The Failure of Banning Dog Breeds

Dogs left outside all day and night with no one to watch them are more likely to develop bad behaviors as well as become targets themselves. In a different home, the dog would probably be a great companion. But in the one the dog is in, the dog is now a risk. Would banning the breed work? No. Another dog will be brought in and the scenario play out again – regardless of the breed or cross.

What about animal control? According to the Animal Planet Network show Animal Precinct, New York City has about ten animal control officers to police about 5,000,000 pets. How can the officers keep up with this number? I lived in a community just north of Boston, MA that was one of the fastest growing communities in the region.

They had ONE part time animal control officer. Her vehicle was constantly breaking down. Several times I was called to make a run for her while her police-issue junker was being fixed. How could she police all the animals in her community? A community that size needs several full-time officers. But no one wanted to increase funding to do so let alone make the existing positing full time and provide the officer with reliable transportation!

What about laws? Laws need to cover any breed or cross of dog. Laws need to realize that even a small dog can cause a fatality in a small human. According to the Washington Animal Foundation in Seattle, WA, of the 24 dog bite fatalities in 2001, two were from Pomeranians, one from a Beagle and one from a Labrador Retriever; only one was from an American Pit Bull Terrier.

Maybe we should look at banning Pomeranians? They killed more people than the APBT that year! In other years, Dalmatians were reasonable for more dog bites. Why? Well it was in the year following the release of the live 101 Dalmatians.

Irresponsible breeding, owners giving into children's wails or falling for the hype of Hollywood and having to get that new fad. Dogs that need experienced owners and that have high energy drives were brought into homes far from prepared or able to properly own one of these lovely dogs. The results were tragic: sharp rise in bites, thousands of dogs being dumped when they hit a year and became unruly adolescents, etc. Laws to ban a specific breed will not work. Laws need to cover all breeds as any dog can bite and any dog can cause a fatality.

(Continued on next page)