Some Final thoughts on Pitbull Ban

Lately, whenever I tell someone that I live in Lakewood, and that I volunteer for the Lakewood Animal Shelter, I usually get blasted about the ban on pit bulls. I have heard many thoughts, rants and commentary concerning the law, from people both for and against it. Rarely have I been asked to voice my own opinions. I’d like to take the opportunity to do so now.

When it comes to pit bulls, I sit on a very broad fence. My fence does not have just two sides – rather, it sits at the juncture of several fields of thought, and from my perch, I can see each field. Let me tell you about them.

My first, up-close experience with pit bulls came when I lived in a duplex in Cleveland. When my landlord introduced me to my new neighbor, I asked him how many would be moving into the unit upstairs. He replied just himself and his two pit bulls. “But don’t worry about them”, he said. They’re good dogs, usually quiet. They get along with ‘most everybody. They just don’t like kids and cats”. I felt a bit apprehensive as I looked around, and then at my landlord, and said “And what do I have the most of?????” I had two little children, I cared for two others during the day, and I had four cats. The landlord just shrugged. Before the new neighbor moved away, one of his pits bit my daughter, unprovoked, and the other killed one of my cats near our door into the house.

Same house, several months later, again the landlord is introducing me to a new neighbor. Again the neighbor has a pit bull, and the landlord doesn’t care. But this young man was the complete opposite of the first. He did not get the breed of dog to be macho, as did the first. He fell in love with a puppy, and shared his life with her. He took the time to do research so he could train her properly. When his dog needed medical attention, he provided it immediately. The puppy thrived! She was loved, and therefore, loving. The young man realized there could be aggression issues with his dog, so he went through special obedience courses with his puppy. She was licensed, vaccinated, but most of all, she was loved. I believe that had the young man been able to live in our house longer, my daughter might have overcome her fear of dogs earlier in her life.

Next field – I believe all creatures on this planet have a right to life, once given. “I love animals” sounds so trite, but I do. I will fight for their right to live, but then, on the far side of the same field, I will not try to make friends with a bear, nor can I seem to give up hamburgers. I love the millions of kittens we get in the Shelter each year, but will work to prevent the onslaught we get during “kitten season”. (get your pets spayed & neutered!!!) It is because I do love animals, including pit bulls, that I am up on my fence.

I see the problems that pit bulls, and breeds clumped with them, cause in my next field. Most of the problems stem from the owners of these animals. I have done research on the breeds considered to be pit bulls, especially the American Pit Bull Terrier. The history of these dogs is illustrious. Pit bulls have fought with our soldiers in wars, and helped American pioneers settle this country. Unfortunately, over the past decades, breeders have allowed or actually sought to breed in traits that can make these dogs aggressive, vicious and deadly. Although pit bulls can be loving and very loyal to their families, their tendency to be territorial can cause protective outbursts to anyone perceived as a threat. Granted, this can be said of any dog, but other traits bred into the Pit are the willingness to stand ground against pain and all odds, and the power and bite capacity to do so.

People who own pit bulls need to realize that they have more responsibilities, and then, be accountable for those responsibilities. Pit bull owners need more obedience training so they can control their animals. They have certain containment requirements to meet, and liability insurance to purchase. These are special dogs, and it takes firm, responsible and special people to handle them.

So, my final field of thought, and the field that I’ll hop down off my fence for: I live in Lakewood. All the figures and studies people have quoted to me from all over this country, Canada and England truly have no bearing for me here in Lakewood, Ohio. There is no way to look at an animal owner and tell if he or she is a responsible, loving and sensible owner. But the numbers tell all.

Ohio’s Revised Code, and therefore Cuyahoga County’s code, require ALL dog owners to register their animals by January 31 of each year, and make sure each dog is wearing the tag associated with the current year’s license. Lakewood includes the same requirement in our ordinances. ALL dogs must be registered, ALL dogs must have a license, ALL dogs must be wearing current tags. Yet, according to the county records of all registered dogs so far in 2008, the City of Lakewood has only 2604 dogs registered. Of those, only 5 were registered as pit bulls. Lakewood has a population of 52,000 people! With so many living in Lakewood, thinking that there are only 2604 dogs is a bit unbelievable. Which means that even some of our city’s responsible dog owners do not feel it necessary to obey the laws of the state, county and city wherein they live.

Consider this also – The American Kennel Association recognizes around 200 breeds of dogs. In 2007, Lakewood animal control officers responded to 444 complaints concerning dogs, and 49 concerning dog bites. What worries me is the high proportion of pit bulls involved in these incidents. Of the 444 complaints, 44 involved pit bulls, and of the 49 dog bite incidents, pit bulls were the biters in 5 cases. That evens out to 1/10th of all our dog woes being caused by pit bulls. Whether the cause is a dog’s uncertain temperament, or an irresponsible owner, it does not matter. Of 200 breeds, to have one breed causing a full tenth of our dog troubles is problematic.

We cannot ban people from living in Lakewood, nor would we want to. But we can’t tell who can handle a pit bull as a pet, either, until after a complaint has been filed. In the past eight years, when our officers have gone out to investigate complaints against pit bulls in Lakewood, NOT ONCE did they find the owner in compliance with the state, county, or city laws regarding pit bull ownership. NOT ONCE!!

Ignorance of the law is no excuse. Common sense dictates that if you are going to own a controversial animal, you should research laws pertaining to it, as well as what is needed to properly care for and control the animal.

The ban law is trying to make owners accountable. I do realize that there are many responsible dog owners in Lakewood, but because of the slackers, more protective laws must be put into place. Because we can’t tell what kind of owner a person is, and because some Lakewood citizens have been harmed already, people moving into Lakewood will have to move in without their pit bulls.

For Lakewood residents who already own pit bulls, you will have to be accountable now. You just will. You will have to register your pits with the City of Lakewood, and have them micro-chipped. And you will have to comply with the laws already in place by the State of Ohio, Cuyahoga County, and the city, mainly, the dogs cannot go out into the public off-leash, without a muzzle. On your own property, there must be a dog run with a fence at least six feet high, with a top. You must carry liability insurance to cover any damages incurred if your dog attacks someone. The shelter can instruct you completely. And, you cannot bring any more pit bull dogs into Lakewood.

Making the owners accountable should ease the situation at the Lakewood Animal Shelter. This new law will empower our animal control officers so they can solve problems more quickly and move on to other tasks. They won’t have to spend hours in court, over & over with the same owners, working through a long process, trying to get these owners to comply with existing laws. They won’t have to spend hours & hours before court tracking the dogs, tracking the owners, documenting complaints & medical costs. Hopefully this law will eliminate many unnecessary steps.

Lakewood’s Animal Control Officers are people who truly love animals too. I have seen one of them sitting in her chair, rocking a duckling, humming to it. I have seen another cry when one of our cats, the shelter mascot, was too sick and had to be put down. We all have many animals in our homes because certain ones touched our souls and we could not bear them going anywhere else, or, because no one else would adopt them, we could not bear the thought of having to put them down. I’m sure if we each had more room, and more time, we’d each have more pets than we do. This law will give our officers more time to care for the animals in the Shelter. More time to help educate people about their pets, and about the necessity of spaying & neutering them. And more time to help the stray animals on our city’s streets and save others from bad situations.

In the long run, I think this ban will work for the good of all the citizens of Lakewood, human and animal alike.

Donna Blakesmith

Shelter Volunteer