| Author | Message | ||
     Pkforbes87 |
This crap is so ignorant: Sec. 4-`Keeping pit bull dogs prohibited. (a) It shall be unlawful to keep, harbor, own or in any way possess within the corporate limits of the city any pit bull dog; provided, that pit bull dogs registered with the city within ten (10) days of June 3, 1991 may be kept within the city subject to the provisions of this section. (1) Pit bull dog defined. a. The bull terrier breed of dog. b. The Stafforshire Bull Terrier breed of dog. c. The American Pit Bull Terrier breed of dog. d. The American Stafforshire Terrier breed of dog. (2) Keeping registered pit bull dogs. The prohibition of subsection (a), section 4-47, shall not apply to pit bull dogs registered with the city within ten (10) days of June 3, 1991. The keeping of such dog shall be subject to the following standards: a. Leash and muzzle. No person shall permit a registered pit bull dog to go outside its kennel or pen unless such dog is securely leashed with a leash no longer than four (4) feet in length. No person shall permit a pit bull dog to be kept on a chain, rope or other type leash outside its kennel or pen, unless a person is in physical control of the leash. Such dogs may not be leashed to inanimate objects such as trees, posts, buildings, etc. In addition, all pit bull dogs on a leash outside the animal's kennel must be muzzled by a muzzling device sufficient to prevent such dog from biting persons or other animals. b. Confinement, generally. All registered pit bull dogs shall be securely confined indoors or in a securely enclosed and locked pen or kennel, except when leashed and muzzled as above provided. Such pen, kennel or structure must have secure sides and a secure top attached to the sides. All structures used to confine registered pit bull dogs must be locked with a key or combination lock when such animals are within the structure. Such structure must have a secure bottom of floor attached to the side of the pen or the sides of the pen must be imbedded in the ground no less than two (2) feet. All structures erected to house pit bull dogs must comply with all zoning and building regulations of the city. All such structures must be adequately lighted and ventilated and kept in a clean and sanitary condition. c. Confinement indoors. No pit bull dogs may be kept on a porch, patio or in any part of a house or structure that would allow the dog to exit such building on its own volition. In addition, no such animal may be kept in a house or structure when the windows are open or when screen windows or screen doors are the only obstacle preventing the dog from exiting the structure. d. Signs. All owners, keepers or harborers of registered pit bull dogs within the city shall, within ten (10) days of June 3, 1991, display in a prominent place on their premises a sign easily readable by the public using the words "beware of dog." In addition, a similar sign is required to be posted on the kennel or pen of such animal. e. Insurance. All owners, keepers or harborers of registered pit bull dogs must, within ten (10) days of June 3, 1991, provide proof to the city animal welfare manager of public liability insurance in a single incident amount of fifty thousand dollars ($50,000.00) for bodily injury to or death of any person or persons or for damage to property owned by any persons which may result from the ownership, keeping or maintenance of such animal. Such insurance policy shall provide that no cancellation of the policy will be made unless ten (10) days' written notice is first given to the city animal welfare manager. f. Identification photographs. All owners, keepers or harborers of registered pit bull dogs must, within ten (10) days of June 3, 1991, provide to the animal welfare manager two (2) color photographs of the registered animal clearly showing the color and approximate size of the animal. g. Reporting requirements. All owners, keepers or harborers of registered pit bull dogs must, within ten (10) days of the incident, report the following information in writing to the city animal welfare manager as required hereinafter: 1. The removal from the city or death of a registered pit bull dog. 2. The birth of offspring of a registered pit bull dog. 3. The new address of a registered pit bull dog owner should the owner move within the corporate city limits. h. Sale or transfer of ownership prohibited. No person shall sell, barter or in any other way dispose of a pit bull dog registered with the city to a person within the city unless the recipient person resides permanently in the same household and on the same premises as the registered owner of such dog; provided that the registered owner of a pit bull dog may sell or otherwise dispose of a registered dog or the offspring of such dog to persons who do not reside within the city. i. Animals born of registered dogs. All offspring born of pit bull dogs registered with the city must be removed from the city within six (6) weeks of the birth of such animal. j. Registration. All pit bull dogs shall be registered by the owner with the animal welfare department of the city within ten (10) days of June 3, 1991. No pit bull dog shall be registered by the animal welfare department if the requirements of subsections (a)(2)e. and (a)(2)f. of this section are not complied with at the time of application. In addition to the fees required by section 4-42 of this article, the additional fee of ten dollars ($10.00) shall be charged for each pit bull dog so registered. k. Irrebuttable presumptions. There shall be an irrebuttable presumption that any dog registered with the city as a pit bull dog or any of those breeds prohibited by this section is in fact a dog subject to the requirements of this section. l. Failure to comply. It shall be unlawful for the owner, keeper or harborer of a pit bull dog registered with the city to fail to comply with the requirements and conditions set forth in this section. Any dog found to be the subject of a violation of this section shall be subject to immediate seizure and impoundment. In addition, failure to comply will result in the revocation of the license of such animal resulting in the immediate removal of the animal from the city. (b) Any person violating or permitting the violation of any provision of this section shall upon conviction in municipal court be fined a sum not more than seven hundred fifty dollars ($750.00) and costs. In addition to the fine or deferral fee in lieu of a fine imposed, the court may sentence the defendant to imprisonment in the municipal jail for a period not to exceed sixty (60) days. In the event the violation shall involve a registered pit bull dog, the court shall order the registration of the subject pit bull dog revoked and the animal removed from the city. Should the defendant owner refuse to remove the animal from the city, the municipal court judge shall find the defendant owner in contempt and order the immediate confiscation and impoundment of the animal. If the owner shall continue to refuse to remove the animal from the city, the municipal court judge shall issue any other orders necessary to carry out the intent of this section. Each day that a violation of this section continues shall be deemed a separate offense. In addition to the foregoing penalties, any person who violates this section shall pay all expenses, including shelter, food, handling, veterinary care and testimony necessitated by the enforcement of this article. (Ord. No. 939, § 1, 6-3-91; Ord. No. 1142, § 1, 11-15-99; Ord. No. 1279, § 1(Exh. A), 6-6-05) Does anyone else deal with Breed Specific Legislation? I have two pit bulls. A 1yo, and 8 week old, and because of a change in job location just moved to an area outlawing specific breeds, regardless of whether or not the dog is violent. Are there any legal paths to take to fight this sort of thing? I'm thinking just keep them in the back yard, and refer to them as lab-boxer mixes.  | ||
| Damnut |
I've had 2 Pit Bulls in the past and as I tell everyone, these dogs have a bad rap and, I believe, it doesn't have to do with the breed as much as it has to do with the way the dog was raised. I loved both my Pits and will own another in the future. Best dogs I ever had. | ||
| Supafast |
When I worked at the shelter we could not adopt out ANY pit bulls. Didnt matter their age. We had to euthanize them. Even if they were a cute little 10 wk old! Pissed me off! We had to pass them off as a Boxer mix if we could just to get them out in the kennel for adoption. Now they have changed that rule and will "allow" people to adopt them IF they meet certain criteria AND they have to go through puppy training classes...... I LOVE bully breeds! Pretty much any book you read they say how wonderful they are as a family pet. Yes, if they do bite it does cause serious damage BUT its mostly the people that have them that give them a bad name. There are actually more dog bites/attacks from labs and cockers and such. My brother and my friend both had their face rearranged by labs...... Had to have plastic surgery and everything.... | ||
| P_squared |
I'd see if there's any legal links available from a Pit Bull friendly type organization. My aunt & uncle had a pit named "Fallout" since he fell out of the back of a truck while my uncle was on duty behind it. Best dang dog I ever met. It's amazing how many folks freak out over my boxer, thinking she's a pit bull. She might slobber you to death with love, but gentle as a lamb. Good luck on finding a way to keep your dogs. | ||
| Kilroy |
C'mon ya'll - you know the nanny state has to protect us from any and all dangers, both real and imagined...... | ||
| New12r |
Out of the 10 dogs that have bit me, only one was a Pit and he was **AGRESSIVE** on his chain, I knew it and approached anyway. Those laws suck, stupidity is killing our society. Good luck, I would just say they are mutts and tell everyone to kiss off. | ||
| Hooligan620 |
Outlawing Pit Bulls, outlawing any breed, is bad legislation. It seems to be a trend in this country we pass blanket rules that penalize everyone instead of holding individuals accountable. It's sloppy, it's unfair and flat out wrong. Some individual dogs are wired ugly, they are mean and nasty from the start, most dogs get ugly because the human responsible for them is also ugly. Once again we do not hold those people accountable for their dog's bad behavior, government punishes the dog. As evidence Pit Bulls are a solid breed, Washington State Patrol uses rescue Pits as bomb detection dogs. Do you think for a minute they want a dog with a bad disposition doing bomb work? Good behavior is one trait paramount in explosive detection work. Can you fight it? I don't know of anyone who has successfully changed breed specific laws. Given the current image of Pit Bulls you are not going to find many to take up your cause. Should you just keep your dogs in the back yard? You have to weigh the risk of keeping your dogs. Short of someone complaining I doubt the City has the resources to patrol every yard in search of illegal dogs. The bigger question, is living in your back yard in the best interest of the dogs? Not only in their day to day life, but in the event you get caught. Perhaps moving just outside the city or another nearby town is an option, you increase your drive time but reduce the stress about your beloved pets. | ||
| Not_purple_s2 |
My childhood dog was an American Pitbull. He was only "violent" to cats and armadillos. He was, however, protective of the family. The only time he was ever aggressive to a human was when a friend of my dad's entered the house (without knocking) while my mom was there alone and asleep. He didn't bite but he did have the guy backed out of the house and pinned up on the porch when my mom came out to see what all the growling/barking was about. But I understand the breed being "restricted" because too many people abuse them and raise them to be violent. They shouldn't allow just anyone to raise them. I personally wouldn't mind having to go through more steps (restricted breeding, registration, check-ups from animal control, ect.) in order to keep a bulldog, as long as I thought it would keep people from abusing them and further demonizing the breed. But all out bans on the breed are just wrong. | ||
| Bott |
http://www.understand-a-bull.com/ a lot of useful information here... | ||
| Bott |
 | ||
| Thumper74 |
Many of the people in my neighborhood think the boxer puppy is a pitbull. We had a few passerbys threaten to call the police because we have an illegal dog... All she'll do sit, beg for food or lick you. | ||
| Chellem |
See if your community would consider an exepmtion for a "good citizen" certified dog. If you can get certified that is. http://www.akc.org/events/cgc/ I don't know all the details, but from what I understand if the dog can pass some sort of "test" or go through certain training, he will be given a certification. Don't know how widespread the programs are, just remember reading about it in my HSUS newsletter.  ->ChelleM | ||
| Pkforbes87 |
Oklahoma State Law: B. Potentially dangerous or dangerous dogs may be regulated through local, municipal and county authorities, provided the regulations are not breed specific. Nothing in this act shall prohibit such local governments from enforcing penalties for violation of such local laws. So basically a city ordinance outlawing "pit bull dogs" is illegal, but I'm still up $hit creek because local government is allowed to penalize anyone for violating their illegal law. | ||
| Skinstains |
Are they white ? If so you're in luck as the AKC doesn't recognize white pit-bulls as being pit-bulls. To them it's something else and I can only assume they are "the" authority on dogs. Eff the govt. | ||
| Pkforbes87 |
Neither is white. 1yo male is black w/ white trim. 8 week female is red w/ white trim. Not worried about my male - after a year he's only 65 lbs and not aggressive looking at all. Could easily pass for the lab-boxer mix story I'll be using at the vet. As for the female, if she grows up looking anything like her sire then I'm in for around a 90 lb VERY aggressive looking dog. Chellem I love the idea of the AKC good citizen training. I'll be looking for a club in a nearby bully breed friendly city. | ||
| Damnut |
My male Pit topped out at 105lbs. Man.. people that didn't know him were scared shitless of that dog. Used to make me laugh cause he was the sweetest dog I ever had but one of the strongest dogs I have ever seen. Once folks knew my dog they absolutely loved him. 1/2 rednose 1/2 brindle American Stafordshire Terrier. Didn't have much time with my female Pit. Once me and my ex broke up, she took the female and I haven't seen her since. | ||
| Bott |
http://www.akc.org/events/cgc/cgc_schedule.cfm | ||
| Pkforbes87 |
Luckily mine are both APBT, which are generally smaller than the AST. A roommate at my last residence had a 2yo AST around 100 lbs, and I was very wary of that dog until I got to know it. Some of them look like killing machines but if people could learn to just show the animal (ALL animals) respect they might realize how ridiculous those fears are. Every "pit bull" attack I read about ALWAYS has 1 of 2 things in common. (other than the term pit bull apparently being used for any dog that attacks someone) There is ALWAYS either an owner that ignored his dogs, didn't feed them properly, contain them properly, or some other type of animal neglect. In some other cases the person who was attacked, or their legal guardians, were at fault. If someone torments my dogs or is trespassing onto my fenced property then they had better be ready to deal with a well-behaved territorial pit bull who is very protective of his owner. | ||
| Chellem |
If someone torments my dogs or is trespassing onto my fenced property then they had better be ready to deal with a well-behaved territorial pit bull who is very protective of his owner. As it should be! We were always a shepard family, and, well, we had a furniture deliveryman jump the fence one day. Once. He jumped back over pretty fast! The whole point of a dog, at least for us, beside companionship of course, is to protect me and my family. And anyone who steps into the dog's boundaries, on purpose or not, is going to get the ways of the world explained to them, in dog language. ->ChelleM | ||
| Sparky |
Agreed, prohibiting one type of dog due to public hysteria borders on outrageous. But incidents due to their owner's negligence or accidents related to their keeping control at all times unfortunately makes news, and trouble. A down side to owner's lack of control of their dogs, and not necessarily pit bulls, has become a reality on my street in my town. There has reportedly been a problem with loose dogs in the neighborhood threatening the mail carrier on several occasions. Yeah right. In the 35+ years at this same address, there have always been dogs in the neighborhood and we've always had mail. But as a result of one incident, the post office has suspended delivering mail on my street for the last 4 weeks! That's outrageous -- the whole block is being penalized for the uncaring, indifferent and irresponsible attitude of one or two dog owners! To make things worse, the post office won't deliver mail to my address unless I either install a mailbox out by the curb so they can drive up and deliver mail without getting out of the vehicle or I designate some other location for mail delivery, like a PO box, and if I don't, they will return mail to sender. That's crap. | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
Just LIE about what it is. People are stupid. Just tell them it's a terrier mix. What are they going to do? run a DNA test? Being a retired paperboy, I can tell you that the little •••••• dogs are the ones that bite you. | ||
| Pkforbes87 |
Forgot where I read it but per animal, daschunds and chihuahuas are the most violent breeds. Apparently I can't spell "dox-und" | ||
| Hooligan620 |
Don't laugh dog DNA tests are available and under 50 bucks. They'll just add the cost to your citation! We got a Ridgeback rescue pup and they ran a DNA test on her before we got her just to verify her breed. She and three siblings were born without the telltale ridge and were thrown in a dumpster. | ||
| Gschuette |
Man I love dogs. I hate government about as much as I love a good pooch. | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
OK the doggy DNA thing there just blew my little mind. | ||
| Babired |
Cindy, I'm rescuing a Pitbull today and I was thinking of taking him to the shelter, now I don't know what I'm going to do. He will be in my basement when I get home. The owner lets him run and doesn't take care of him and he is a beautiful dog, a big love bug. Then my neighbor across the street from me has lost his house, he is Rick the plumber. I am thinking about adding another dog to my house an 18 month old German Shepard, male. Give me some advise on what shelter to take the pit bull to. K | ||
| Bott |
 no violence here...they all get along great, just gotta be raised right. |
