smith family kennels
06-08-2009, 11:09 PM
Mobridge, SD: Council passes dog ordinance onto the PAB
Posted on June 3, 2009 by stopbslcom
The Police Advisory Board will come up with a recommendation for the city council. BSL is under consideration. Please send polite, informative, and respectful correspondence to:
Chief Mike Nehls
110 1st Avenue E., Mobridge, SD 57601-2692
mike.nehls@mobridgepolice.org
Previous alert: http://stopbsl.com/2009/05/29/mobridge-sd-whispers-of-bsl/
http://www.mobridgetribune.com/articles/2009/06/03/local_news/news01.txt
Council passes dog ordinance onto the PAB
By Katie Zerr
Wednesday, June 3, 2009 4:35 PM CDT
A discussion on changing and enforcing dog ordinances brought the owner of three pit bulls to the Monday, June 1, City Council meeting.
Saying he is deeply concerned about the discussion of banning certain breeds of dogs, including pit bulls from the community, Jason Collins told the City Council that pit bulls are getting bad press and are misunderstood.
Collins told the group he has lived in Mobridge the past six years and had owned at least 12 pit bulls or pit bull mixes in his life. He handed a pit bull education packet to the council members and told them the breed was getting the worst publicity since the rottweiler.
He said he understood the City wants to keep the community safe for its citizens and the people who work here.
“Banning a specific breed of dog is not going to accomplish that goal,” he told the council.
Collins told the group that statistics that are used in tracking dog bites are skewed because the dogs are hard to identify.
“The general public considers three different breeds, the American pit bull, the Staffordshire terrier and the bull terrier as pit bulls,” he said. “In fact there are 18 to 25 breeds that are mistaken as pit bulls.”
He said he firmly believed that the numbers of reported pit bull attacks and bites are skewed because of mistaken identity.
“Banning a specific breed of dog does not stop the problem,” he said. “It only punishes the responsible owners of those breeds.”
Councilman Dennis Wheeler asked Collins if he considered himself a responsible dog owner to which he answered, yes.
Wheeler continued questioning Collins, asking how many dogs he owned, to which he answered four, two in Mobridge and two in Aberdeen, where he keeps a home. Three of those dogs are pit bulls.
“Have you ever had any problems with pit bulls?” asked Wheeler.
“No,” he answered.
Wheeler continued the questioning about the dogs Collins has, including if he had any problems with dogs running at large. Collins said there have been a couple times the police had been called about a running dog, but those calls were for a Labrador he had been taking care of for a friend.
Wheeler then asked Captain Justin Jungwirth if the police had answered calls concerning dogs at the Collins home. Jungwirth told him there had been 11 calls over past four years. He also said there are no dogs from the Collins home that are currently registered and licensed at that address.
Collins told the group the dogs would be licensed the next day.
“We have had problems with dogs running loose,” said Mayor Kyle Jensen. “One bit a runner and others have chased people on the street. This is a discussion about what to do about the problem.”
Wheeler showed the group a large stack of complaint letters from residents saying these were not about responsible owners.
“We have an ordinance; we have reasonable laws,” he said. “What we need is to have people abide by those laws.”
He said people who own dogs, any breed, need to be responsible.
“I don’t know where this going to go, but I know we need to do something responsible,” he said.
Councilman Jamie Dietterle suggested that the council ask the Police Advisory Board to research and discuss the problem and come up with a recommendation for the council.
The group agreed and Jensen thanked Collins for his input.
Before he left Collins urged the council to review the information he had given them and told City Attorney Rick Cain there was a section on the constitutionality of ban laws that he suggested Cain review.
Cain told him he was fully aware of the constitutionality of the law.
[Irrelevant text elided]
Posted on June 3, 2009 by stopbslcom
The Police Advisory Board will come up with a recommendation for the city council. BSL is under consideration. Please send polite, informative, and respectful correspondence to:
Chief Mike Nehls
110 1st Avenue E., Mobridge, SD 57601-2692
mike.nehls@mobridgepolice.org
Previous alert: http://stopbsl.com/2009/05/29/mobridge-sd-whispers-of-bsl/
http://www.mobridgetribune.com/articles/2009/06/03/local_news/news01.txt
Council passes dog ordinance onto the PAB
By Katie Zerr
Wednesday, June 3, 2009 4:35 PM CDT
A discussion on changing and enforcing dog ordinances brought the owner of three pit bulls to the Monday, June 1, City Council meeting.
Saying he is deeply concerned about the discussion of banning certain breeds of dogs, including pit bulls from the community, Jason Collins told the City Council that pit bulls are getting bad press and are misunderstood.
Collins told the group he has lived in Mobridge the past six years and had owned at least 12 pit bulls or pit bull mixes in his life. He handed a pit bull education packet to the council members and told them the breed was getting the worst publicity since the rottweiler.
He said he understood the City wants to keep the community safe for its citizens and the people who work here.
“Banning a specific breed of dog is not going to accomplish that goal,” he told the council.
Collins told the group that statistics that are used in tracking dog bites are skewed because the dogs are hard to identify.
“The general public considers three different breeds, the American pit bull, the Staffordshire terrier and the bull terrier as pit bulls,” he said. “In fact there are 18 to 25 breeds that are mistaken as pit bulls.”
He said he firmly believed that the numbers of reported pit bull attacks and bites are skewed because of mistaken identity.
“Banning a specific breed of dog does not stop the problem,” he said. “It only punishes the responsible owners of those breeds.”
Councilman Dennis Wheeler asked Collins if he considered himself a responsible dog owner to which he answered, yes.
Wheeler continued questioning Collins, asking how many dogs he owned, to which he answered four, two in Mobridge and two in Aberdeen, where he keeps a home. Three of those dogs are pit bulls.
“Have you ever had any problems with pit bulls?” asked Wheeler.
“No,” he answered.
Wheeler continued the questioning about the dogs Collins has, including if he had any problems with dogs running at large. Collins said there have been a couple times the police had been called about a running dog, but those calls were for a Labrador he had been taking care of for a friend.
Wheeler then asked Captain Justin Jungwirth if the police had answered calls concerning dogs at the Collins home. Jungwirth told him there had been 11 calls over past four years. He also said there are no dogs from the Collins home that are currently registered and licensed at that address.
Collins told the group the dogs would be licensed the next day.
“We have had problems with dogs running loose,” said Mayor Kyle Jensen. “One bit a runner and others have chased people on the street. This is a discussion about what to do about the problem.”
Wheeler showed the group a large stack of complaint letters from residents saying these were not about responsible owners.
“We have an ordinance; we have reasonable laws,” he said. “What we need is to have people abide by those laws.”
He said people who own dogs, any breed, need to be responsible.
“I don’t know where this going to go, but I know we need to do something responsible,” he said.
Councilman Jamie Dietterle suggested that the council ask the Police Advisory Board to research and discuss the problem and come up with a recommendation for the council.
The group agreed and Jensen thanked Collins for his input.
Before he left Collins urged the council to review the information he had given them and told City Attorney Rick Cain there was a section on the constitutionality of ban laws that he suggested Cain review.
Cain told him he was fully aware of the constitutionality of the law.
[Irrelevant text elided]