NYC's Laws Against Large Dog Breeds
I was stunned this morning when I read this news on the New York Times website: Large Dogs in Public Housing Are Now Endangered Species. The law restricts the breeds in which a resident of public housing may keep and forces residents to forfeit their dogs or be evicted. Some breeds affected are pure-bred or mixed bred pit bulls, Rottweilers and Doberman pinschers and any dog with an expected adult weight over 25lbs. Residents with an outlawed dog had until May 1, 2009 to register their dog. The man identified in the article attempted to register his dog but was rejected because he exceeded the previous weight limit of 40lbs (which his dog was.) many other residents were also unable to register before May 1, 2009 and are left with the difficult decision of whether to forfeit their dog, find another residency or try to hide under the radar.
When the country as a whole already has severe problems with abandoned and forfeited dogs and cats, I am literally dumb founded how a progressive city like New York would put in such a ludicrous law that will make that problem worse and overwhelm the already struggling shelters and rescuers that work day and night to find and save abused and neglected animals.
The article cites that 113 dogs have been given up because of the ban. Of the 113, 49 dogs were euthanized either because of their illness, temperament or overcrowding of the shelter.
Those were 49 dogs that because of this ban were taken from loving homes and euthanized. Completely. Unnecessary. I find this to be completely unacceptable and disgusting. Why couldn't those pets be grandfathered in? When Adam and I were looking at apartments and condos a few weekends ago in New York City a few places no longer allowed pets but we still saw a few running around who had been "grandfathered" in.
It's more distressing to me because Pembroke Welsh Corgis, like my Isabella, are on average about 30lbs at their adult weight and she is 32lbs as of now. She is the sweetest angel and she would never bite anyone! I don't know what I would do if I were faced with the horrible decision of either giving up my best friend or losing my home. Luckily, she came from a breeder and she can always go back there, but most dog owners don't have that luxury.
It's also distressing that the stereotype of pit bulls and other "bad" dogs are being singled out. Sure, the incidents of a pit bull attack are more common than other dog attacks but it's the owners that choose whether to raise their dog as vicious or with bad behaviors, not the breed themselves. I've seen plenty of aggressive poodles over the years, but they aren't singled out! There is a pit bull that lives in my complex and he is the sweetest little pup!
I'm hoping that with the complaints from the ASPCA and other human societies will help New York City either repeal and look at dogs on a case by case basis rather than a blanket law. However, I feel that most of the damage has already been done and those 49 dogs can't be brought back. :-(
When the country as a whole already has severe problems with abandoned and forfeited dogs and cats, I am literally dumb founded how a progressive city like New York would put in such a ludicrous law that will make that problem worse and overwhelm the already struggling shelters and rescuers that work day and night to find and save abused and neglected animals.
The article cites that 113 dogs have been given up because of the ban. Of the 113, 49 dogs were euthanized either because of their illness, temperament or overcrowding of the shelter.
Those were 49 dogs that because of this ban were taken from loving homes and euthanized. Completely. Unnecessary. I find this to be completely unacceptable and disgusting. Why couldn't those pets be grandfathered in? When Adam and I were looking at apartments and condos a few weekends ago in New York City a few places no longer allowed pets but we still saw a few running around who had been "grandfathered" in.
It's more distressing to me because Pembroke Welsh Corgis, like my Isabella, are on average about 30lbs at their adult weight and she is 32lbs as of now. She is the sweetest angel and she would never bite anyone! I don't know what I would do if I were faced with the horrible decision of either giving up my best friend or losing my home. Luckily, she came from a breeder and she can always go back there, but most dog owners don't have that luxury.
It's also distressing that the stereotype of pit bulls and other "bad" dogs are being singled out. Sure, the incidents of a pit bull attack are more common than other dog attacks but it's the owners that choose whether to raise their dog as vicious or with bad behaviors, not the breed themselves. I've seen plenty of aggressive poodles over the years, but they aren't singled out! There is a pit bull that lives in my complex and he is the sweetest little pup!
I'm hoping that with the complaints from the ASPCA and other human societies will help New York City either repeal and look at dogs on a case by case basis rather than a blanket law. However, I feel that most of the damage has already been done and those 49 dogs can't be brought back. :-(
Comment
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Comment by Aj on September 24, 2009 at 5:50pm
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Wow...that is really ridiculous.
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Comment by Sky and Lyla on September 24, 2009 at 5:47pm
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Abbea, you make a good, and unfortunately correct point. I once was on a website that showed pictures of some dogs involved in attacks that were reported as "pit bulls" and everyone was either clearly another breed or some mix that had no definable breed in them. Sadly, the media slaps the label pit bull on any dog it isn't sure about. And as for pits being breed to NOT be human aggressive, I've heard the same thing. Because they are sadly used for dog fighting, and handlers have to be in the ring, any dog that bit a human, even in the heat of a fight, would be immediately put down. I've heard it reported on Animal Planet that the number one breed for dog bites is either a Golden or Lab (can't remember which now, but both were in the top 3). Sad that breeds get a bad name because of a sport people force them into or because irresponsible people train them to be aggressive.
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Comment by Abbea and Vivi on September 24, 2009 at 4:52pm
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Also, I read somewhere that people who get attacked by a dog often don't know their dog breeds very well, so even if it was something like a bulldog or a bull terrier or other "burly" breed, people would report it as a pit bull.
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Wow.. It was like that when I left my apartment complex two months ago, but they had a limit of 50 lbs which is a lot better. I don't think they really enforced the weight limit rules there because we had a neighbor with a husky and we used to see several labs being walked around the complex. Well, I'm kind of glad in a way, because that weight limit made us think about getting a corgi instead of a big dog.. We have moved to our own home now and we still want a corgi!
I also think it's stupid how certain breeds are singled out as dangerous. People don't understand that some people get those particular breeds because they are intimidating and they intentionally train them to be aggressive. I've heard that pit bulls and other dog fighting breeds are not usually human aggressive since that was a trait that was actually bred out of them since the handlers were in the pit with the dogs. If anything they may be dog aggressive, but that's easily taken care of with a leash and no other dogs in the house. Also, I heard the media is more likely to report a dog attack if it involves one of the "notorious" breeds. And that contributes to why they're notorious, unfortunately...
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Comment by Bev Levy on September 24, 2009 at 4:28pm
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25 pounds! Wow! As usual irresponsible humans cause the problem and the animals pay the price.
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That makes me so sad! Maybe its because I grew up with a German Shepherd, but to me, a 25 lb dog is not "large." As for "dangerous" breeds, I don't hardly buy it. I have been bitten once in my life by a dog (in the face no less), guess what breed it was... a toy poodle! To this day I hate poodles, and tend to be much more afraid of getting bit by a little out of control toy dog than a big one! In my opinion, the toy breeds tend to be more of a danger for biting anyway because so many owners (but not all) think they don't need to train them since they're so small... but that's just my opinion.
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Comment by Sunni A. on September 24, 2009 at 2:41pm
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I agree
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