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Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Pit Bulls In Cincinnati

Cecil Thomas' changes to Cincinnati's pit bull ban are back on council's agenda for Wednesday - some of them, at least.



Interim solicitor Pat King sent out a revision of the ordinance that sparked some controversy this week. Dated today, it changes the things that SPCA Cincinnati CEO Harold Dates found objectionable, namely that the ordinance proposed to order the private, non-profit agency to confiscate pit bulls. Dates said his agency would continue to transport pit bulls, but only when the city ordered them confiscated.



So the new version says a police officer can remove any dog that is not properly confined or any that has attacked and severely injured a human. It also says any owner found to have harbored a vicious dog or a pit bull can voluntarily surrender the dog - but to the city, not to the SPCA.



Some council members tried to send last week's version back to committee for more discussion. It went to the council floor without much debate from the law committee, which didn't have a quorum last week. They also questioned why it hadn't been discussed by the full Vicious Dog Task Force, which council set up last year to study possible changes. Thomas said he'd whittled that task force because he wanted its work to be more community-driven.



The effort to send the issue back to committee failed, but Mayor Mark Mallory decided to hold the item a week to give everyone a chance to figure something out.


17 Comments:

at 10:55 PM, May 13, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

More goofy Council actions. Will this comedy ever end. I guess that the trash can bug-a-boo is now solved and life is good.

PS: voters please be smarter in the Council elections in '09.

 
at 8:22 AM, May 14, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

I think Chris Bortz should live on my street for about a week so he can see for himself just what a pain in the arse these dogs are. I see them up and down Montana Ave. almost every day. I wish I could afford Mount Adams like him. I bet you don't see many pit bulls there.

 
at 8:57 AM, May 14, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

What is this 1998? It must be pretty easy reporting on Council's "Flavor of the Month" approach to City affairs. between the endless debates on streetcars and over flooding trash cans, our leaders always get back to the Pitt Bulls. I'm sure Jane has a whole file of Pitt Bull articles to pull from. Around and around it goes in Good Ole Porkopolis.

 
at 9:21 AM, May 14, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Breed specific legislation is moronic; because it does nothing about non-pit bulls that are vicious; and it penalizes responsible owners who have well mannered, well behaved pit bulls.

 
at 9:49 AM, May 14, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

It's sad that it becomes a "pit bull" issue. I know quite a few people with pit bulls. My biggest problem with them is when I go over to their houses and sit down, they jump up on your lap and want to be petted, then they want to lick your face.
Stupid mean dogs!

Now my neighbor, she had a little terrier, man that dog was a menace!

 
at 12:12 PM, May 14, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Get ready for another petition drive!

http://wedemandavote.com/

 
at 3:10 PM, May 14, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Again, it should not be about a specific dog breed. An ordinance should be passed concerning any VICIOUS DOG such as those at 3450 Corrine Avenue in Westwood written about this week in the other blog areas about the SPCA failing to assist, etc. I feel badly for the family of the pet beagle GEORGE who was repeatedly bit by Mr. Carlson's dog in their own backyard. Do not know any of these families, but I am praying for the family of the next-door neighbor whose dog was bitten. The 3450 Corrine Avenue's VICIOUS DOGS should be locked away permanently along with the owner himself. Obviously, it is not the dog's fault for it is the owner who allowed his dog(s) to become mean. HELP THIS NEIGHBORHOOD in Westwood!

Is Cincinnati City Council really listen to these concerned taxpayers who are asking for HELP prior to someone else getting bit or another animal?

 
at 4:06 PM, May 14, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

I pass through Madisonville from time to time and there are people walking pit bulls along Bramble Avenue all the time. Seems like the black community has a thing for pit bulls.

 
at 5:04 AM, May 15, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Well if the black community has a thing for pit bulls then we should definitely ban them. I heard black people like Kool Aid too. Let's ban that as well. And what can we do about that crazy rap music?

 
at 3:05 PM, May 15, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Black ghetto culture and the crime that goes with it is one of the reasons that people of all races are leaving the cities for the suburbs.

No one, black or white, wants to live around pit bulls, loud thumping music from cars, 20 kids wearing white T-shirts blocking the sidewalk, gunshots at all hours of the night, drug dealers and prostitutes on the corner, yellow crime scene tape strung up around the neighborhood, etc etc.

 
at 5:30 PM, May 15, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Please say No to Canine Profiling!

Just as it is wrong to judge humans by nationality, race, religion and gender, it is wrong to judge dogs by their breed. A dog or human is not dangerous based on their appearance or genetics.

Why would you consider punishing responsible pet owners by the acts of the irresponsible? Shouldn’t dogs be considered innocent until proven guilty? Why should these wonderful “family members” be pulled from their homes and possibly put to death?

 
at 5:37 PM, May 15, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

So here are the potential legal issues that I see that could open the city up to some nasty lawsuits. And who pays for that -- us taxpayers.

1. With so many mixed breeds, dogs could be easily misidentified. What happens if a dog is seized and euthanized, it turns out that it was not a pit-bull - a responsible pet owner may sue
2. What happens if a responsible pet owner has a dog and that dog protects the home by barking and scaring off intruders - dog is seized and the house is broken into in the near future - property is stolen, occupants are hurt or killed
3. A woman exercises daily with her dog; she walks at night and various times and is not bothered. Her dog is seized. She is forced to walk alone and is attacked.
4. The "new dog police" task force randomly stops people that are walking what they think are pit bulls. If it turns out the majority of those people are young black males are they profiling? -- discrimination suits are filed.

Another black eye for Cincinnati!

So what is this really about? Is it really about the so called vicious dogs or neighborhoods sick of drug dealers and trying to find another way to catch them?

I think this whole issue needs a lot of thought!

 
at 8:10 PM, May 15, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Banning pit bulls hasn't worked. As has been noted, pit bulls walk the streets in many neighborhoods. Adding police to identify these dogs won't help as they are frequently misidentified. It is not the breed, it is the owners. Let the police concentrate on enforcing current laws. Let the SPCA be funded so they can respond and deal with any dog that is a problem. This identifying only gives the police another fine excuse to harass.

 
at 11:00 AM, May 16, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

This isn't about the dogs. It's about using a tool to stop the people walking the dogs (mostly young black males? - is this another form of discrimation?) and search them for reasons other than walking a dog. Experts such as Ceser Millan the Dog Whisper, Veternarians and Professional Dog owners will attest these dogs are not born mean or vicious.
Save the dogs from the humans not the other way around!

 
at 8:48 PM, May 16, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Why do blacks love pit bulls so much? Michael Vick-style dog fighting? Low-cost drug dealer protection?

 
at 12:21 AM, May 20, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

The dog whisperer is a stone freak. Don't you notice that when you watch that show? What is your reality, and why would you use that person as an authority on anything?

 
at 1:06 AM, May 21, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

I have lived in Northern Ky. for 5 years now.

I sold my house to get out of the ghetto.

April 2002, three neighborhood crackheads tried to break into my home while I was inside. Apparently they thought I was working that day and that my dog would be crated. My dog ran to the window barking and scared them off.

(This prevented me from having to shoot the intruders! They ran to a dark colored car parked outside and were later identified by a neighbor.)

The police response in some Cinti. neighborhoods is slow.

My "illegal pit bull" may have saved my life!

Maybe Cecil should look into getting the unlicensed guns off the street.

 
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