Independence, KY: Whispers of BSL

Nothing official has been proposed. It is not clear whether the council will decide to do something breed-specific. Of course, the problem seems to be a few loose dogs. Makes one wonder why a simple leash law cannot be enforced.

Next Independence city council meeting
October 5, 7 PM
Independence Municipal Center, 5409 Madison Pike

Independence, KY city council contact info: http://www.cityofindependence.org/government/council/default.asp

http://nky.cincinnati.com/article/AB/20090915/NEWS0103/909160359/Response+to+pit+bulls++Pistol++sticks

Response to pit bulls: Pistol, sticks

By Cindy Schroeder
cschroeder@nky.com
September 15, 2009

INDEPENDENCE – Independence officials are revising their vicious dog ordinance in response to complaints that Roselawn Drive residents are walking their neighborhood street with sticks and, in at least one case, a pistol, because of their fear of two pit bulls that sometimes run loose on the street.

Several Roselawn Drive residents told Independence City Council Monday that the pit bulls in question have repeatedly gotten loose and have threatened adults and children. In one case, they complained to authorities that a woman was cornered by a pit bull in her own driveway, and was afraid to move until the owner removed the animal.

Roselawn Drive resident Craig Burris, a police officer in another city, says he has carried his pistol when walking to his relatives’ home on the street. The father of three young children told council that owning a pit bull “is like having an alligator for a pet. You never know what they are going to do.”

Other residents told council that senior citizens who walk the street for exercise carry big sticks in case they encounter one of the pit bulls.

Under current Independence law, police “can’t take a lot of action until something bad happens,” said Independence Police Capt. Tony Lucas.

The city’s vicious animal ordinance says a dog must bite someone before it can be declared vicious. After the second bite, the owner can face a $10,000 fine and can be ordered to destroy the dog, but by then it may be too late, residents say.

“For a pit bull, the first bite is the bite that can maim or be deadly,” Roselawn Drive resident Kirk Huesman told council. He asked city officials to find a way to control vicious dogs before they maim or kill a child or senior citizen.

At the suggestion of Burris, Independence council is looking into adding a provision to the city’s vicious animal ordinance that lets authorities take action if a dog is found to have a vicious propensity as determined by animal control officers or police.

Council will discuss the proposed change at its Oct. 5 meeting and may call an emergency meeting later that week to give its final approval, Council members Mike Little, Donna Yeager and Carol Franzen said.

In Florence, an owner of a vicious animal cannot let the animal go beyond the owner’s premises without first putting on a secure muzzle and physical restraint. The owner also must display a warning sign on the property where the animal is kept and must provide proof of $25,000 public liability insurance to the city clerk, according to the city’s Web site.

In Newport, owners of pit bulls and other vicious dogs must have a $100,000 liability insurance policy on the dog as part of their renter’s or homeowners’ policy and a microchip implanted in the dog with the owner’s information, the Enquirer previously reported. The ordinance also applies to pit bull mixes and any dog that is deemed vicious through prior attacks.

The city of Covington has a similar policy, and at least seven Northern Kentucky cities – Southgate, Ludlow, Dayton, Walton, Erlanger, Elsmere and Fort Thomas – have bans on pit bulls, the Enquirer previously reported.

Two years ago, Independence City Council discussed banning pit bulls, but backed away from that after pit bull owners said it wouldn’t be fair to responsible pet owners. Some members also questioned the legality of an outright ban on a specific breed.

Franzen, who pushed for a ban on pit bulls two years ago, said most of the complaints the city gets about vicious dogs involve pit bulls. Unlike other dogs, she says pit bulls “won’t let go” when they bite someone, “and have great potential to kill a human being.”

“It just takes one time before somebody is hurt or killed,” Franzen said. “Then the outcry will be ‘Why didn’t the city do anything about this?’”