better than declaring war on a specific breed.

It is sad that any healthy animal might be euthanized, but I have a lot less sympathy for dogs that have chewed up people, or are wandering around, sometimes in packs, but return home once a day for a meal.

[fishnfla]

6. There was a real bad attack in DeLeon Springs last week

Pack of dogs got in a pasture and killed or maimed a bunch of calves just for the bloodsport of it I guess. It was ugly.

[Jdubb32]

7. people who can't control their pets should be euthanized