Sioux City Journal

Pit bull ban won't work

Posted: Sunday, August 31, 2008

SOUTH SIOUX CITY -- Unfortunately, there are many owners of pit bulls who are irresponsible. They own pit bulls for the wrong reasons (they look tough, can guard their dogs, etc.). Most pit bull owners are never known about because they love their dogs and they're home safe, being cared for, and are never a threat to other people. The esteemed Sioux City Council wants to "ban" pit bulls. Because the underlying problems are too difficult to tackle (poverty, gang activity, drug trafficking), they decide to take on pits.

If the pit bull ban goes through, three things will happen: We will still have pit bulls and they'll be called something creative. DNA tests are the only way to test what a dog breed actually is. Who's paying for that, folks? At $40 a test, four weeks of impoundment waiting for the test results, where Animal Control houses and feeds the animal, this is a costly mistake. The second thing will be the folks who are bent on owning a "tough" breed will switch to another and ruin that lovely breed for ownership and the council will be hollering for another ban of something else. The third thing will be pits will be out running loose and no one will claim them because they're a "banned breed."

At its Aug. 25 meeting, the Sioux City Council members were sarcastic, disrespectful and downright rude to every single person voicing opposition to the pit bull ban. No one could speak uninterrupted and several council members yelled over the top of anyone who dared to oppose them. Yet those who spoke in favor of the ban were allowed to go on without interruption and council members beamed with pride at them. -- Steph Anderson

Story Comments

Shalee wrote on Sep 6, 2008 11:34 PM:

" DON'T BRAND A BREED AND DON'T BLAME THE BREED! prolly never heard that one but it's the truth its not their faults. "

Shalee wrote on Sep 6, 2008 12:26 AM:

" Acutually either dog bit can be just as bad ever heard of lockjaw? yea thats what i thought.

EVERYONE WHO HAS A PROBLEM WITH THESE DOGS SHOULD WATCH DOGTOWN. THEN YOU WOULD KNOW THAT THESE DOGS WERE ACTUALLY BREAD FOR CHILDREN. SURPRISES YOU DON'T IT. BUT ITS THE BREEDING WITH DIFFERENT BREEDS AND BEING TOUGHT TO BE AGGRESSIVE THAT MAKES THEM THE WAY THEY ARE.

THEY ARE SWEET LOVING ANIMALS ANY DOG CAN BE TOUGHT TO BE MEAN PEOPLE JUST MAINLY CHOOSE TO TEACH PITS TO BE THAT WAY MORE THAN ANYOTHER BREED.

WATCH THE SHOW AND YOU WILL LEARN AND BE SURPRISED!!! "

robert schwarz wrote on Sep 5, 2008 3:17 PM:

" There will be irresponsible pitbull owners as long as there are irresponsible people, which will be forever. So pitbulls will be a never-ending problem if the breed is not banned. When I lived in the Quad Cities, one of these "lovely" dogs, which had been owned for six years with no problems by the way, killed a neighbor's four-year old daughter, mangling her so badly she was unrecognizable. Sometimes irresponsible owners are part of the problem. But the breed is also a problem. They can't be trusted. Actually, the ban doesn't go far enough. We'll continue to have pitbull problems for 10-12 more years until the present population of pitbulls dies off. Finally, for those who say, "any dog can bite", would you rather get bitten by a cocker spaniel or a pitbull? That's what I thought. "

Shalee wrote on Sep 5, 2008 7:01 AM:

" Pitbulls are only mean if their owners make them mean. Yes they are territorial, but what dog isn't?
Animal Control has never done there job in that town, they sit at kum and go's and everywhere else except for where there is a problem they never come out when you call with stray dogs or stray cats.
It will not take thousands of years to breed a new breed into agressive territorial dogs when THE OWNERS MAKE THEM AGGRESSIVE!!!!!!!!
I have been around pitbulls for 8 years now and they are sweet kind loving dogs when the owner doesn't make them aggressive. My friend has a pitbull and she thinks she a lap dog and loves on everyone in that house all the time. THE BAN IS RIDICULOUS!!!
Rot's are the same way if you make them that way if you are gonna ban one breed you might as well ban them all cause they all can become aggressive. IT IS THE IRRESPONSIBLE DOG OWNERS OUT THERE THAT ARE CAUSING THIS! City council never wants to listen to someone that does not agree with them whats new on that one "

Jo wrote on Sep 4, 2008 11:26 AM:

" the recent pit bull attack drives home every message the anti-ban people are trying to make. These dogs had been in trouble before. They should not have been at large. The owners should have faced a BIG fine for their dogs running loose. THEN perhaps they would have done something to prevent this. If I were the parent, I'd want to sue animal control for not doing their job. "