Denver has wasted yet more resources enforcing their breed-specific legislation.
A dog named Mufasia escaped from his home in Southwest Denver, and was picked up by animal control. According to Animal Control, Mufasia fit the physical critera for being a pit bull based on the analysis of three separate employees -- and ordered to be killed or removed from the city.
Mufasia's owner protested the breed determination -- and after hearing testimony from outside breed experts, it was determined that Mufasia was in fact, not a pit bull.
The decision again shows the arbitrary nature of Denver's breed ban, their failures in being able to accurately (and definitively) determine breed ID, and the ridiculousness of wasting resources on targeting dogs that, by all reports, showed no signs of aggression. So instead of focusing their limited animal control resources on dogs that had shown themselves to be aggressive, they were focusing city resources on a dog that was not (by all accounts) aggressive, but because it contained a 'look' of a dog they didn't want in their city.
"Time and time again we have seen that the city relies on poorly trained employees to determine which dogs in their possession are pit bulls," said Animal Law Center attorney Jennifer Edwards. "Their inability to single out pit bulls from out from other breeds has meant a death sentence for thousands of dogs in the years that the city's pit bull has been in place".
Of course, in spite of the ruling, Denver's animal control director Doug Kelley says this proves the process works and is confident in his staff's ability to recognized breeds.
Denver continues to provide evidence of all the reasons why breed bans are a failed initiative.
States can pass laws but without employee training for the new laws they are wasting money, killing dogs, and raising taxes to cover expenses. Poor state government!!
Posted by: Julie Muhlly | February 27, 2011 at 11:38 AM
No, Julie, poor citizens who (a) have to pay for incompetent, inefficient, ineffective government and (b) live under stupid laws.
Denver never ceases to amaze me. Spin, spin, spin. How do these people look in the mirror?
Posted by: Social Mange | February 27, 2011 at 04:48 PM
I am SO glad I read that. Now my day is complete!
Posted by: kmk | March 01, 2011 at 12:32 AM