Comments

• On the article City Council Tables Pitbull Ban Ordinance, Schedules Monday Work Session

  

  Andie

  9:09 am on Thursday, February 21, 2013

  Beatiz Rosa, as of what was proposed in October, if your pit bull is registered with the city and you acquire insurance on the dog you will not have to get rid of the dog. Unfortunately insurance for dogs is difficult to come by, if you are a home owner your insurance probably covers your dog, if not look into an umbrella policy that will cover both you and your dog

• On the article City Council Holding Public Hearing On Pitbull Ordinance Tonight

  

  Andie

  9:03 am on Tuesday, November 13, 2012

  Jaloney Caldwell, Miami Dade despite it's ban on pitbulls spanning several decades is not a pit bull free county, you'd think if this legislation was effective it would be, the problem with curbing dog bites is with the owners of dogs, all dogs. Legislation that is effective in preventing dog bites includes all breeds of dogs. As for your impression of Miami Dade, a quick google search for Pitbull Miami turns up recent results one as recent as September of this year, something you'd think if this ban was effective would not happen particularly if no pitbulls have been allowed in the area in 23 years.

• On the article City Council Holding Public Hearing On Pitbull Ordinance Tonight

  

  Andie

  10:51 pm on Thursday, November 8, 2012

  I can totally appreciate your concern with loose dogs and crappy owners Local Resident. Any legislation passed should address the issue of irresponsible dog ownership, it should include all breeds of dog we should all be safe and not bothered whether or not the dog is friendly or "just a lab" or "just a chihuahua" or a pitbull we should all be able to walk the streets without being approached by loose dogs. Dogs belong as companions with their owners controlled on a leash! They do not belong running loose in neighborhoods and causing a nuisance to the community.

• On the article City Council Holding Public Hearing On Pitbull Ordinance Tonight

  Andie

  6:15 pm on Thursday, November 8, 2012

  You are right, AmStaffs APBT usually do have some degree of aggression toward other animals. I'm not going to dispute that, it's something that needs to be managed with the dog.However, it is not unique to these types of dogs. Most terriers display aggression toward other animals. Now one could argue that most terriers are smaller dogs, and less likely to cause serious damage, but there are other large terrier breeds, I grew up with an Airedale and given the opportunity he'd get into a scrap with any dog. Know your dog, manage your dog.

  I agree something needs to be done to stop the abuse of these animals, and all animals. However, breed specific laws have been put into place in several municipalities over the past 20 years and none of them have proven effective. Why copy a model that doesn't work?

  "You People" I take issue with that. I am not, have never and will never be a breeder of dogs. I did not choose to own a pitbull type dog because it was cool, it looked tough or to guard my stash of drugs. I thought about purchasing a lab from a breeder but decided that there are too many unwanted dogs in shelters and I would save a life. I knew I wanted a medium sized short haired dog. Dog fighting is an appalling practice.

  As for dog parks, I would argue that very few dogs, beyond their puppy years belong at dog parks. They are unsupervised off leash messes most of the time the owner of the dog is on the other side of the park chatting and not watching their dog.

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• On the article City Council Holding Public Hearing On Pitbull Ordinance Tonight

  

  Andie

  3:11 pm on Wednesday, November 7, 2012

  I am a vocal dog owner, my dog is a Boxer/Whippet mix, he is affected by muzzle ordinances like this one because his mix of breeds makes him appear like a pitbull. Legislation like what is proposed does not increase public safety, bad dog owners, bad breeders will continue to breed bad dogs and own bad dogs. Jeanne, I'm not sure if you are familiar with the situation in Woonsocket, but this city has NO money. Legislation like this can't be enforced, it simply cannot we don't have the man power in our animal control department, we don't have the additional manpower needed in the police department and there is no way we can get the funds to enforce this law.

  All this will do, is punish people who are all ready in compliance with exisiting animal control bylaws. It does nothing to correct the problem which stems from those members of the population with dogs that are NOT in compliance.

  As for breeding, most dogs have been bred away from their original intention in favor of appearance, if you buy your dog from a pet store, you are buying a dog that was bred with no regard for temperament. In fact the parents of that dog probably never leave cages except to be bred, and even then they are simply thrown together in a larger cage. It IS reprehensible, just as the disregard many who breed bully type dogs conduct their breeding. It is however a seperate issue.

• On the article City Council Holding Public Hearing On Pitbull Ordinance Tonight

  

  Andie

  6:11 pm on Tuesday, November 6, 2012

  Were you not able to speak to them because they did not come to the door, or were you not able to speak to them because the barking scared you off?

  While I do have a two dogs that would be considered pit bulls by the wording of this ordinance, I have owned several other breeds throughout my lifetime and my two dogs do not bark or menace any more than my laborador did. In fact, I'd say that my lab sounded more menacing at the door than my current dogs. Dogs bark when people come to the door, it's just what they do.

  I won't lie and say that I didn't choose a medium/large dog because they keep people out of my home and off my property, it did cross my mind when I adopted them. When you wake up because your dog is barking at the window and open the shades at 3AM to see a man trying to open the window from the outside, you're pretty glad that your dog barks when people approach the home.

• On the article Pawtucket Animal Control Officer Says Pitbull Ordinance Will Protect Dogs, Owners

  

  Andie

  12:44 am on Thursday, October 25, 2012

  Elizabeth, herein lies the problem with ordinances like this, you say right here that AmStaffs should not be included but there are clear differences in temperament to those bred to fight... AmStaffs are included, lumped together with this mismanaged abused line of fighting dogs. As far as this ordinance and ordinances like it are concerned AmStaffs ARE pitbull type dogs

• On the article Pawtucket Animal Control Officer Says Pitbull Ordinance Will Protect Dogs, Owners

  

  Andie

  9:48 am on Wednesday, October 24, 2012

  This is right on the mark, all of your posts here really.

• On the article Pawtucket Animal Control Officer Says Pitbull Ordinance Will Protect Dogs, Owners

  Andie

  12:14 pm on Tuesday, October 23, 2012

  "People can walk down the streets of Pawtucket and not worry about being attacked," Holmes said. There are streets I won't walk down here in our city, and it's not because I am afraid of dogs.

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• On the article City Council Tables Pitbull Ban Ordinance, Schedules Monday Work Session

  

  Andie

  8:26 pm on Thursday, October 18, 2012

  I don't think this is a bad idea at all, however I think that all dogs should be included not just pit bull type dogs. Many landlords are not occupying the property with their tenants and don't know that there are any dogs on the property. (Absentee landlords are a separate problem) Of course, this is contingent on the person actually trying to register the dogs and I'd hazard a guess that a large number of the problem dogs are not registered.