Legislature Weighs Breed-Specific Dog Ordinance Ban: Michigan Patch Poll

Should your dog be held responsible for the behavior of another dog of the same breed? No, according to backers of proposed legislation moving through the Michigan House of Representatives.

At least 27 Michigan communities regulate ownership of certain dogs, most often pit bulls, in ordinances intended to prevent maulings and dogs bites, but such codes would be illegal under Senate Bill 239, which passed the Senate last fall and is now under consideration in the House of Representatives.

The communities with breed-specific language include Waterford Township in Oakland County, where where a longstanding ordinance landed local musician Dan Tillery and his smiling rescue dog, Diggy, in hot water.

Testifying last week before the House Local Government Committee, Sen. David B. Robertson, R-Grand Blanc, the bill’s sponsor, said breed-specific legislation “misses the mark,” the Detroit Free Press reported.

“Outright banning of a domesticated breed is wrong because it’s not central to the point that the owner is squarely responsible for the behavior of their dog,” he said.

The committee didn’t vote on the bill, which passed the Senate on a 25-11 vote last October, but the committee is expected to vote yet this fall, the Free Press reported.

Besides Waterford Township, other southeast Michigan communities with breed-specific legislation include Center Line, Dearborn Heights, Ecorse, Grosse Pointe Woods, Highland Park, Melvindale ,Southgate and Sylvan Lake, according to DogsBite.org.

The legislation under consideration is similar to laws in place in 20 states that has been endorsed by several dog rescue groups, including the Michigan Humane Society and Best Friends’ Animal Society.

Both groups agree with Barton and said breed-specific ordinances don’t protect the public.

Richard Angelo, of the Best Friends’ Animal Society, told the Free Press that breed-specific laws “infringe on responsible pet owner property rights” and that “the best ordinances always focus on individual dogs and reckless owners.”

“Breed-specific legislation gives people a false sense of security,” Ann Griffin, of the Michigan Humane Society, told the Free Press. “A dog’s appearance is not a predictor of its behavior.”

Waterford resident Vaughn Wagner, who said an attack on his neighbors by two pit bulls three decades ago precipitated the community’s ban on pit bulls, said that if Michigan outlaws breed-specific ordinance, residents lose a layer of “prevention and protection.”

“It’s not about dogs that bite, it’s about dogs that kill,” he told the Free Press “Pit bulls have led the list for the last 30 years, they keep on killing, just look at Detroit, but not in Waterford.”

See Also

• ‘They Got My Baby’: Pit Bulls Maul Boy, 4, to Death
• Dog Owner Guilty in Horrific Fatal Dog Mauling of Boy, 4

One of the most horrific dog maulings in Michigan in recent years occurred with the fatal mauling of 4-year-old Xavier Strickland by a pack of dogs last December as his mother walked him to school in Detroit. All four the dogs involved in the attack were pit bulls.

The dogs ripped little Xavier from his mother’s grasp as she walked him to his Detroit elementary school on Dec. 2, pulled him under a fence and attacked him for nine minutes, inflicting 90 puncture wounds.

Their owner was found guilty of manslaughter and possessing dangerous animals in June.

After the kerfuffle over Diggy, Waterford Township officials approved an appeal process that would leave it to a township approved veterinarian to use American Kennel Club and United Kennel Club standards to determine if a dog is a pit bull, banned under the code, or a pit bull terrier, which is allowed, the Detroit Free Press reported last month. The decision would stand unless it was contested by another vet.

See Also

• Smiles of Michigan Man, Rescue Dog Blind the Internet
• Smiling Dog’s Owner Gets Dangerous Dog Ticket

Whether the ordinance change will help singer-songwriter Dan Tillery and his dog, Diggy, who was deemed a pit bull, is yet to be seen. The court case is still pending.

Terry Hodskins, founder of the Michigan Pit Bull Education Project, told the Free Press that it’s unfair to rip a dog from its family based on its breed, rather than its behavior.

“I’ve seen families torn apart by breed-specific legislation. I was forced to move my rescue ranch because we weren’t willing to give up family members based on their looks,” she told the Free Press. “I’ve watched grown men cry when they were told they couldn’t keep their family member.”

Photo by maplegirlie via Flickr Commons