[Miabella]

Please take a look at my draft of the letter I intend to send to the DC Council. I have also been in touch with the AKC, and they are sending a packet on Dangerous Dog Legislation to help. I also brought this up at my club meeting last night, and I have some contacts and people are willing to help. I am also networking in my neighborhood. I would appreciate it if people in the DC Metro area who can write letters would contact me via PM.

Dear Council Member ____,

I am writing in response to the Washington Post article of March 3 entitled, “Bill to Curb Pit Bulls May Get a Hearing.” I am a homeowner in Ward 6, and I would like to register my objection to this proposal.

While I do not own a Pit Bull, I do own a Rottweiler, which was another breed targeted by Council Member Barry in the article. I am a responsible owner who enjoys training my dogs, and my current Rottweiler, Ilsa, holds two advanced obedience titles from the American Kennel Club (AKC), has been recognized as a Canine Good Citizen by the AKC, and has passed therapy dog certification from Therapy Dogs International. I have owned other Rottweilers in the past, and they have held similar qualifications. They have all been good neighbors and family members.

My point in listing my dogs’ accomplishments is not to brag. A bill like the proposal will serve only to punish responsible owners such as myself. Owners who are allowing their untrained, unsocialized dogs to roam without supervision attacking people will not be the ones affected by this bill. Those types of owners do not care for the individual animal or the welfare of their neighbors. If their banned dog is seized, they will simply acquire another one because they consider their animals to be disposable possessions. Even if this law was somehow able to eliminate all Pit Bulls and Rottweilers in the District, these people will move onto the next trendy dog to bolster their images. Fila Brasilieros, Presa Canarios, and Cane Corsos are all waiting in the wings to take the spot of Pit Bulls and Rottweilers with these characters. And if you ban those breeds as well, they will go to the Boerboel, Tosa Inu, or the Caucasian Ovcharka. Or perhaps they will go back to Dobermans and German Shepherds.

Banning breeds does not work because it does not target the problem: irresponsible owners. Any of the breeds I mentioned make wonderful, safe family members. And any breed of dog can bite and cause serious damage. The largest determining factor in the reliability and safeness of any individual dog of any given breed is the owner. Banning dogs by breed does not address irresponsible owners who will make unsafe dogs out of any breed. All it does is punish responsible owners who put time and effort into making their dogs into safe family members.

I would suggest that a better way to improve public safety would be to increase penalties and enforcement of current statutes. The laws already exist to curb this problem, the fines for non-compliance are simply not stiff enough.

DC should make use of the AKC Canine Good Citizen program as a standard for responsible ownership and dog behavior. The Canine Good Citizen certification requires dogs to pass all elements of a 10 part test of good manners at home and in the community. The test stresses training and responsible dog ownership. I am attaching information on the Canine Good Citizen program from the AKC.

If the Council still insists on targeting certain breeds of dogs, using the Canine Good Citizen program as an incentive for responsible ownership could be a way to identify the types of owners who are causing the problem. All dogs of targeted breeds could be required to have passed the Canine Good Citizen test by one year of age, or, in the case of adult rescue dogs, after a specified period of ownership. In the meantime, owners could send proof of attendance of obedience classes. Owners who are willing to put effort into training and socializing their dogs should be allowed to continue to own these breeds.

I do support dangerous dog legislation based on the actions of the owner and the behavior of the dog, regardless of breed. Please do not punish responsible owners and good dogs by painting us with the same broad brush as those who are causing problems. In order for a piece of legislation to be useful, it must be effective, enforceable, economical, and reasonably fair. I do not see how the proposed bill meets those criteria.


Sincerely,

Laurie Falter

I welcome your comments and edits!