Another Town Passes Vicious Dog Ordinance

Apparently my county has a vicious dog law, too, though it's not set against certain breeds (yet). According to the county stats, once a dog is declared vicious, the rules go into effect (even killing a chicken off property means that dog will be considered vicious). Locked behind a gate/fence, muzzle in public, signs up warning people of a vicious dog residing at the house.
 
As I was about to say, most people opt to put them down rather than comply with the vicious dog rules. Sad.

I'm ok with a viscious dog law, it makes sense, but signaling out specific breeds is where I have a problem.  If your dog has bitten people and been reported so many times, then yes, your dog should be muzzled in public.  It's a safety measure kind of thing.

Its not dangerous dogs its bad ownership and bad breeders who are responsible for causing all these rules that are popping up everywhere.
 
It causes people who own a good example of the breed alot of heartache and trouble!!!!!  

Its too bad that they aren't allowing dogs to be exempt if they have passed the canine good citizen test. Or allowing thier dog to be evaluated by a professional and if they pass the tempermant test they get a special tag that allows them to remain unmuzzled. Rotties are some of the sweetest dogs at the dog park. Scout was wrestling up a storm with one last weekend at the dogpark and the funny rottie wrestled, but wouldn't let the ball out of her mouth the whole time. It was so cute!  Makes me said to think that she, sweet thing that she is would need to be muzzled and not allowed to chase balls in the park ;o(

Scoobychick,
What you have stated above is BREED SPECIFIC LEGISLATION, not a dangerous dog law. A dangerous dog law would cover all breeds and should be requested if the town is trying to impose a BSL against certain breeds. 
Can you direct me to information on this Breed Specifc Legislation you are quoting above? I work very hard with many people accross the Country to defeat BSL and if this is new, we'd like to be able to defeat this and get the wording changed to be "Dangerous dog law"
 
 I have done some searching and the only thing I can find is in Louisville.

I've just searched through the City of Mayfields meeting minutes. The only mention of a "talk" about dog law changes was on May 3, 2004. I've e-mailed the City Clerk asking for more information regarding this as it wasn't in any of the City's minutes of it changing so it may still be on the table and not approved yet, in which case it can be changed to a "Vicious Dog Law" and not end up being breed specific IF the dog owners will fight to make it that way. Once/if I hear back from the clerk regarding this I will know better of what direction to go in contacting my organizations I'm involved in to help.
 
Will keep you posted

"but in general (pit bulls) are extremely dangerous animals"

WHAT??? Where have you been?  A well bred Pittie is one of the best animals for families around. I have one at our shelter right now who loves dogs, cats, men, women, kids, EVERYONE and he is an INTACT fourteen month old boy.

MOST Pitties are wonderful.  Unfortunately, the media has blown this all out of proportion and you only hear about the few that ARE a problem.

Be very, very careful with generalizations; they will come back to haunt you.

I absolutley agree with Lorib, generalizations made about specific breeds are just pure ignorance.

There are examples of "so called dangerous breeds" that put the steriotypical friendly family pet to shame!!!!

A steriotyped dangerous breed over here in the UK is English Bull Terrier, I know examples of the breed that are far more friendly towards men, women, children and dogs than labs which are the No1 fave dog in the UK. As mentioned before by Lorib Media have published stories etc.

Not saying that Labs are dangerous, but it just goes to prove what I said before it comes down to bad breeders and the pet owners!!!

A good owner can take a Pit Bull and it can become an excellent well behaved animal not in the slightest bit dangerous.

DONT STERIOTYPE ITS BAD FOR THE BREED AND THE OWNERS!

Sorry rant over, I have just been getting a few comments latley over my Chow apparently he is classed as dangerous in some peoples eyes (even though he is only 3 months) You know how it is though someones grannys nextdoor neighbour owned one and it was a menace to society so all Chows must be!!!! Makes me soooo mad.        

The text that was written about Pit Bulls was from the Mayors standpoint not the posters
 
I have received a reply back fro the Clerk today and he has now received my response. The city already has a good dog law that it seems they probably are not enforcing nad have just added Pit Bull and Rottwieler as Vicious dogs needing to be put under more force.
 I don't think a liability insurance is too much to ask, I have 100,00 now on my coverage and I've (knock on wood) never had a dog bite as long as we've owned Am Staffs. Stricter enforcement is always key but towards all breeds as I explained in my response since any dog can be made a dangerous dog by lack of socialization, training and care.
 I'll keep you all posted as to what comes about but yes, it did go into effect as of the last meeting. I will be submitting this to ADOA as well as the STCA legislative committee and the AKC.
 
Scoobychick,
 Thanks for bringing this to our attention here and I will see what progress we can make. It is always easier to fight this type of thing when you know it is still in the "talking" stages instead of trying to get it reversed, so if the surrounding areas start to impliment it please get in touch with me as soon as you hear it 

Scoobychick, sorry--I thought (because of the lack of quotation marks) that YOU had said they were dangerous! Let's hope everyone sees how wonderful ANY dog can be with the right owner.

Actually, because a chow is one of the primitive breeds, in the hands of the wrong person they are likely to be a bit more dangerous.  So that little misconception is at least based in a tiny bit of reality.

What I don#%92t understand is why blame the breeds just cause of a couple bad apples.    

because in general there are certain breeds that attack and seriously harm or kill small children and other humans frequently.  it makes me sick whenever i see yet another story about someone who got mauled by a dog.  and it is usually a rot or pit bull doing the mauling.  i agree with trying to pass laws like this and i hope more states do so.  actually, i think all dangerous breeds should be banned completely.

Jaye, BREEDS aren't dangerous; specific dogs within EACH breed are. How do I know this?  I have been around more dogs than you may ever see.  Whenever I attend a show, I am among hundreds of dogs.  I volunteer at our local shelter and see many, many dogs there as well.  I have been working with dogs sliterally since the day I was born.

The nastiest dog we have had at our shelter was a Lab mix. Are all Labs dangerous?  Of course not. However, some are.  Should we ban all Labs because we have had a handful at the shelter that are dog aggressive or may very well bite?

Bad dogs aren't the problem.  Irresponsible owners are the problem.  My dog is one of the breeds (American Staffordshire terrier) that you want banned.  She received her Canine Good Citizen certificate at eleven months. She goes to schools with me to give dog safety presentations. She  has been around well over a thousand children in her lifetime and helped shape their opinions about what a dangerous dog is. She has potentially kept ALL of these kids from being bitten by teaching them to be safe around all dogs.

Gypsy isn't dog aggressive.  She plays gently with puppies and small dogs and is rough and tumble with larger dogs. She plays with our cats and carefully licks our Guinea Pigs like they are puppies. She ignores dogs that are agggressive, especially little ones who are poorly socialized and snotty with other dogs.

I have to wonder what breed you own that you can sneer at my chosen breed.  This is a breed I will own until I am old and feeble.  I am a very law-abiding person, but I will go to jail over my right to own my chosen breed. NO ONE is going to tell me I can not own this incredible terrier. Breed Specfic Legislationhas been declared unconstitutional in more than one case.  Therefore, I can and WILL own a wonderful example of a loyal and loving breed.