The Pit Bull Lovers Blog

Anti-dog Laws – How do they affect Pit Bull Owners?

June 28th, 2008

While I’m writing this post there is someone out there somewhere having his/her Pit Bull taken from them. How do I know this? Because anti-dog laws are sweeping our nation.

A few examples of anti-dog laws that target Pit Bulls:

1. Anti-Tethering laws. While on the surface this may seem like a good idea there are a lot people out there who can not have fences and this requires the dog to be tethered. That is just one thing that would cause someone to tether their dog. There are many more.

Tethering, when done properly and with thought is not cruel to a dog. People neglecting the dog and tying it out to a dog house on a 200 lbs chain is cruel. Not all Pit Bull owners do this though. This is just another way of slipping anti-pit bull laws through the cracks.

It is also a way for PETA and animal rights groups to “free” animals. Think I’m kidding? Not by a long shot.

2. Mandatory Spay/Neuter Laws. Again, while on the surface you might be saying, that would be a great thing! I say, no, it would not be great. Funny how some cities have passed this laws with support from Pit Bull owners and dog lovers.

What I don’t get is, why are only Pit Bulls and Pit Bull type dogs targeted here? This is simply a less harsh form of BSL that slips through the cracks.

3. Anti-Penning and Caging laws. These laws will make it illegal to kennel your dog. Period. You will not be able to take them to a boarding kennel (they will be out of business after all) and you will not be able to kennel your dog in your house or outside.

This type of law is an extension to anti-tethering laws. Aka, Freeing the animals from bondage, aka PETA.

4. Changing the wording from owners to guardians. I wrote a blog post a while back about being a guardian to your dog. I was ignorant when I wrote that. While I don’t view my dogs as property but by law they are viewed as my property.

I do believe that being a guardian figure in your dogs life is good. However, I also have come to re-think the situation and now believe that we are dog owners as well.

Let me tell you why I changed my mind. The law. Simple really. If the wording is changed to guardian and we are no longer owners that makes our dogs like foster kids. Not property. In regards to the law you do not have any rights when it comes to foster status. In other words, they can take your dog from you and you can not fight them using the legal system.

The 14th amendment states: ” Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”

I put the text that applies to our situation in bold. If we change our status to guardian this no longer applies and we have no legal legs to stand on. A new Pit Bull supporter brought this to my attention and I thank her for that.

Here is a little snippet from the 5th amendment: “nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.”

Again, without ownership this does not apply to us anymore.

I would like you to think about this. How does this affect you? This means that you have rights as a dog lover. This means you can vote and take a stand against these illegal laws that are being passed at an alarming rate.

This means you and I have a legal voice. Now we need to get out there and use it.

I mentioned in my last post one thing you can do is start a blog. That is a great first step. Blogs get attention from search engines and people love to read them. Start one up and get blogging. You can get a blog at Blogger.com or Typepad.com. Starting your own Pit Bull/Dog Lover blog is not that hard and it is a great way to start a campaign to challenge these laws and help the general public understand our side of the story.

So get blogging!

Best Regards,
Jason, Angel, Honey and Mr. Patches
The Most Complete Pit Bull Information Site on the World Wide Web

Categories: Pit Bull Blog | Tags: anti-dog laws, breed specific legislation, Pit Bulls