Y-town pit bull ban stirs up much opposition

About 35 percent of complaints to city police in a three-month period about dogs were for pit bulls.

By DAVID SKOLNICK

CITY HALL REPORTER

YOUNGSTOWN — The Mahoning County dog warden has no intention of enforcing portions of the city’s tougher pit bull terrier law, most notably the ban on future ownership of the breed that takes effect Sept. 15.

“I enforce the Ohio Revised Code,” said Dog Warden Michael Fox. “This is a municipal ordinance. Any municipal ordinance like barking dogs is through the local law enforcement agency.”

Most of the pit bull terrier legislation approved Wednesday by council mirrors state laws on the breed, such as keeping the dogs securely confined, carrying liability insurance of at least $100,000, and registering each dog with the county dog warden. The city law requires pit bulls to be on a leash no longer than 4 feet but the state allows the breed on leashes no longer than 6 feet.

But the ban on future ownership of pit bulls that begins next week won’t be enforced by the county, Fox said, and would be the Youngstown Police Department’s responsibility.

Mayor Jay Williams and Councilman Mark Memmer, D-7th, said the county dog warden’s office has a responsibility to make sure people comply with the new ordinance.

Williams plans to meet with the county commissioners shortly to discuss this issue and is confident the matter will be resolved. Commissioner John McNally IV said he wants the county dog warden to follow the Youngstown ordinance because of the city’s problem with pit bulls.

Pit bull incidents

City officials said there is an escalating problem in Youngstown involving pit bulls, including dogfighting contests and attacks toward people and other pets.

Between June and August, there were 389 calls to Youngstown police about dogs — for running loose, attacks and barking — with 136 of them for pit bull terriers, said Sean Toohey, a county deputy dog warden. That’s about 35 percent of the calls.

Toohey has been attacked by pit bulls a few times. The most notable incident was March 25 on Dale Street when two pit bulls attacked Toohey, who shot and killed one when it latched onto him and began ripping his clothes.

“There are a lot of pit bulls in the city,” he said. “This sounds like a good idea, but I don’t know if it’s going to work.”

The city will depend on neighbors of those who own pit bulls to report violations, Williams said.

“We’re not putting together a pit bull task force,” he said.

When asked why the city is specifically targeting pit bulls and dogs with the appearance and characteristics of that breed, Williams said, “At this point, these are the dogs that pose an actual problem. When you look at the pattern and the statistics, it’s pit bulls doing most of the attacks.”

Criticism of law

Bobby Humphrey of the North Side, who owns a 1-year-old pit bull, Xena, said it’s unfair to ban one breed of dog.

“It’s people who make dogs mean,” he said. “You could make a Chihuahua mean if you try. Pit bulls are nice dogs. I don’t like this new law at all.”

Theresa Everett of the city’s West Side, who’s trained and bred dogs for 27 years, said she’s trained more than 6,000 dogs, and never had a problem with a pit bull.

“Any dog can be made to be aggressive,” she added.

John Kegley Jr. of North Lima, president of the Mahoning-Shenango Kennel Club, which has more than 50 members, says it’s a misconception that pit bulls are a dangerous breed.

“It’s not the dog, it’s the people who are training them or the lack of training or the wrong type of training,” he said. “I’ve dealt with several rescue pit bulls. One had a fighting background, but after the proper training, it was in my lap licking my face.”

Fran Horvath, a Youngstown resident who owns two Weimaraners, agrees that the problem isn’t with the dogs, but with “irresponsible owners.”

Kegley, who owns five English mastiffs, is also concerned the city will move onto another dog breed and escalate the ban.

“Once something like this is passed, it snowballs,” he said. “I don’t see any good outcome from this.”

But, Memmer said, “We have the right and responsibility to protect our citizens.”

Youngstown council was heading toward a pit bull ban in late 1998. But after receiving pressure from dog organizations and owners,council backed down on the proposed ban.