so far ban unsuccesful in amarillo tx.

Web-posted <MCC DATE>Wednesday, July 26, 2006 </MCC DATE><!-- /timestamp -->
<!-- headline -->[size=+2]<MCC HEAD>City tightens leash with ordinance </MCC HEAD>
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<!-- bylines --><MCC BYLINE1>By Joe Chapman </MCC BYLINE1>
<MCC BYLINE2>joe.chapman@amarillo.com </MCC BYLINE2><!-- /bylines -->
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</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top align=left width="100%" background="">Pictured are pit bulls that may have been responsible for another dog's death recently.








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"[Dalhart Cheese Factory] Not a good move. Population in Dalhart is around 7,500. How will that equate to return on investment from sales taxes? Money could be better invested by giving tax breaks on energy for the 160,000+ in Amarillo." - From dblwing1 [Join this discussion]



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<!-- story text --><MCC STORY>The city of Amarillo on Tuesday showed its own teeth with a new ordinance to strengthen the city's leash and dangerous animal laws.



The City Commission met in an emergency session to pass the ordinance in response to a recent rash of dog attacks.

"We're fighting vicious dogs with ink and paper. There is no perfect solution to this that we can write," City Attorney Marcus Norris said.

"We have to have responsible animal owners who will keep their animals properly caged, properly trained, not teach them to be vicious," he said.

Among other things, the ordinance passed Tuesday removes from the city's leash law the option to restrain an animal under oral command, instead requiring it be held on a leash or confined in an enclosure.

City Manager Alan Taylor said the city will consider establishing leash-free parks or park space, which weren't needed before the ordinance.

The ordinance increases the maximum fine for an unrestrained animal that attacks or threatens a human or another animal to $500, up from $200.

The ordinance also increases the number of requirements to own a dangerous animal - including sterilizing the animal and not allowing it outside a closed cage except when muzzled and on a leash controlled by a person. An animal won't be classified as dangerous until it attacks or threatens attack without provocation.

The new ordinance also requires dangerous-animal owners to carry $250,000 in liability insurance. Previously, they were required to keep $100,000 in insurance on the animals.

Because the City Commission enacted the ordinance through emergency proceedings, it will go into effect without a second reading, 10 days after its second publication in the newspaper.

The effective date should be Aug. 10 or Aug. 11, City Secretary Donna DeRight said.

The Animal Control Board will convene for a special meeting 1:30 p.m. Friday at City Hall to hold a public hearing on the new ordinance. Although the public hearing will be after-the-fact, it will serve to provide input on whether the ordinance needs to be modified further.

The City Commission followed the emergency ordinance procedures because of four publicized incidents of pit bulls attacking other dogs since July 15.

"In close to my 30 years with the city, I haven't seen anything like what we have had in the last week and a half in terms of dogs going crazy," Taylor said.

The ordinance's preamble used the following language to justify the urgency for new regulations:

"Whereas in less than 10 days there has been an unprecedented number of unprovoked attacks by dogs at-large on humans and animals (15) ... and, whereas, within the last day citizens have begun to arm themselves with clubs and guns to combat vicious dogs at-large which are attacking unprovoked ..."

The ordinance's provisions don't single out pit bulls or even dogs, but apply to all domestic animals within the city. Nor will common dog bites be elevated into dangerous-dog cases, Norris said.

Johnny Duncan, who said he has owned pit bulls for 35 years, commended the city's passage of the ordinance.

"I think what y'all did to step forward today, I can live with. This is great," Duncan said. Pit bulls are great dogs, he said.

When asked by Mayor Debra McCartt why he thinks the dogs have been prone to attack recently, Duncan answered, "Unresponsible, uneducated owners. It's cut and dry. There's no other reason.

"If you have a dog like that, keep it put up. Keep it under control. Put a dog on a chain in the backyard, it's not sufficient. A six-foot fence is not sufficient.

"I've known these dogs for too long."

New laws

A new ordinance the Amarillo City Commission passed Tuesday to strengthen the city's leash and dangerous-animal laws includes the following provisions:







<LI>The ordinance removes oral command from one of the options for legally restraining an animal. Animals within the city are to be restrained by being confined within a fenced enclosure capable of holding the animal, fastened or picketed by a leash, rope or chain so as to keep the animal on the premises, or under the control of a person by a leash.







<LI>The ordinance increases the maximum fine for an unrestrained animal that attacks or threatens a human or another animal to $500, up from $200.




The ordinance increases the number of requirements owners must follow to keep a dangerous animal. Requirements include sterilizing the animal, not allowing the animal outside a closed cage except muzzled and on a leash controlled by a person, attaching a fluorescent orange tag to the animal's collar, and having a microchip implanted

the city was in a real uproar after a recent rash of supposed pitbull attacks, lot's of folks were calling for a ban on the breed but so far they have been unsuccesful, let's hope it remains that way. here is the link to the newspaper if anyone is interested in reading more http://www.amarillo.com/ . there are numerous articles on the subject along with a number of comments both pro and con. u have to become a member to read the articles. amarillo is about 1 hour away from where i live in nm

 

Have they proposed a ban?

 

i do not guess the city council has done so, sounds like they are not interested in doing so at this time. however lot's of folks in the community are crying out for one and the witch hunt is on.

 

I can't see your reply for some reason.

 

Bump.......

 

Texas has the same BSL prohibition that some other states have, so it would be hard for a city to get a ban unless they wanted to push that "home rule" crap. As for dogs fighting dogs, I still don't see why that is newsworthy. Its like having a front-page headline for speeding tickets.

 

yes it's pretty ridicilous i was reading through all the comments people were leaving and it was like it's only a matter of time until one of these dangerous dogs kill a child. they did not understand the difference between human and dog agression. they were talking about how they are afraid to leave their homes, it was kinda funny to read if they had not been so serious. one 68 year old man whose dog was attacked actually shot the supposed pitbull twice in the side the dog let loose of his dog than he finished the dog off with a shot to the head

 

Ummmm, is anyone else confused by this quote:

Why should some dog bites be "common" basically meaning the victim in those cases doesn't amount to a pile of shit (meaning he wasn't bitten by a bulldog or Rottweiler, Doberman, or GSD). Dog bites wouldn't be "common" if those dogs doing the biting were PTS.

 

you are correct texas has a live and let live policy on dogs and a state constitution banning bsl,so like you said unless they use the home rule crap it cant happen unless they ammend the state constitution and i dont see that happening anytime soon.nor do i see the home rule thing happening either,because amarillo has alot of bulldogs in the city almost every home you drive by there they have either a bulldog or a gsd,and it is not just in the poor areas of the town it is in the very nice areas wich is always good to see.

 

well i am glad to know that it will not be as easy as some would like it to be . all i know is that i get the amarillo news where i live and they are talking about pitbull attacks everynite. lots of citizens calling for a ban getting the torches and pitchforks out if ya know what i mean

 

bump bump......

 

Any updates on the situation guys? Sorry I have been out of the loop.

 

<!-- main story table --><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top align=left width=537 background=""><!--<MCC PUBDATE>072806 </MCC PUBDATE><MCC SECTION>opinion</MCC SECTION><MCC PRIORITY>1</MCC PRIORITY><MCC SUBPRIORITY></MCC SUBPRIORITY><MCC PUBNAME>amarillo.com</MCC PUBNAME><MCC DIGEST>What is the quickest way for a normally anonymous city board to draw a crowd at its next meeting?</MCC DIGEST>--><!-- main story table --><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top align=left width=537 background=""><!-- timestamp -->Web-posted <MCC DATE>Friday, July 28, 2006 </MCC DATE><!-- /timestamp -->
<!-- headline -->[size=+2]<MCC HEAD>Editorial: Dog hearing will be lively </MCC HEAD>
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<MCC SUBHEAD>[size=+1]Ordinance needs hearing[/size]</MCC SUBHEAD>

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"They put new lights in downtown. All well and good, but they screwed up the timing on one. Where you used to drive straight through, now you have to stop and wait at 8th street on Fillmore. Then, once it releases you, you catch the yellow at the next light, if you are quick..." - From James [Join this discussion]
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<!-- story text --><MCC STORY>What is the quickest way for a normally anonymous city board to draw a crowd at its next meeting?

Try messing with people's dogs.

So it quite likely will be a bit crowded at 1:30 p.m. when the Amarillo Animal Control Board convenes a public hearing on a planned ordinance designed to strengthen the city's dangerous animal rules.

The board will meet at City Hall at a time not usually conducive to attracting a large crowd. Don't bet against many residents showing up to offer their opinion.

The hearing is being called three days after the City Commission approved an ordinance that does a number of things in the wake of several pit bull attacks on other dogs in Amarillo.

For one thing, the ordinance requires all dogs to be on a leash if they are not penned up in their owners' yard. It also stiffens the penalty against dog owners whose pets attack other animals or people.

Some dog owners have said the city is picking on pit bulls, the breed of dogs involved in the recent rash of attacks. It appears that pit bull owners will show up this afternoon to defend their dogs against the negative publicity.

It does little good to argue here over whether pit bulls are more dangerous than any other breed of dog, except to point out that of all the dog breeds that inhabit the city, pit bulls account for roughly a quarter of all reported dog bites on humans in Amarillo since this past October. With that the Animal Control Board likely will get an earful during its public hearing this afternoon. Which prompts this observation: If only the public could get so involved with all aspects of city government.


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the insanity continues





<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top align=left width=537 background=""><!--<MCC PUBDATE>080306 </MCC PUBDATE><MCC SECTION>news</MCC SECTION><MCC PRIORITY>2</MCC PRIORITY><MCC SUBPRIORITY></MCC SUBPRIORITY><MCC PUBNAME>amarillo.com</MCC PUBNAME><MCC DIGEST>Police officers who shot a pit bull early Monday also fired a bullet through a house window on South Alabama Street, residents of the home and witnesses said Wednesday.</MCC DIGEST>--><!-- main story table --><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top align=left width=537 background=""><!-- timestamp -->Web-posted <MCC DATE>Thursday, August 3, 2006 </MCC DATE><!-- /timestamp -->
<!-- headline -->[size=+2]<MCC HEAD>Family: Gunfire missed pit bull, hit house </MCC HEAD>
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<!-- bylines --><MCC BYLINE1>By Brad Newman </MCC BYLINE1>
<MCC BYLINE2>brad.newman@amarillo.com </MCC BYLINE2><!-- /bylines -->
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</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top align=left width="100%" background="">This hole reportedly was caused by a stray police bullet.


</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top align=right width="100%" background="">David Johnson / Amarillo Globe-News
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"[Dalhart Cheese Factory] Not a good move. Population in Dalhart is around 7,500. How will that equate to return on investment from sales taxes? Money could be better invested by giving tax breaks on energy for the 160,000+ in Amarillo." - From dblwing1 [Join this discussion]
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<!-- story text --><MCC STORY>Police officers who shot a pit bull early Monday also fired a bullet through a house window on South Alabama Street, residents of the home and witnesses said Wednesday.

Sgt. Randy TenBrink of the Amarillo Police Department said the department's internal affairs division is investigating.

But residents of another home on Alabama Street said a stray bullet also went through the front window of their house.

"I can't confirm that we did it, and I can't confirm that we didn't," TenBrink said. "They (the internal affairs division) will work on the case until they believe they have all of the facts."

Despiny Solis, who was staying the night at the house, said she was only feet away from the window where the bullet entered.

She said the officers shot five or six times at the pit bull, and one of the bullets likely ricochetted off the street and struck the house. But she didn't notice the bullet hole in the window until all the shooting stopped, she said.

"We found the bullet in the front room," Solis said. "It was still warm when we picked it up."

Officers checked the bullet at the scene and denied that it came from one of their guns, Solis said, and they took the bullet for further investigation.

Karla Delisoe, who lives next door, said she was a witness too.

"It wasn't just one shot. They were shooting like crazy at that dog," she said.

In the chaos, it isn't unlikely that one of the bullets shot through the window, she said.

Delisoe also said she saw people on the front porch of her neighbors' house during the incident.

"Someone could have easily got killed that night," she said.

Police distributed a news release about the incident Tuesday, but the release only mentioned that officers shot and killed the pit bull - nothing was included about the bullet hole in the window.

Officers mentioned the window bullet hole in the original police report, however, said TenBrink.

"We were aware of it during the time the report was made," he said.

Officers had been responding to a loud party complaint around 12:30 a.m. Monday in the 800 block of South Alabama.

As the officers returned to their patrol car, they were attacked by a pit bull and shot at the dog, police reports show. The pit bull was later found dead in the back seat of a vehicle.

Investigators were still working on the case as Wednesday afternoon, said Sgt. Berry Carden, investigator with the internal affairs division.

"Any time a weapon is discharged, we investigate," he said. However, Carden refused to comment on the status of the investigation or confirm or deny if the bullet came from an officer's gun. The internal affairs division will interview all the people involved in the incident and gather all the evidence before presenting it to the department's shooting review board, TenBrink said.


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