Actress joins pit bull debate

Denver, CO -- Actress Linda Blair called on the Denver City Council on Wednesday to repeal a ban on pit bulls as she joined animal activists nationwide pushing to overturn the law.

"This whole thing has had a trickling down effect across the country," Blair said in a telephone interview from her home in Hollywood. "I'm not blaming City Council. I'm asking them to open their hearts and minds and let responsible dog owners offer up alternatives that will work."

Blair, 45, gained fame for her role in the 1973 classic The Exorcist.

Today, Blair heads an animal rights foundation she founded in North Hollywood to rescue animals.

Blair said Wednesday that she plans to actively campaign to protest Denver's pit bull ban and hopes to travel here in the coming month to make a personal appeal to the City Council and animal control officials.

Denver has become the latest battleground in a campaign being waged by animal rights groups locally and nationwide to end what some consider unfair breed-specific laws.

Blair first spoke out against the ban last week during a segment on Denver's pit bull ban aired on Court TV's Celebrity Justice.

Denver resumed enforcement of the ban May 9. Since then, animal control officers have confiscated about 148 pit bulls.

A majority of the dogs impounded were turned over by their owners, taken from homes or found loose on the streets, said Doug Kelley, director of animal control. Denver City Council members remained unmoved by Blair's appeal for canine clemency Wednesday.

"Linda Blair doesn't live in my district," Councilman Charlie Brown said. "I don't need some Hollywood type telling us how to run the city and county of Denver."

Rosemary Rodriguez echoed her colleague's sentiments.

"I think the law in Denver is defensible," she said. "We have a responsibility on council to protect the citizens of Denver."

Denver went to court to preserve its ban after state lawmakers last year prohibited cities and counties from outlawing specific breeds.

Last month, a Denver district judge upheld the city's right to set its own policies, ruling that the state failed to disprove the potential dangers associated with pit bull attacks.

Blair and the Washington-based American Canine Foundation said publicity surrounding the resumption of Denver's ban has created a sense of paranoia among pit bull owners across the country that fear other cities will follow Denver's lead.

They claim that many pit bull owners are turning their dogs over to shelters, and in some cases, abandoning the dogs on the streets. The push to repeal the ban stepped into high gear this week as more than 100 pit bull owners and animal rights activists staged a protest Monday in front of City Hall.

City officials said they are considering a proposal that may take some bite out of Denver's vicious and dangerous dog ordinance after reviewing alternative measures aimed at severely penalizing owners for their dogs' behavior.

Denver banned the breed in 1989 after a 54-year-old minister was attacked and mauled by a pit bull. A 5-year-old had been killed by a pit bull the year before. More recently, Denver resident Josh Armijo was attacked by a loose pit bull in October and left with $20,000 in medical bills.

Blair insisted that pit bulls are being unfairly targeted and labeled as vicious and dangerous.

Blair said she once feared the dogs until she came to the rescue of her 9-year-old pit bull terrier, Sonny Boy, eight years ago. Sonny Boy, tattered and abused, followed her home from a park in north Hollywood.

"What I saw in him was a dog crying out for help," she said. "He came into my home, hid behind a chair and curled up in a ball. He turned out to be kind, gentle and funny.

"These dogs are like babies. When treated correctly, they're your friend for life," she said.

Fighting for dogs

• Who: Linda Blair

• What: Actress and animal-rights activist

• Age: 45

• Background: Blair is the president of Pacific Coast Dog Rescue, an animal shelter that seeks to rescue pit bulls and other dogs. Blair also established the Linda Blair WorldHeart Foundation in 2003. The nonprofit seeks to raise money to rescue and find homes for stray and abandoned dogs. The organization also raises money to assist disaster relief efforts worldwide.

 

we need more of this people with some money they always get listened to

 

Maybe if Pres. George Bush has a pitbull for pet, they'll be furious about it!

 

I wish there was a way to find out lol

 

This is out of control! Pit Bulls have killed people yes, I'm sorry but PEOPLE have killed other people too! Why not ban them. Guns aren't outlawed and they kill people. Oh wait it's people using the gun that kills but isn't it the saem with pits... it's the person who trained/abused it that makes it kill. I love this breed and will fight everyday for its peaceful existance.

 

i agree and will do the same.