Vicki
Administrator
CO-Dog owner challenges Denver’s pit bull evaluation and wins
Dog owner challenges Denver’s pit bull evaluation and wins
By Julie Hayden KDVR Denver
October 9, 2009
Lawyers with the Animal Law Center say a ruling today could challenge the way Denver enforces its pit bull ban. Dogs that are deemed to be predominantly “pit bull†are banned in Denver, and can be seized and put down.
They say as many as four thousand dogs have been euthanized under this ban, but today’s ruling raises the question that many of them might have been by mistake.
The city uses three experts to evaluate the dogs and determine whether they are predominantly pit bull. But one man, whose dog ,Dexter, was sized, challenged the city’s experts. In this case, it was two animal control officers and a vet tech.
He brought in three experts of his own, world renowned experts on dog breeds.
All three agreed Dexter was not predominantly pit bull and therefore was not banned. The hearing officer ruled the dog owner’s experts were right, and the City’s experts were wrong. The dog’s life was spared and he went home with his owner.
Lawyers with the Animal Law Center say if Denver is going to put dogs on “death row†based on the evaluation of so-called experts, the city has a duty to make sure the experts know what they are doing.
(The 3-minute video at that link gives more detail, including several seconds speech from Linda Hart, one of the dog experts who testified about the breed ID mistake made by Denver’s “experts.†The dog in the case is also shown for several seconds.) http://stopbsl.com/
http://www.kdvr.com/news/kdvr-pitbull-100909,0,5301116.story
Dog owner challenges Denver’s pit bull evaluation and wins
By Julie Hayden KDVR Denver
October 9, 2009
Lawyers with the Animal Law Center say a ruling today could challenge the way Denver enforces its pit bull ban. Dogs that are deemed to be predominantly “pit bull†are banned in Denver, and can be seized and put down.
They say as many as four thousand dogs have been euthanized under this ban, but today’s ruling raises the question that many of them might have been by mistake.
The city uses three experts to evaluate the dogs and determine whether they are predominantly pit bull. But one man, whose dog ,Dexter, was sized, challenged the city’s experts. In this case, it was two animal control officers and a vet tech.
He brought in three experts of his own, world renowned experts on dog breeds.
All three agreed Dexter was not predominantly pit bull and therefore was not banned. The hearing officer ruled the dog owner’s experts were right, and the City’s experts were wrong. The dog’s life was spared and he went home with his owner.
Lawyers with the Animal Law Center say if Denver is going to put dogs on “death row†based on the evaluation of so-called experts, the city has a duty to make sure the experts know what they are doing.
(The 3-minute video at that link gives more detail, including several seconds speech from Linda Hart, one of the dog experts who testified about the breed ID mistake made by Denver’s “experts.†The dog in the case is also shown for several seconds.) http://stopbsl.com/
http://www.kdvr.com/news/kdvr-pitbull-100909,0,5301116.story