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Officials in Saginaw, Michigan are considering a proposal that would regulate the ownership of several breeds, including:
Pit bulls,
Rottweilers,
German Shepherds,
Huskies,
Alaskan Malamutes,
Doberman Pinschers,
Chow Chows,
Great Danes,
St. Bernards, and
Presa Canarios.
Please send your POLITE, RESPECTFUL and INFORMATIVE opposition to breed specific legislation to the Saginaw officials listed below. Please also include viable alternatives and suggestions for their consideration.
City council members could review the new rules at the Feb. 21 meeting and enact them by April 1.
City of Saginaw
City Hall
1315 S. Washington Ave.
Saginaw, MI 48601
Phone: (989) 759-1400
Fax: (989) 759-1607
Greg Branch
Mayor
Term Expires: 2013
Email: [email protected]
Amos O'Neal
Mayor Pro-Tem
Term Expires: 2011
Email: [email protected]
Dennis Browning
Council Member
Term Expires: 2013
Email: [email protected]
Dan Fitzpatrick
Council Member
Term Expires: 2011
Email: [email protected]
[email protected]
Larry Coulouris
Council Member
Term Expires: 2013
Email: [email protected]
Amanda Kitterman-Miller
Council Member
Term Expires: 2011
Email: [email protected]
Dr. William "Bill" Scharffe
Council Member
Term Expires: 2011
Email: [email protected]
Paul Virciglio
Council Member
Term Expires: 2011
Email: [email protected]
Andrew Wendt
Council Member
Term Expires: 2013
Email: [email protected]
Saginaw crafts 'dangerous dogs' ordinance including pit bulls
Published: Sunday, January 16, 2011, 4:06 AM
SAGINAW - Dog owners may be restricted to no more than three pet pooches, buy licenses for them and face fines if they don't register dogs that are on Saginaw's list of the most dangerous canines.
The Saginaw City Council in the coming weeks likely will vote on the "dangerous dogs" ordinance that's been in the works since August. Council members could review the new rules Feb. 21 meeting and enact them by April 1.
"I imagine this will be controversial," City Clerk Diane Herman said.
Continued reports of maulings - including this month's pit bull attack on 8-year-old Bay City boy Cameron P. Everette, who needed 100 stitches - "keeps telling us more and more that we have to have it in place," Herman said.
A Saginaw committee organized by Mayor Greg Branch continues to debate which breeds to list.
The proposal
Today, city residents pay $12 per year to license spayed and neutered dogs and $25 for dogs that are not fixed to the Saginaw County Animal Care Center. Those 60 and older pay $5 for spayed and neutered dogs.
Under the proposal, owners of animals on the dangerous-dogs list also would have to pay a $50 one-time permit fee at City Hall or face to civil infraction fines set by a judge.
The breeds in the preliminary proposal are on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's 10 most dangerous dogs list. The list includes pit bulls, Rottweilers, German shepherds, huskies, Alaskan Malamutes, Doberman pinschers, chow chows, great Danes, St. Bernards and presa canarios.
The proposal also would require owners of listed dogs to attach a city-issued sign indicating the dog's presence near a home's entrance or doghouse and, when walking the animal, to fit a muzzle over the dog's mouth.
Members of the Saginaw Code Enforcement Neighborhood Improvement Cooperative would enforce the ordinance, treating violations the same way they would a junk car on a person's front yard or garbage strewn across a lawn.
First, the agents would issue a warning.
Continued noncompliance could result in an initial $100 fine, $200 on the next day and $400 for additional infractions.
The council also could adopt lower fines for owners with more than three dogs. Noncompliance could result in a $50 fine the first time, $100 on the next day and $150 for additional infractions.
Herman said the proposal's early draft does not include a clause exempting residents who already own more than three dogs.
"If somebody has had that number of dogs for years, I don't know what happens," the clerk said. "You'd hate to have somebody have to get rid of a dog they've had for 20 years. These (plans) haven't been finalized, though."
When the council introduces the ordinance, bylaws rule the council must wait at least two weeks before voting.
While there will be no public hearings, Herman said citizens can sign up to speak in front of the council to voice concerns or show support.
'Badge of honor'
Councilman Daniel Fitzpatrick, who serves on the ordinance committee, agrees the proposal likely will draw fire from dog advocates who argue certain breeds are dangerous because of a poor environment and not on their own merits.
Fitzpatrick said the proposal could draw the sort of outcry the council heard in December 2009 when it considered a six-month freeze on medical marijuana use, growth and distribution. About 30 protesters attended one council meeting. Less than a month later, the city backed off the effort.
Fitzpatrick said the dangerous dog initiative becomes more pressing as the number of dog attacks climbs.
He cited the March 2009 pit bull attack on Duane E. VanLanHam of Buena Vista Township, who lost extremities and continues to recover after saving a neighbor from a pack of pit bulls, as another important push for change.
"In our particular area, these dogs are a badge of honor to a lot of the people who own them," Fitzpatrick said. "It's unfortunate that we have to come to this, but it's gotten so bad that we have so many irresponsible owners."
He pointed out the proposal isn't as severe as other communities' laws outlawing certain breeds.
Fitzpatrick said the committee studied other dog ordinances. There are aspects of laws in Jackson, Farmington Hills, Denver and Toledo woven through Saginaw's proposal.
Animal Care Center Director Valerie McCullough, who also served on the ordinance committee, hopes the law passes and impacts what she considers a growing threat in the city.
"You're going to have people who are for it and against it," she said. "For everybody's safety, something does need to be put in place."
Fitzpatrick said the ordinance also is aimed at protecting other animals.
The councilman said, in visiting with neighborhood watch groups, he's heard stories of pet owners walking their dogs when larger, loose dogs attack and sometimes kill the smaller animals.
Pit bullying
Pit bulls in particular pose problems in Saginaw, McCullough said.
Of the 945 dogs euthanized at the Animal Care Center in 2009, McCullough estimated more than half were pit bulls. The center euthanizes all captured pit bull breeds not claimed by owners.
McCullough replaced Mark Wachner, who retired in June 2008. Wachner, before leaving Saginaw, became such so knowledgeable about pit bulls that he often served as an expert witness in court cases across the state.
Wachner said the Animal Care Center's kennels contained about 10 percent pit bulls when he arrived in 1985. That figure increased to 75 percent by the time he left.
"That probably is your most common breed in Saginaw County," McCullough said. "Most of the complaints we receive come from inside the city."
The committee also featured members from groups often exposed to "dangerous" breeds, including the U.S. Postal Service, AT&T and Consumers Energy.
"Our employees are out in the field all the time, working on gas and electric lines and reading meters," said Tom Begin, a Consumers Energy spokesman and committee member. "We've always been concerned about dogs and the dangers they pose. We wanted to do something to make our employees more safe, so I jumped at this chance."
Begin said the company does not keep statistics on the number of dog attacks or threats its employees endure but said the "largest concentration" of incidents is within city limits.
"Our objective is that we don't have to start keeping statistics," he said.
Saginaw crafts 'dangerous dogs' ordinance including pit bulls; measure could fine owners, oust pets from animal-heavy homes | MLive.com
Pit bulls,
Rottweilers,
German Shepherds,
Huskies,
Alaskan Malamutes,
Doberman Pinschers,
Chow Chows,
Great Danes,
St. Bernards, and
Presa Canarios.
Please send your POLITE, RESPECTFUL and INFORMATIVE opposition to breed specific legislation to the Saginaw officials listed below. Please also include viable alternatives and suggestions for their consideration.
City council members could review the new rules at the Feb. 21 meeting and enact them by April 1.
City of Saginaw
City Hall
1315 S. Washington Ave.
Saginaw, MI 48601
Phone: (989) 759-1400
Fax: (989) 759-1607
Greg Branch
Mayor
Term Expires: 2013
Email: [email protected]
Amos O'Neal
Mayor Pro-Tem
Term Expires: 2011
Email: [email protected]
Dennis Browning
Council Member
Term Expires: 2013
Email: [email protected]
Dan Fitzpatrick
Council Member
Term Expires: 2011
Email: [email protected]
[email protected]
Larry Coulouris
Council Member
Term Expires: 2013
Email: [email protected]
Amanda Kitterman-Miller
Council Member
Term Expires: 2011
Email: [email protected]
Dr. William "Bill" Scharffe
Council Member
Term Expires: 2011
Email: [email protected]
Paul Virciglio
Council Member
Term Expires: 2011
Email: [email protected]
Andrew Wendt
Council Member
Term Expires: 2013
Email: [email protected]
Saginaw crafts 'dangerous dogs' ordinance including pit bulls
Published: Sunday, January 16, 2011, 4:06 AM
SAGINAW - Dog owners may be restricted to no more than three pet pooches, buy licenses for them and face fines if they don't register dogs that are on Saginaw's list of the most dangerous canines.
The Saginaw City Council in the coming weeks likely will vote on the "dangerous dogs" ordinance that's been in the works since August. Council members could review the new rules Feb. 21 meeting and enact them by April 1.
"I imagine this will be controversial," City Clerk Diane Herman said.
Continued reports of maulings - including this month's pit bull attack on 8-year-old Bay City boy Cameron P. Everette, who needed 100 stitches - "keeps telling us more and more that we have to have it in place," Herman said.
A Saginaw committee organized by Mayor Greg Branch continues to debate which breeds to list.
The proposal
Today, city residents pay $12 per year to license spayed and neutered dogs and $25 for dogs that are not fixed to the Saginaw County Animal Care Center. Those 60 and older pay $5 for spayed and neutered dogs.
Under the proposal, owners of animals on the dangerous-dogs list also would have to pay a $50 one-time permit fee at City Hall or face to civil infraction fines set by a judge.
The breeds in the preliminary proposal are on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's 10 most dangerous dogs list. The list includes pit bulls, Rottweilers, German shepherds, huskies, Alaskan Malamutes, Doberman pinschers, chow chows, great Danes, St. Bernards and presa canarios.
The proposal also would require owners of listed dogs to attach a city-issued sign indicating the dog's presence near a home's entrance or doghouse and, when walking the animal, to fit a muzzle over the dog's mouth.
Members of the Saginaw Code Enforcement Neighborhood Improvement Cooperative would enforce the ordinance, treating violations the same way they would a junk car on a person's front yard or garbage strewn across a lawn.
First, the agents would issue a warning.
Continued noncompliance could result in an initial $100 fine, $200 on the next day and $400 for additional infractions.
The council also could adopt lower fines for owners with more than three dogs. Noncompliance could result in a $50 fine the first time, $100 on the next day and $150 for additional infractions.
Herman said the proposal's early draft does not include a clause exempting residents who already own more than three dogs.
"If somebody has had that number of dogs for years, I don't know what happens," the clerk said. "You'd hate to have somebody have to get rid of a dog they've had for 20 years. These (plans) haven't been finalized, though."
When the council introduces the ordinance, bylaws rule the council must wait at least two weeks before voting.
While there will be no public hearings, Herman said citizens can sign up to speak in front of the council to voice concerns or show support.
'Badge of honor'
Councilman Daniel Fitzpatrick, who serves on the ordinance committee, agrees the proposal likely will draw fire from dog advocates who argue certain breeds are dangerous because of a poor environment and not on their own merits.
Fitzpatrick said the proposal could draw the sort of outcry the council heard in December 2009 when it considered a six-month freeze on medical marijuana use, growth and distribution. About 30 protesters attended one council meeting. Less than a month later, the city backed off the effort.
Fitzpatrick said the dangerous dog initiative becomes more pressing as the number of dog attacks climbs.
He cited the March 2009 pit bull attack on Duane E. VanLanHam of Buena Vista Township, who lost extremities and continues to recover after saving a neighbor from a pack of pit bulls, as another important push for change.
"In our particular area, these dogs are a badge of honor to a lot of the people who own them," Fitzpatrick said. "It's unfortunate that we have to come to this, but it's gotten so bad that we have so many irresponsible owners."
He pointed out the proposal isn't as severe as other communities' laws outlawing certain breeds.
Fitzpatrick said the committee studied other dog ordinances. There are aspects of laws in Jackson, Farmington Hills, Denver and Toledo woven through Saginaw's proposal.
Animal Care Center Director Valerie McCullough, who also served on the ordinance committee, hopes the law passes and impacts what she considers a growing threat in the city.
"You're going to have people who are for it and against it," she said. "For everybody's safety, something does need to be put in place."
Fitzpatrick said the ordinance also is aimed at protecting other animals.
The councilman said, in visiting with neighborhood watch groups, he's heard stories of pet owners walking their dogs when larger, loose dogs attack and sometimes kill the smaller animals.
Pit bullying
Pit bulls in particular pose problems in Saginaw, McCullough said.
Of the 945 dogs euthanized at the Animal Care Center in 2009, McCullough estimated more than half were pit bulls. The center euthanizes all captured pit bull breeds not claimed by owners.
McCullough replaced Mark Wachner, who retired in June 2008. Wachner, before leaving Saginaw, became such so knowledgeable about pit bulls that he often served as an expert witness in court cases across the state.
Wachner said the Animal Care Center's kennels contained about 10 percent pit bulls when he arrived in 1985. That figure increased to 75 percent by the time he left.
"That probably is your most common breed in Saginaw County," McCullough said. "Most of the complaints we receive come from inside the city."
The committee also featured members from groups often exposed to "dangerous" breeds, including the U.S. Postal Service, AT&T and Consumers Energy.
"Our employees are out in the field all the time, working on gas and electric lines and reading meters," said Tom Begin, a Consumers Energy spokesman and committee member. "We've always been concerned about dogs and the dangers they pose. We wanted to do something to make our employees more safe, so I jumped at this chance."
Begin said the company does not keep statistics on the number of dog attacks or threats its employees endure but said the "largest concentration" of incidents is within city limits.
"Our objective is that we don't have to start keeping statistics," he said.
Saginaw crafts 'dangerous dogs' ordinance including pit bulls; measure could fine owners, oust pets from animal-heavy homes | MLive.com
