Miami Dade-County judge rules 'pit bull' ban "too vague"

This week, a Miami Dade County judge ruled that the county's 20 year old ban on 'pit bulls'  is too vague to be enforceable.

The county's law - -which is similar to most breed specific laws - sets up a set of criteria based on 15 body parts (such as head, neck, lips, chest, eyes, tail, hind legs, etc) that allows animal control to determine if a dog is a 'pit bull' or not. In Miami, if 3 or more characteristics "conform" to the standard, the dog can be declared a pit bull (most places use about half).

Dahlia Canes, the executive director of the Miami Coalistion Against Breed Specific Legislation (MCABSL) testified that animal control is "constantly" mis-identifying breeds of dogs. Canes mentioned a recent case where a dog had been declared a pit bull mix and ordered to be euthanized, but after further evalution was determined to be a Mastiff mix.

More from the press release here.

Breed identification is a major problem when it comes to breed bans. Many people who don't even realize they have a dog that could even be mistaken for a 'pit bull' find their dog confiscated. Pretty much any dog that is mixed with short-haired breed of dog ends up 'looking like a pit bull". Boxer mixes, mastiff mixes, American Bulldogs, Shar Pei mixes, Beagle mixes (there is one shown in the picture to the left that was put down in Independence, MO for looking too much like a 'pit bull'), greyhound mixes (particularly if they have brendel coloring), etc -- they all end up with the same general size and shape of most pit bull type dogs (this also, incidentally why so many dog bites get labeled as being from 'pit bulls' -- when they should really be from mixed breed dogs).

I have a whole host of examples of breed mis-identification from over the years (and this is just a partial list -- there are many more like Brutus, Fleas, Roscoe and Nikko).  It is truly impossible to fairly and accurately enforce a ban on dogs based on their shape.  These aren't just dogs (as if that isn't bad enough), they're people's pets. They're messing with people's family members. Not because their dog is aggressive - but because of how it looks.

Seems more than a  bit silly.  I've spent a lot of times around dogs -- and it's not uncommon for me to look at a mixed breed dog and have no idea whether it contains 'pit bull' or not -- but I've never once been unsure about whether or not a dog seemed aggressive or not.  This is why I have no idea why more cities just don't go to behavior-based ordinances -- which happen to work by the way.

Good for the judge in Miami Dade County. Breed bans are impossible to enforce uniformly. They aren't effective legislation. They aren't based on scientific evidence.

It's only been 20 years, but I believe people are beginning to notice.

More on the Miami case at the Animal Law Coalition, and MCABSL.

Comments

[Dog Lover]

aw...very cool. i have a half pit who's the best dog ever.

[Frank]

This is some uplifting news for our times

Overall, These bans really bother me, but proper tracking of incidents and the relative ratio of Pit Bulls owns, vs attacks should show that it's only a small problem, not directly tied to the breed itself, but to bad owners in general. There should be laws, but not restriction on the breed because, like a lot of us out there, my sweet pit bull is the nicest dog - better than my two chihuahuas and NOT NEARLY as mean. They're all great though : )

There's a cute article on My.Arfie.com about sweet pit bulls - check it out http://my.arfie.com/profiles/blogs/pit-bulls-are-sweet-and-smart

Not a bad site if you like social stuff

[Rosemary]

I really want to rescue an American Bulldog Mix and live in Miami...Please let me know if this is possible. Thanks

[Brent Toellner]

Rosemary,

Technically, I believe that an AM. Bulldog Mix would be fine according to Miami-Dade law...however, when it comes to things like this, breed identification is far from an exact science, so your dog could always be mistaken for a 'pit bull'. Without being local down there, I don't have a good feel for how it is enforced (I've seen some place where you wouldn't be at all safe, and others where you'd be just fine). I'd recommend reaching out to a local group down there tha could help guide you. Here's one that I'd recommend:

http://www.mcabsl.wildapricot.org/

[Lisa]

Hey Rosemary! For what it's worth, there was an episode of that Miami Animal Police show several years back where a guy had his two American Bulldogs confiscated because the idiot officer thought they were 'pit bulls.' As I recall, he even had paperwork of some sort--I dunno if it was a registration or vet records or what--but they didn't back down. The officer was absolutely hysterical, and very sure of himself; and he got his way. Eventually, the owner moved rather than give up his dogs.

I don't know if things have changed there, or if that's even typical, but it was pretty egregious. I guess that's why I remember it after so many years.

I think the dogs in question were Scott ABs, which do tend to look more 'pit bull' like than Johnson type ABs. That might make a difference. On the other hand, that dog deserves a good home no matter what he looks like, so maybe it's worth the risk.

Overall, this is one of the reasons I wouldn't move to an area with BSL no matter what breed of dog I had.

[jamiee]

It's brindle coloring...not brendel.