Tag: pit bull

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.

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.

Pit Bull Rescued from Dogfighting Ring Becomes K-9 Officer

It’s very sad that the four-legged survivors of dogfighting operations used to be given an automatic death sentence. Fortunately, the Pit Bulls who survived one of the most notorious of these operations, Michael Vick’s Bad Newz Kennels, proved that these dogs could be rehabilitated and placed into loving forever homes.

Many of these “Vicktory Dogs” went on to become therapy dogs and loving pets —  even though former Humane Society of the United States CEO Wayne Pacelle, as well as PETA, wanted these dogs to be euthanized.

Fast forward 13 years, and some of the 31 dogs rescued from a dogfighting ring in Canada are also proving that these survivors can become heroes. In January, a survivor named Hansel became New Jersey’s first Pit Bull arson officer.

This month, another Pit Bull rescued from that same ring has become a K-9 deputy for the Craven County Sheriff’s Office in North Carolina.

K-9 Nibbles graduated from the Police Canine School on April 12, earning a certificate in narcotics detection and basic obedience. He will work alongside his partner, Deputy Willis McCaw, to “fight against drugs being trafficked and sold in Craven County,” according to a Facebook post by the Craven County Sheriff’s Office.

“This dog comes to us at no cost to the [Craven County] taxpayer and is going to help us immensely in our fight in curtailing the illicit flow of drugs that have been coming into our county on a daily basis,” Sheriff Chip Hughes said at a press conference.

Like Hansel, Nibbles was rescued by the Throw Away Dogs Project, a Pennsylvania-based nonprofit that trains rescued dogs to become K9 officers and service dogs.

According to news reports, Nibbles, Hansel and at least two other dogs rescued from the Canada dogfighting operation are now serving in law enforcement. Others have become certified service dogs.

You can make a donation to help the Throw Away Dog Project rescue more dogs via its website.

Photo: Craven County Sheriff’s Office/Facebook

The Pit Bull in ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’ Deserves an Oscar (But Shame on Tarantino)

If you’ve seen “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” I’m going to bet that, like me, one of your favorite characters was Brandy, the Pit Bull belonging to Cliff Booth, the character played by Brad Pitt.

Without giving anything away, Brandy is truly a hero in the movie. She is played by Sayuri, who was snubbed for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination — probably only because dogs don’t get Academy Awards. They do, however, qualify for the Palm Dog award at the Cannes Film Festival. Sayuri deservedly won that prestigious honor this year.

“I’ve told everybody, I have no idea if we’re going to win the Palme d’Or. I feel no entitlement,” said Quentin Tarantino, writer and director of “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” when he accepted the award on Sayuri’s behalf. “But I did feel that I was in good standing to win the Palm Dog. So I want to dedicate this to my wonderful actress Brandy. She has brought the Palm Dog home to America.”

As much as Sayuri deserves awards for her performance, Tarantino deserves no awards for casting this particular dog in his movie. Here’s why.

Instead of searching animal shelters and rescue organizations to find a Pit Bull perfect for the part of Brandy – and in the process probably finding that dog a forever home – Tarantino instead chose Sayuri from breeders Monique and Matt Klosowski of Wilmington, Del. Sayuri’s stunt double, Cerberus, was also obtained from these breeders.

According to USA TODAY, trainers flew to the Klosowskis’ home and offered them “thousands of dollars” for Sayuri and Cerberus. It’s heartbreaking to think about how all that money could have really helped an animal shelter or rescue instead. The trainers didn’t even have to leave Los Angeles — it’s a sad fact that the vast majority of dogs in all of the area’s shelters are Pit Bulls or mixes.

What’s also really disappointing is that Tarantino chose to cast a Pit Bull with cropped ears, like Sayuri’s. Okay, so mutilating the ears of Pit Bulls may have been commonplace back in 1969, but nowadays ear cropping is rightfully considered cruel and unnecessary. It is opposed by the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) and other veterinary organizations. Yet every Pit Bull on the About page of the Klosowskis’ Delaware Red Pitbulls website has cropped ears.

Even PETA — the only major U.S. animal organization that actually supports unfair and ineffective breed-specific legislation (BSL), including Pit Bull bans — has asked the USDA to investigate Delaware Red Pitbulls. PETA says the breeders are operating without a license, which is in violation of the federal Animal Welfare Act.

To his credit, there are some things in “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” that Tarantino does get right about Pit Bulls: specifically, just how compassionate and loyal these misunderstood dogs are. But it’s truly a shame that because of his unfortunate casting choice, unlike Brandy in his movie, no shelter dog had the opportunity to enjoy a fairy-tale ending.

Photo: YouTube

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