How Would BSL Affect My Neighborhood?

I often think about how a breed ban targeting Rottweilers and "pit bulls" would affect my neighborhood. Have a look. I took the liberty of assigning a "risk level" to each dog. The risk level is the liklihood that I will be bitten if I were to attempt to pet the dog.

BANNED

My two dogs - a "pit bull" and a "pit bull mix". Both are temperament tested, obedience trained, agility trained, spayed/neutered, indoor dogs. Risk level low.

Behind me - a Rottweiler. She is an outdoor dog, very mellow and quiet. Has never left the yard. Her owners do come out and pet her and talk to her, and they consider her a family member. Risk level medium-low.

On the corner - two Rottweilers. Strictly outdoor dogs. I don't know much about them, but they are both fairly quiet. They have never left the yard to my knowledge. One of the owners worked for Petsmart for a little while, and I know he loves dogs, but I don't think he's bothered to train his own dogs. Risk level medium.

Somewhere in the neighborhood - another pit bull. I know there is another pit bull somewhere nearby because I have seen the owner drive by my house with the dog in the car. It appears that she (the owner) takes her pit bull on a daily car ride around the neighborhood; the dog hangs its head out the window and barks excitedly during the entire trip - you can hear them coming. What a riot! Risk level ??

NOT BANNED

Beside me - a Lab. He is strictly outdoors. In fact, he lives in a kennel smaller than my closet, 24-7. He is unneutered, untrained, and barks non-stop, all day and night. Once in a great while the owners let him out to roam around in the yard. Risk level medium.

Two houses down - a Shepherd mix (?). He is strictly outdoors. He lives on a chain most of the time, and occasionally gets crammed into a tiny kennel (the doghouse barely fits in it). He is untrained, probably unneutered, and barks constantly. No one interacts with him. Risk level high.

Catty-corner to us - two Chihuahuas. They appear to be indoor/outdoor dogs. Occasionally I see one running loose in the street; it will run at me barking furiously. Risk level medium.

Across the street - a couple of Dachschunds and a Bichon Frise. Indoor/outdoor. They are all well-loved and played with. I have seen the Dachschunds running loose once but that appears to have been a freak accident. Risk level medium-low.

Down the street - a German Shepherd. While walking my own dog (on leash), I was confronted by it. Fortunately, the owner was present and called the dog away before there was any harm done. Risk level medium.

Down the street - a couple of Chihuahuas. Again, while walking my own dog, I was confronted by one of the Chihuahuas, which was running loose. It launched an attack against my dog but the owner appeared and called it away before anyone got hurt. Risk level high.

A few streets over - two Lab mixes. Strictly outdoor dogs. I am familiar with them because one of them is an escape artist and has found its way into my yard three times. It's a relatively friendly dog. Risk level low.

Unknown residence - three black Chow Chows. I would dearly like to know where these dogs live. They charged at me while I was on a walk with my pit mix Dozer. Dozer probably saved my life by putting himself between me and them and giving them a warning. The Chows decided I was too much trouble and ran off. Risk level very high.

Unknown residence - two yellow Labs. One of these dogs has the dubious honor of being the only dog that has ever bitten me with intent to harm. They were both running loose. I called animal control, but after an hour watching them barrel around the neighborhood chasing animals and tormenting other dogs, I finally decided to catch them myself. Based on their behavior I knew I was going to get bitten catching these two, so I was prepared, and had my hand perfectly positioned so that the bite didn't break the skin. The dogs also bit the ACO who finally came to get them from me. A small child would not have been so lucky (or physically able). AC reported to me that these two dogs are repeat offenders. Risk level very high.

Next door - one huge black Mastiff-type dog. Possibly a Neopolitan mastiff or a Cane Corso. This poor dog is in a serious state of neglect. His legs are covered in huge growths, his red, raw paws are swollen to the size of baseballs, and he is very thin. He limps everywhere. His head tilts to the right. The owner shows absolutely no interest in seeking vet care. The dog is in a lot of pain. He also acts extremely aggressive toward people beyond the flimsy rotting fence (I don't blame him). Risk level very high.

So how does this hypothetical breed ban affect me? Does it improve my safety in any way? All of the dogs I consider medium-high to very high risk dogs - the most dangerous dogs - would not be banned. A few medium risk dogs will go, but far more are left behind. And I would lose my own dogs, one of which actually saved me from a dog attack, so my personal safety actually decreases as a result of a breed ban.

Now let's look at possible alternatives to breed-specific legislation. I propose the following hypothetical measures, which currently are non-exisistant:

What sort of results can we expect? Let's make some educated guesses.

My Neighborhood with Non-Breed-Specific Actions

My two dogs - a "pit bull" and a "pit bull mix". No effect. Risk level still low.

Behind me - the quiet outdoor Rottweiler. No effect. Risk level still medium-low.

On the corner - two outdoor Rottweilers. They may get neutered if they haven't been already. Not much else. Risk level still medium.

Somewhere in the neighborhood - the pit bull who gets a daily car ride. Who knows? Risk level still unknown.

Beside me - the barking Lab in the tiny kennel. Owners may neuter if its free. They may also invest in a no-bark collar or find an indoor spot for the dog during the night if confronted by AC about the nuisance barking. No other real change. Risk level still medium.

Two houses down - the barking Shepherd mix that is chained. No-chain law would get the dog off the chain, possibly causing owner to reconsider how they are treating the dog. I think they would prefer to have a "good" family dog, especially since they have several small children, but they are very low-income and don't appear willing to spend a lot of money on the dog. Owners may neuter and train if it's free. Risk level drops from high to medium.

Catty-corner to us - two Chihuahuas. Increased liklihood of fine for loose dog may inspire them to keep their dogs inside. Risk level drops from medium to low.

Across the street - a couple of Dachschunds and a Bichon Frise. Probably no change. Risk level still medium-low.

Down the street - the German Shepherd. Enforcement of leash law may inspire owner to keep dog contained. Risk level drops from medium to medium-low.

Down the street - a couple of Chihuahuas. Enforcement of leash law may inspire owner to keep dogs contained. Risk level drops from high to medium-low.

A few streets over - two Lab mixes. Probably no change. The owner was very concerned that his one dog kept getting out and appeared to be committed to stopping the behavior. Risk level still low.

Unknown residence - three black Chow Chows that tried to attack me. Stronger leash law would either inspire owner to keep dogs contained, or additional funding for animal control would increase the liklihood that AC would pick the dogs up quickly. Risk level drops from very high to medium.

Unknown residence - two biting yellow Labs. Stronger leash law may inspire owner to keep dogs contained, or additional funding for animal control would increase the liklihood that AC would pick the dogs up quickly. Their risk level won't go down much, though, because the dogs are known biters. Risk level drops from very high to medium-high.

Next door - huge black Mastiff-type dog. In all honesty, the rotting fence was the only thing that ended this poor dog's suffering. As soon as I noticed the problem (due to the fact that the dog kept walking into my backyard through huge holes in the fence), I called AC myself about the obvious neglect. This dog was, unfortunately, too far gone health-wise to be saved. Obviously the risk level drops to zero since the dog is gone, but that was not due to any extra efforts or laws such as we have been discussing here. However, preventing these people from getting yet another dog, especially after they have proven themselves grossly irresponsible, would have stopped them from going out and buying a Chihuahua puppy that they then left chained for hours in their front yard without water in the middle of summer. I haven't seen that dog in quite a while and sometimes I wonder what happened to it.

Comparing the implementation of a breed ban versus non-breed-specific measures, it becomes quite clear that public safety is only improved by the non-breed-specific measures. Why focus on one or two breeds when the dangers are created by the manner in which a dog is treated and kept?

Almost all of us have to deal with dangerous or vicious dogs at some point in our lives, whether they be pit bulls, Chihuahuas, Dalmatians, or Labs. Why are our legislators only interested in helping a few individuals through something as underinclusive and ineffecient as BSL, while ignoring the plight of the rest of us? Do I not deserve equal protection, even though my dangerous dog problems have nothing to do with pit bulls or Rottweilers? Legislators who propose BSL are not interested in public safety. They want a quick fix. BSL proponents are belittling our dangerous dog problems. Are you as offended as I am? Do something about it - tell your legislators how you feel!

Copyright 2005-2008 by Jennifer Thomas.
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