Last night, the full city council in the city of Cleveland, OH repealed the breed specific regulations that have been on the books in the city since 1999.
The city has replaced the breed-specific provisions with two behavior-based classifications.
Level 1 Threat Dogs -- ie Dangerous Dogs - is any dog that has been impounded 3 times in a 12 month period or has menaced other people.
Level 2 Threat Dogs -- ie Vicious Dogs - have attacked or bitten an individual or other animal.
Owners of dogs at each level have different requirements to meet - -and if they do meet the requirements, they can get the designations lifted over time. You can get a lot of details on the ordinance here.
More and more cities are continuing to look at ordinances like the one in Cleveland because it allows the city to more efficiently use resources by targeted dogs (and dog owners) who have shown signs of being a threat to citizens and not focusing any resources on people who's dogs are not a threat.
Cleveland is now the 2nd city in Ohio to repeal their breed-specific rules -- following Toledo doing a repeal about a year ago. With two of the state's largest four cities having now repealed their breed-specific laws, it should send a strong message to the state of Ohio that there is support for eliminating these archaic regulations -- just in time for their hearing on HB 14 tomorrow which will repeal the state-wide breed restrictions.
Congrats to the city council, dog warden and advocates in Ohio for their work in repealing the law -- and hopefully we'll have more good news coming out of Ohio tomorrow with the state House of Representatives hearing.
Excellent. People finally coming to their senses. This is just what the unenlightened politicians in Ontario need to study and copy. It's ironic that this weekend in Toronto we will be having North America's largest festival for dogs and yet we still have some of the most retrograde laws when it comes to animals.
Posted by: Fred | June 07, 2011 at 12:08 PM
THIS IS GREAT!!! But, make sure that you don't let down your guard for animal abusers. Maybe spend some of the money you were going to spend euthanize Pitt Bulls on stopping dog fighting, and animal torture.
Posted by: Jennifer Pollard | June 07, 2011 at 04:12 PM
How wonderful...hope this is something that happens in a lot more places...I am a owner and lover of the pitbull breed...I have never had a problem w/the breed, just ignorant owners. Now maybe the focus can be put on the real problem of dog fighting and abuse
Posted by: Cathleen Qualman | June 07, 2011 at 05:21 PM
Wonderful new what a blessing, let hope the state makes the same adjustements!
Posted by: Carol | June 08, 2011 at 03:39 PM
My fingers & toes are crossed...have signed every petition and sent letters w/pictures...I luv my two pitbulls and hate the stigma attached to them by this law and how it has affected public opinion of the breed!!! Pround mommy of Bella & Bentley!!!
Posted by: Stefanie | June 10, 2011 at 09:08 PM