Unleashed: A petition against breed specific legislation - A blog for animal lovers on pets, dogs, cats, shelters and animal rescue

Carey Hughes says the two years she spent taking care of a friend's pitbull mix are what's behind her petition drive against the breed specific legislation that has been proposed in Baltimore County.

"I was also leery of pitbulls thanks to all of the negative media attention they receive," said Hughes 31, who works as a billing manager for an outpatient surgery center, and runs her own hand-made jewelry business.

Then a close friend asked her to take care of her dog, a pitbull mix named "Balto."

"Balto taught me that 'pitbulls' are the most loyal dogs in the world. He taught me that they like to sleep under the covers and love to lay out in the sun. He taught me that they look forward to training sessions and would do back flips for you if they could just figure out how. Most importantly, he taught me that dogs WANT a pack leader and someone to answer to. They WANT to be good.

"Balto quickly became everyone's favorite dog," she added. "He left my house in May and
the neighborhood children still ask for him every time they see me. My mother, who was bitten by dogs as a child and never really liked dogs in general, was more upset than I was when he left. He loved to lick her face constantly. The more she laughed, the more he licked. She would laugh and say 'I can't believe I'm letting a pitbull lick my face!'"

Balto is living in North Carolina now, and Hughes has her own dog -- but it was her experience with Balto that led to her campaign, in which she trying to gathering as many signatures as she can by Thursday to present to the council.

"I took on this unfair legislation on Balto's behalf and on behalf of every other well-behaved, well-trained 'pitbull' in Baltimore County," she said.

To see the petition -- they are available and being collected at Dogma, the pet shop at 3600 Boston Street -- click below.

October 2, 2007

Dear Councilman_____________________,

RE: Regulation of Pitbulls and Dangerous and Menacing Animals

The enforcement of Bill no.70-07 relies solely on the opinions of many different Animal control Officers. This bill leaves the decision as to whether or not a dog is a “pitbull” or is a “pitbull” mix, up to many different Animal control Officers. In addition, these Animal Control Officer’s opinions may vary, depending on which officer happens to be called to a particular citizen’s case. There is no true evidence to base this bill on. The enforcement of the entire bill is based on opinion only.

If a Baltimore County resident is pulled over by a police officer for speeding, that officer has some sort of evidence to base his citation on. He was either tracking the car with radar or using some other method to judge it’s speed. More importantly, if that Baltimore County resident disagrees with the officer’s citation, that resident has a chance to prove his/her case in court. This bill allows for no such thing. It is saying that an Animal Control Officer, whose opinions may vary from other Animal Control Officer’s, has the last and final word as to whether a dog is deemed a “pitbull”.

In addition, there are no exceptions for service dogs who may need to use their mouths for their service work. How exactly is a dog going to pick an object off of the floor with a muzzle on it’s mouth? That is discrimination against the disabled. There are also no exceptions for therapy dogs or dogs that have passed the Canine Good Citizen test. Both of these tests require rigorous obedience training and careful handling by the dog’s owner.

Finally, the owners of “pitbulls” can be classified into two categories: irresponsible owners who do not train them, have no desire to control them, and breed them for money; and responsible owners that have rescued and rehabilitated the dogs that have been abandoned by irresponsible owners.

This bill does absolutely nothing to prosecute the irresponsible owners of “pitbulls” and does everything to punish those who train their dogs and already control them properly in public. Irresponsible owners completely ignore the laws already in place. Why are they going follow this particular law?

Please see the attached signatures of Baltimore County residents who are against Bill no. 70-07 titled “Regulation of Pitbulls and Dangerous and Menacing Animals”.

By signing below, I agree that Bill No. 70-07 unfairly discriminates against responsible dog owners as it is proposed. In addition, I do not agree with ANY legislation that singles out any particular dog breed. I do, however, support legislation against dangerous and menacing animals as long as it is NOT breed specific.