Vicki
Administrator
Topeka reforms animal ordinance, repeals pit bull ban
From the Topeka Capital-Journal, September 28, 2010
Topeka’s governing body decided without objection Tuesday evening to make changes to city rules for stray cats and dangerous dogs that supporters described as being groundbreaking and progressive.
Mayor Bill Bunten and eight city council members voted 9-0 to pass a 39-page ordinance amending rules regarding animal control and animal cruelty to enhance public safety, protect animals and save taxpayer dollars.
The ordinance does away with the city’s breed-specific rules requiring owners to obtain special licenses and to implant microchips in any dogs that have the appearance and characteristics of being predominantly of any of three types of pit bull dog.
The ordinance was crafted through a team effort involving Councilwoman Karen Hiller, city staff members and a committee of eight citizens who have an interest in animal-related matters. Committee members were among nine people who spoke before the council about the proposal Tuesday, with each expressing support for it.
“This is a groundbreaking ordinance, and it’s going to revolutionize animal welfare in the city of Topeka,†said committee member Mike Bauman, president of the Friends of Hill’s Bark Park organization.
The committee also included University of Kansas law student Katie Bray Barnett, whom Hiller said is nationally recognized as an expert on animal control legislation. Barnett, a graduate of Topeka West High School, said the ordinance before the governing body Tuesday had garnered national attention and was being considered as a potential model ordinance by officials in Ellis, Kan.; Ogden, Utah; Toledo, Ohio; and Douglasville, Ga.
Councilwoman Sylvia Ortiz said she had been contacted by a Denver City Council member about the ordinance.
Ruth Tessendorf, president of the Topeka Kennel Club, told governing body members Tuesday’s vote was also being watched by a boxer dog group, which was considering holding a show next year at the Kansas Expocentre but wouldn’t be willing to do that if the city kept in place its breed-specific rules for pit bulls.
The passage of Tuesday’s ordinance overturns rules banning the ownership, keeping or harboring of pit bulls that haven’t been licensed with the city and implanted with a microchip. The city had been requiring itself to confine dogs suspected of being pit bulls until any charges against their owners are resolved in Topeka Municipal Court.
In yet another example of the wasteful public expenses connected to breed specific regulation, Assistant city attorney Kyle Smith estimated the passage of Tuesday’s ordinance would save the city $30,000 a year it spends to confine suspected pit bulls at the Helping Hands Humane Society.
The ordinance approved Tuesday also replaces the city’s vicious animals ordinance with a similar but broader “dangerous dogs†ordinance regarding dogs that have shown inappropriate aggressive behavior.
It replaces city rules that allowed for dogs to be tethered outdoors for as long as an hour at a time and as much as three hours a day by allowing dog owners unlimited supervised tethering but reducing unsupervised tethering of dogs to 15 minutes.
http://nationalcanineresearchcouncil.com/dog-news/
From the Topeka Capital-Journal, September 28, 2010
Topeka’s governing body decided without objection Tuesday evening to make changes to city rules for stray cats and dangerous dogs that supporters described as being groundbreaking and progressive.
Mayor Bill Bunten and eight city council members voted 9-0 to pass a 39-page ordinance amending rules regarding animal control and animal cruelty to enhance public safety, protect animals and save taxpayer dollars.
The ordinance does away with the city’s breed-specific rules requiring owners to obtain special licenses and to implant microchips in any dogs that have the appearance and characteristics of being predominantly of any of three types of pit bull dog.
The ordinance was crafted through a team effort involving Councilwoman Karen Hiller, city staff members and a committee of eight citizens who have an interest in animal-related matters. Committee members were among nine people who spoke before the council about the proposal Tuesday, with each expressing support for it.
“This is a groundbreaking ordinance, and it’s going to revolutionize animal welfare in the city of Topeka,†said committee member Mike Bauman, president of the Friends of Hill’s Bark Park organization.
The committee also included University of Kansas law student Katie Bray Barnett, whom Hiller said is nationally recognized as an expert on animal control legislation. Barnett, a graduate of Topeka West High School, said the ordinance before the governing body Tuesday had garnered national attention and was being considered as a potential model ordinance by officials in Ellis, Kan.; Ogden, Utah; Toledo, Ohio; and Douglasville, Ga.
Councilwoman Sylvia Ortiz said she had been contacted by a Denver City Council member about the ordinance.
Ruth Tessendorf, president of the Topeka Kennel Club, told governing body members Tuesday’s vote was also being watched by a boxer dog group, which was considering holding a show next year at the Kansas Expocentre but wouldn’t be willing to do that if the city kept in place its breed-specific rules for pit bulls.
The passage of Tuesday’s ordinance overturns rules banning the ownership, keeping or harboring of pit bulls that haven’t been licensed with the city and implanted with a microchip. The city had been requiring itself to confine dogs suspected of being pit bulls until any charges against their owners are resolved in Topeka Municipal Court.
In yet another example of the wasteful public expenses connected to breed specific regulation, Assistant city attorney Kyle Smith estimated the passage of Tuesday’s ordinance would save the city $30,000 a year it spends to confine suspected pit bulls at the Helping Hands Humane Society.
The ordinance approved Tuesday also replaces the city’s vicious animals ordinance with a similar but broader “dangerous dogs†ordinance regarding dogs that have shown inappropriate aggressive behavior.
It replaces city rules that allowed for dogs to be tethered outdoors for as long as an hour at a time and as much as three hours a day by allowing dog owners unlimited supervised tethering but reducing unsupervised tethering of dogs to 15 minutes.
http://nationalcanineresearchcouncil.com/dog-news/