Stop Ohio from Banning Pit Bulls Statewide

We the undersigned respectfully request that House Bill 568 be pulled from consideration in the State of Ohio.  House Bill 568 is not the answer dangerous dogs in the State of Ohio.  Typically, this type of legislation is enacted for two reasons: 1) to lower crime; and, 2) to protect the public from dangerous dogs.

Unfortunately, Breed Specific Legislation or "BSL" doesn't work.  It targets all dogs of a breed, or in this case breed type as there is no "Pit Bull" breed, including innocent family pets, search & rescue heros, therapy dogs, and dogs that help the physically challenged.  If the reason for this legislation is to lower crime, it won't work, criminals will switch to another breed or mixed breed when the bill becomes law.  Dog fighters will go farther underground in order to continue their lucrative business. 

If the you are attempting to protect the public from dangerous dogs, you would serve your public far better by passing an effective potentially dangerous dog ordinance and encourage spay/neuter by supporting funding for free or low cost spay/neuter.  According to the National Canine Research Council, 90% of fatal dog attacks are by dogs that have not been spayed or neutered.  Additionally, there has not been a recorded fatal dog attack by a spayed/neutered pit bull type dog.  The Texas 2002 Severe Animal Attack and Bite Surveillance Summary, found that 81% of dogs involved in bite incidents were not spayed or neutered.

Protect the public by banning tethering or chaining of dogs.  The USDA and AVMA agree that tethering of dogs is inhumane.  When Lawrence County, Kansas, adopted an anti-tethering ordinance, calls concerning cruelty and dog fighting dropped from 800 to 260 in a single year.  Officials attribute the decline in large part to the anti-tethering law.  Additionally, any dog can become dangerous if they are unsocialized, isolated and not part of the family which is what tethering and chaining of dogs outside 24 hours a day, 7 days a week leds to.

Strengthening Ohio's barbaric anti-cruelty laws will lessen the dangers to the public.  In the book, Fatal Dog Attacks: The Stories Behind the Statistics, 61% of dogs involved in fatal dog attacks were not humanely controlled or had in some way been neglected or abused.

Finally, we would like to leave you with some pleasant pit bull facts:

·        The Animal Miracle Foundation's Hero Dog of 2008 is a pit bull mix that saved her owner from being murdered.

·        Dakota, a search and rescue American Pit Bull Terrier, was hand picked by both FEMA and NASA to be actively involved in the search for the space shuttle Columbia wreckage due to her proven search skills and professionalism in chaotic situations.  For her work, Dakota received a Certificate of Appreciation from the FBI.

·        In 1999, Dixie, saved her three young human family members by coming between them and a cottonmouth.  She was bitten but thankfully she didn't loose her life.

·        RCA was Alaska's first certified Hearing Dog.

·        Weela was Ken-L Ration's Dog Hero of the Year for 1993 for saving 17 dogs and 1 cat stranded on an island in a flooded river by making numerous trips across the river hauling 30 to 50 pounds of food each time until the animals could be rescued.

·        Stubby was the most decorated war dog in U.S. history.

Please think about what this bill could do to so many lives before it's too late.  We thank you for your time.