Dog owners don’t muzzle opinions on new ordinance

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April 13, 2008

By GREG JORDAN The Bluefield Daily Telegraph Sun Apr 13, 2008, 09:19 PM EDT

BLUEFIELD — Should pit bulls and other dog breeds with reputations for biting always be muzzled? Local dog owners have differing views of a new dangerous animal ordinance recently passed by the Bluefield Board of Directors.

The directors voted unanimously April 8 to overhaul the city’s dangerous animal ordinance. Registered pit bulls and wolf-hybrid dogs must now be secured by a leash no longer than six feet in length and under the control of a person 18-years-old or older who has the physical ability to control the dog. Such dogs must also wear a muzzling device when outside their kennels.

Pit bulls are frequently used in illegal dog fights. They also have a reputation for attacking people without provocation, but there are pit bull owners who argue that labeling all examples of the breed vicious is unfair.

Jennifer Sullivan of Bluefield, who keeps a pit bull named Empress, emphasized that her dog was anything but dangerous.

“You can come in and she will lick you to death. She loves children, she loves people,” Sullivan said. “We have a cat, and she won’t even bite our cat. She loves other animals. That’s why I can’t understand why they say all pit bulls are vicious and need to be registered. They say they need to be muzzled, but I will never muzzle her because I think it’s very cruel to muzzle an animal if they’re not mean.”

Empress was a puppy when Sullivan acquired her. “I think it’s all in how pit bulls are raised. I’ve been bitten by two Chihuahuas and I’ve never been snapped at by a pit bull,” Sullivan said.

However, Sullivan added that she and her Carolina Avenue neighbors have been harassed by a large stray mutt. The dog has lingered in the neighborhood “for years,” she said.

The city’s animal control officer has not been able to catch it, and is not licensed to use a tranquilizer dart gun on it, Sullivan added.

Mercer County Animal Control Officer Stacy Shampo, who was asked by the Daily Telegraph about animal ordinances on the county level, said officers must be well trained before they are certified to use tranquilizer weapons and allowed to purchase and handle drugs used to capture animals. The training comes in three levels, and even level one training takes a week to complete, she said.

Tranquilizing animals, known as “chemical captures” becomes necessary when dogs and other animals that have been running on their own for a long time become wary of tight spaces where they might get cornered, Shampo said. They avoid live capture traps for this reason.

County animal control officers do not yet have this training, but it is being considered.

“The county commission does wish to provide this, but it will take time to complete the classes,” Shampo said. “And even with classes, you have to wait for certification.”

Dogs fortunate enough to have good owners were out walking Saturday morning. Some of the people walking their dogs Saturday said they felt a breed-specific ordinance requiring all pit bulls to be muzzled was unnecessary. Two Bluefield residents, Ollie and Sue Law, rested a moment while walking their two dogs.

“Not all big dogs are mean and not all little dogs are nice,” said Ollie Law, a former member of the Bluefield Board of Directors. Law once had a job that brought him close to dogs every day.

“I was a mailman for a little over 30 years,” he said. “One to three dozen dogs might be following me. This was before the leash law. I was bitten 8 times.”

He recalled being bitten by a large dog, but that was only after it had been hit by a car; he was helping it get out of the road. The other attackers were small dogs. Not all large dogs or dogs of a certain breed are automatically dangerous, both Sue and Ollie Law said.

“I don’t think all pit bulls are mean,” he said. “I think it all depends on how they’re treated and trained. I think if they [city] had enforced the leash law, they wouldn’t have all the other problems.” If previous laws were obeyed, any dog would either be kept on its owner’s property or on a leash, he said.

“I hate to see a dog muzzled,” Sue Law said. “It’s a pitiful sight.”

Another resident enjoying the morning with her pet also disagreed that all pit bulls needed muzzling when out in public. Patsy Dillard of Bluefield was asked about the ordinance while walking Angel, her German Shepherd. She feels all dog owners need to control their pets regardless of the breed.

“I think when you’re out walking them, they should be on a leash,” she said. “You never know what’s going to startle a dog.”

Dillard said she sometimes lets Angel off her leash when they’re alone outdoors, but Angel is obedient and returns immediately when called.

One Bluefield man walking his wiemerraler, Loki, said pit bulls and wolf-hybrid dogs have an aggressive nature that makes it necessary to muzzle them.

“I think pit bulls need to be muzzled. They’re very territorial and it’s really hard to tell what they’re going to do,” said Tanner Smith of Bluefield. “Every dog needs to be leashed.”

— Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com

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Dog owners don’t muzzle opinions on new ordinance

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