Denver Disregards Federal Ruling Against Service Dog Discrimination

Denver has a long history of dog discrimination. Their ill-conceived pit bull ban was passed in 1989 at the height of media hysteria against the breed. The Denver city council has clung to this inhumane legislation like a dog with a bone, despite how ineffective and expensive it's proven to be.

However, as Martin Matheny reported in July, the Department of Justice issued a new rule stating that cities cannot discriminate against breeds of service dogs without running afoul of the Americans with Disabilities Act. So, given Justice's ruling, you would think that Denver's city council would hurry to comply with the federal government and help the disabled.

Think again: They are stonewalling the service dog exemption to their breed ban.

On October 25, the Denver City Council postponed for the second time the introduction of CB 10-0724, which would exempt service pit bull-type dogs from the breed ban. The bill would also delete the prohibition on the transport of pit bull-type dogs through the City and County of Denver. Note that this provision was invalidated by the courts in 2006, but it's still on the books.

And yes, unsuspecting people driving through Denver with their dogs occasionally were pulled over and their pups seized just for being on the interstate with a pit bull-type pooch. This is America, right?

The city council seems to be holding onto the idea that their pit bull ban will protect citizens from dog bites (although it hasn't yet). They  might want to peruse the new study recently published in the Journal of American Veterinary Medical Association (pdf); it shows how ineffective breed specific laws are in preventing dog bites.

Dr. Gary Patronek and other scientists calculated the "number needed to ban" (NNB) to prevent just one dog bite. Using dog bite injury data from the Centers for Disease Control, the State of Colorado, and other, smaller jurisdictions, along with estimates of the population of various breeds or kinds of dogs, the authors calculated that incredibly large numbers of dogs of targeted breeds would have to be completely removed from a community in order to prevent just one serious dog bite. For example, in order to prevent a single hospitalization resulting from a dog bite, the authors calculate that a city or town would have to ban more than 100,000 dogs of a targeted breed. To prevent a second hospitalization, double that number. Are you listening Denver?

Given that this is the second postponement on this bill, one might think that the City Council is thumbing their noses at Justice, not to mention that it makes Denver seem like a pretty unwelcoming place for people with disabilities.

The measure is scheduled to come up again on November 1. Maybe Denver's city council should follow Topeka's lead and totally repeal their breed discriminatory law. Please sign the petition urging them to to repeal their ban. Politics is not a spectator sport.

Photo: Safe Humane Chicago