No Breed Ban for Whitehall, Ohio
Update: 
The Whitehall, Ohio City Council has decided not to pursue a breed ban!
Original report. A proposed pit bull ban is set for hearing in Whitehall, Ohio. The ban is sponsored by Councilperson Jackie Thompson.
Thompson plans to try to get the proposed ban voted on by a committee at a meeting on April 8 at 6:30 p.m. The meeting will be held at Whitehall City Hall, 360 S. Yearling Road.
If the ban passes the committee, it will be read for the first time at the City Council meeting to be held on April 15.
Dozens of people have come to the last 2 council meetings to speak about the ban.
Some citizens said a ban would violate the right to own property. Others said the law would only hurt responsible dog owners while criminals such as dog fighters would continue keeping pit bull type dogs. Many said the town would not be safer with a pit bull ban.
City attorney Mike Shannon pointed out it is very difficult to identify pit bull type dogs.
One citizen asked, "Who will determine whether a dog is a pit bull?....How much will it cost to investigate each case?"
The cost of enforcement is a serious concern. The town doesn't even pay for a dog warden. How will it afford officers to locate all the pit bulls, determine whether the dogs are pit bulls, impound and euthanize them? In one county that passed a ban, Prince George's County, nearly 80% of the dogs impounded and killed because they were pit bulls were believed by animal control to be friendly pets. Is that worth Whitehall's resources? Will they be safer?
Shannon also expressed concern that the ordinance as proposed is likely to be found unconstitutional because it does not provide for an appeal from a finding that a dog is vicious or a pit bull.
Under Ohio law a dog is deemed vicious if it is a pit bull type dog. (Click here for more on that.)
What You Can Do
If you can attend the hearings, please do so. Also, and if you cannot attend write or call Whitehall officials listed below and let them know you oppose a breed ban. Tell these officials know that dogs don't bite because of their breed and communities are not safer unless responsible leaders address the real reasons dogs bite:
- 1. Pass an effective potentially dangerous dog ordinance:
Assign dogs a level of potential danger, with restrictions and penalties for each level.
Require spay/neuter, education and training to encourage owners to take responsibility before a serious injury or death occurs.
Dogs and owners can earn lower levels and dogs can even be declared no longer potentially dangerous.
- Encourage spay/neuter and support funding for free or low cost spay/neuter.
90% of fatal dog attacks are by dogs that have not been spayed/neutered: There is not a single case of a fatal dog attack by a spayed/neutered pit bull type dog (National Canine Research Council);
81% of dogs involved in bite incidents were not spayed/neutered (Texas 2002 Severe Animal Attack and Bite Surveillance Summary)
Research cited in a 2000 Journal of American Veterinary Medical Association study indicated unsterilized dogs are 2.6 times more likely to bite.
3. Mandate spay/neuter for:
Dogs adopted from shelters or rescues or sold by pet stores or breeders
Dogs impounded more than once after being found at-large or off-leash
Dogs declared potentially dangerous or dangerous
Dogs owned by felons
4. Ban tethering or chaining dogs (also a popular technique by dog fighters to make the dogs more aggressive; the CDC has found tethered or chained dogs are 2.8 times more likely to bite)
Lawrence County, Kansas, adopted an anti-tethering ordinance. From 2005 to 2006, the number of calls concerning cruelty and dog fighting dropped from 800 to 260. Officials attribute the decline in large part to the anti-tethering law.
The USDA and even the AVMA has said tethering dogs is inhumane.
5. Pass and enforce strong at large or leash laws or enforce such laws and encourage micro chipping
82% of dog bites occur as a result of dogs that are running loose (JAVMA, September 15, 2000)
After passing a leash law, the city of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, reported a 35% drop in dog bites.
6. Address through strong laws and education the problem of animal cruelty
Well over half (61%) of fatal dog attacks are by dogs who were not humanely controlled, or who had in some way been abused or neglected (Delise, Fatal Dog Attacks: The Stories Behind the Statistics))
7. Offer free or low cost training and education about the importance of socializing dogs early and making them part of the family.
81% of dogs involved in fatal dog attacks were isolated and not part of the family (Delise, Fatal Dog Attacks: The Stories Behind the Statistics))
8. Pass and enforce strong dog fighting laws that make all aspects of dog fighting illegal and include bonding and forfeiture provisions; organize a dog fighting task force
9. Require dog breeders to register or obtain licenses, limit breeding by age and numbers, ban breeding for aggression and fighting, ban the sale of dogs in pet stores and along roadsides, street corners or sidewalks; require inspections of breeders' facilities and track sales of dogs by breeders.
10. Stop the cultural glorification of violence especially involving pit bull type dogs.
Whitehall City Officials
Mayor John A. Wolfe
360 S. Yearling Road
Whitehall, OH 43213
Phone: 614-338-3106
Fax: 614-338-3119
jogg@cityofwhitehall.com
Councilman Brent Howard /(Council President)/
360 S. Yearling Road
Whitehall, OH 43213
(614) 237-8614
_Bhoward@cityofwhitehall.com_
Councilman Christopher Rodruguez
360 S. Yearling Road
Whitehall, OH 43213
(614) 237-8614
_Crodriguez@cityofwhitehall.com_
Councilman Jim Graham
360 S. Yearling Road
Whitehall, OH 43213
(614) 237-8614
_Jgraham@cityofwhitehall.com_
360 S. Yearling Road
Whitehall, OH 43213
(614) 237-8614
_Jthompson@cityofwhitehall.com_
Councilman Robert Bailey /(Ward I)/
360 S. Yearling Road
Whitehall, OH 43213
(614) 237-8614
_Rbailey@cityofwhitehall.com_
Councilman Wesley P. Kantor / (Ward II)/
360 S. Yearling Road
Whitehall, OH 43213
(614) 237-8614
_Wkantor@cityofwhitehall.com_
360 S. Yearling Road
Whitehall, OH 43213
(614) 237-8614
_Lknoblauch@cityofwhitehall.com_
Councilwoman Leslie LaCorte /(Ward IV)/
360 S. Yearling Road
Whitehall, OH 43213
(614) 237-8614
_Llacorte@cityofwhitehall.com_
_citycounciloffice@cityofwhitehall.com_
Whitehall Pit Ban
Whitehall City Council will have an open hearing Tues. June 3 to discuss the pit bull ban and other vicious dog legislation.
god forbid if they should actaully HELP animals owners-
the ignorance of politicians at work! no one ever told them to expand thier horizons once they got into office-pitbulls might be a common breed to fight here in the states but after pitbulls are extinct-whats the next breed? wrotties, dobies, akitas, american bull dogs, and so on...its sickening how the dogs are blamed and not the people. maybe if animal cruelty laws were more strict and time serving (not just a damn fine) the animals would be spared and the a-holes would become extinct! but that would be speaking of a perfect world which will NOT EVER exsist as long as politicians and ignorance go hand in hand!