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!
Fred M. Kray
krisdiaz9
Stop BSL 
From Wikipedia: A prejudice is a prejudgment, an assumption made about someone or something before having adequate knowledge to be able to do so with guaranteed accuracy, or “judging a book by it’s cover. The word prejudice is most commonly used to refer to preconceived judgments toward people or a person because of race, social class, gender, ethnicity, homelessness, age, disability, obesity, religion, sexual orientation, or other personal characteristics. It also means beliefs without knowledge of the facts[1] and may include “any unreasonable attitude that is unusually resistant to rational influence.”
The definition applies to your views of the Pit Bull. Please consider your prejudice before voting on such a drastic condemnation.
It would be a good idea to mention Prince George’s County’s total failure in upholding their ineffective and extremely expensive BSL in your letter. Stop BSL has an excellent write-up here- http://stopbsl.com/bsloverview/expensive/
As the proud owner of three “pit bull type” dogs, I am deeply disturbed by these blanket generalizations about an entire group of breeds. We have very young children in our family, and we trust our dogs completely around them. Our dogs have never been anything but gentle and patient — despite their horrible starts in life. They are rescues, and they would never have gotten a second chance if an awful ordinance like this one had been in effect. Please consider that you will be imposing a death sentence on HUNDREDS of dogs who might otherwise have found loving homes if you approve these proposals.
I have two rescued fighters. One was severely psychologically damaged and as a responsible “bully breed” owner, I realize he has a fear of other dogs, therefore take the appropriate actions to protect not only those around me, but my dog. My American Pit Bull Terrier was rescued early enough that potential aggressive behavior has been averted. It is not right or justified to ban a whole breed or place restrictions on those of us who already take precautions to protect our families, our dogs and ourselves not only because we care about our community, but we want people to see how these alleged “bully breeds” are sweet, loving and devoted… the same as any dog not associated with a breed ban.
Before voting for such a drastic ban or putting limitations on responsible owners, go meet a pit bull (American Pit Bull Terrier, Staffordshire Terrier, American Bull Terrier, etc.). Put aside all prejudices stemming from media and what you think you know. Go see how pit bulls are service dogs to our veterans, to children, to educational systems!
Don’t vote towards something that will cost money that will be ineffectively upheld. Don’t vote on something where your vote is based upon media and a stereotype. Unless you’ve been around a pit bull or worked with one, don’t vote at all even. You shouldn’t be allowed to give an opinion on something you have never associated with.
I AM A LOYAL AMERICAN PITBULL TERRIER LOVER. AND IVE BROUGHT YOUNG TO ADULTS AND NEVER EVER HAD A PROBABLY . IVE ALSO HOUSED AND FOUND LOST PITBULLS AND HAVE FOUND THEM GOOD HOMES WITH AND WITHOUT KIDS . THEY ARE VERY LOYAL , LOVING AND EGER TO PLEASE
Please do not let this happen in Charles County. Pit bulls are some of the most loyal and loving dogs on the planet. Yes, there are some “bad” pit bulls out there. However, they are the products of even worse owners. The exact same could be said for humans. There are terrible people in every town of every country but that does not mean all people are bad. I know personally I would choose my dog over living in Charles County any day of the week. I’m sure there are many other dog owners that would say the same.
I hope this was not approved as we have two pit bull dogs and four children. Not once has either dog shown any agression towards our children, their friends or anyone who has every come to our house whether it was a neighber, friend, the mailman, repairmen, etc. A dog acts in the manner it was raised and just because a dog is a pit bull type dog doesn’t mean it is automatically raised to be agressive.