Post by RealPitBull on Feb 13, 2008 9:10:04 GMT -5
Passions run high about pit bulls in Lubbock
lubbockonline.com/stories/021308/loc_246397725.shtml
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Story last updated at 2/13/2008 - 2:44 am
City Councilman Todd Klein said he spent two hours one night returning phone calls and e-mails from folks on a single topic - pit bulls.
"People are passionate about both sides," he said.
Half of them probably want something the councilman can't give.
Despite a growing outcry for local leaders to get involved, the city or county governments can't ban pit bulls or impose restrictions specific to the breed, unless they violate limits the state has imposed.
It's unlikely, too, that the state would pass breed-specific legislation, according to those who have a say in the process. Nor should they, say dog advocates who believe the pit bull is just the latest to get a bad rap as a vicious dog. The real villain is the irresponsible pet owner, both officials and dog advocates say.
"It seems like we are more ignorant of canine behavior than we ever have been," said Karen DeLise, author of a pair of books detailing animal attacks and defending pit bulls as a breed.
City ordinances largely mirror what the state allows when it comes to owning pets. You can't own a lion or a tiger, for example, because those animals are considered dangerous.
Banning pit bulls or placing restrictions on their ownership would mean the same for such family favorites as beagles, cocker spaniels or golden retrievers, as well.
Lubbock Mayor David Miller is expected to say much the same thing at a news conference about dangerous animals scheduled for this morning. He also is expected to urge residents to be responsible with the pets they have, spokeswoman Pam Fitch said.
State Rep. Joe Heflin, D-Crosbyton, is a member of the County Affairs Committee that oversees such laws in the Texas House. He said the committee will probably take up dangerous-animal laws when lawmakers meet in 2009.
In 2007, the state passed a law saying the owner of a dog who attacks a person can be charged with a felony.
But banning breeds is very difficult, Heflin said. "That is just nearly taboo as far as what we hear from animal people. If you're going be breed specific - a mailman in Lubbock was attacked by a lab - where do you stop at that?"
Most of the attention locally has been on pit bulls.
In the past month, the dogs have attacked and killed 10 goats in Lubbock. In another instance, they killed a miniature horse and wounded four others.
Since then, residents have flooded City Hall with phone calls and e-mails asking for something to be done. Cities in other states have made owning the breed a misdemeanor offense.
That can't be done in Texas.
"There's no use getting into that," Lubbock City Councilman Floyd Price said. "There's nothing the council can do until there is a state law. I don't see anywhere in the near future where anyone has said, We are going to pass a law to make it illegal to make a certain breed of dogs.' "
But Price said residents, neighborhood groups and even delivery workers should keep tabs on dog owners who let their animals wander free.
"Get names and addresses and give it to the animal control people," Price said. "We can command that someone corral these old hounds running around."
Sandy Reed owns Lollipop Kennels in Lubbock. She also owns four pit bulls and runs a pit bull rescue shelter.
She said all dogs are capable of attacking, and she has never been attacked by a pit bull. The secret to raising good pit bulls is the same as with other dogs, she said: train them, spay them and make them part of your family.
An explosion in pit bulls' popularity has led to animals that don't have the pit bull traits she loves - silliness and loyalty.
"A pit bull should never be human aggressive. It's why they don't make good watch dogs," she said. "I see people looking at it as a money thing. They breed poor-quality animals with poor-quality animals and get poor puppies."
Any dog is as dangerous as its owner allows it to be, said DeLise, author of "The Pit Bull Placebo" and "Fatal Dog Attacks." She is the founder and lead researcher for the National Canine Research Council. In a telephone interview from her home in West Virginia, she said people view pit bulls in much the same way they once viewed Rottweilers, Dobermans or German shepherds.
"One hundred years ago the most vicious dog you could have a was a blood hound. ... they were your pit bulls of the 1880s," she said.
"I know it sounds like a copout, but it really is the media. People are bitten in this country every day. We think only pit bulls do this."
To comment on this story:
eric.finley@lubbockonline.com 766-8725
james.gallagher@lubbockonline.com 766-8706
lubbockonline.com/stories/021308/loc_246397725.shtml
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Story last updated at 2/13/2008 - 2:44 am
City Councilman Todd Klein said he spent two hours one night returning phone calls and e-mails from folks on a single topic - pit bulls.
"People are passionate about both sides," he said.
Half of them probably want something the councilman can't give.
Despite a growing outcry for local leaders to get involved, the city or county governments can't ban pit bulls or impose restrictions specific to the breed, unless they violate limits the state has imposed.
It's unlikely, too, that the state would pass breed-specific legislation, according to those who have a say in the process. Nor should they, say dog advocates who believe the pit bull is just the latest to get a bad rap as a vicious dog. The real villain is the irresponsible pet owner, both officials and dog advocates say.
"It seems like we are more ignorant of canine behavior than we ever have been," said Karen DeLise, author of a pair of books detailing animal attacks and defending pit bulls as a breed.
City ordinances largely mirror what the state allows when it comes to owning pets. You can't own a lion or a tiger, for example, because those animals are considered dangerous.
Banning pit bulls or placing restrictions on their ownership would mean the same for such family favorites as beagles, cocker spaniels or golden retrievers, as well.
Lubbock Mayor David Miller is expected to say much the same thing at a news conference about dangerous animals scheduled for this morning. He also is expected to urge residents to be responsible with the pets they have, spokeswoman Pam Fitch said.
State Rep. Joe Heflin, D-Crosbyton, is a member of the County Affairs Committee that oversees such laws in the Texas House. He said the committee will probably take up dangerous-animal laws when lawmakers meet in 2009.
In 2007, the state passed a law saying the owner of a dog who attacks a person can be charged with a felony.
But banning breeds is very difficult, Heflin said. "That is just nearly taboo as far as what we hear from animal people. If you're going be breed specific - a mailman in Lubbock was attacked by a lab - where do you stop at that?"
Most of the attention locally has been on pit bulls.
In the past month, the dogs have attacked and killed 10 goats in Lubbock. In another instance, they killed a miniature horse and wounded four others.
Since then, residents have flooded City Hall with phone calls and e-mails asking for something to be done. Cities in other states have made owning the breed a misdemeanor offense.
That can't be done in Texas.
"There's no use getting into that," Lubbock City Councilman Floyd Price said. "There's nothing the council can do until there is a state law. I don't see anywhere in the near future where anyone has said, We are going to pass a law to make it illegal to make a certain breed of dogs.' "
But Price said residents, neighborhood groups and even delivery workers should keep tabs on dog owners who let their animals wander free.
"Get names and addresses and give it to the animal control people," Price said. "We can command that someone corral these old hounds running around."
Sandy Reed owns Lollipop Kennels in Lubbock. She also owns four pit bulls and runs a pit bull rescue shelter.
She said all dogs are capable of attacking, and she has never been attacked by a pit bull. The secret to raising good pit bulls is the same as with other dogs, she said: train them, spay them and make them part of your family.
An explosion in pit bulls' popularity has led to animals that don't have the pit bull traits she loves - silliness and loyalty.
"A pit bull should never be human aggressive. It's why they don't make good watch dogs," she said. "I see people looking at it as a money thing. They breed poor-quality animals with poor-quality animals and get poor puppies."
Any dog is as dangerous as its owner allows it to be, said DeLise, author of "The Pit Bull Placebo" and "Fatal Dog Attacks." She is the founder and lead researcher for the National Canine Research Council. In a telephone interview from her home in West Virginia, she said people view pit bulls in much the same way they once viewed Rottweilers, Dobermans or German shepherds.
"One hundred years ago the most vicious dog you could have a was a blood hound. ... they were your pit bulls of the 1880s," she said.
"I know it sounds like a copout, but it really is the media. People are bitten in this country every day. We think only pit bulls do this."
To comment on this story:
eric.finley@lubbockonline.com 766-8725
james.gallagher@lubbockonline.com 766-8706
I look forward to learning much here