Hi Everyone,
Mom hasn’t been feeling well for awhile, so I haven’t asked her to do much writing. But, I felt like it was important to tell you all about this issue that could hurt pit bull dogs and their moms and dads here in Oregon.
A senator here in Oregon (that’s a person who helps pass laws) recently introduced a bill that would BAN all pit bull dogs in Oregon. That bill has been pulled, but now a bill has been introduced in the house of representatives (HB2852) that would require any mom or dad who has a pit bull to carry a MILLION dollars of liability insurance! My mom says that would be so expensive that most moms and dads couldn’t afford it. Plus, their definition of a pit bull is:
“Pit bull’ means a dog that:
(A) Is registered or otherwise listed as an American pit bull terrier, Staffordshire bull terrier or American Staffordshire terrier with a dog breed club or league, dog fanciers association, breed registry or similar organization; or
(B) Has appearance and physical characteristics that substantially conform to the breed standards of the United Kennel Club for an American pit bull terrier or of the American Kennel Club for a Staffordshire bull terrier or American Staffordshire terrier, as those standards existed on January 1, 2009.”
This could affect many, many dogs – maybe even my brother Dillon, because someone said once that he looked like a pit bull!
Mom says that this is called “Breed Specific Legislation (BSL)” and that this kind of law would hurt lots and lots of great dogs and great moms and dads and kids. We don’t have any pit bull friends, but Mom says that pit bulls are just as nice as other breeds of dogs, and when they are bad it is almost always because they have parents who don’t love them and take care of them. Mom says sure, there are some bad pit bulls, and there are bad dogs of many different breeds, just like there are bad people of many different races and cultures. To single out one breed for being “bad” isn’t fair or right. There are lots of other options to help stop dog attacks by any breed.
HB2852 was introduced by Representative Vicki Berger, and it would be great if any of you reading this would write to her at rep.vickiberger@state.or.us , or you can find contact information for other representatives here http://www.leg.state.or.us/house/houseset.htm . There is info and a sample letter you can use on the American Dog Owners Association website at www.adoa.org (click on “Sample Letters” at the left, and then #2 “Letter in Opposition to Proposed BSL”). There is also some more information at http://stopbsl.com/ and LOTS of interesting comments at http://www.katu.com/news/40578707.html about the proposed ban that was scrapped and about this bill.
Thanks for helping our pit bull friends!
