Cumberland County drops adoption ban idea
Bombarded by 18,000 emails and faced with a crowd of more than 100 dog lovers, the Cumberland County Animal Control Board last night dropped a proposal to ban adoptions of pit bulls, Rottweilers, chow chows and other breeds.
About 10 breeds were included in the proposal — as were any mixes of them — all of which would have been euthanized within three days of arriving at the North Carolina county’s shelter.
Instead, the Fayeteville Observer reports, the animal control board directed Dr. John Lauby, the animal control director, to look into ways the county can better screen people who adopt animals to ensure they’ll be responsible owners.
The proposed breed ban was recommended about two months after Cumberland County hired a contractor to round up stray and feral dogs in and around Fayetteville — most of which ended up getting euthanized.
That step, and the breed ban, were prompted by complaints from the public about free-running dogs that posed nuisances and dangers.
In October, the Animal Control board recommended that the county deem “unadoptable” any and all bully breeds, as well as Rottweilers chow chows, Great Danes and German shepherds, according to some reports.
Those breeds, and mixes of them — labeled “attack dogs” by one county official – would have been euthanized within 72 hours, unless other shelters or rescues took them.
By Monday night, Lauby said he had received more than 18,000 emails about the proposal, many from activists who — based on online petitions and erroneous news reports — believed the county was to start euthanizing all such breeds Monday.
“We’re not trying to kill anything,” Lauby said. “We’re trying to adopt animals.”
Among those who addressed the board were pit bull owners, rescuers, trainers and groomers, many of whom voiced their opposition to breed specific policies and laws.
“Some of the best dogs I groom are dogs that are on the list,” said Karin Miller, a groomer in Hope Mills. “We can’t categorize the dogs any more than we can categorize people.”
Troy Duke, who runs a Cumberland County pit bull rescue, said the dogs are “suffering from the same stereotypes that racists label other people with.”
Lauby told the board that dog adoptions have increased from 700 per year to about 2,000, but the county still euthanizes some 11,000 dogs annually.
About 1,000 pit bulls arrive at the county shelter a year, most of which are euthanized.
Posted by jwoestendiek December 6th, 2011 under Muttsblog.
Tags: adoption ban, animal control board, animals, attack dogs, ban, breed, breed-specific, chows, cumberland county, dangerous dogs, dogs, emails, euthanasia, euthanize, fayetteville, feral dogs, german shepherds, great danes, john lauby, meeting, north carolina, petitions, pets, pit bulls, policy, proposal, protests, rottweilers, stereotypes, stray dogs, uproar
Comments
Comment from danielle
Time December 6, 2011 at 3:59 pm
WONDERFUL NEWS !!
Comment from Krystal
Time December 6, 2011 at 5:58 pm
Ban the people, not the breed! The dogs just behave according to their instinct and relative to their handler’s behavior. If the dog is treated with love, it will show love. If the dog is bullied and abused, he will become a bully! Quit blaming the dogs for what PEOPLE have the control over! I’ve met many pit bulls and Dobermans with great dispositions, hell, I work with a group that fosters them! It’s a natural reaction to unnatural behavior. Punish the people, not the breeds!
Comment from vida
Time December 6, 2011 at 7:38 pm
It’s a partial victory but still something to cheer about.
Comment from Kelly
Time December 6, 2011 at 9:07 pm
Good news, and now how about they figure out how to spay/neuter all of these dogs so they won’t have to kill so many. Stop the boat from leaking before you start bailing water!
Comment from jessica
Time December 7, 2011 at 2:16 pm
I am a pit bull owner, my dog is not a full blooded pit bull but she acts more like a pit bull than anything else. I taught her to love me and my family and taught her how to behave when people we love are around. She behaves great and only get angry when other animals come into her fence that are not supposed to or people who are not supposed to be in there are. This ban is ridiculous and i am so glad it did not go through. It has nothing to do with the breed and has everything to do with the people owning them. If you do screenings on the people and background checks you will see less dogs who are acting bad and more loving dogs. Any breed being mistreated is going to be mean so there is no reason to say its certain breeds.
Comment from Maria
Time December 7, 2011 at 4:21 pm
I have many friends who own pitbulls and they are the most lovey dogs! Any dog can attack! Those dang ankle biters are the WORST! If states are going to start killing a dog just because it has bit someone, why then not kill people who kill people? Nooo instead these killers get 3 hot meals a day, tv, cable, a warm place to sleep, play time out side. If your child bites another child in the arm, are you ging to KILL that child? If states are going to start killing a breed just because it’s the breed why not start killing people because they are IDIOTS!!!
I met a Mastiff a couple of weeks ago. I put my arms around his head and gave him the biggest hug ever! He was so gentle and well mannered dog! It’s NOT the dog’s fault that IDIOTS train them to kill!! It’s the OWNERS! Why not make the OWNERS pay!
I have a pitbull, but in order to adopt the PUPPY I was made to get $100,000 liability insurance on her! I think that EVERY SINGLE PERSON that owns ANY BREED of dog should HAVE to get $100,000 liability because ANY DOG can BITE if teased or feels threatened by ANY STUPID IDIOT human being!
Comment from Matthew Reynolds
Time December 18, 2011 at 10:31 pm
I am extremely happy to hear this news! Advocates of Bully breeds as well as other breeds deemed “dangerous” still have a long way to go to in order to educate ignorant people and to protect these breeds but I’ll definately count this as one for the good guys!!!!
Comment from Kim Wolf
Time December 6, 2011 at 1:24 pm
I’m so glad they rejected an outright breed ban on adoption, but THIS IS NOT A TOTAL SUCCESS. They’re calling for “special” rules for adopting certain dogs, based on breed or appearance. (1) When we make dogs like pit bulls “special,” we make them different. Different becomes deviant. Adopters don’t want “deviant” dogs, they want family pets, so those do…gs are less likely to get adopted. (2) This policy assumes that we can predict a dog’s behavior based on breed or appearance (which science has proven otherwise), rather than evaluating each dog as an individual. (3) If the issues facing Cumberland County are reckless owners who fail to control/contain/maintain their dogs, then why are they punishing responsible people who want to adopt a shelter dog (chances are, the reckless owners who allow their dogs to behave dangerously did NOT adopt those dogs from shelters in the first place). (4) There is no behavior that’s unique one breed or group of dogs, so there’s no need to single out breeds/groups in adoption policies. As we know, no breed/group is inherently vicious and any dog can become a safety threat if his owner allows him to be. (5) Some advocates are calling for breed-specific mandatory spay/neuter, which is another form of BSL and when it’s been tried it has never succeeded in creating safe & humane communities. There’s STILL WORK TO BE DONE here! Here is some info to get started: http://www.animalfarmfoundation.org/pages/RESOURCES_FOR_HUMANE_COMMUNITIES.