Category Archives: North Carolina

Dunn city council has decided against a “pit bull” ban proposed by the Dunn police chief. They do intend to examine their current ordinances and see where improvements can be made.

The problems that have been brought up by the police chief sound less like vicious dog problems and much more like issues of neglect, abuse, and irresponsible owners.

Although a breed ban may be off the table in Dunn, the community still has a problem that needs addressing. Residents and locals, please work with the city to create reasonable breed-neutral initiatives to help Dunn become safer, smarter, and more humane.

Online contact form for City of Dunn: http://www.dunn-nc.org/contact-dunn-nc-226.asp
City of Dunn, P.O. Box 1065, Dunn, NC 28335
phone (910) 230-3500
fax (910) 230-3590
City council email block:
oharris@onhacpa.com; bmaness@onhacpa.com; crobinson156@nc.rr.com; galbr005@mc.duke.edu; brasslantern@earthlink.net; cturnage11@nc.rr.com;

News article with more details about the “vicious dog problem” in Dunn:
http://harnettawc.org/?p=1283

The police chief in Dunn, NC, has created a proposal that would ban all “pit bulls” from the city. The proposal itself is fairly outrageous, describing pit bulls as “unique among dogs in that they possess character­istics of aggres­sion, strength, gameness, viciousness, preda­ceousness, unpredictability and savageness not possessed by any other breed of dog.” The proposal also claims that leash laws are pointless for pit bulls (says the police chief, “they can break leashes”), and these “killers” cannot be confined except through “fortress-like measures.”

A “pit bull” for the purposes of this proposal would be any dog over 6 months that is “known by the owner to be a pitt [sic] bull terrier” and also specifically names the breeds American Pit Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier, Staffordshire Bull Terrier, and Bull Terrier. Furthermore, the proposal would be retroactive (no grandfather clause for existing dogs). The proposal states that any “pit bull” caught within the city after the effective date will be killed.

The police chief has apparently gone all-out with his proposal in anticipation of a compromise of some sort from city council—not necessarily a ban, but some kind of BSL for “pit bulls.” According to him, “What I’m hoping they’ll do is pass an ordinance to make them have to be caged with a top inside and floor in the cage and not be out on a leash.” [ED: “Not be out on a leash”…? Is he implying that “pit bulls” should not ever be taken out of their cages, i.e. be treated humanely?]

Dunn city council will discuss the proposal at their retreat this weekend. We do not know where they stand on this issue.

Please contact the city council members and respectfully explain to them why breed-specific laws of any kind, ban or otherwise, are unfair, inhumane, and do not improve public safety. Please also offer reasonable breed-neutral alternatives to address the community’s apparent issues with irresponsible owners.

Online contact form for City of Dunn: http://www.dunn-nc.org/contact-dunn-nc-226.asp
City of Dunn, P.O. Box 1065, Dunn, NC 28335
phone (910) 230-3500
fax (910) 230-3590
City council email block:
oharris@onhacpa.com; bmaness@onhacpa.com; crobinson156@nc.rr.com; galbr005@mc.duke.edu; brasslantern@earthlink.net; cturnage11@nc.rr.com; wtbarfield@embarqmail.com; tilghmanpope@nc.rr.com

The full news article was printed in the Daily Record. A local kindly scanned the article and typed it up. It is full of excellent information and I strongly recommend that you read the full article to get a sense of the situation in Dunn: http://harnettawc.org/?p=1249

Change.org petition opposing the Dunn proposal (you can sign this in addition to contacting the city council, but contacting city council directly is the most important step): http://www.change.org/petitions/stop-the-bans-on-pit-bulls