South Charleston axes restrictions on certain dog breeds

[uppityperson]

http://www.dailymail.com/News/Kanawha/200909170461

South Charleston has watered down an ordinance that would have required the owners of certain canine breeds to register their pets, after officials said they received critical feedback from the public.

Mayor Frank Mullens said he had a change of heart about the proposal after getting several phone calls and e-mails from dog owners. "I received a lot of information in the last few weeks that may have swayed me a little bit," Mullens said. "I thought about it more at home, and what about those people who have had these types of dogs that have been good, loving pets for 10 years, and now because of this legislation they have to slap a muzzle on them every time they take them for a walk?"

The ordinance that proposed earlier this month and passed by council on first reading called for owners of pit bulls, Rottweilers and Presa Canarios to be registered and given special red tags. When outside, those specific dogs would have to be kept in enclosures or muzzled and kept on short leashes, the initial ordinance said. The city now has scrapped mention of any specific breeds, instead requiring owners of dogs deemed dangerous to comply with the rules. The ordinance classifies those dogs as ones that have bitten, attacked or injured a person or another pet while off their owner's property, or have been used for dog fighting.

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Councilman Paul Neal also argued that pit bulls and other dogs that are raised properly do not pose a danger. Neal said he is concerned the registration fee of $100 per year and the fines for noncompliance -- $250 to $500 per day -- are excessive.

[cliffordu]

1. K&R. Ban owners, not dogs.

[shireen]

3. +1

i like that idea!

[marshall]

37. Why should the dogs be punished because of who and what they are?

It's the owners that ought to be restricted.

[DrDan]

2. the first mauled child is on this mayor's back . . .

[shireen]

6. yeah! they should ban shih tzus! vicious breed.

i hear labradoodles have a mean streak too.

[DrDan]

12. can't get rid of pit bulls fast enough

[roguevalley]

40. I love pits. I loathe some owners.

[PVnRT]

4. WHY WON'T SOMEONE THINK OF THE CHILDREN????????

:sarcasm:

[shireen]

8. yeah! think of the children!

[snake in the grass]

13. so cute! n/t

[roguevalley]

41. want me some! NOW! Aren't they awesome? Also, watch the

dog whisperer. Cesar has dozens of them. Daddy and Junior are awesome. It is the owner, not the breed.

[lies and propaganda]

5. yeah, ban owners.. HA. Ban people?

It should have read that they mayor caved after rabid, pit bull obsessive's went beserk on him, as they always do. Pit bull defenders are like peta and pro lifers.. nothing but their dumbass cause matters to them, not facts or truth. just what they FEEL.

[shireen]

9. i'm a pit bull defender ...

make your case. why do you hate them so much?

[Critters2]

27. +1. nt

[intheflow]

36. Please back up your flames with some facts.

Otherwise, I'll assume you're just spouting dumbass opinions based just on how you FEEL.

[roguevalley]

42. ah, the voice of reason ... got any info to back up the rant?

[undeterred]

7. I would like to muzzle the guy at the dog park who threatened

to mace my dog, who playfully jumped on him.

[DrDan]

11. I hope the "sarcasm" thingie was just forgotten

hard to tell . . . . there certainly are dog owners who feel others should be thrilled to jumped on by strange dogs.

[undeterred]

14. I wasn't being sarcastic at all.

I would really like to muzzle and otherwise restrain the idiot who goes to a dog park and reacts that way when a young dog jumps up on him. In case you're unfamiliar with young dogs, it takes a while to train them, and you can help train someone else's dog by reacting appropriately: turn your body and say "off". Very simple. But if you're a macho hothead who wants to escalate the situation, you wave your arms around so the dog thinks you are playing with him, and make verbal threats to the owner.

After all, women and animals should fear you. :sarcasm:

Mace is illegal in my state, so anyone carrying it is already breaking the law. Anyone who threatens to mace a friendly dog at the dog park should be in inpatient therapy dealing with his anger management problem and shouldn't use the dog park as a place to vent his hostility and show off his general ignorance of dogs. The dog park is for dogs, not assholes who hate dogs. Got it?

[DrDan]

15. "dog" park - missed the "dog" part

I was thinking city park.

My fault - sorry.

yes - got it. Now calm down.

[Critters2]

23. It's not his responsiblity to change his behavior beause you take a poorly

trained dog out in public.

[undeterred]

31. Better I should lock him up 24 hours a day

like you do.

[undeterred]

32. Better I should lock him up 24 hours a day

like you do.

[Critters2]

33. I do? nt

[rd_kent]

20. Perhaps the guy didnt think it was too "friendly"?

Maybe he is just afraid of strange dogs, especially those that jump on him. Doesn't sound too unreasonable to me.

[intheflow]

21. People who are afraid of dogs

probably shouldn't go to dog parks. I don't think that's unreasonable. Going to a dog park and threatening to mace someone's dog, however, is definitely unreasonable.

[Critters2]

24. Dogs who haven't had basic training shouldn't be in dog parks

either.

[intheflow]

25. Young dogs jump.

That's what the author brought to the dog park, a young dog. I don't like it when I go to the dog park and dogs jump on me, but I don't threaten the dog or their owner. I'm not saying dogs shouldn't be taught how to behave. But I don't go to the dog park wearing my Sunday best because I understand that dogs playing with other dogs get rowdy and sometimes forget their manners. Especially young dogs. People who go to dog parks and expect to encounter a corral full of Lassies are delusional and should probably just walk their dogs on a leash rather than go to the dog park.

[Critters2]

26. But her dog's behavior is HER responsibility,

not that of the person the dog jumps on.

[intheflow]

28. I agree, but the response was OTT.

Threatening to mace a dog is not a reasonable response to a jumping dog. If that person's child had hit that guy a a childcare facility, for instance, it would still be the parents' responsibility to train her child not to hit people. However, threatening to spray a chemical weapon on the child would not be a reasonable response by the person who was hit (but uninjured) by the child. So it's different because it's someone's dog and not their child? This wasn't an attack, it was puppy exuberance.

[undeterred]

29. My opinion of you just went all the way to zero.

You're defending a total asshole who threatens to spray a dog with mace, which is illegal? Its not like he was hurt or bitten or something. I get jumped on 4 or 5 times every visit to the dog park, always by friendly dogs, and I assist the owner in training the dog not to jump. Making threats accomplishes nothing and creates a miserable atmosphere for everyone.

You've got some real stinkin' thinkin' going on when it comes to animals.

:thumbsdown:

[undeterred]

39. Well, that would eliminate 90% of the dogs in the park

but it wouldn't eliminate mine. Maybe you shouldn't be so free with your assumptions about other people or in making rules for places you don't go to.

[rd_kent]

30. I guess more info is needed.

Are we talking about a guy without a dog in a fenced in off-leash area that got jumped on? Or was it a public park where dogs on a leash are allowed?

that kind of detail makes all the difference.

[intheflow]

38. Read post #7.

It was a dog park. Fenced or unfenced (we have some of those here in Colorado, 80+ acre areas at a couple state parks), it was a dog park. Not a regular municipal park where of course leashes are required. (Unless it's before 9am or after 9pm in NYC. During that time, all NYC parks become de facto off-leash dog parks.)

[Critters2]

22. A well-trained dog doesn't jump on strangers, playfully or not.

My dog passed her Canine Good Citizen test, a pretty basic obedience test. Being around strangers is part of the test, and jumping on said strangers is a fail.

Some people are afraid of dogs. It's the job of dog owners to help them feel safe, by controlling your dog.

[undeterred]

34. Well aren't you special.

My dog took the CGC class and missed 2 out of 10 on the test, which he took when he was only 10 months old.

People who are afraid of dogs don't belong at the dog park, genius.

[Critters2]

35. Please don't pm me, unless I can respond.

I wrote back to you, but...well, feel free to continue this conflict. I won't. Have a good afternoon.

[LeftyMom]

10. If you want to prevent dog bites, ban chaining of dogs, mandate spay/neuter.

Make sure people have places to walk dogs on leash safely, and dog parks where dogs can run free. Aggressively enforce your abuse and neglect statutes, and clean them up if they're too vague to protect mistreated animals.

Chaining has been shown to increase aggression, desexing, regular activity and socialization all reduce aggression. Mistreated dogs bite. If you want to protect people, protect dogs.

[Yunomi]

16. Yes!! Truth is spoken.

[shireen]

18. +1

well said!

[flvegan]

17. Idiots and idiots alone are behind breed specific legislation.

Nonsensical horseshit.

How many Presas can there really be in South Charleston anyway? Why stop with restricting those three breeds? Why not ban all the molosser breeds? They were ALL bred at some point for some form of violence (hunting, guarding, fighting, etc). Erego, ban them all. Bye bye bulldogs, boxers and Boston Terriers. Bye bye great danes. So long Saint Bernards.

You're all genetically fucked because people are stupid. Sorry.

[uppityperson]

19. I've been bit by a small mixed dog, St Bernard, chihuahua, golden retriever

all as a child. Turns out all 4 were known for biting other people. My mom was good at taping us kids up, never went to doctor.

And none of them were an OMGPITBULL.

[ismnotwasm]

43. I love pitbulls

I love dogs. That being said, I find I don't love or like or respect a certain number of pitbull owners. Or dog owners. It's quite a quandary. Where do we draw the line? At the human beings responsible, or the breed of dog themselves?

My husband recently saw two pitbulls running loose along a street. He asked a woman --who was close by-- about them,(understand at this point he's more concerned about the dogs getting hit by a car) and all he got was a very defensive additive. Yes it was the owner. So he found a cop. Turns out this asshole owner lets her dogs run around, and has received multiple complaints. Her response? "They're very well trained"

My daughter owns a pitbull and was a pitbull advocate at one time. This is a fixed and chipped inside (except for walks and road trips) dog, completely obedient and well cared for. You couldn't ask for a better dog. (Expect for my Rottie/labrador mix) Dojo doesn't get to run around for her own safety, as well as common courtesy to others.

I have a friend who's a drunk--a bad one. She loves animals when she has the capacity to love anything. The police were called to her house, her pitbull ran at them. The dog looked aggressive and probably was. They shot it dead.

I had a patient tell me about a feral pack of a mix of pits and other breeds running loose in a area far away from the city, but not away from people. My patient said the county authorities declined to do anything, but inferred he himself could take care of it, vigilante style.

I live in a neighborhood where pitbulls are still some sort of status symbol. Perhaps there's dog fighting somewhere. That being said, I never see any pit off a leash, or looking uncared for.

It's a fucked up situation as far as I'm concerned, without an easy answer.

I have a dog that's also considered an aggressive breed. We know we to be very responsible with him, and we are. I doesn't matter how "well trained" he is, or how gentle, even though he's both those things. He's a big goofball. The mailman even likes him. (He recently rescued a someones pet lizard that managed to get in our yard., carried it to my husband in his mouth without a tooth mark. We're still shocked the lizard is ok)

Still just looking at him, I suppose he looks scary. All dogs have the potential for aggression. Those who take these so called "aggressive breeds" and ruin them, or attempt to ruin them, piss me off no end.

[shireen]

44. thank you, well said.

i love them too ... and all dogs.
It's the owners that are the problem. totally agree!