Rochester Hills, MI: Attack spurs call for pit bull ban

September 1, 2010 by stopbslcom Leave a Comment

Rochester Hills previously considered a ban or BSL after a similar incident (dog on dog attack), but ultimately decided against it. Continued highly publicized incidents and public pressure for a ban may cause them to rethink that decision, however.

Previous alert for Rochester Hills: http://stopbsl.com/?s=rochester+hills

Leanne Scott, City Council Coordinator
Clerk’s Office, City of Rochester Hills, 1000 Rochester Hills Drive, Rochester Hills, MI 48309
Phone: (248) 841-2460
Fax Number: 248-656-4744
citycouncil@rochesterhills.org

Greg Hooper, Council President, District 3
Voicemail: 248-841-2645
hooperg@rochesterhills.org

Vern Pixley, At Large
Voicemail: 248-841-2644
pixleyv@rochesterhills.org

James Rosen, At-Large
Voicemail: 248-841-2646
rosenj@rochesterhills.org

Michael Webber, At-Large
Voicemail: 248-841-2649
webberm@rochesterhills.org

Ravi Yalamanchi, District 1
Voicemail: 248-841-2643
yalamanchir@rochesterhills.org

J Martin Brennan, District 2
Voicemail: 248-841-2647
brennanm@rochesterhills.org

Nathan Klomp, District 4
Voicemail: 248-841-2648
klompn@rochesterhills.org

http://www.freep.com/article/20100901/NEWS05/9010368/Attack-spurs-call-for-pit-bull-ban

Attack spurs call for pit bull ban

BY TAMMY STABLES BATTAGLIA
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
Posted: Sept. 1, 2010

Larry Adams said he is glad the loose pit bull didn’t hurt his 16-year-old son during the attack as the boy walked the family’s 5-month-old Jack Russell terrier, Pebbles.

Adams said he expects to approach city officials about a ban in reaction to the attack at Culbertson and Auburn roads.

“I will do everything and anything in my power to get rid of every pit bull in the city of Rochester Hills,” Adams said Tuesday. “It’s ridiculous. There’s no place for those animals in this city. None.”

But Rochester Hills Mayor Bryan Barnett said Tuesday that the City Council considered a ban after an incident this year. But officials felt it would be too difficult to enforce by breed.

“Until I’m convinced we can enforce it effectively, I don’t think it makes sense to have it on the books,” he said.

Oakland County Animal Control cited the dog’s owner for harboring a dangerous animal and allowing a dog to run loose, Sgt. Jerry McNair said.

The misdemeanor charges are punishable by up to 90 days in jail and a $500 fine.

The dog is being held pending a court decision about its fate.

Contact TAMMY STABLES BATTAGLIA: tbattaglia@freepress.com

Filed under Michigan, Whispers of BSL Tagged with , , , , , , , , ,

Sterling Heights, MI: BSL under discussion

June 17, 2010 by stopbslcom 4 Comments

Notice the stereotyping by the resident asking for a “pit bull” ban. He says: “We have inner city people who bought homes here… They don’t need to bring their pit bulls here.”

City council meetings are held the first and third Tuesday of each month beginning at 7:30 p.m. in the City Hall Council Chambers (40555 Utica Road), Sterling Heights, Michigan.

Mayor and City Council
Mayor Richard Notte, rnotte@sterling-heights.net
Joseph Ramano, cityhall@sterling-heights.net
Yvonne Kniaz, ykniaz@sterling-heights.net
Deanna Koski, dkoski@sterling-heights.net
Maria Schmidt, mgschmidt@sterling-heights.net
Michael Taylor, mctaylor@sterling-heights.net
Barbara Ziarko, bziarko@sterling-heights.net

http://www.sourcenewspapers.com/articles/2010/06/17/news/doc4c1a21c421048364455745.txt

Sterling Heights officials to examine vicious dog laws

Published: Thursday, June 17, 2010
By LANA MINI

On one side of the city council chambers sat resident Jeff Norgrove, who demanded that every pit bull in the city be banned immediately.

One the other side of the room sat animal behaviorist Amanda Barber and her working dog Luna, a pit bull, who said she was willing to work with the city to devise tougher animal ordinances that aren’t breed specific.

“We need to immediately ban pit bulls and not include a grandfather clause for people who already own pit bulls,” Norgrove said. “We have inner city people who bought homes here … They don’t need to bring their pit bulls here. We need to do this before a child is killed.”

In response, Barber replied: “People with vicious dogs, these irresponsible owners should be prosecuted and those dogs should be euthanized. Absolutely. But not every pit bull is vicious. Cities are strengthening their vicious dogs laws without banning an entire breed.”

The council listened to both sides.

“We are looking at the trends to see if we need to make any changes,” City Manager Mark Vanderpool said. “We are looking at our ordinance now.”

After the meeting, Barber took Luna to the council members to let them meet at least one pit bull “face to face.”

The dog wagged its tail and showed off its tricks for the council members by lying down, giving kisses and rolling over for stomach rubs.

[Dog bite incident details elided per StopBSL site policy.]

The question about ordinances is whether Sterling Heights should ban an entire dog breed, enforce tougher leash and animal-at-large laws, enact mandatory muzzling, ban pit bull breeding in the city or require that owners of very protective dog breeds be required to take special courses to better handle and understand the breed.

“I’m not sure if breed-specific legislation is the answer. We have to examine the laws,” Police Lt. Luke Riley said.

Royal Oak struck down a pit bull ban. Grosse Pointe Woods adopted one.

The case of the four pit bulls that attacked Stempnik earlier this month goes to Sterling Heights 41-A District Court on June 28. Owner Justin Baker said he hopes to get his dogs back. He’s also been cited for harboring vicious dogs.

Stempnik said he has mixed feelings as to what should happen and said that because he’s a Warren resident, it’s a decision that should be left to Sterling Heights officials.

According to the Center for Disease Control, rottweilers, American pit bulls, German shepherds, chow-chows, huskies, Akitas, Dalmatians, Chihuahuas and Jack Russell Terriers statistically bite the most.

[StopBSL note: This is factually incorrect. The CDC has no such list.]

“Many dogs bite, but the problem with dogs like pit bulls is that when they bite, they are very efficient with it,” Riley said.

Filed under Michigan, Whispers of BSL Tagged with , , , , , , ,

Oak Harbor, WA repeals BSL

November 9, 2009 by stopbslcom Leave a Comment

If you would like to thank City Council members, you can email cwheeler@oakharbor.org

Previous alerts on Oak Harbor: http://stopbsl.com/?s=oak+harbor

Pit bulls freed from muzzles

By JENNY MANNING
Whidbey News Times Reporter
Nov 06 2009, 3:43 PM

Leeon and Lorriane Stecher can now walk their pit bull-chocolate lab mix, Angel, in Oak Harbor city limits without a muzzle as a result of the City Council’s decision Wednesday night to repeal a breed-specific ordinance that, some say, unfairly discriminated against pit bulls and their owners.

Oak Harbor’s breed-specific ordinance went into effect in 2006 and required pit bull owners who live within city limits to house the controversial canines in a secure pen and muzzle the animals while on leash, among other restrictions. Pit bull owners who didn’t follow the ordinance ran the risk of having their dog impounded or earning a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of up to $1,000, jail time up to 90 days, or both.

Now the animal control officer will rely on the “Dangerous Dog and Potentially Dangerous Dog” chapter of the animal control ordinance that deals with animals based on behavior, not breed.

Before the council made their final decision, Councilman Jim Campbell questioned whether the “Dangerous Dog and Potentially Dangerous Dog” chapter was enough to protect the citizens of Oak Harbor.

“We don’t need this because we have sufficient coverage in the one that we already have? Does it also have the hard rules for the owner that has a dog with biting habits?” he asked Police Chief Rick Wallace.

Wallace said yes, and proceeded to read from the “Dangerous Dog and Potentially Dangerous Dog” ordinance that requires the owner of these dogs to keep the animals in a proper enclosure, post a visible warning sign that a dangerous dog is in the area, purchase a surety bond of at least $250,000 or a liability insurance policy, have the animal microchipped and register the dog with the city.

Councilwoman Beth Munns made the motion to repeal the breed specific ordinance, and Campbell seconded her motion. The council unanimously voted to support Munns’ motion, 6-0. Councilman Danny Paggao was not at the meeting.

The changes will make life easier for the Stecher family and other pit bull owners who live in Oak Harbor because pit bulls will no longer be considered dangerous according to the city ordinance.

“It’ll be more convenient to take her on walks,” Lorriane Stecher said, adding that it’ll be nice to walk in town without worry of getting ticketed.

The couple used to drive Angel outside city limits for her walks so they wouldn’t have to put a muzzle on her. The muzzle restricted Angel’s ability to pant, so the couple preferred to walk her where she wasn’t required to wear one.

“The muzzle also scared people because they thought she was a dangerous dog,” she said.

City officials hope the change will also decrease the number of pit bulls surrendered to island animal shelters, and possibly increase their rate of adoption.

The changes will go into effect on Monday, Nov. 16, 2009.

Whidbey News Times Reporter Jenny Manning can be reached at jmanning@whidbeynewstimes.com.

Filed under BSL Repealed, Washington State Tagged with , , , , , ,

Oak Harbor, WA reminder: City council to discuss repeal of BSL, October 6

October 2, 2009 by stopbslcom Leave a Comment

Oak Harbor City Council will discuss possible repeal of their current BSL during their October 6th meeting.

The Oak Harbor City Council welcomes your attendance and participation at its meetings. The Council meets on the first and third Tuesday of each month, 7:00 p.m., in the City Council Chambers at 865 SE Barrington Drive. You may speak to the Council during the Public Comment portion at the beginning of each meeting and during any Public Hearings.

Send correspondence for city council’s consideration to:

Connie Wheeler, City Clerk, cwheeler@oakharbor.org
Oak Harbor City Council
c/o Connie Wheeler, City Clerk
City Hall, 865 SE Barrington Drive, Oak Harbor, WA 98277

Previous alert for Oak Harbor: http://stopbsl.com/2009/08/29/oak-harbor-wa-oak-harbor-targets-pit-bull-ordinance-for-extinction/

Filed under Proposal to Repeal, Washington State Tagged with , , , , , , ,

Oak Harbor, WA: Oak Harbor targets pit bull ordinance for extinction

August 29, 2009 by weigoba 5 Comments

Crossposted from BSLWorkshop

http://www.pnwlocalnews.com/whidbey/wnt/news/55887627.html

Oak Harbor targets pit bull ordinance for extinction

By JENNY MANNING

Whidbey News Times Reporter

Aug 28 2009, 2:48 PM · UPDATED

Oak Harbor officials will review the city’s breed-specific restrictions earlier than planned thanks to a little noise from Bob Baker and Barbara Moran, the couple who filed suit against Whidbey Animals’ Improvement Foundation late last year to save Smiley, a shelter dog, from euthanasia.

In an email sent to City Administrator Paul Schmidt earlier this month, the couple questioned the city’s breed-specific ordinance and its effect on pit bull adoptions.

“How many people in Oak Harbor will even try to adopt these dogs knowing they have to build them a cage and keep them muzzled?” they wrote.

Baker and Moran’s affection for pit bulls is well known after their fight to save Smiley, though he didn’t turn out to be a pit bull. Smiley made regional headlines after he was dognapped from the animal shelter, and later found on South Whidbey.

Oak Harbor’s breed-specific ordinance went into effect in 2006 and requires pit bull owners who live within city limits to house the controversial canines in a secure pen and muzzle the animals while on leash, among other restrictions.

Owners who don’t follow the ordinance will have their dog impounded and could get slapped with a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of up to $1,000, jail time up to 90 days, or both.

In addition to the requirements placed on dog owners, the ordinance also requires the animal control officer to be an expert on the animals, Police Chief Rick Wallace said at a public safety standing committee meeting Thursday.

“If there was action taken, he could end up on the stand,” Wallace said, referring to Animal Control Officer Terry Sampson. “It wouldn’t take much of a legal defense to challenge.”

“From an animal control officer’s point of view, this is a really difficult issue,” Wallace said.

The burden would be on the city to prove any delinquent dog’s breed, and that may mean Oak Harbor would have to foot the bill for a doggie DNA test.

From an enforcement point of view, it’s almost impossible, Wallace said, adding that from a practical point of view, there’s not that many bite complaints each year.

“I don’t want this to turn into an emotional thing,” Schmidt said after the meeting. “We’re looking at it strictly as a fact-based issue.”

And the fact is, breed determination can be a tricky and costly business.

“Our own insurance doesn’t recommend BSL,” Schmidt said, referring to breed-specific legislation. “We support the behavior-based approach.”

The public safety standing committee will likely forward a recommendation to the council to do away with Ordinance 1479, also known as the breed-specific ordinance.

Whidbey News Times Reporter Jenny Manning can be reached at jmanning@whidbeynewstimes.com.

Filed under Proposal to Repeal, Washington State Tagged with , , , ,