New law to restrict ownership or a dog’s life?
I was recently on the American Kennel Club website (www.akc.org) and noticed that Pennsylvania currently has a bill (PA House Bill 2553) that would allow municipalities to pass any type of law that applies to dangerous dogs and includes breed specific ordinances. If this bill is passed it will allow municipalities to decide which dogs / breeds are considered dangerous and take actions as they feel appropriate. If you oppose this bill, please contact the members of the House Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee, or contact your legislator!
Also, the neighboring state of Ohio has a bill (Ohio bill 568) introduced by Representative Tyrone Yates of Cincinnati, that is aimed at prohibiting ownership of any dog that is of the breed of pit bull dog. This bill will prohibit the ownership, keeping or harboring of a dog that belongs to the breed known as the pit bill. Within 90 days of the bill going into effective, anyone who owns a dog that belongs to the breed of pit bull will be forced to surrender the dog to a dog warden. Within 10 days of the surrender the dog will be euthanized. If there is probable cause to believe that a dog is of the pit bull breed, a search warrant can be obtained and the dog seized and euthanized within 10 days. If you are an Ohio resident and oppose this bill, please contact your representative! There are no bad dogs, just bad owners!
This reminds me of a poem by Pastor Martin Neimoller (1892-1984) the translation as appears at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
The version inscribed at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. reads:
First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out -
because I was not a Socialist.
Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out -
because I was not a Trade Unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out -
because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me – and there was no one left to speak for me.
Tags: dog euthanized, law to limit dogs allowed, ohio dog law, pa dog law, pa house bill 2553