Heads up Tennesse...

4 opinion(s) posted
SEND TO FRIEND | POST OPINION | PRINT Parks board bans pit bullsBy Bill Harless, bharless@nashvillecitypaper.com
April 05, 2006
Citing safety concerns, the Metro Parks Board on Tuesday banned pit bulls from the city’s three off-the-leash dog parks. The new rule will be effective April 15.

The board passed the ban after hearing testimony from two Nashvillians who have had violent run-ins with the dogs in Metro Parks, including Lt. George Mitchell, who heads the Park Police and was bitten on the arm by a leashed pit bull in Centennial Park last September.

West Nashville resident Ellen Cox also urged approval of the ban, citing $211 in veterinarian expenses she faced after a pit bull attacked her dog at the Shelby Park facility.

The board voted unanimously to ban pit bulls and also “dogs having the characteristic of the pit bull breed,” though the ambiguity in the rule caused concern among board members James Lawson and Lamont Carter that breed owners could have grounds for a legal appeal if cited.

But Bob Parrish, who chairs the department’s dog management committee, said the Metro Legal Department had OK’d the rule.

And Judy Ladebauche, director of Metro Animal Services, said the training her department will provide park officers will enable them to discern the essential traits of pit bull mixes. She cited similar bans in other states.

“The kindest thing and most responsible [is to] take [pit bulls] for a walk” without contact with other dogs, Ladebauche said. Though “they love to be with you, I don’t really think most pit bulls gain a whole lot from playing with other dogs.”

“If there’s an incident [at a park], even if the pit bull didn’t start it, the pit bull’s going to finish it,” she added.

Signs at the three dog parks — located at Centennial, Edwin Warner and Shelby parks — will be amended to provide notice of the rule.

Parks spokeswoman Jackie Jones said the rule wasn’t passed to discriminate against pit bull owners but, rather, to protect other park visitors.
















and as to me per p.m.:
Please let everyone know that Nashville TN has banned pit-bulls and pit-bull like dogs from all dog parks. The local media reported this story and did a good job stating that it shouldn't be breed specific. They even showed a couple of bigger poodles attacking a smaller dog. The only advocates of this were little old ladies with snippy little dogs.
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In any regards to BSL, try to be the voice for your dog. Every voice helps.

 

im glad they are banned from dog parks....

 

No doubt, off-leash dog parks are not a place for pitbulls or any other dog-aggressive breed to be. However, I am not for the city passing laws to enforce that, the owners of these dogs should simply be smart enough to stay clear by themselves....unfortunately, we all know thats not the case.

 

Although my boy is great with his housemates, an 11 yr old Rat Terrier and his 4 cat buds, I know that going to a dog park would be a disaster. A dog park is no place for an APBT.

 

thanks for the heads up but i keep my dog away from them places, thats just asking for it

 

if yah care to comment:

http://www.nashvillescene.com/blog/pitw/archives/00000855.shtml

 

Here are some more facts about pit bulls

- Their ears are cut short so that there's less for the other dog to bite in a fight.


is that article worth the read?