Category: Pittie Party

Thank You, Overland Park! City Council Unanimously Ends Pit Bull Ban

Hooray! Yet another city has ended its unfair Pit Bull ban.

The City Council of Overland Park, Kansas, voted unanimously Monday night to stop punishing certain dogs based solely on their looks or the breed(s) they happen to be. Overland Park was the last city in the Kansas City metro area to continue practicing breed-specific legislation (BSL), which are unfair laws, including breed bans, that single out certain dogs.

The city council voted to remove any language that specifies Staffordshire Bull Terriers, American Staffordshire Terriers and American Pit Bull Terriers from its dangerous animal ordinance, as in the following example (yay!):

 

 

BSL has proven to be ineffective in accomplishing what it’s intended to do — increasing public safety — wherever it’s been enacted. It’s also very expensive to enforce. It’s also opposed by nearly every major animal welfare organization, including the ASPCA, AVMA, HSUS, etc.

Those are some very good reasons why there’s been a growing trend to end BSL around the country.

Prairie Village, another city in the Kansas City metro area, lifted its Pit Bull ban in February 2020.

In November 2020, Denver, which had one of the most notorious Pit Bull bans in the world, ended its 31-year ban, thanks to voters. Two months later, the city council of Aurora, the third-largest city in Colorado, decided to end its 15-year Pit Bull ban as well. And soon after that, Commerce City, Colo., also ended its Pit Bull ban.

Thank you, Overland Park City Council, for having the good wisdom to judge the deed, not the breed.

Photo: Those were my first two Pitties, Sophie and Larry, enjoying a mind meld back in the late 1990s.

Hero Pit Bull Astro Awarded for Saving Owner’s Life

When Bertha Martinez saw Astro, a stray American Pit Bull Terrier mix, wandering the streets of her El Paso neighborhood last year, she initially was reluctant to rescue him. After all, the media tends to only focus on negative stories about these dogs, so she had concerns. But she couldn’t resist the friendly dog’s charms and decided to give him a forever home.

One year later, Astro has paid it forward by saving the life of Martinez’s son when he had a medical emergency.

Astro ran and got the attention of a good Samaritan and led him to Martinez’s son. The good Samaritan called 911. Emergency responders from the El Paso Fire Department (EPFD) soon arrived and rushed Martinez’s son to a hospital, where his life was saved.

In recognition of Astro’s heroism, the EPFD had a special ceremony during which the Pit Bull received a medal and a dog-safe cake.

“The 911 caller reported that a dog led him to the patient in need,” EPFD spokesman Enrique Duenas-Aguilar said, according to the El Paso Times. “This, of course, got a lot of attention. And the crews did confirm when they found the patient, there was a dog protecting his owner. We know the dog was even trying to climb into the ambulance.”

Duenas-Aguilar said the EPFD was “glad to be here to honor Astro for his bravery, his friendship and his commitment that he shared to his owner.”

Martinez told the El Paso Times that before adopting Astro, she had always been afraid of Pit Bulls. “But now I think if people have space for a dog, they should consider adopting a Pit Bull,” she said. “There are a lot of dogs in shelters and we need to find them homes and treat them well.”

So true! Like Martinez, I used to be nervous around Pit Bulls because of all the negative press about them. But my boyfriend loved the breed and so back in 1995 I agreed to welcome Larry, an American Staffordshire Terrier, into our home. Larry turned out to be the sweetest dog I’ve ever had, and he totally changed my mind about Pit Bulls. Although Larry never saved my life, he was an amazing (untrained) emotional support dog and the best cuddlebug you could ask for. He died in 2007 and I still miss him.

Pit Bulls rule! Congrats to Astro, the goodest boy of them all.

Photo: @EPTXFire/Twitter

Success! Aurora, Colorado Ends 15-Year Pit Bull Ban


In November the good people of Denver did the right thing and overwhelmingly voted to end the city’s 31-year ban on Pit Bulls, mixes and dogs that happen to look like Pit Bulls. Perhaps inspired by this, the city council of Aurora, Colorado’s third-largest city which is about 9 miles east of Denver, voted 7-3 on Jan. 11 to end its 15-year ban on these dogs.

Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman initially proposed a ballot measure to lift the ban, but residents wouldn’t be able to vote on it until next November, the Denver Post reports. Fortunately, instead of having to wait that long, city council members decided to vote on repealing the ban.

Starting next month, Aurora residents can own Pit Bull Terriers, American Staffordshire Terriers and Staffordshire Bull Terriers. Before the ban was ended, dogs that were more than 51 percent of these breeds were not allowed in the city. (I wonder how that percentage was determined…?)

Breed-specific legislation (BSL) — unfair laws, including breed bans, that single out dogs only because of how they look — has proven to be ineffective in increasing public safety and expensive to enforce wherever it’s been enacted. Thank you, Aurora City Council, for realizing this and ending your city’s ban.

Up next in Colorado to consider ending its Pit Bull ban is Commerce City. A decision is expected there later this month, according to the Denver Post. (Update: On Jan. 15 the Commerce City Council voted to end the ban!)

Last week in Denver, a handsome 3-year-old Pit Bull named Gumdrop, who’d been picked up as a stray, became the first of his breed to be adopted out by the Denver Animal Shelter since 1989. A Colorado Springs family saw his photo and drove an hour to the shelter to adopt him, Denver Department of Public Health & Environment spokesperson Kyle Wagner told PEOPLE. Gumdrop’s name has been changed to Odin.

Here’s wishing Odin and his new forever family many years of happiness together. And a huge thank you to the Aurora City Council members whose votes will help save the lives of many more adoptable dogs.

We are so excited to celebrate the first Pit Bull adoption since the new breed ordinance! ???❤️ ⁠
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Gumdrop was so happy…

Posted by Denver Animal Shelter on Tuesday, January 5, 2021

Photo: Those were my first two Pitties, Sophie and Larry, enjoying a mind meld.

Thank you, Denver! Voters End 31-Year Pit Bull Ban

Dog lovers everywhere, rejoice! The good people of Denver have overwhelmingly voted to end the city’s 31-year ban on Pit Bulls, mixes and dogs that happen to look like Pit Bulls.

Denver’s Pit Bull ban was one of the most notorious in the world. It was enacted back in 1989 after a 3-year-old boy wandered into his neighbor’s yard and was fatally attacked by an unspayed Pit Bull who was chained to a carport, according to the Denver Post. Three years earlier, another of the owner’s dogs had bitten an 8-year-old boy. Because of that one irresponsible owner 30 years ago, thousands of Denver residents have had to make the terrible choice of finding a new home for themselves or their beloved dogs, or surrendering their pets to the city to be euthanized.

Back in February, the Denver City Council voted to end the Pit Bull ban, but Mayor Michael Hancock overruled their decision. Fortunately, City Councilman Christopher Herndon, who had proposed ending the ban, introduced November ballot Measure 2J, leaving the decision up to Denver voters. More than 64% of them voted to end the ban.

Breed-specific legislation (BSL) — unfair laws, including breed bans, that single out dogs only because of how they look — has proven to be ineffective in increasing public safety and expensive to enforce wherever it’s been enacted. Thank you, Denver voters, for realizing this and ending your city’s ban.

There will, however, still be special requirements for Denver owners of Pit Bulls and mixes. The owners will have had to register their dogs with Denver Animal Protection, obtain a breed-restricted license, and have no more than two Pit Bulls. Yes, these requirements that single out certain dog breeds are still BSL (and B.S.), but removing the ban was an extremely important first step.

Thank you, thank you, thank you, Denver voters who supported Measure 2J! You’ve literally helped to save countless innocent lives.

Photo: Those were my first two Pitties, Sophie and Larry, enjoying a mind meld.

Denver Voters Can End the City’s 31-Year Pit Bull Ban

Even though the Denver City Council voted 7-4 in February to end the city’s 31-year Pit Bull ban, Mayor Michael Hancock overruled their decision.

Even though breed-specific legislation (BSL) — unfair laws, including breed bans, that single out dogs only because of how they look — has proven to be ineffective in increasing public safety and expensive to enforce wherever it’s been enacted, Hancock still decided it was a good thing.

Denver’s Pit Bull ban is one of the most notorious in the world. It was enacted in 1989 after a 3-year-old boy wandered into his neighbor’s yard and was fatally attacked by an unspayed Pit Bull who was chained to a carport, according to the Denver Post. Three years earlier, another of the owner’s dogs had bitten an 8-year-old boy. Because of that one irresponsible owner 30 years ago, thousands of Denver residents have had to make the terrible choice of finding a new home for themselves or their beloved dogs, or surrendering their pets to the city to be euthanized.

“Breed bans usually come on the heels of a fatal dog attack, a knee-jerk reaction by city and county officials that might pacify a community for a while, but doesn’t do a thing to keep communities safer,” notes the Best Friends Animal Society. “It’s much easier to institute breed bans than to look at what caused those attacks.”

It’s telling that just about every major animal welfare organization, including the ASPCA, the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) and the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), oppose BSL because it punishes the breed instead of the deed.

Fortunately, Denver City Councilman Christopher Herndon, who proposed ending the Pit Bull ban, kept the promise he made in February to introduce a ballot measure allowing voters to end the ban in November.

“I’m disappointed the mayor is choosing to disregard the science on the issue of breed-specific legislation,” Herndon said in a February statement, according to the New York Times. “Research tells us breed-specific legislation is ineffective at keeping communities safe and experts in the field — from the local level to the national level — agree it is no longer best practice.”

In a unanimous decision last night, the Denver City Council agreed to put a proposition to end the Pit Bull ban on the Nov. 3 ballot, 9News reports.

While voters will hopefully end the ban by voting yes on Measure 2J, there still will be special requirements for the owners of Pit Bulls and mixes. The owners would have had to register their dogs with Denver Animal Protection, obtain a breed-restricted license, and have no more than two Pit Bulls. Yes, these requirements that single out certain dog breeds are still BSL (and B.S.), but removing the ban is an extremely important first step.

If you’re a registered voter in Denver, I urge you to vote yes on Measure 2J to end the Pit Bull ban. You’ll not only be saving a lot of money but also the lives of countless innocent dogs.

Photo: Those were my first two Pitties, Sophie and Larry, enjoying a mind meld.

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