A Baltimore County proposal calling for pit bull owners to keep their pets in locked cages failed Monday night, to the relief of dog lovers who insist the breed is largely gentle and obedient.
Pit bull owners demonstrated outside the council chambers, where lawmakers killed the proposal in a 1-5 vote. Councilman Vince Gardina, who sponsored and voted for the bill, said pit bulls are physically stronger than other breeds and are responsible for several vicious attacks in the county.
Not so, owners said.
“He?ll get to play in the grass and lay in the sun,” said a jubilant Tina Tenney of her 10-year-old, arthritic pit bull, Gus.
The bill, which applied to pit bulls and any other animal deemed “menacing” by the county?s animal control bureau, appeared doomed last week when about 30 dog owners testified against the proposal. The bill originally also required owners to keep the dogs muzzled at all times in public, post warning signs on fences, and purchase insurance.
Four council members said the county?s animal-control bureau is too understaffed and underfunded to enforce new regulations. Councilman John Olszewski, a Dundalk Democrat, said the bureau staff of about seven inspectors still issues orders and keeps records by hand.
Many dogs remain unregistered, he said.
“I hope there?s been some sunshine directed on the matter because of this,” Olszewski said. “It?s a shame ? it?s a good idea, but you aren?t funding it.”
Gardina, a Perry Hall Democrat, said the bill was inspired by Dominic Solesky, a 10-year-old Towson boy who narrowly survived an attack from a pit bull that hopped a fence in April. Since then, at least two children were attacked by pit bulls in the city and two dogs were killed by pit bulls in the county.
Dominic?s mother, Irene Solesky, supported the bill.
“I?m not saying every pit bull owner is a bad one and that every pit bull attacks,” she said. “The focus should be on, that when one does, it?s almost always debilitating, almost always catastrophic and sometimes fatal.”
