Here we go again. Someone trying to use an easy fix for a complex problem. How about thinking through the problem and enacting real, effective change such as prosecuting people who MAKE dogs afraid and therefore more likely to bite? What about going after people who let their dogs roam neighborhoods or abandon them to fend for themselves? In other words, try to actually solve a problem rather than participate in kneejerk reactions designed to make lawmakers look good and victims feel better?
I’m very sorry for anyone who suffers pain and disfigurement but if they really want to prevent it from happening to others and not just to make themselves feel better through getting revenge in some form, work on REAL solutions.
Thanks to PostBulletin.com for this article.
Lawmaker calls for ban on five breeds of dogs
6/16/2007 7:02:11 AM
By Brian BakstAssociated Press
ST. PAUL — A state lawmaker called on his colleagues Friday to make it illegal to own five breeds of dogs he deemed a threat to public safety.
Rep. John Lesch, DFL-St. Paul, said he plans to push next year for a state ban on Akitas, chow chows, Rottweilers, pit bulls and wolf hybrids or mixed-breed dogs with any of the above traits.
“You never hear stories about roving packs of golden retrievers attacking children in our streets,” Lesch said. “But you do hear about the pit bulls, who are responsible, according to Minnesota statistics, for up to one third of the vicious attacks in this state in the past five years.”
To drive home his point, Lesch appeared at a Capitol news conference with 5-year-old Brianna Senn, whose face carried wounds from a pit bull attack this month on St. Paul’s East Side. He mentioned other serious attacks in recent months and distributed a packet of news clippings about them.
The dog that attacked Brianna was previously declared “potentially dangerous” by city inspectors. Her mother, Kristina Eide, said it’s time to get tougher on such dogs.
“I would rather protect my daughter than protect an animal,” she said.
Violating the proposed law would be a misdemeanor, punishable by up to 90 days and jail and $1,000 fines.
Half a dozen members of a group that finds homes for neglected or abandoned Rottweilers, pit bulls and other nontraditional breeds criticized the proposal as too difficult to enforce and unfair to responsible dog owners.
“I don’t think mass exterminating five breeds of dogs is going to solve the problem of dog bites,” said Kellie Dillner, assistant education director with A Rotta Love Plus.
Dillner said better enforcement of existing dangerous dog laws would be more effective than enacting breed-specific bans.
