Sterling Heights, MI: Breed neutral dog ordinance adopted

Sterling Heights city council unanimously approved a breed-neutral dog ordinance during last night’s city council meeting.

Sterling Heights had been considering a breed-specific law since June 2010. One resident demanded a breed ban and told the council, “We have inner city people who bought homes here … They don’t need to bring their pit bulls here.” The city held a “Pit Bull Dog Workshop” in September, at which they used Merritt Clifton’s flawed dog bite survey to demonstrate the need for breed-specific laws. As recently as December 2010, the city still planned to proceed with BSL.

Community opposition was strong throughout, and the community provided council with breed-neutral alternatives. In January, the council began to discuss breed-neutral proposals, ultimately accepting a strong breed-neutral ordinance. The city officials who assembled the breed-neutral proposal observed that it avoided the controversy associated with breed-specific laws, while still enabling animal control to enforce public safety.

A huge thank you and congratulations to the citizens in and around Sterling Heights who worked together to create and encourage a breed-neutral proposal.

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