FeedsPet owner groups protest breed ban
Two weeks before Plymouth City Attorney Bob Marzano is expected to give his legal opinion about a proposed ordinance banning the ownership of pit bulls in Plymouth, dog-owner’s rights advocates had their say Monday.
During the public comments portion of the city commission bi-weekly public meeting, several opponents of the ordinance, suggested by a citizen petition to the commission, asked commissioners to carefully consider any attempt at creating legislation that singles out one particular breed of animal.
“It’s a very emotional issue…. once you pick a particular group, you run into big problems,” said Joe Petre, an eight-year resident of Plymouth who along with his wife, created A Voice for Pits, a blog website that opposes breed specific legislation or laws that ban or govern particular breeds of animals differently from others.
Petre’s comments to the commission were in response to a petition filed by Chris and Maureen Schneider of Jenner Street last month with more than a 100 signatures calling for the elimination of pit bulls and other animals bred for fighting within city limits.
The Schneiders started the petition after Kyle Kosmyna moved into the neighborhood with a 2-year-old pit bull on Feb. 12.
Petre said he is not advocating for Kosmyna’s ability as a dog owner but to protect the rights of Plymouth residents to own any domesticated animal of their choosing, provided they are abiding by local and state laws for animal safety. Petre said he has no objection to the second petition filed by the Schneiders calling for ordinances to strengthen guidelines for all dog owners in the municipality.
“We’re more concerned with responsible dog ownership,” Petre said.
Don Barden, of the Michigan Association for Pure Bred Dogs and a legislative liaison for the American Kennel Club, told commissioners his organization “strongly opposes legislation that determines a dog to be dangerous based on specific breeds or phenotypic classes of dogs.”
“(Legislation) would come under serious Constitutional questions,” said Barden who has worked with municipalities throughout southeastern Michigan with ordinances to protect both the safety of residents and the rights of dog-owners.
Barden, who spent at least 30 minutes talking to several Plymouth residents in favor of the pit bull ban said “common ground” could be reached.
“I believe that everyone that participated in that discussion came away from it realizing that there was a lot of common ground among the members of the discussion. That common ground focused on developing an enforceable animal control ordinance; one that is equitable among all dog owners and promotes responsible dog/animal ownership,” said Barden. “In my opinion, everyone was on the same page, albeit on opposite margins.”
Plymouth Mayor Phil Pursell said he has been inundated with information from ban supporters and opponents since the petitions were filed. Pursell said the city is in the national spotlight because of the issue.
“Iowa, California, Texas, I’ve never had as much information sent to me from people all over the country in my life,” he added.
Marzano is scheduled to give his report on the ordinance during the Plymouth City Commission meeting that begins at 7 p.m. March 17. The meeting will be at Plymouth City Hall located on 201.S. Main St.
