Spokane Plans to Ban Pit Bulls

There is currently legislation in the works concerning banning pit bulls. This will only be the first breed to set a precedent, it won't be the last. Will yours be next? German Shepherds? Alaskan Malamutes? English Mastiffs? Great Pyrenese? Rottweilers and Boxers? You and I are "we the people"... you want to let this happen? I don't! I can e-mail you a pdf file of the form or you can copy/paste from the blog into your word processing program, but don't leave this up to someone else to fix. You and I printing this out, filling it in and faxing it off is how it will get done right! Thanks for caring and making your voice heard!

ATTN: Spokane City Council;
Joe Shogan
Nancy McLaughlin
Steve Corker
Richard Rush
Al French
Bob Apple
Micheal Allen
RE: Spokane City Council Meeting
Proposed “Pit Bull Ban”
I am OPPOSED to the “Pit Bull ban”, proposed by Nancy Sonduck at the September 8th, 2008 Spokane City
Council meeting. While I agree that Spokane has a significant problem with dangerous dogs I know that a breed
ban will not solve these problems.
Breed bans unfairly target owners of specific breeds, regardless of the behavior of said dogs. It is discriminatory
to classify any breed of dog as “inherently dangerous” just as it would be with any race of people. There are
responsible owners and irresponsible owners of every breed of dog which resides in Spokane City.
The fact is that if a breed ban is effectively passed the responsible “pit bull” owners will be the ones paying for it.
Those people who have previously registered their dogs will be easy to find. Meanwhile irresponsible dog
owners with unregistered dogs will be able to easily keep dogs until they are reported and confiscated.
Essentially a breed ban in Spokane would punish those dog owners who follow the rules and not affect the
people who are causing the problems.
The City of Spokane needs to enforce dog laws already on the books. The following existing laws could be
better enforced to help control dangerous dogs.
I. The county ordinance specifies that all dogs must be kept confined to your property or be on a leash when off your
property.
II. Pets must be controlled as a courtesy to others and for their protection.
III. Any animal which attacks, bites or physically threatens a person or another animal without provocation could be
considered vicious. If a dog is declared to be dangerous by Spokane County Regional Animal Protection Service,
the owner of the dog will have to meet specific conditions including, but not limited to, liability insurance and a
special kennel to house the animal.
IV. Any domestic animal (dog or cat) which bites or otherwise breaks the skin of any person will need to be isolated and
quarantined for rabies observation for a period of ten days at the owner's expense. This may be done at the home of
the pet if the conditions set forth by the county health department can be met.
V. Animals may be impounded when they;
• Are running at large off of the owner's premises and not secured by a leash.
• Have injured or bitten a person or other animal, where the animal poses a continuing threat to people or animals.
• Have been subject to cruel treatment as defined by RCW 16.52.070.
The City of Spokane should protect the local responsible dog owners and their animals by focusing on
enforcing existing laws instead of implementing new and unfair laws which ultimately will punish more
responsible dog owners than irresponsible ones.
I respectfully urge the Spokane City Council to reject the proposed “Pit Bull Ban.”
Name:______________________________ Signature:____________________________
Address:__________________________________________Phone:_________________
(with zip code)
Comment:______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
FAX To (509) 625-6059
Spokane City Council | 808 W Spokane Falls Blvd Spokane, WA 99201 | 509-625-6255