D

Pit Bull Finale

I know this is getting to be like the time I had too many jello-shots at a party and started saying all these stupid things — it’s time to go home on this issue. And I will, but I promised Terry O’Conner, whose wife was bitten by Chill last month, a chance to vent. So here it is:

All the commotion over the dog attacks in the last month has led to a number of rumors, accusations, and inferences about the prejudices and motivations of the involved parties. There are also some legislative responses on the horizon that, in an attempt to improve the situation, may, in my opinion, make it worse.

First, this was never a breed-specific issue. One of our dogs’ best friends and playmates is a pit bull. There are many mild mannered, docile, companion dogs that have a right to exist in modern society. Unfortunately, there are other dogs, whether through breeding, training, or just chance occurrence, are not fit to be allowed in civilized society. The fact that there are people who want a dog as a weapon and therefore choose a dog that fits their idea of the ultimate canine weapon (Pit bull, Rottweiler, Shepherd, Akita, etc., etc.) is probably a large part of why these dogs are implicated in a disproportionate number of attacks. Any dog can be made mean through abuse, training, and/or neglect. Any dog can bite if it is provoked or threatened, or misinterprets a situation as threatening. The problem is that when a dog shows itself to be dangerous, there must be an immediate remedy to protect the public. This is the owner’s responsibility, best summed up by Jennifer Crumley, Akita owner, in a letter to the hearing officer, “…no questions, no excuses, and no room for error.”

One of the solutions, currently being considered by the City of Dallas is to charge owners whose dogs have not been sterilized a $500 per year registration fee. While this may, at first blush, seem to be a deterrent to senseless breeding, it may invoke the law of unintended consequences. Those irresponsible dog owners who are the real problem are probably more likely to just forgo registering their dogs, and if they are not registered, there is no scrutiny of their rabies vaccination status. We may end up with more unregistered, unvaccinated dogs.

Better the city enforce the existing leash laws, get the loose dogs off the streets, and hit the owners with serious penalties for repeated offenses. Any dog picked up by Animal Services should be required to be micro-chipped for identification purposes as a condition of its return. Any dog owner with their dog off a leash in a public area, perhaps with the exception of designated dog parks, should be cited by the police. The city must take this issue seriously and we, as responsible citizens, must keep the pressure on until they do.