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OH: Shaker Heights residents speak out against proposed pit bull ban

Discussion in 'Laws & Legislation' started by Vicki, Dec 2, 2015.

  1. Vicki

    Vicki Administrator Staff Member

    SHAKER HEIGHTS, Ohio – More than 130 people – mostly Shaker Heights residents opposing a proposed pit bull ban – crowded into City Council chambers Monday night.

    The residents told council they oppose any law that bans a specific dog breed. They said the city needs to hold dog owners accountable if they abuse or neglect pit bulls and fail to keep them fenced in and leashed.

    Also, the city should better enforce and perhaps tighten existing laws that regulate dogs, residents said.

    Sandra Summers, who moved to Shaker Heights about a year ago, said a gentle pit bull recently helped her overcome her fear of dogs. She said she empathizes with pit bulls and their negative image because she's a counselor who has worked with children labeled "dangerous."

    "When labeling occurs, usually injustice is present," Summers told council.

    A few people favoring the dog ban also spoke, including Tequila Williams, youngest granddaughter of Annie Williams, who was attacked and killed by a pit bull this summer in Shaker Heights. Annie Williams' death prompted some residents to ask for a pit bull ban.

    Williams said pit bulls are unlike other dogs in that they have been bred to attack at the neck. She criticized pit bull supporters, saying they are more concerned about animals than people.

    "My two daughters witnessed this tragedy and were traumatized," Williams said. "They will need counseling for life."

    Paul Ford, a Shaker resident, said he was running recently on Scottsdale Road when a pit bull attacked him. He said the dog was so strong he could not push the animal away single-handedly. Witnesses stopped the attack.

    "All dogs are not equal in the kinds of damage they can do," Ford said.

    Mayor Earl Leiken said he has previously heard the argument that breed-specific regulations and bans don't work. But when Annie Williams was killed in July, the city revisited that theory.

    Leiken said the city found that pit bulls cause a disproportionate amount of damage compared to other breeds. He said five people in Ohio have been killed by pit bulls since 2012, which is when the state stopped automatically categorizing pit bulls as vicious dogs.

    "I know many of you love your pit bulls and feel the legislation is unfair, but my responsibility is to protect the citizens, rather than breeds of dogs," Leiken said.

    Council is scheduled to vote on the legislation Jan. 12. The law would allow pit bulls now living in Shaker Heights to remain but prohibit residents to take ownership of new pit bulls – or any dog the city deems vicious – the day the ordinance is passed.

    Also, residents would have to register any pit bull or vicious animal with the city and pay a $20 annual fee.

    Statistical salvos

    Mike Parsons, a Shaker Heights resident, said scientific research proves that breed isn't relevant when it comes to dog attacks and that breed-specific laws don't work.

    Parsons said that a 2013 study by the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association looked at all dog bite fatalities from 2000-09 and took in data from homicide detectives, witnesses and animal control agencies. The study identified several top factors in dog-bite deaths, including failure by owners to spay or neuter their pets, owner mismanagement and animal abuse, but not breed.

    Shaker resident Clint Evans said 19 states have passed laws prohibiting breed specific laws, and 19 Ohio cities have rejected such laws this year.

    Parsons criticized statistics the city used to support the pit bull ban because the numbers were taken from media reports and websites, and were not based on science.

    Law Director William Ondrey Gruber, in a Nov. 6 memo, cited a study on dog attacks in the United States and Canada from 1982-2014. The study, based on "media reports," found that pit bulls and pit bull mixes were responsible for 69 percent of dog attacks causing bodily harm.

    Gruber's memo also said the Ohio Supreme Court has ruled that pit bulls are exceptionally strong dogs requiring "extraordinary measures for confinement."

    See the entire memo below.

    Public comments

    Other residents sounded off:

    James Prueter: He said he's a veterinarian, and that pit bulls were not bred to kill or hurt people, as some claim, but to fight other dogs. He added that some owners don't socialize their dogs properly. Prueter said other dog breeds, like German Shepherds, Rottweilers and Doberman Pinschers can be aggressive.

    Lisa Smith: She said she recently moved from California, and chose Shaker Heights as a home because the city allows her pit bull to live here. However, she said pit bulls can be vicious, and the city needs stricter animal laws because dogs are running loose here. She said she put one of her pit bulls to sleep because she knew the dog would eventually attack someone, based on its behavior.

    "It was the worst day of my life," Smith said. "But I was a responsible citizen and a responsible dog owner."

    Daniel Bobinski: He said his family recently adopted a dog that might be a pit bull mix from Cuyahoga County. He said the county tests the temperament of dogs before allowing them to be adopted, and judged his dog safe. He wondered how the city can now say the dog is unsafe.

    Robb Forward: He said he was part of the city's Safety and Public Works Committee that in 2008 decided not to ban pit bulls in Shaker. He said the city, instead of banning specific breeds, should make stricter licensing and monitoring rules. Also, the city does not respond to dog bites as it should, he said.

    "Be the leaders that I know you are," Forward told council. "Make something happen, a model for other communities, instead of us following communities with something that doesn't work."

    Leslie Ruch: She said dogs often are left unleashed in a park near her home, and that the city should stop that from happening. She said dogs should be regulated based on their behavior, not their breed.

    Phil Calabrese: He said he was attacked by a dog years ago but still opposes the pit bull ban. He said the city should have consulted with experts from the Animal Protective League and Cuyahoga County Animal Shelter, for example, when deciding how to address dog attacks.

    Calabrese said that in 2013, the Ohio Third District Court of Appeals struck down a pit bull law less restrictive than the one proposed in Shaker Heights.

    By Bob Sandrick,
    on November 10, 2015 at 3:51 PM, updated November 13, 2015 at 10:49 AM

    Shaker Heights residents speak out against proposed pit bull ban (photos, memo) | cleveland.com
     

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