BSL ALERT: Harris County , TX

BSL ALERT: Harris County , TX

Harris County, TX officials are discussing APBT restrictions and or bans. These politicians need to hear from their constituents.

PLEASE TAKE THE TIME AND MAKE THE CALL! The future of your dogs depends on it!


Please be courteous. Contact these officials regarding the across the board liability that ALL dog owners should have and not owners of specific breeds. Go after the irresponsible owners of all breeds. Enforce the leash/containment laws and go after the irresponsible owners. It seems the problem is with loose dogs running at large.

If you choose to remain uninvolved, do not be amazed when you no longer any property rights! If they can do this to your dog, is anything you have out of their reach? Your rights will be taken away while you are so peacefully staying out of the "fray". Check history, it is full of nations/empires that disappeared when its citizens no longer held to their core beliefs and values. One person CAN make a difference. One plus one plus one plus one plus one plus one.........

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TELL EVERYONE ABOUT THIS BSL ALERT!!

The city has announced a plan to introduce an ordinance to eventually BAN OR RESTRICT YOUR APBT!! What you read about the APBT genocide in Denver Colorado , and Kansas City Kansas , could be at your front door!

The time to stop this legislation is now, before it passes!

We need to apply the pressure, and keep applying the pressure, until the city council realizes this will be an unfair ordinance.

CALL, AND WRITE NOT JUST ONCE BUT MANY TIMES!! THIS IS IMPORTANT!! IT HAS WORKED VERY WELL IN MANY CITIES!

Please write or call the following Mayor and Aldermen as it is THEY who will vote on any proposal.

COUNTY COMMISSIONERS:

Administration Building
1001 Preston, 9th floor
Houston , Texas 77002
(713) 755-6306

Commissioners
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Precinct 1

El Franco Lee

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Precinct 2

Sylvia Garcia

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Precinct 3

Steve Radack

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Precinct 4

Jerry Eversole

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Please make the call’s and fax letters and be polite. We need to let them know how strongly we oppose this ordinance.



Please write POLITE letters asking them to reject BSL and encourage local governments to encourage responsible ownership of all dogs.



The ADBA, AKC and UKC believes that strong enforcement of leash laws, as well as clear guidelines for identifying and managing dangerous dogs, will promote responsible dog ownership and prevent tragedies from occurring. Simply placing restrictions on certain breeds will not improve public safety - it will only punish responsible dog owners.

We strongly support sound, enforceable, non-discriminatory legislation to govern dog ownership, and we appreciate legislators' desire to keep communities safe for both people and dogs. However, BSL will not address the root cause of dangerous dogs – irresponsible ownership!



Points to Address:

§ Breed-specific laws are not the best way to protect communities. An owner intent on using his or her dogs for malicious purposes will simply be able to switch to another type of dog and continue to jeopardize public safety. The list of regulated breeds or types could grow every year without ever addressing responsible dog ownership. Deeds, not breeds, should be addressed.

§ Breed-specific laws are hard to enforce. Breed identification requires expert knowledge of the individual breeds, placing great burden on local officials.

§ Breed-specific laws are unfair to responsible owners.

§ Breed-specific laws increase costs for the community. Shelter costs for the community could rise as citizens abandon targeted breeds and adoptable dogs of the targeted breeds could be euthanized at the shelter.

§ Some communities have had their breed-specific laws overturned on constitutional grounds of due process. Because proper identification of what dogs would be included is difficult or impossible, the law may be deemed unconstitutionally vague.

§ Strongly enforced animal control laws (such as leash laws), generic guidelines on dealing with dangerous dogs and increased public education efforts to promote responsible dog ownership are all better ways to protect communities from dangerous animals.

§ Breed-specific legislation is opposed by the AKC,UKC ADBA, the American Veterinary Medical Association, the National Animal Control Association, the ASPCA, and a host of national animal welfare organizations that have studied the issue and recognize that targeting breeds simply does not work.

 

(Continued From Above)

BSL CASE LAW



Toledo v. Tellings, 2006-Ohio-975



Attached please find the link to the Decision and Judgment Entry made by the Court of Appeals in Ohio . The Court has found that breed specific laws are unconstitutional because they violate American Citizen's rights under the United States Constitution to due process and equal protection. The decision also contains evidence, which refutes every myth surrounding the "pit bull". (Note, the attachment is in .PDF form and is 28 pages...)



Here is a link to the decision.



http://www.sconet.state.oh.us/rod/ /6/2006/2006-ohio-975.pdf



The US Supreme Court in Nicchia v People of the State of New York 254 U.S.

228 (1920) gave police the power to regulate and control dangerous dogs with drastic measures as long as it does not infringe on dog owners the right to Liberty with Due Process.



In 2002 The Alabama Supreme Court affirmed a trial court decision that American Pit Bull Terriers are not dangerous. ( Huntsville v Four Pit Bull Puppies Ala 08-30-02 No. 1010459 )



In 2004 the Toledo Muni Court ruled American Pit Bull Terriers are not dangerous and granted dog owners due process rights. Tellings v City of Toledo CRB-02-15267



In 2004 The Ohio Supreme Court in State v Cowan 103 Ohio St. 3d 144, 2004-Ohio-4777 struck down ORC955:11 which declared the "Pit Bull" vicious because it violates our rights to be heard (Due Process)



There exists at this time no scientific proof that a breed of dog is dangerous. Conclusions based on accurate fatal dog attacks combined with dog bite incident reports prove a dogs breed is not a factor in aggressive behavior. Breed bans do nothing to stop dog attacks, they do nothing to stop illegal activity, they do nothing to protect the public from irresponsible dog owners and punish responsible dog owners, causing court litigation, wasted tax money and impoundment of innocent dogs while criminalizing U.S. Citizens.



Problems stem from inadequate budget or man power to enforce the laws, inadequate training to effectively deal with the problem dogs in a humane way, and low priority of animal control issues. Poor community education of existing animal control laws and lack of judicial support in upholding effective penalties also create serious problems. Strong laws that penalize the owners, regardless of the breed are what is needed. These types of laws are valid, have merit, are not vague or capricious. We ALL support laws that hold owners accountable for their dog’s behavior.



Non-breed specific laws are valid under the Constitution, and are for the protection of the public welfare and safety with the degree of precision that characterizes effective legislation.



Any dog, regardless of breed, is only as dangerous as his/her owner allows it to be.



WE ALL NEED TO STAY ON TOP OF THIS IN ORDER TO HEAD THIS OFF!




If you have an email address and would like us to email any new DOG laws to you please email us at adam@adba.cc and we will list your email address on file.






Also, if you are not registered to vote, GET REGISTERED! Your local government officials have more effect on your day to day life, then any other government body.



Back the people who listen and back you!



As for the others,VOTE THEM OUT!



John Adams warned, "The moment the idea is admitted into society that property is not as sacred as the laws of God, and there is not a force of law and public justice to protect it, anarchy and tyranny commence. Property must be sacred or liberty cannot exist."

 

Why are all these TX communites looking at BSL when they know its illegal in their state? What a mess.

 

I just wrote up a long one and will be sending it shortly. I live in TX. and sooner or later it will spread, like fear does, thanks to the media and local govt. I don't want it here...at all.

 

I don't want it any place. BSL smells of poop.

 

This is what we think of BSL

 

Perfect! lol Good dog. give that dog a treat.

 

[font=Times New Roman, Times, Serif]LOOKS LIEK HARRIS COUNTY IS IN THE CLEAR... FOR NOW.[/font]
[font=Times New Roman, Times, Serif][/font]
[font=Times New Roman, Times, Serif]READ BELOW[/font]


[font=Times New Roman, Times, Serif]GO TO CHRON.COM COM AND TYPE IN PITBULL PANEL TO GET MORE INFO [/font]
[font=Times New Roman, Times, Serif][/font]
[font=Times New Roman, Times, Serif]Pit bull panel won't request ban on breeds
County should seek authority to regulate dangerous dogs in general, task force says
[/font]
[font=Times New Roman, Times, Serif]By BILL MURPHY
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle [/font]

[font=Times New Roman, Times, Serif]Top officials have debated whether the county should seek state authority to ban pit bulls since two dogs fatally mauled a 4-year-old boy last month.[/font]

[font=Times New Roman, Times, Serif]But such a ban wouldn't have applied to at least one of the dogs — previously described by county animal-shelter officials as a "pit bull mix" — because the canine lacked many attributes of the breed, said the county's top veterinary official.[/font]

[font=Times New Roman, Times, Serif]"Its hindquarters were too small," said Dawn Blackmar, a veterinarian and director of the county Veterinary Public Health Department. "Its muzzle was not characteristic of a pit bull."[/font]

[font=Times New Roman, Times, Serif]Blackmar made her comments after running a closed meeting of a multijurisdictional pit bull task force Tuesday at City Hall.[/font]

[font=Times New Roman, Times, Serif]Blackmar said Rita Obey, who is in charge of communications for the county Public Health & Environmental Services Department, made the decision to close the meeting. Obey said Dr. Herminia Palacio, head of the department, which oversees Veterinary Public Health, agreed.[/font]

[font=Times New Roman, Times, Serif]She said the public might be confused if the panel discussed ideas in open meetings then omitted some from its final report, expected early next year.[/font]

[font=Times New Roman, Times, Serif]Houston Chronicle reporters who tried to attend the meeting were asked to leave.[/font]

[font=Times New Roman, Times, Serif]"It was our preference to release the information in a final recommendation, rather than a lot of " discussion, Obey said.[/font]

[font=Times New Roman, Times, Serif]Assistant County Attorney Clarissa Bauer, who attended the meeting, said the Texas Open Meetings Act does not require the panel to meet in public because it makes recommendations but can't take any legislative action on its own.[/font]

[font=Times New Roman, Times, Serif]Pedro Rios Jr., 4, was killed by two stray dogs Nov. 21 in unincorporated Harris County. Law enforcement officers shot and killed one of the dogs at the scene. The other was wounded and later destroyed.[/font]

[font=Times New Roman, Times, Serif]The task force agreed that the county should not ask state lawmakers for authority to ban specific breeds such as pit bulls, which is prohibited by state law. Instead, the county should press for legislation that would allow it to regulate dangerous dogs, Blackmar said.[/font]

[font=Times New Roman, Times, Serif]Blackmar said she saw the wounded dog at the county animal shelter before it was euthanized and concluded that it didn't have much pit bull in it, if any. She never examined the other dog and said she doesn't know whether it belonged to the breed, formally called American pit bull terrier.[/font]

[font=Times New Roman, Times, Serif]Bans of specific breeds are difficult to enforce because officials must prove that animals belong to a banned breed when their owners may argue otherwise, Blackmar said.[/font]

[font=Times New Roman, Times, Serif]The county and city likely would have to hire someone to hear appeals from owners.[/font]

[font=Times New Roman, Times, Serif]"We would be building a bureaucracy," Blackmar said. "A task force member said we would be unduly punishing responsible owners of banned breeds and letting off the hook irresponsible owners of other breeds."[/font]

[font=Times New Roman, Times, Serif]Some communities that have banned specific breeds are considering amending laws so that they target dangerous dogs but not breeds, she said.[/font]

[font=Times New Roman, Times, Serif]According to Blackmar's account of the closed meeting, the task force discussed:[/font]

[font=Times New Roman, Times, Serif]•What the city, county and private shelters are doing to address the problems of pit bulls and how the various departments could collaborate on their efforts.
•Creating a hot line that people could call to report organized dogfighting. Another hot line may be needed so people can report strays.[/font]

 

We Were The Proud Owner Of A Pit Bull Till They Where Ban In Are County She Was Very Good Pet She Never Bit No One She Would Lick You To Death . I Have A Sister That Owns A Pitt Her Grandchildern Was Raised With It He Is Very Loving. Also My Friend Has Five Pitts All In One House You Could Walk Right In They Would Lick You .also She Takes Very Good Care Of Them People Blame The Dogs Its Not The Dogs Its The Dum People That Raise Them To Be Mean Like Any Dog If You Do Away With This Breed Well Then You Need To Do Away With All Breeds Because Any Big Or Xxx Little Dogs Can Be Just As Mean Like I Say It How You Raise Them .