WV: Putnam County update: BSL stands

[Vicki]

Putnam County, WV update: BSL stands
Posted on February 19, 2010 by http://www.stopbsl.com/

Previous alerts for Putnam County: http://stopbsl.com/?s=putnam+county

http://www.wsaz.com/news/headlines/84755792.html

Pit Bull Lovers Challenge Breed Specific Law

Reporter: Dave Benton
Email Address: dave.benton@wsaz.com
Posted: 12:08 AM Feb 19, 2010

PUTNAM COUNTY, W.Va. (WSAZ) — A controversial dog law in Putnam County brought a lot of concerned residents to voice their opinion at a special County Commission meeting Thursday night.

Two months ago, the Putnam County Commission voted two to three to put restrictions on pit bulls and other dogs they deemed vicious. Now, those dogs are supposed to wear muzzles in public and have specific cages in their yards.

“It really punishes the good owners,” resident Ami Hayes said. “There’s a witch hunt going on with pit bulls.”

Commissioner Steve Andes voted in favor of the dangerous dog law, but says public input is still important and could possible change the breed specific laws.

Commissioner Haynes made a motion to take the breed specific language out of the law, but the motion didn’t get a “second” from the other two commissioners so it died.


More from StopBSL.com...

 

[Vicki]

Putnam County
Friday February 19, 2010
Critics say Putnam dog policy discriminates
People crowd into public hearing
by The Associated Press

Putnam County's two-month-old vicious dog ordinance, with breed specific language that targets pit bulls, is discriminatory toward the animals, some opponents of the law say.

Nearly 100 people crowded into a large chamber inside the county courthouse in Winfield Thursday night to have their say on the ordinance that passed in December after several dog attacks were reported in the Bancroft area.

The December commission meeting, held on a weekday morning, was mainly attended by Bancroft residents. At the time, the ordinance passed 2-1, with commissioner Joe Haynes being the lone dissenter.

After nearly two hours of discussion, the ordinance was upheld Thursday evening after a motion raised by Haynes to strike the breed specific language from the ordinance died when it was not seconded by another commissioner.

More than 20 people spoke against the ordinance. Even two dogs were in attendance -- a 2-year-old pit bull mix named Aidan and a 9-year-old American Staffordshire terrier named Miss Desi.

One of those against the ordinance was Winfield resident Cheryl Hinchman who was forced to give up her pit bull after it passed in December.

Hinchman, originally from Elkview, said she got her dog Jax for her birthday in July. Jax was just a pup. She was raising him in her rental home when her landlord told her she would have to get rid of him because of the ordinance.

She said she took the dog to the county shelter where she visited him every day for two weeks until he was adopted by a family in Hometown.

"That's what boggles my mind, my dog was taken away from me because of countywide ordinance, but still lives in the county," she said.

"I understand that when people get attacked that it's terrible, but you can't punish the responsible owners," Hinchman said. "At the last meeting, when the woman said that it's just a dog -- he's not just a dog, he was my dog and he was all I had and I loved him."

Jo Staats, president of West Virginia Pit Bull Haven, which is based in Hardy County, said the matter was brought to her attention by several Putnam residents who feared they would have to give up their dogs.

Staats told commissioners she questioned the constitutionality of the ordinance and told them if the breed specific language was not removed from the ordinance that the Pit Bull Haven would file a lawsuit against the county for violating it's residents' civil rights.

"Criminalizing these dogs and their owners because of their breed is just like criminalizing people because of their race or ethnicity," she said.

Various veterinarians spoke out against the ordinance and provided statistical material to the commissioners.

Another woman threatened to move from Putnam County unless the breed specific wording was taken out of the ordinance.

The ordinance states owners of dogs deemed vicious, specifically pit bulls, must keep the animals in an enclosed space if they are outdoors and also indoors. Violators face a fine of up to $1,000 for the first offense, a fine of $300 to $2,000 for the second offense, and jail time and a fine of $300 to $2,000 for the third offense.

Among those who spoke out in favor of the ordinance was Jim Cochran of Bancroft, who said he was attacked by three dogs, two of which were pit bull mixed breeds, in November while out on a walk.

He said was been bitten on the arm.

"I'm concerned about not only my safety, but for that of the children," Cochran said. "I support this ordinance because people need to be responsible for their animals, and if people had been responsible for their animals we wouldn't be here today."

Another Bancroft resident, Carla Bailey, used the opportunity to speak, but wondered aloud if the dog in the room was on a leash as she made her way to the microphone at the front of the room.

"We're not trying to take anyone's dogs away, we're just trying to protect the children," she said. "We need to reach a medium between us that don't want them and you all that do."

Commissioner Stephen Andes did not second Haynes motion to remove the breed specific language but told the audience he would continue to look into the matter.

Haynes said he thought the ordinance was bad to begin with.

"I think the ordinance would be okay if we took out the breed specific language," Haynes said.

"It's a slippery slope because if you're successful and the bad people with pit bulls find out they can't have them any more, then they'll just get rottweilers, then they can't have those and they'll get Dobermans."

http://www.dailymail.com/News/PutnamCounty/201002190250?page=2&build=cache