Marty
05-19-2006, 07:35 AM
Princeton,IN -- Balancing public safety and the rights of pet owners can be difficult for a community to maintain. But officials and animal control experts say owners are ultimately responsible for their pets and singling out a certain breed is not the answer.
An ordinance banning a particular breed of dog within city limits - as was recently suggested by a resident at Princeton's City Council meeting - would not be easily enforceable, said City Attorney Jerry Stilwell.
“What if a dog was half pit bull, or a quarter pit bull, how would an ordinance be enforced?” he asked.
Stilwell said he recently researched other city and town ordinances that restrict dog ownership by breed, but found such laws may be hard to interpret.
“After a while they (the municipalities) had to back down because the laws were very, very difficult to enforce,” he said.
The state of Indiana has a “leash law,” and the city of Princeton and Gibson County have animal control ordinances in place, said Stilwell.
http://media.fastclick.net/w/get.media?sid=18971&m=6&tp=8&d=s&c=1 (http://media.fastclick.net/w/click.here?sid=18971&m=6&c=1) According to Indiana Code 15-5-9-13, “It is a Class C infraction for an owner to allow his dog to stray beyond his premises, unless under the reasonable control of some person.” Dogs accompanied by their owners while engaging in legal hunting are permitted by law.
Gibson County Ordinance No. 2000-2 sets the same limits on dog supervision and control.
Brenda Foley, executive director of Gibson County Animal Services, said the notion of enacting an ordinance banning a particular breed of dog was not a logical one.
“What if it's a pit/chow mix or a pit/lab mix? You would have to make the law so expansive, only a vet or a breeder would be able to enforce it,” said Foley.
According to the American Kennel Club, an Ohio law limiting the number of pit bulls per household to one was ruled unconstitutional by the state's Sixth District Court of Appeals.
The court ruled there was “no rational basis to single out pit bulls as inherently dangerous.” The court also found laws limiting the ownership of one breed were “arbitrary, unreasonable and discriminatory.”
Foley, who owns two Doberman Pinschers, said animal services is aware of the potential problems large breed dogs can pose.
“Public safety always comes first for us,” she said. “And people who own larger dogs should realize they need to take on extra responsibility for their animals.”
Foley said she would not support a ban on any particular breed because such a law would be too difficult to enforce and would not be fair to the breed. “If you are a dog owner, you should be responsible for your dog,” she said.
Sheriff Allen Harmon said there were 314 animal calls made by his department in the last 12 months.
“It can be a real problem,” Harmon said, “A lot of people don't even realize we have leash laws.”
Harmon said rural residents do not always realize county ordinance and state law also applies to their animals.
“People used to just let their dogs roam free, but the county is changing,” the sheriff said. “And animal services is becoming taxed beyond their capacity.”
Foley said animal services is in the midst of its busiest time of year, as animals are in breeding season. Animal services normally has two trucks in service full-time in the spring, but one of the their trucks is currently out of commission.
Foley said the county has provided funds for a new animal control vehicle, which should be ready for use in the near future.
“Right now, having only one truck is hindering us, but we will be getting another one and will be able to handle more calls,” said Foley.
Not all the calls animal control receives reporting a dangerous dog are discovered to actually involve a threatening animal.
“We get a lot of calls from people reporting a vicious animal, but when we get there, we are able to walk right up to the dog and put a leash on it,” Foley said. Her agency took 698 calls for animal services in April, said Foley.
“It's not the breed of the dogs, it is the responsibility of the owners to keep their dogs on their property,” Foley said.
http://www.tristate-media.com/articles/2006/05/19/pdclarion/news/news3.txt
An ordinance banning a particular breed of dog within city limits - as was recently suggested by a resident at Princeton's City Council meeting - would not be easily enforceable, said City Attorney Jerry Stilwell.
“What if a dog was half pit bull, or a quarter pit bull, how would an ordinance be enforced?” he asked.
Stilwell said he recently researched other city and town ordinances that restrict dog ownership by breed, but found such laws may be hard to interpret.
“After a while they (the municipalities) had to back down because the laws were very, very difficult to enforce,” he said.
The state of Indiana has a “leash law,” and the city of Princeton and Gibson County have animal control ordinances in place, said Stilwell.
http://media.fastclick.net/w/get.media?sid=18971&m=6&tp=8&d=s&c=1 (http://media.fastclick.net/w/click.here?sid=18971&m=6&c=1) According to Indiana Code 15-5-9-13, “It is a Class C infraction for an owner to allow his dog to stray beyond his premises, unless under the reasonable control of some person.” Dogs accompanied by their owners while engaging in legal hunting are permitted by law.
Gibson County Ordinance No. 2000-2 sets the same limits on dog supervision and control.
Brenda Foley, executive director of Gibson County Animal Services, said the notion of enacting an ordinance banning a particular breed of dog was not a logical one.
“What if it's a pit/chow mix or a pit/lab mix? You would have to make the law so expansive, only a vet or a breeder would be able to enforce it,” said Foley.
According to the American Kennel Club, an Ohio law limiting the number of pit bulls per household to one was ruled unconstitutional by the state's Sixth District Court of Appeals.
The court ruled there was “no rational basis to single out pit bulls as inherently dangerous.” The court also found laws limiting the ownership of one breed were “arbitrary, unreasonable and discriminatory.”
Foley, who owns two Doberman Pinschers, said animal services is aware of the potential problems large breed dogs can pose.
“Public safety always comes first for us,” she said. “And people who own larger dogs should realize they need to take on extra responsibility for their animals.”
Foley said she would not support a ban on any particular breed because such a law would be too difficult to enforce and would not be fair to the breed. “If you are a dog owner, you should be responsible for your dog,” she said.
Sheriff Allen Harmon said there were 314 animal calls made by his department in the last 12 months.
“It can be a real problem,” Harmon said, “A lot of people don't even realize we have leash laws.”
Harmon said rural residents do not always realize county ordinance and state law also applies to their animals.
“People used to just let their dogs roam free, but the county is changing,” the sheriff said. “And animal services is becoming taxed beyond their capacity.”
Foley said animal services is in the midst of its busiest time of year, as animals are in breeding season. Animal services normally has two trucks in service full-time in the spring, but one of the their trucks is currently out of commission.
Foley said the county has provided funds for a new animal control vehicle, which should be ready for use in the near future.
“Right now, having only one truck is hindering us, but we will be getting another one and will be able to handle more calls,” said Foley.
Not all the calls animal control receives reporting a dangerous dog are discovered to actually involve a threatening animal.
“We get a lot of calls from people reporting a vicious animal, but when we get there, we are able to walk right up to the dog and put a leash on it,” Foley said. Her agency took 698 calls for animal services in April, said Foley.
“It's not the breed of the dogs, it is the responsibility of the owners to keep their dogs on their property,” Foley said.
http://www.tristate-media.com/articles/2006/05/19/pdclarion/news/news3.txt