Apr 13, 2006 11:54 am US/Central
Owners' Bark May Take Bite Out Of Pit Bull Ban
Owners Claim Dogs Have Been Unfairly Demonized
ELGIN, Ill. (STNG) ―
After dozens of pit bull owners packed the city council chambers Wednesday to register opposition to banning the breed, the likelihood of a ban seemed to diminish, as Councilman Robert Gilliam, who first brought up the possibility three weeks ago, said he was reconsidering.
One after another, the breed's defenders took to the podium to praise pit bulls as sweet-tempered, loving pets, and to argue that the responsibility for violent pit bulls rests with owners, not the dogs. Many said pit bulls have been unfairly demonized by the media, cited figures showing that other breeds bite more people annually, and suggested that increasing penalties for irresponsible dog owners would be more effective than a ban.
No one spoke in favor of a ban.
Council members have been inundated by e-mails from opponents of a ban since they first discussed the issue.
After a half-hour of testimony from ban critics that was frequently punctuated by loud applause, Gilliam told audience members that they had "made some good points," particularly regarding the responsibility of owners. After the meeting, he said he was "rethinking" a ban, and would be talking to city staff about other possibilities.
A number of those on hand were members of the Elk Grove Village-based Almost Home Foundation, an animal rescue group. Linda Wyka, president of the foundation and the owner of two pit bulls, said that while "everybody makes them out to be a bad dog, a mean dog," pit bulls are "really a family-oriented dog."
Rick Pryor, a firefighter/EMT, said he doesn't hesitate to leave his pit bulls with his two children ages 6 and 8, calling them "the sweetest dogs I've ever owned."
While pit bull lovers argue the breed is not inherently more likely to bite people than many other dogs, some have found that argument beside the point. After Denver banned the breed in 1989, state legislators prohibited breed-specific bans in 2004. But a judge struck down the law, affirming an earlier court's finding that there was a rational basis for the ban.
"It cannot be proven that pit bull dogs bite more than other dogs," the judge wrote, according to an account of the ban's history on the city of Denver's Web site. "However, there is credible evidence that pit bull dog attacks are more severe and more likely to result in fatalities."
(Source: Sun-Times News Group Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2006. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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