Update: The proposal to ban pit bulls has been referred to a committee. Please continue to contact officials listed below and politely urge them to avoid a breed ban.!  

Original report: Ulrichsville, Ohio is fast tracking a ban on pit bulls through its city council. 

Please send letters and call each individual listed below.  Please be polite and respectful in all correspondence. 
Keep all letters to one page and prepare your message prior to calling.  Talking points are below. 

City of Uhrichsville Offices
305 E. 2nd St. Uhrichsville, OH 44683
Phone: (740) 922-1242

Rick Rieger-Mayor
910 Parrish Street
Uhrichsville, Ohio  44683
740-922-0568

Jason Jackson-Law Director
318 Packer Street
Uhrichsville, Ohio  44683
740-922-2376

Jack Wells-Safety Director
302 Walnut Street
Uhrichsville, Ohio  44683
(740) 922-2614

Mick Donato -  Council President
1021 N. Main Street
Uhrichsville, Ohio  44683
(740) 922-3531

Mark Haney - Council person, Ward 1
632 Gorley Street
Uhrichsville, Ohio  44683
(740) 922-0228

Terry Culbertson - Council person, Ward 2
326 N. Romig Street
Uhrichsville, Ohio  44683
(740) 922-4959

Ohio law already defines "vicious dog" to include dogs that "belong to a breed commonly known as pit bull dog". ORC Sec. 955.11. Last year, Ulrichsville passed an ordinance requiring owners of vicious dogs to follow confinement requirements and maintain a $100,000 liability insurance policy to cover injuries and damages caused by the dog. State law already has a number of such requirements for owners of "vicious" dogs. ORC Sec. 955.22

City council members supporting a ban say it is necessary because of complaints about owners who fail to follow the restrictions for keeping pit bull dogs.

Breed specific legislation does not work, however, to make communities safe. Study after study has proven this. Dogs don't bite because of breed or appearance; they bite out of fear that could have been the result of poor socialization, neglect, abuse, tethering or confinement or isolation.  In other words, it is the owner's negligent or criminal actions that are responsible, not the dog's breed or appearance.

BSL penalizes responsible dog owners and means the death of dogs that are not in any way dangerous.

It is also well-established that people cannot look at a dog and determine its breed. Recently, in Denver Dr. Victoria Voith did a little test on animal shelter directors, dog trainers and others who work with dogs. 

They were asked to view 20 dogs on a videotape and identify each one by breed including whether the dog was a purebred or a mix. The professionals were surprised by how few dogs they identified correctly by breed. Voith believes as many as 75% of the pit bull identifications made by shelter workers, animal control or law enforcement are wrong. She is the author of Shelter Medicine: A Comparison of Visual and DNA Identifications of BREEDS of Dogs.  As DNA testing becomes more reliable, it is proving that many of the dogs identified as pit bull are actually a mix of dozens of breeds with little or none of the DNA of pit bull type dogs. 

That means a lot of dogs condemned by BSL are not even pit bulls.   

BSL is a costly negative for a community where dogs are viewed as enemies rather than family members requiring proper care, management and love.  Go here for ways to improve relations in the community with dogs and also how to address the reasons dogs bite and keep communities safe. 

WHAT ELSE YOU CAN DO

Please support H.B. 79, a bill that, if passed, would repeal the definition of "vicious" dog that includes "pit bulls" simply because of breed or appearance.  Go here for more information and how you can help pass this bill.