Monthly Archives: July 2011

Savannah, GA: Resident’s petition advocates BSL

Posted on July 29, 2011 by | 1 Comment

A Savannah, GA, resident has turned in 1,000 signatures in support of new vicious-dog ordinances that would include breed-specific legislation. Nothing official has been proposed at this time, but council is considering the resident’s request. The council will act after hearing the city manager’s recommendation.

Locals and residents of Savannah: please contact city council and attend the next council meeting to express your opposition to a breed-specific ordinance.

Next council meeting:Aug. 11 at 2:00 PM in Council Chambers, 2nd Floor, City Hall, 2 East Bay Street, Savannah, GA.
If you wish to appear before Council, write to: City Manager, City of Savannah, PO Box 1027, Savannah, GA 31402
To petition council, contact: Clerk of Council, 1st Floor, City Hall, (912) 651-6441, clerkofcouncil@savannahga.gov

“Talk Back Savannah”—online form for residents to provide feedback to the city: http://www.savannahga.gov/cityweb/talkbacksav.nsf/talkbacksav?openform

City Manager’s Office, (912) 651-6415

Contact info for city council
Mayor Otis Johnson, Ph.D, otis_johnson@savannahga.gov
Edna B. Jackson, EdnaJackson3@comcast.net
Jeff Felser, jfelser@sabrelink.com
Van R. Johnson, II, aldermanjohnson1@aol.com
Mary Osborne, alderwoman.osborne@gmail.com
Larry Stuber, larrystuber@bellsouth.net
Mary Ellen Sprague, memesprague@juno.com
Clifton Jones, Jr., cliftonjjr@aol.com
Tony Thomas, aldermanthomas@aol.com

Email block for cut and paste
otis_johnson@savannahga.gov; EdnaJackson3@comcast.net; jfelser@sabrelink.com; aldermanjohnson1@aol.com; alderwoman.osborne@gmail.com; larrystuber@bellsouth.net; memesprague@juno.com; cliftonjjr@aol.com; aldermanthomas@aol.com

Savannah City Hall explores violent dog petition and ordinance

Posted: Jul 28, 2011 2:54 PM PDT
By Don Logana

SAVANNAH, GA (WTOC) – [...] The woman, Cheryl Labon, ran into city manager Rochelle Small-Toney in the lobby of city hall last week and hand delivered a petition with a thousand signatures supporting a tougher ordinance. One of the requests is for all dogs in certain downtown areas be muzzled. Another issue is for certain breeds to be registered with neighborhoods.[...]

Mayor Otis Johnson says city council will wait for a recommendation from the city manager and then they will discuss the possible ordinance as a council. [...]

Full article retrieved 7/29/11 from http://www.wtoc.com/story/15169432/savannah-city-hall-examining-pit-bull-petition-and-possible-ordinance

All alerts for Savannah, GA: http://stopbsl.com/?s=savannah

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Posted in Georgia, Whispers of BSL

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Lakewood, OH: Breed ban language clarified

Posted on July 27, 2011 by | Comments Off

A Lakewood city council committee has ”clarified”—but did not repeal—the language of their two-year-old breed ban on “pit bulls” and “canary dogs.” The clarification effort was prompted by a couple of lawsuits against the city.

The new amendments to the breed ban primarily address the hearing/appeal process. The process by which a dog is identified as a “pit bull” or a “canary dog” has also been altered slightly; the dog’s appearance or characteristics are no longer a factor. Instead, an animal control officer (ACO) determines whether the dog is or is not “predominantly” a pit bull or canary dog breed. The ACO does not have to justify or prove the breed determination in any way.

In another new section, owners may now appeal the breed designation by providing certain types of evidence, but the owner must bear any costs associated with an appeal. Permissible evidence includes letters or testimony from “experts” (the ordinance permits testimony from a zoologist, which seems like a strange expert to call upon… unless the animal labeled a ”pit bull” is not actually a dog at all) and/or results from a DNA breed-ID test.

The amended ordinance can be read here (thanks to Melissa E. for getting a copy and providing a helpful recap of the committee discussion!): http://stopbsl.files.wordpress.com/2011/07/lakewood_amended_animal_ord.pdf

All alerts for Lakewood, OH: http://stopbsl.com/?s=%22lakewood%2C+oh%22

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Posted in Ohio, Results of BSL

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Haskell, AR: Proposed breed ban draws protest

Posted on July 27, 2011 by | Comments Off

Haskell, AR, city council heard public comments regarding a possible breed ban during the July 11 council meeting. Mayor Jeff Arey recently sent an email describing the results of the meeting:

The Public Meeting was very productive.   Between 40 and 50 people attending the meeting and 11 spoke.  All of the speakers were against any Breed Specific Ban, but were in favor of stricter rules regarding dangerous or vicious animals.  In the Council meeting that followed discussion made it clear that after hearing viewpoints of the public that the Council were not looking towards any BSB.  I am working on a draft Ordinance that will NOT include any BSB  but will define how a dog is deemed “Dangerous” and what the criteria is for keeping that animal in Haskell  and  how a dog is deemed “Vicious”.

Please note that while a breed ban appears to be off the table in Haskell, it is not yet clear whether the future animal ordinance will be breed specific in another way.

StopBSL is doing its best to follow the developments in Haskell, but news coverage has been minimal, and the city website’s posted council agendas are out of date. If you are a local or resident in or near Haskell, please help us track upcoming council meetings on this topic! Send alerts and information to stopbsl.com@gmail.com.

All alerts for Haskell, AR: http://stopbsl.com/?s=%22haskell%2C+ar%22

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Posted in Arkansas, Whispers of BSL

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Charles County, MD: Citizens object to proposed BSL, discussions moved to Sept

Posted on July 27, 2011 by | 1 Comment

Charles County, MD, held a work session last night on proposed animal ordinance revisions that include breed-specific language. Dozens of citizens attended the work session to object to BSL. The commissioners also acknowledged a high volume of correspondence in opposition to the proposal. The proposal generated so much opposition that the commissioners decided to extend the work session to tonight so that all participating citizens could have their say (presumably during the Public Forum at 5:00 PM today, July 27). The Charles County Board of Commissioners plans to discuss this proposal again in September. StopBSL will check the posted agendas and will issue an alert when it appears on the agenda again.

Surprisingly, news media coverage of this proposal has been largely non-existent. The Charles County news media did not mention the proposal or the upcoming work session, nor has it mentioned the results of the work session. Thankfully, in spite of media silence, residents got tipped off by other sources and turned up in large number.

StopBSL would like to commend the efforts of the residents (and nonresidents) who passed around the initial alert, who attended the meeting, and who reported on the meeting’s results. Particularly in the absence of media coverage, clearinghouses like StopBSL rely heavily on residents and locals to report on BSL-related issues.

You may read the full ordinance here: http://www.boarddocs.com/md/chrlsco/Board.nsf/files/8JZNZM625FC5/$file/Bill%20Number%202011-07%20Animal%20Control%20Regulations.pdf

Contact information for Charles County Commissioners:
Attn: Charles County Board of Commissioners
Post Office Box 2150
La Plata, Maryland 20646-2150
301-645-0550 or 301-870-3000
Entire Commission: commissioner@charlescounty.org
President Candice Kelly, KellyC@charlescounty.org
VP Reuben Collins, CollinsR@charlescounty.org
Ken Robinson, RobinsonK@charlescounty.org
Debra Davis, DavisD@charlescounty.org
Bobby Rucci, RucciB@charlescounty.org

Email block for cut-and-paste
commissioner@charlescounty.org; KellyC@charlescounty.org; CollinsR@charlescounty.org; RobinsonK@charlescounty.org; DavisD@charlescounty.org; RucciB@charlescounty.org

All alerts for Charles County: http://stopbsl.com/?s=%22charles+county%2C+md%22

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Posted in BSL Proposed, Maryland

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Charles County, MD: Work session to discuss proposed BSL, July 26

Posted on July 24, 2011 by | 7 Comments

Charles County, MD, board of commissioners will hold a work session on July 26 to discuss changes to their animal control ordinances. One of the major revisions would declare all “pit bulls” to be “potentially dangerous” dogs, thereby placing numerous special restrictions on ownership of dogs identified as pit bulls.

“Pit bull” is defined as American Pit Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier, Staffordshire Bull Terrier, American Bulldog, any dog that has ever been identified at any time (including in adoption or veterinary paperwork) as a “pit bull” type dog, and any dog that resembles one of these breeds.

You may read the full ordinance here: http://www.boarddocs.com/md/chrlsco/Board.nsf/files/8JZNZM625FC5/$file/Bill%20Number%202011-07%20Animal%20Control%20Regulations.pdf

The work session on the proposed ordinance will take place July 26 at approximately 4:00 PM in the Commissioners’ Meeting Room, Charles County Government Building, First Floor, 200 Baltimore Street, La Plata, Maryland 20646.

Contact information for Charles County Commissioners:
Attn: Charles County Board of Commissioners
Post Office Box 2150
La Plata, Maryland 20646-2150
301-645-0550 or 301-870-3000
Entire Commission: commissioner@charlescounty.org
President Candice Kelly, KellyC@charlescounty.org
VP Reuben Collins, CollinsR@charlescounty.org
Ken Robinson, RobinsonK@charlescounty.org
Debra Davis, DavisD@charlescounty.org
Bobby Rucci, RucciB@charlescounty.org

Email block for cut-and-paste
commissioner@charlescounty.org; KellyC@charlescounty.org; CollinsR@charlescounty.org; RobinsonK@charlescounty.org; DavisD@charlescounty.org; RucciB@charlescounty.org

Thanks to Best Friends and Laura for the heads up!

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Posted in BSL Proposed, Maryland

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DeKalb County, GA: Opportunity to repeal breed ban

Posted on July 21, 2011 by | Comments Off

DeKalb County, GA, has had a sort-of-ban on “pit bulls” for almost ten years, though you wouldn’t know it by reading their breed-neutral animal ordinances (Chapter 5). The only mention of pit bulls in county ordinances is buried in Chapter 27, Zoning (yes, you read that right—zoning), and is accomplished through this definition:

Household pet means a domestic animal that is customarily kept for personal use and enjoyment including domestic dogs, domestic cats, canaries, parrots, parakeets, domestic tropical birds, hamsters and guinea pigs. Household pet does not include livestock, poultry, pot bellied pigs, pit bulls, and snakes.

The definition itself isn’t a ban, but the zoning regulations pertaining to animals are somewhat vague. DeKalb County has zoning regulations for keeping household pets, livestock, and poultry, but there’s no further mention of pot bellied pigs, pit bulls, and snakes. The zoning code neither expressly forbids nor expressly allows keeping of pot bellied pigs, pit bulls, and snakes. Evidently, officials have interpreted it thus: because these animals are not expressly permitted, they are banned.

The county animal shelter does not adopt out “pit bulls” to the general public for the same reason it doesn’t adopt out livestock or poultry—because animal shelters aren’t supposed to adopt out non-household pets. The shelter does release a small portion of pit bulls to rescue groups. Based on its Petfinder listings, the shelter also gets around the ban to some degree by labeling many pit bull-looking dogs as some other breed: hound, Cattle Dog/Terrier, American Bulldog, Boxer, Lab/Terrier, and so forth. “Pit bulls” that are not lucky enough to be reclaimed, pulled by a rescue group, or relabeled as some other type of dog, cannot be adopted and are therefore killed by the shelter.

The lack of an explicit breed ban in the DeKalb County animal ordinance section, the lack of a definition of “pit bull” in any county ordinance, the unclear zoning laws that apply to animal ownership, and the county animal control and shelter’s curious silence about this breed ban (for example, it’s not mentioned anywhere on the DeKalb Co. website or animal shelter website) have produced confusion about, and highly inconsistent enforcement of, the breed ban. It’s not clear how the zoning ordinances affect current or future county residents with “pit bull”-type dogs, who enforces the ordinance, or what the repercussions are for violation of the ordinance. The only thing that is clear is that the county shelter kills a lot of “pit bull”-looking dogs because it can’t adopt out animals that the county doesn’t consider pets.

A recent news article has mentioned that DeKalb County commissioners might consider repealing the ban, presumably by rewording the zoning ordinance to remove reference to “pit bulls.” Nothing official has been proposed or written yet. The Planning, Economic Development, and Public Works Committee was the last committee to discuss the issue.

Residents, please write the county commissioners and encourage them to drop the breed-specific language in the zoning ordinance. To achieve a more humane community and more sensible and enforceable laws, ask commissioners to stop excluding “pit bulls” from their definition of “household pet.”

Contact info for County Commissioners
Board of Commissioners, 1300 Commerce Drive, Decatur, GA 30030
Phone: 404-371-2886
Fax: 404-371-7004
Board Clerk Barbara H. Sanders, bhsander@dekalbcountyga.gov
Elaine Boyer, ecboyer@dekalbcountyga.gov
Jeff Rader, jrader@dekalbcountyga.gov
Larry Johnson, larryjohnson@dekalbcountyga.gov
Sharon Barnes Sutton, sbsutton@dekalbcountyga.gov
Lee May, lmay@dekalbcountyga.gov
Kathie Gannon, kgannon@dekalbcountyga.gov
Stan Watson, stanwatson@dekalbcountyga.gov

Email block for cut-and-paste
bhsander@dekalbcountyga.gov; ecboyer@dekalbcountyga.gov; jrader@dekalbcountyga.gov; larryjohnson@dekalbcountyga.gov; sbsutton@dekalbcountyga.gov; lmay@dekalbcountyga.gov; kgannon@dekalbcountyga.gov; stanwatson@dekalbcountyga.gov

County Board of Commissioners meetings
Next meeting: July 26, 9:00 AM
Meetings discussing the regular business of the county are typically held on the second and fourth Tuesday of every month and begin at 9:00 am in the Maloof Auditorium at 1300 Commerce Drive unless otherwise noted. All regular Board meetings are open to the public.

DeKalb could vote to lift pit bull ban

Posted: Jul 20, 2011 11:06 AM PDT
Posted by Adam Murphy

DEKALB COUNTY, GA (CBS ATLANTA) – CBS Atlanta News has learned that DeKalb County Commissioners may vote in the coming months to lift a ban on pit bulls in the community.[...]

[Commissioner] Rader said it could be months before commissioners vote on the ban because legislation must be introduced first.

Full article retrieved 7/21/11 from http://www.cbsatlanta.com/story/15116208/dekalb-could-vote-to-lift-pit-bull-ban?redirected=true

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Posted in Georgia, Proposal to Repeal

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Preston, ID: Council declines to repeal BSL

Posted on July 19, 2011 by | 1 Comment

Preston, ID council has decided not to repeal BSL. The issue was brought for discussion after a resident’s request for repeal, and the police chief and city attorney both recommended repeal. The council voted 3-1 against repeal.

Preston currently includes in its definition of “vicious animal”: “any pit bull terrier, defined as any Staffordshire Bull Terrier breed of dog or any mixed breed of dog which contains as an element of its breeding the breed of Staffordshire Bull Terrier or American Staffordshire Terrier as to be identified as partially of the breed of Staffordshire Bull Terrier or American Staffordshire Terrier by a qualified veterinarian duly licensed as such by the state.” Various restrictions are placed on the ownership of vicious animals.

Contact info for Preston
City Of Preston, 70 West Oneida, Preston, ID 83263
Phone: (208) 852-1817
Fax: (208) 852-1820
Mayor and Council
F. Lee Hendrickson, Mayor, bigbaron37@q.com
Saundra Hubbard, Council President, 302momhub@gmail.com (favored BSL)
Neal P. Larson, larsonnp@gmail.com (favored repeal)
Travis M. Kunz, cpa@sparrowkunz.com (favored BSL)
Todd D. Thomas, toddthomas@prestonidaho.net (favored BSL)

Email block for cut-and-paste
bigbaron37@q.com; 302momhub@gmail.com; larsonnp@gmail.com; cpa@sparrowkunz.com; toddthomas@prestonidaho.net

Preston will keep pit bull ban, family plans to put down pet

Posted: Tuesday, July 19, 2011 4:01 pm
By Devin Felix

PRESTON – The Preston City Council chose Monday not to remove a city law that places restrictions on pit bulls, much to the disappointment of a Preston family.[...]

The decision came despite a recommendation by the city’s attorney and police chief that the law be changed.[...]

Councilmembers Todd Thomas, Travis Kunz and Saundra Hubbard all supported keeping the pit bull-specific part of the law, while Neal [Larson] spoke in favor of removing it. Thomas and Kunz were the most vocal councilmembers on the topic. Thomas said he worried that, while the Tolmans’ dog may be well-behaved, other pit bulls might not. Kunz agreed. [...]

Full article retrieved 7/19/11 from http://news.hjnews.com/news/article_84ffc45a-b254-11e0-8deb-001cc4c03286.html

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Posted in Idaho, Proposal to Repeal

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