Otis, a white Boxer that was shocked with a taser last week is going to be allowed to live -- but Otis and his owner, Daniel Kier, won't be living the rest of their lives in Lakewood. The dog was released from the shelter, but has to be removed from the city.
Lighthouse Boxer Rescue will keep the dog for a couple of weeks until Kier can get out of Lakewood. Then Otis will got to live with Kier elsewhere.
This isn't the first person with a non-pit bull dog that has been forced out of Lakewood because of the city's 'pit bull' ban. A couple of months ago, Leonard Shelton and his dog Roscoe, a dog that had a DNA test performed to prove it was not a 'pit bull', moved from the city because of the city's pit bull ordinance.
Now, Kier, will join Shelton as someone who owned a dog that they didn't think was affected by the ordinance but the city, because they failed at identifying breeds of dogs and because their due process rights were violated, deemed otherwise.
Lakewood is a suburban community outside of Cleveland with a population of about 50,000 that had a 10% decrease in population since 2000 -- and seems to be adding to it. Which cannot be good for the already struggling local economy.
For more on Kier and Otis, read my previous post here and a follow up link here.
For the Pit Bulls has a good post on the subject here.
I live in Lakewood and I own an American Bulldog who also sometimes people mistake for a Pitt. I've heard a lot of rumble about this, but with my dog it now has really hit home. I don't want to leave my home, but also wish to live ina dog friendly city.
You can visit my recent post on this issue here:
http://www.f8hasit.com
Love your webiste, BTW! Thanks!
Posted by: Nancy McDonnell | August 09, 2009 at 07:02 AM