Tuesday, August 14, 2012

A Stand Against the Miami Pitbull Ban


Miami is my hometown, the place I call home and where I spent the first spent 21 years of my life. I've made some wonderful memories there while growing up and I wouldn't have it any other way. But it does have one little flaw...

To start off with, I felt like I needed a change of scenery! By moving, it allowed me to grow as a person  and have a fresh start with new opportunities. I've experienced so many new things I probably would have never had in Miami and have also branched out by meeting new people. It's been a great experience thus far and I plan on continuing my growth outside of my old hometown.

Something many people wouldn't even worry about: the ban on Pitbulls. It may seem silly to a lot of people but after working at my shelter, I've met some really incredible dogs that have made a lasting impact on me; and the majority of them have been pitbulls. Thankfully, Orlando doesn't have a ban on pitbulls so I don't ever have to worry about a pitbull being put down just because of it's breed. Just the thought of that happening makes me SICK and I can't imagine how it would be like to work at a shelter in Miami and having to do that.


If anyone has a pitbull in Miami and someone reports them to Animal Services, they have no choice (thanks to that ban) but to go and remove the animal from their homes. The owners then have FIVE days to remove the dog from Miami-Dade County or it will be put down. My heart breaks just thinking of how many innocent and beautiful dogs have died because of that law :( .

Working at the shelter I have never EVER been worried about a pitbull attacking me, the ones I do worry about and are more cautious of are the little breed dogs. Oh yes! Small dogs are more likely to be scared of people because of our large size relative to theirs, so they will probably bite out of fear unlike the bigger dogs. My main concern with pitbulls is being attacked by kisses and stopping them from licking me to death! :)


I could go on and on about pitbulls and how wonderful they are, but I'll save that for a later post. I wanted to focus this blog post on the voting that took place today and how excited I am about it! I am so upset I wasn't able to vote and I probably could have if I did an absentee ballot, but I was a little late in the game. The vote on #500 would revoke the ban on pitbulls in Miami-Dade County and this would be a HUGE deal in saving so many innocent dogs! I've seen pictures of people showing their support on Facebook and even people who share it by writing in on their cars...so I'm hoping the word spread and that people voted YES on lifting the ban!


I mean really, if you can legally own a tiger in Miami but not a pitbull...something's just not right.


Now to wait and see what the results of the voting polls are! Educating people about raising a happy and healthy dog is important and spreading the word is even more important. I hope this makes people realize that education is key in keeping a safe community for everyone.

UPDATE

The results were posted and unfortunately, the ban on pitbulls in Miami-Dade County still stands. I know it's a work in progress and I'm hoping this got the ball rolling and will motivate people to continue to take a stand against the ban. Here's a couple of quotes from the article in the Miami Herald about the results:

“We didn’t think it would pass... whether we liked it or not and we had to take up the challenge. We only had a few months to reeducate an entire county that has been brainwashed for 23 years.’’
Canes also said that putting the words “pit bull’’ and “dangerous dog’’ in the same sentence in the ballot question all but doomed the effort.
“The fight does not end here,’’ Debi Day, an activist with No Kill Nation...We will not let the pit bulls and their owners be forever victim to this discriminatory law...’’

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/08/13/2951979/pit-bulls-remain-illegal-in-miami.html#storylink=cpy

Here's the link to the Miami Herald article:

http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/08/13/2951979/pit-bulls-remain-illegal-in-miami.html


14 comments:

  1. I had some fool tell me that owning a tiger was just like having a pit...wrong..I don't understand people. Where do they get their information from? Pits are loving and loyal..they are dogs and dogs were bred for people. It's sad that humans used pits for fighting but the dogs that are not used in that way are just as good as any other dog. It's all about how the people treat them.
    -Julianna

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    1. your right Julianna pits are beautiful dogs they are safe loyal and loveable IT JUST MAKES ME SO MAD PEOPLE ARE SO STUPID TO TREAT DOGS LIKE THIS PEOPLE HAVE ROTWILERS WHO THEY ALSO SAY ARE MEAN I HAVE A ROTWILER THEIR NOT MEAN PEOPLE HAVE LABS SO WHY CANT THEY JUST TREAT PIT BULLS THE SAME FOR A GREAT PIT BULL LOVING SHOW WACH PIT BULLS AND PAROLEES
      - ERIN

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    2. I attended a taping of the Judge Greg Mathis show in Chicago on June 7th.... and was horrified when he spewed that same misinformation. I ended up stomping out of the taping which apparently really confused his staff. I know day time television is trash, but that experience was beyond disappointing.

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    3. How can I help you??!! How can we petition this ban??? I live in Port St. Lucie, but just feel for those poor babies. :( I share your passion. I am a teacher by profession, but an extreme lover of dogs (and all animals), especially pitties. I admit, when living up North, I never encountered a pit, and thought they were aggressive, just from their completely inaccurate reputation. My pit bull is my baby, who is the sweetest baby and just LOVES people. She's so funny... loves to meet new people and forces me towards neighbors on their driveways when walking her, just to meet them. Too cute! I just LOOOVE her!!! Anyway, I am too far out of college, but recently have been wanting to do something more in the same field, with veterinarian medicine in shelters or some kind of rescue. The problem is, I need it to be a paid job :(, and do not have time, outside of my family of pups to volunteer like I used to. Long story, short... ;) What can I do to help you? I spread your word on my facebook page. Thanks so much for making this blog! You absolutely read my mind! :) God Bless.

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    4. blueangle1487 I completely agree with you it is how you treat the animal, and how responsible you are, I don't understand how it is legal to own a tiger and not a pit in Miami, I am in NY I own a pit and I am very responsible when I have him out of my yard I have him on 2 leashes he loves people, and kids, but it is ify with other animals, accidents happen and he is a very strong pit so I need and want to be a responsible pitbull owner so 2 leashes in case he pulls hard and one breaks I still have control and he is never left unsupervised, not even on my own yard. there are many of use pit owners who are responsible,

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  2. pit bulls should be a loved breed they need a good wrap they should be accepted as wonderful pets in every state and continent pit bulls are awesome

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  3. I actually can't find where Tigers are legal to own in Miami, as Florida state law states that Tigers are legal to own so long as they are obtained prior to August 1, 1980. But maybe I'm just not reading the proper specific laws. In any case, pits are in no way more dangerous than many other breeds that are "legal" to own (Rhodesian Ridgebacks are the most aggressive breeds I have come across in the clinic, and they are much larger than a majority of pits). BSL is a joke.

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    1. Tigers are actually legal in 22 states. In 8 states-North Carolina, Alabama, Deleware, Nevada, Oklahoma, South Carolina, West Virginia, and Wisconsin there are simply no laws regulating tiger ownership, in others it is allowed with a permit.

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  4. I think pitbulls are great dogs and people should stop judeing them by how they look and how they are trained like I say "balme the deed,not the breed"

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    1. YES U WOULDENT JUGE EVEN A PRISON MATE THAT WAY WHY A DOG

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  5. Your bad encounters with aggressive small dogs are unlikely due to their size or that they are scared of you, but more likely their breed. People assume that large breeds were bred as guard dogs or fighting dogs and smaller dogs were bred as pets. The truth is that human bloodsport was much more inventive than that, and the aggressive small dogs you see likely are from a breed that was bred for fighting, hunting rodents, or some cruel bloodsport. The reason, for example, why Dachshunds are so notoriously aggressive is because they were bred for badger baiting (set upon a wild badger tied to a stick for humans to watch the fight and bet on the outcome). This was actually much more violent, bloody and aggressive than bull baiting (which is what Pit Bulls were bred for), it just involved smaller animals.

    When you see a small dog who believes he can take on some large dog, it is not some weird quirk. That is a trait that was bred into them through hundreds of years of human cruelty, to get the dog to be willing to attack a much larger predator, because humans enjoyed watching that sort of "entertainment".

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    1. Interesting. We're always running into tiny dogs that think they can take on my pit. It kind of freaks him out, and I make sure we keep our distance.

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  6. I have a Pitbull and he is my "son" i love him so much he would not heart a fly!!! Pitbulls are only mean if PEOPLE make them mean. And i think its so stupid that they have a terrible name, because they are amazing dogs!!!!

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  7. Hello my name Jose, I came across your blog when I was trying to gather info on my pit coming to Miami with me. It's awful how it take a few bad apples (owners) to ruin what many of us take serious. I have 4 kids from ages 5 to 15 and Skye is caring, gentle and smart. I take the time to educate her and my children. My neighbors don't mind her when she's out and they are over. I put her in her bed because she's soooo friendly and enoughs is enough. However, this city has to wake up and Crack down on the real problem IRRESPONSIBLE OWNERS. Thank you for educating me on what's going on. If I lived here you would of had my vote.

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