From TheCitizenOnline.com:
…At the village council meeting July 27, several residents spoke out regarding pit bulls running loose in the village and menacing them, their children, and their pets.
“I can’t spend time outside,” said one man, who added that he has been chased and has spent a lot of time at the mall with his children this summer rather than risk the dogs coming around his home when he is outdoors at home with his children. “I’ve tried to call the police and animal control doesn’t get there for hours. They tell me to shoot the dogs. I don’t think that’s right.”
Another man who wished to remain anonymous called the dogs “oppressive and out of control,” and a woman said she was inside her home last winter when a loose pit bull was at the sliding glass door on her deck, barking loud enough to wake her children.
“We need to address this immediately,” said Councilmember Kay Green, who, along with Councilmembers Aileen Champion and Melanie Nivelt, has formed a committee to look at other area ordinances in regards to dogs, animal laws and regulations. They hope to have some proposals to bring to the rest of the council at their next meeting, 7 p.m., Aug. 10 at the township offices, 395 Mill St…
Read this article in its entirety here.
Clearly Ortonville has a free-roaming dog problem, not a “pit bull” problem. And if Ortonville is like every other city in the nation right now they probably can’t afford adequate animal control due to the economic downturn. So, if Animal Control can’t enforce a leash/containment law, how will they enforce a breed ban or breed-specific restrictions?
Please contact the Ortonville Village Council here and politely ask them to consider a leash/containment law, or better efforts to enforce the one they already have.
4 responses to “Ortonville, Michigan to Consider “Pit Bull” Ban”
I find it interesting that the government is so interested in protecting people from Pit Bulls but only mildly interested in protecting Pit Bulls from people. I just adopted a wonderful Pit Bull from my local animal control (I live in Michigan just south of Lansing). He was seized from an owner who was caught by officers beating him with a baseball bat. He has broken teeth from the beating and scars all over his back form who knows what and an injury to his back right leg that caused some permanent damage. Even after all he has been through, the dog does not have a mean bone in his body. He is good with cats, dogs, and people of every shape and size. I can do anything to him and he would never dream of growling, let alone biting. His owner is being charged with animal cruelty but probably will only end up paying a fine. Sitting here with this wonderful dog curled up beside me I find myself asking; Who is it that really needs protecting?
Please help they are trying to banned pit bulls in genessee county.
I absolutely understand the free-roaming dog problem and I’m all for a leash/containment law but to single out a breed isn’t. Dogs are animals and regardless of breed that makes them unpredictable. I know my dogs, I know my dogs really really well. They would never act aggressively. Having said that if they were to be put in a situation where they felt threatened I don’t know what their decision would be. They are animals and they think instinctively. As a dog owner it is important to understand this and know that it is your responsibility to keep your dog out of these situations. This is true for any pet, big or small, regardless of breed. Sgt. Burkett’s comments were on point. If you’re going to punish someone, don’t punish the responsible owners.
I live in Ortonville. I haven’t had that big of a problem. A couple times our dogs got out, but they usually stay away from people. We have a woods behind our house, and many other woods near us. Most of the time they smell like dead animal or skunk, so I think they go to the state land. Our only dog that actually annoys people is a pomeranian who’s almost 11, so he’s not much of a danger. We have a fence, but if we’re mowing or moving something a gate occasionally gets left open. We’ve had a dog that comes to our house sometimes. He’s a Saint Bernard I think. All he does is sit in our front yard drooling at our girl dog when she’s in heat. There were some possibly Wrotweiler mixes that ran through our front yard one summer. And one time our use to be neighbor’s [they moved] dog got in our yard. Through all of this nothing bad has happened past some growling when our neighbors dog was on our porch. I don’t think people should blame pit bulls. I have a pit bull mix and she’s one of the sweetest dogs ever. The most she’d do is lick your arm for an hour. That might be annoying but not dangerous.