Outcry Prompts Revisions To Proposed Pit Bull Law In Lakewood

LAKEWOOD, OH — A proposed ordinance governing the ownership of certain dog breeds has been a source of polarized invective for city officials. In the face of growing noise, Mayor Mike Summers has said he will reconsider and make concessions on parts of the replacement "pit bull" law.

"I am willing to concede significant regulations including the elimination of the 2008 pit bull ban as well as several of the components of revisions introduced on Jan. 2, including a muzzle requirement, the mandatory spay or neuter of all dog breeds, breed specific legislation aimed at other breeds and all requirements detailing how pit bull and pit bull mixes are kept on private residences," he said in a statement.

Summers said the proposed legislation would still directly address pit bulls and pit bull mixes. The legislation would still require:

• Mandatory $100,000 of liability insurance covering dog attacks
• Mandatory control of the dog in public as evidenced by a harness
• Required training of both basic dog ownership and handling as well as practical education of pit bull breeds

"While I have proposed this legislation and these changes its fate it ultimately in the hands of City Council. I hope to continue this discussion in a thoughtful manner, keeping public safety in mind as the heart and soul of what’s important," he said.

The original proposal would have been more stringent on how the dogs are kept and enclosed both at home and in public. The legislation also would have impacted more dog breeds, including: pit bulls, pit bull mixes, American Staffordshire terriers, Stafforshire bull terriers, American pit bull terriers, American bulldogs, canary mastiff dogs and Cane Corso dogs.

Summers cited support from PETA for the legislation. That group said the city should keep several tenets of the original proposal in the ordinance.

But the world of animal advocacy groups was not a united one. The Humane Society of Ohio didn't mince words, saying the proposed ordinance, as it was worded, would "fail."

"It is an ineffective animal management strategy that has failed everywhere it has been tried, and twenty-one states already prohibit Breed Specific Legislation (BSL)," said HSUS' Ohio Director Corey Roscoe. She went on to say that breed-specific bans only serve to create a false sense of security in a community, when the truth is dog appearance has little to do with creating a nuisance animal — that burden falls on negligent or cruel owners.

"The most effective animal management strategies center around basic laws applied consistently to all dog owners. These laws, such as proper restraint and confinement ordinances, create standardized rules, norms, and expectations in the community and create a safer environment," she said.

AP Photo/Amanda Lee Myers