Jason
01-29-2006, 02:19 PM
HAZLETON – Mayor Lou Barletta plans to scrap the city’s dangerous-dog law and come up with a new ordinance that better conforms to the state dog law.
After a pit bull attack on a smaller dog earlier this month, city Health Officer Mark Thompson said the city couldn’t enforce its dangerous-dog ordinance because state law does not allow for putting down a dangerous dog that attacks another domestic animal.
Benji, a 7-year-old Yorkie attacked in its fenced-in back yard on Jan. 5, had to be euthanized because of its injuries.
Benji’s owners had asked that the dog or dogs that attacked their pet be put down.
“We’re planning on rescinding the entire dog ordinance we have in place right now. A city ordinance cannot be stronger than a state law, which ours is. We’re going back to the drawing board with that, and we need to modify ours to address some of the problems,” Barletta said.
Benji’s owners, Marianne Winters and Terri Lloyd of 450 E. Cranberry Ave., recently met with state Rep. Todd Eachus, D-Butler Township, to ask him to try to strengthen the state dog law.
The women said they think potentially dangerous breeds should be banned within city limits, as they are in some cities in other states. Pennsylvania doesn’t allow a ban of specific breeds.
They also advocate the immediate confiscation of a dog that viciously attacks a person or domestic animal, and think dangerous dogs shouldn’t be housed or kenneled within a certain distance of playgrounds, schools and other places where young children gather.
The women said the pit bulls they found in their yard after the attack live near the East End Playground.
Barletta advocates a stiffer state dog law “especially in light of what were seeing here in the city. I don’t know if it’s a problem statewide, but I’d be willing to bet other cities are seeing similar problems, especially with specific breeds that are trained to fight and are very aggressive.”
However, Barletta doesn’t think it’s a good idea to ban specific breeds.
“I believe it’s generally people that are responsible for helping some breeds become more aggressive. I think there needs to stricter penalties for the owners if we really want to correct the problem,” he said.
“One suggestion was to euthanize owners of dogs that are viciously attacking people and other pets,” Barletta said, laughing.
“But that’s where I think we really need to crack down on it and make people responsible for their pets. I think we focus a lot on the dog and not as much on the owner,” Barletta said.
Want to learn more?
http://www.timesleader.com/mld/thetimesleader/news/local/states/pennsylvania/counties/luzerne_county/cities_neighborhoods/hazleton/13740330.htm
After a pit bull attack on a smaller dog earlier this month, city Health Officer Mark Thompson said the city couldn’t enforce its dangerous-dog ordinance because state law does not allow for putting down a dangerous dog that attacks another domestic animal.
Benji, a 7-year-old Yorkie attacked in its fenced-in back yard on Jan. 5, had to be euthanized because of its injuries.
Benji’s owners had asked that the dog or dogs that attacked their pet be put down.
“We’re planning on rescinding the entire dog ordinance we have in place right now. A city ordinance cannot be stronger than a state law, which ours is. We’re going back to the drawing board with that, and we need to modify ours to address some of the problems,” Barletta said.
Benji’s owners, Marianne Winters and Terri Lloyd of 450 E. Cranberry Ave., recently met with state Rep. Todd Eachus, D-Butler Township, to ask him to try to strengthen the state dog law.
The women said they think potentially dangerous breeds should be banned within city limits, as they are in some cities in other states. Pennsylvania doesn’t allow a ban of specific breeds.
They also advocate the immediate confiscation of a dog that viciously attacks a person or domestic animal, and think dangerous dogs shouldn’t be housed or kenneled within a certain distance of playgrounds, schools and other places where young children gather.
The women said the pit bulls they found in their yard after the attack live near the East End Playground.
Barletta advocates a stiffer state dog law “especially in light of what were seeing here in the city. I don’t know if it’s a problem statewide, but I’d be willing to bet other cities are seeing similar problems, especially with specific breeds that are trained to fight and are very aggressive.”
However, Barletta doesn’t think it’s a good idea to ban specific breeds.
“I believe it’s generally people that are responsible for helping some breeds become more aggressive. I think there needs to stricter penalties for the owners if we really want to correct the problem,” he said.
“One suggestion was to euthanize owners of dogs that are viciously attacking people and other pets,” Barletta said, laughing.
“But that’s where I think we really need to crack down on it and make people responsible for their pets. I think we focus a lot on the dog and not as much on the owner,” Barletta said.
Want to learn more?
http://www.timesleader.com/mld/thetimesleader/news/local/states/pennsylvania/counties/luzerne_county/cities_neighborhoods/hazleton/13740330.htm