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Winnipeg “Pit Bull” Owner to Fight City’s “Pit Bull” Ban in Court; Winnipeg Bite Stats Increase Despite BSL
Steve Gagnon, owner of American Staffordshire Terrier, Odie, ran afoul of Winnipeg city officials when he moved to Winnipeg unaware his dog’s breed was banned. Now, faced with removing Odie from the city, Gagnon plans to fight Winnipeg’s “pit bull” ban in court. Gagnon maintains that, “It’s not the dog it’s his upbringing.…
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Ripon, WI: BSL Remains Unchanged for Now
As we posted back in June, the Ripon, Wisconsin Common Council has been mulling additions to their existing breed-specific legislation (BSL) and decided on Monday, July 22, 2013, to leave their existing breed-specific ordinance untouched . . . for now. However, Ald. Annette Klein encouraged the council to increase the insurance policy requirement from…
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New Trend? Greenville, Mississippi Sneaks BSL Past Constituents & Dog Lobby
In what one can hardly believe is an accident, the city of Greenville, Mississippi attempted what looks like an end-around of the dog lobby, and even their own constituents, when they added a request for a “pit bull” ban to their city council agenda at the last minute. After perusing the Mississippi Open Meetings…
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Webb City, Missouri to Consider Breed-Specific Ordinance Tonight!
Update: Given that Joplin, Missouri was devastated by a horrific tornado over the weekend and that Joplin neighbors Webb City, it is doubtful that Webb City will be having a council meeting tonight as scheduled. The breed-specific ordinance will, of course, still be under consideration so please keep vigilant. Our ongoing prayers go…
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Manton, Michigan to Consider Breed-Specific Ordinance for “Pit Bulls”
Editor’s note: If a resident’s dog was attacked by a “pit bull” (though “pit bull” is not a breed) then the issue is a free-roaming or uncontained dog problem, not a breed problem since the same scenario is possible with any breed of dog. Please contact the Manton City Commission here and politely inform…
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Xenia, Ohio to Consider Breed-Specific Ordinance Tonight!
Editor’s note: Once again a city points a finger at breed (though “pit bull” is not a breed) instead of identifying the real threat: free-roaming dogs. Please contact the Xenia City Council as soon as possible and politely inform them that breed-specific legislation (BSL) is ineffective, unenforceable, and unconstitutional. (For those writing letters, consider…
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Dispelling “Pit Bull” Urban Mythology
For about 30 years, myths about so-called “pit bulls” (though “pit bull” is not a breed) have been disseminated via hearsay, anecdote, and even the media. But these myths are just that: stories of invention. For instance, we have countless times read articles in the media wherein the author, a local, or even…
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Beatrice, Nebraska Considering Breed-Specific Ordinance for “Pit Bulls”
Editor’s note: A breed-specific ordinance, whether an outright ban or breed-specific restrictions like Beatrice is considering, is still ineffective, unenforceable, and unconstitutional. And while DNA tests (which are not at all as reliable as the public has been made to believe and certainly not enough to withstand a legal challenge) have been proposed as…
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HSUS Back-Pedaling on Fighting Dog Stance and the Widely Debunked Dogsbite.org for Some Reason Still Cited as a Media Source
Last Friday I stumbled across what I thought was going to be a promising article in The Seattle Times that began, “Pit bulls are the most abused, reviled, abandoned and euthanized dogs in the United States.” Anyone who has ever rehabilitated abused bulldog breeds knows first-hand the heartbreaking truth of the above statement. But…
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BSL Not Imminent in Elgin, Illinois, but a Criminal Probe of Councilman John Prigge Should Be
Elgin, Illinois, City Council members this week discussed what to do after an incident in which a 9-year-old boy was apparently pinched by one of two “pit bulls” a week ago today in Elgin’s Festival Park. I say “pinched” because that’s what the Chicago Tribune called it. Interesting that this incident went from…