I'm glad to see that the City Council's current discussions on updating the dangerous dog ordinance focus on dogs' behaviors, not their breeds. Although many dog breeds have certain tendencies and understanding those tendencies is very important, a dog's breed doesn't lock it into a particular set of behaviors. Training plays an important role in how a dog will interact with others. Besides, defining a dog's breed can be problematic, particularly with all the mixed breeds running around these days.
I'm interested in the new "irresponsible dog owner" component of the ordinance. According to KOLN, "an owner would be considered irresponsible when convicted of seven or more violations within a two year period. As a result, they won't be allowed to have pets or live with anyone who does, for two years." Seven violations in two years sure sounds like a lot, especially if the violations are at all serious. I would love to know how many people over the past decade would have qualified for the "irresponsible dog owner" label based on those criteria. Or how many qualify today.
Hopefully all you Lincolnite dog owners are responsible: train your dogs well; give them plenty of exercise and attention; pick up their poop; and so on. And for the cat fanciers among you ... well, we can't all be perfect.
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I’m very glad for this law; it’s very smart to hold the owners accountable, instead of demonizing certain breeds.
That said, I’m INCREDIBLY angry at 10/11 for portraying one pit bull after another when talking about “dangerous” animals. In fact, they were showing adoptable dogs at the Humane Society. I walk those dogs; I know them; they are not scary animals. But 10/11 just had to go there. It’s as though the media just collectively cannot help themselves when it comes to sensational subject matter.
Im not agreeing with the “can’t live with someone with pets” part of things. So what if I (hypothetically), an irresponsible pet owner, live with someone else who has pets? They aren’t my pets, Im not legally responsible for them, and their activities are none of my concern. The local government is going to have an interesting time trying to enforce that little bit of the law.
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