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If you don’t already know (which would be hard because we talk about him all the time!), Meredith and I have a wonderful 11 month old, pure bred American Bulldog named Jackson. He’s a big guy. Even at only 11 months, he’s around 80 lbs. with room to grow. But, he’s a joy to have in our lives and always a favorite at the Westerville dog park we take him to. Take a look at some pictures of him I took on my blog HERE.

Unfortunately, Jackson’s life is being threatened. We, and hundreds of other families in Ohio, need your support and help.

You may or may not have heard about a recent amendment to Ohio’s House Bill 568 proposed by Representative Yates (District 33) that would effectively ban the ownership of any dog that belongs to a breed that is commonly known as a pit bull dog (the term pit bull is vague, but as Franklin County lists it as an American Pit Bull Terrier, a Staffordshire Bull Terrier, an American Staffordshire Terrier, an American Bulldog, Any other pure bred or mixed breed dog whose appearance and physical characteristics is predominately those of any of the dogs listed above, or is a combination of any of the dogs listed above.)The amended section of the bill would require that within 90 days of the effective date, owners will be forced to surrender their dogs to the dog warden for authorization.

This would mean the killing of thousands of innocent dogs across our state, most likely including our dog, Jackson.

Singling out a specific breed and labeling them as vicious is discriminatory and fundamentally wrong. Not only is it unfair, but it’s not even close to being true. According to the American Temperament Test Society, out of the 586 American Pit Bull Terriers tested, 84.3% passed the temperament test, better than other common breeds like the Basenji, Shih Tzu, and even the Chihuahua (only 70.3% passed!)

Some other interesting data to consider…

According to the National Canine Research Council from 1965 through 2007 there were a total of 17 fatal dog attacks in Ohio. 5 of the instances involved a child attempting to interact with a chained or penned dog.Three others were infants left unsupervised with unfamiliar dogs. 4 of the attacks were from dogs who were actively encouraged to attack someone (those people were criminally charged) That means 70% of the attacks were caused by people. More importantly, ELEVEN different breeds of dogs have been identified as participating in the attacks.

Put the number of fatalities in comparison to some other threats to our community. At a glance in 2001, Ohio had:
Fatal dog attacks: 1
Struck by lightning : 3
Farm animal-related deaths: 4
Bicycle-related fatalities: 18
Child (<10 yrs.) drowned: 21
ATV-related deaths: 30
Automobile accident fatalities: 1,379

So in 2001, you had a greater chance of getting struck by lightning than be killed by a dog attack.

In 2005, 83 children died from maltreatment in Ohio. That's almost 500% more in one year compared to fatal dog attacks over 43 years in the State of Ohio!

Any dog can become dangerous if provoked or trained to be. It is not something that is breed specific. Are some cities having trouble with stray dogs and attacks? Yes. Is there enough evidence to suggest that any dog commonly referred to as a pit bull dog poses a large enough threat to the community to mandate the genocide of an entire breed? Absolutely not. While we agree that a solution to some inner cities' problems with dog attacks needs to be found, this proposed bill is certainly not it.

The good news.

The bill was assigned to the State Government and Elections Committee to discuss whether or not the bill merits a hearing before the general assembly, so it hasn't gotten very far yet. From calling around to various representatives the general consensus is against the bill, including Representative David T. Daniels (Committee Chair). However, with Congress not in session, a lot can happen between now and September. While I've been told that the bill will most likely not make it to the general assembly, the very thought of it even having a remote chance of being passed is sickening.

What you can do to help
Spread the word, talk about it with your family and neighbors. CONTACT YOUR LOCAL REPRESENTATIVE and tell them you’re against the pit bull ban. Contact members of the Government and Elections Committee and voice your opinion to them. It’s easy to get involved, all you have to do is pick up the phone or write an email. With you’re help we can ensure that this bill never even gets a hearing. Help save the lives of thousands of innocent and loving dogs, including our own.

Help us put an end to breed specific legislation!

Please feel free to forward this email!

With love and gratitude,
Tom, Meredith, and Jackson