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Girard City Council puts brakes on proposed changes to pit bull ban
GIRARD
Any changes that might be made to a city ordinance banning pit bulls are on hold until after an agreement is reached to merge the city and Trumbull County health departments.
“Someone has to be responsible for all of this,” said council member Stephen Brooks at a meeting Monday, explaining why the two issues are connected.
Animal-advocacy representatives have attended several recent meetings, including a brief caucus Monday, to call for an amendment to the 1987 law that would remove any mention of a specific dog breed.
They say the ordinance unfairly discriminates against pit bulls, and have said that they would support a compromise featuring “breed-neutral” language.
Asked about a time line, Brooks estimated it would be June 2016 before any changes are made.
Aside from the merger issue, Brooks identified what he said is another challenge to amending the law. Changing the ordinance would require more than just removing “pit bull” from the language, he said, especially given the fact that city residents have different views on the issue.
“From a legislative standpoint, how do we go about eliminating a ban and putting new legislation in place that encompasses all of the various concerns with this type of ordinance?” he said. “We can eliminate ‘pit bull’ from the language, but how do you define ‘aggressive dog?’”
It’s unclear, for example, how an amended law would address hybrid dogs and cats, he said.
Several of the two dozen or so people who attended the caucus session spoke in favor of amending the law. After hearing that council would not act until next year, some said they were dissatisfied with the response.
“I just think this is horrible to wait until June,” said Beverly Spicer, a Girard resident and an administrator with animal-rights group Nitro’s Ohio Army. Spicer said she is concerned that new people will be elected to council, and that the issue will be back at square one next year.
“We’ll just keep on getting it out there,” she said. “This isn’t going to be tabled, as far as we’re concerned.”
One woman spoke out against the proposed changes, pointing to what she said was evidence that pit bulls are inherently more vicious than other dogs.
Council members plan to review research on the topic that Brooks distributed Monday.
“We’re going to do our darnedest to make sure this is fair for everyone,” he said.