Wentzville Dog Owners Fight Breed Discriminatory Ordinance

by Ledy VanKavage · 2011-11-29 22:49:00 UTC
Topics:

In photos, the Kearneys' dogs look like Great Danes, big and gangly, but  they haven't had DNA testing done to prove their heritage, so who knows what breeds they really are? But Amanda Kearney made a mistake on Facebook that has cost her pets their freedom. She referred to her dogs as "pit bull mixes" and a nosy neighbor reported them to the Wentzville police. So much for being neighborly. Now the pets can't be outside a kennel unless they are leashed and muzzled. The Kearneys can't even open their windows if the dogs are inside the house. Unbelievable.

Paul Emmerich and his fiance, Tyanna Flynn, heard about what happened to the Kearneys and decided to start a petition on Change.org to end the Wentzville witch hunt against dogs.

Paul says he has seen how the town's breed discriminatory law can be manipulated and used against good owners and good dogs. He and Tyanna believe that breed specific legislation, like the Wentzville ordinance that restricts dogs who look like pit bulls, is a form of discrimination against dogs and their owners.

Paul and Tyanna own two dogs, two cats and two rabbits — all rescues. They wanted to adopt a pit bull type dog but couldn't because of the law, so they have boxer mixes. Now they worry that the pet police will come for their dogs next.

Cities that enact canine profiling have the burden of proving the breed of the dog. As Dr. Victoria Voith's study has shown, visual identification of dogs of unknown heritage is correct only 25 percent of the time, which means DNA testing is the only way to get to the bottom of whether a dog is actually a pit bull or not. This is colossal waste of taxpayer dollars.

There is hope in Wentzville though. Alderman Chris Gard has drafted some revisions to repeal the breed discriminatory provisions. Alderman and humanitarian Nick Guccione also thinks breed-specific laws are wrong, and the aldermen intend to debate the pit bull ordinance during a work session on December 7th.

Please help change the ordinance by signing Paul and Tyanna's Change.org  petition. It will be presented  at the work session, scheduled for 6 p.m. on Wednesday, December 7 at City Hall. All Wentzville dog owners  are encouraged to attend the meeting and speak out. Your pet could be next.

Photo Credit: Best Friends Animal Society, Melissa Lipani

Ledy VanKavage has worked extensively on behalf of animals for over 25 years. She is currently the Senior Legislative Attorney for Best Friends Animal Society.

RELATED PETITION

CHANGE Breed Specific Laws in Wentzville Missouri
VICTORY!
2,529 People
PREVIOUS STORY:
University of Delaware Students Want the Blue Hens to Go Cage-Free
NEXT STORY:
Petitions Delivered Around the World for Release of Indonesian Circus Dolphins

COMMENTS (26)

    Comment Policy

    · All fields are required to comment.

    [X]

    Comments on Change.org are meant for further exploration and evaluation of the campaign on Change.org. To that end, we welcome constructive comments. However, we reserve the right to delete comments which, as determined solely in our discretion: (1) are offensive, abusive, or off-topic; (2) include content solely intended to personally attack the campaign creator, (3) are designed to subvert or hijack comment threads rather than contribute to them; and/or (4) violate our terms of service and/or privacy policy. Repeat offenders may be permanently removed from the site at our discretion. Please also be advised that: (A) we do not actively curate and/or monitor in any manner whatsoever the comments made on the Change.org platform, and (B) the creator of each campaign on Change.org may remove any comment at her/his/its discretion.