Don't agree

I do think pit bulls should be banned from city limits in any town. Have recently had a very bad experience with a pit bull that was let out in the early morning hours. Came into my sons yard where his yellow lab was leashed according to the village ordinance, attacked and killed my sons best friend and buddy. Ruffy lived for about 5 hours, the vet clinic did all they could do to save Ruffy. Imagine if that had been a child out on his/her early morning paper route--I shutter at the thought. Still tring to get over losing Ruffy--just a dog I know, but we loved him and miss him alot. Thanks for your time Jane Childs Glenvil, Ne.

Since we already have Leash Laws requiring ALL dogs to be confined within a fenced in area, or chained beyond reach of public sidewalks, or on a leash under control of the master--what exactly is the point of banning certain kinds of dogs? Is the City going to come around invading the privacy of every house in town every three months or so to see if we're haboring a banned dog? If not, then this is just going to be another law that will not be enforced, won't it? Give people six months to forget about it and the law may as well not exist, isn't that right? And who exactly made the neighbors experts on dog breeds, anyway? How many times are the police going to respond to a complaint of a pit bull only to find a bull dog? And so you show pictures of pit bulls and the police will be running all over town investigating terriers, Golden Labrador Retrievers, and German Shepherds. We already have Leash Laws. Pretty much every argument you can make supporting a ban is already answered by a Leash Law, as Jane L. Childs' post shows.

I VERY DISAGREE. Its NOT the Pitbulls;Rottweilers;etc fault. There's no such thing as 'BAD DOGS' there is such thing as 'BAD OWNERS.' With PitBulls and Rottweilers you MUST train them NOT to BITE-FIGHT-ATTCK-ETC. If you teach these dogs not to BITE-FIGHT-ATTACK at a young age then they WILL NOT do these bad things when they grow up to be adult dogs. So I SRTONGLY DISAGREE with the DOG BAN. THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS 'BAD DOGS'; THERE IS ONLY BAD OWNERS-UNDERDOG

Jane, my condolances on your loss, but as you point out, there was already a Leash Law. If that's not enforced, how long would a ban be enforced?

just becaus some people don't know how how to rase there dogs punish them not every one. first of all nation wide satistics pit bull on human attacs are not in the top 20 labs and retrevers are #1 how about banning them; better yet lets ban bad owners

I do not agree that there sould be a band on curtain kinds of dogs. What should be band are the owners that teach a dog to be mean, or people that bread and train dogs to fight. Everyone is blaming dogs and placing laws that they need to be leached, kennald. Yet no one has a law about dump cats coming into the dogs yard or sittting on the other side of a fence and teasing the dog. Why don't towns and city's pen up cats. Dogs are compaions and helper of handicap people.

I disagree. The dogs aren't the problem, the owners are. Just like guns need to be misused to kill people, dogs need to be misused to be, as they were labeled by the newscast, "vicious." I've had two so-called vicious pits for over 5 years now. They've been around countless children, people, and other animals and have never been "vicious." You just have to train them, like any other animal. Be a responsible owner, get advice from trainers, learn about the breed and PROTECT THEM so that they do not feel that they need to defend themselves. Another thing is, ANY DOG will bite if it feels threatened. DON'T APPROACH DOGS YOU DON'T KNOW and teach your kids the same. I guess that's my two cents.

By the way, my male pit is my 18 month old's champion and best friend.

Any one who knows the history of pitbulls knows that back when they were bred to pit fight the dogs that showed human aggression were killed because the handler had to be able to get control of their dog in the ring without being bit. It is all in the way a dog is bred, raised, and trained that make an aggressive dog. Not just certain breeds either, ALL BREEDS OF DOGS!! I have a 3 year old pit that is the most loving, social dog. If you raise a dog right then the breed of that dog does not matter. It is all of the irresponsible owners that give these so called "mean dogs" their bad name. Punish the people not the breed. Banning breeds is not going to stop those people that want a mean dog, if they can't have a pit, rott, chow or what ever, they will move on to another breed. Then what? Will there be a ban on ALL dogs?

Dog breeds that have been historically bred for fighting should be outlawed but we should be extremely careful about laws with the wording "outlawing dangerous dogs" because that it too broad of a term and it leaves us open to a handful of people's personal interpretation who might not like dogs at all.

When a person has been bitten or attacked by a dog and are attended to by a doctor a report is filled out, including what breed of dog was involved. Maybe instead of saying what we think is the most dangerous dog let's make a chart with those reports and see what is the most dangerous dog in our city. I think we would be surprised at what breed it could be. R. Loescher

Interesting, Roberta. Both my husband and I received emergency care after being attacked by cocker spaniels as kids! (We didn't meet until adulthood.) We've also both been bitten by poodles and jack russell terriers. My pits are big babies compared to any of those dogs!

You cannot ban 'breeds' of dogs anymore than you can ban certain races of people. It's immoral and unethical. It's the OWNER's responsibility to train and keep their dog i check just as it is up to parents to watch their children. The dog that attacked and killed another dog (Ruffy) should definitely have been euthanized. I would never condone that. But you can't blame the breed as a whole. Why did the dog get out? Why did the dog even leave it's yard? Because it wasn't trained well, that's why. Owners need to be heavily penalized and fined for the acts of their dogs, and not just pitbulls. A $20 speeding ticket doesn't teach you not to speed, but a $200 one probably will. The same is true in ownership of dogs. There are many sweet, loving pitbulls that are doing wonders in the world, including pet therapy. Why should they be punished for those that aren't trained properly? Why should a human's suffering that could be eased by that therapy animal not get it just because the dog is a pitbull? The other problem is that many people including law enforcement cannot tell the difference between breeds, such as a boxer or a mix between a boxer and a Rottie or lab, even though their build is different. They just assume pitbull. Why should they all be punished? Osceola, among other communities large and small, had no business banning this breed, especially when they had not had any problems with it. Denver made a ban and now they're playing havoc to even try to reverse it. A better solution is to enforce a spay/neuter law. It can be geared towards that ban if the communiity wishes but it keeps the breed in check and cuts down on backyard breeders, puppy mills (yes they do exist around here!), and irresponsible breeders who aren't interested in keeping the breed standard. Any breed can bite and attack, but because it isn't the pitbull, you don't hear as much about it. Rather than focusing on banning, a better avenue to pursue is the spay/neuter and licensing laws. Some shelters and humane societies sponsor spay/neuter clinics which helps tremendously. Pitbulls weren't bred for fighting. It was bred into them by mankind. We have only ourselves to blame. In the 70's it was the Doberman's, in the 80's, the German Shepherd's, the 90's the Rotties, and now it's the Pitbulls. Society isn't happy unless they have someone to blame besides themselves, and that isn't right. Responsible ownership is what it's all about. I don't own a pitbull because even though I think it's a magnificent breed, I know I would not have the time to devote the kind of training they need, and that they generally do not make a good pack animal, and I have more than one dog. Again, RESPONSIBILITY!

Also, as far as Holdrege goes, they should not consider a ban. A small dog I adopted there was attacked by a neighbor's dog - a female german shorthair - and the City chose to do nothing about it. I'm not sure the man even got a fine. So why isn't that breed banned also? It just doesn't make any sense to ban one specific breed!

I appoligize for any mispelled words ahead of time. If they are seriously going to add breed bans why dont the police department or even the city council seriously look at their main breed of dog which a is a german shepard. It is trained by the goverment to be a vicous dog to anyone posing a threat to its master on command, its the same thing with a pitbull, if the master trains it to be mean it will be mean, seriously how can the government put a ban on any animal for being cruel when it is not the breeds fault it is the owners, punish the owners not the breed. I have used several pitbulls in he past for hunting and those same dogs played tag with the kids in the neighborhood, I now have kids of my own and I still own a pitbull. My Children are 3, 1, 1 month, I do not fear anything happening to myself or my family due to my dog reactions because I know it is trained right, this is seriously rediculous beyond anyones immagination what your doing is the same thing as saying ok we are going to ban african americans from our cities or hispanic natured people from our communities as well. THIS IS a race discremination. equal rights for all people and all things till they do not deserve it, and then you deal with it on a individual matter.

I completely disagree. First of all, it is NOT the dog's fault. The owner of the dog is partly to blame for not raising their dog correctly. I have a 2-year female pit bull, who is the most loving dog. She is protective of her family, but she has NEVER attacked anyone. Of course she may bark and growl, what dog doesn't? But she knows how to behave herself. Second of all, it is not only pit bulls, that are "vicious". I have seen a 10 to 12 lb. RAT TERRIER bite someone. We should definately ban those vicious dogs right. And third of all, most people don't really even know what an actual pit bull even looks like. There have been many accounts of pit bulls attacking, and then come to find out, they were bull dogs, boxers, and yes, even golden retrievers. Hmmm, people shouldn't judge dogs for the neglect and irresponsibility of the owners.

By the way, here is a link to a pit bull test: http://www.pitbullsontheweb.com/petbull/findpit.html There are 25 pictures of dogs and only one is an actual pit bull. So before you go placing blame, make sure you know what kind of dog you are blaming.

I don't feel they should be banned It is the way the dog is raised if you raise it to fight and be mean then it will I have a pit bull and he is as stubborn as can be he doesn't even growl at new people that come to my door he goes up to them and wants them to pet him so its the way you raise them and as a child I seen many dogs attack kids and none were pit bulls you only hear about pit bulls because they were used as fighting dogs there are plenty other dogs that have attacked people.

I don't feel pit bulls should be banned it's all how they are raised. Alot of times people tease them and as for any dog you tease and your going to get bit. So I don't think people should put blame on pitbulls leave them alone and they will leave you alone. Amanda Lind

Amanda, you are nuts! My brother was the one attacked in Hastings last week. he was walking my mothers dog. From ACROSS THE STEET a pitbull charged him and bit him in the groin. Was he picking on the dog or teasing him? Absolutely not. Just wait until it happens to someone you know or love, or even YOU. I bet you will change your mind real quick. Just google "pitbull attacks" when you have a minute. You will see they have attacked family members in the house they reside in for no reason what so ever. Leash laws do nothing for a pitbull. If they are banned from a particular plae and someone has one, people will talk. They wouldn't have bans if they didn't work. Perfectly? Most likely not, but I'd sure like to see Hastings give it a shot.

If you all click on my name you will see that I have already submitted a story about just this thing, I have a neighbor who has four pits poorly confined in a low fenced yard they have not only gotten out on several occasions, but have chased my neighbors, myself, my child, and several officers. We didnt provoke him, my neighbor was trying to get to her pick up, my daughter walked out the door to take out the trash, and the officers were trying to take the dogs home. I do think a lot of it has to do with how they are raised, but the fact of the matter is that some breeds are more vicious if taught to be mean, pitbulls lock their jaws when they bite down, and often the only way to get them to release is to kill them or break their jaw. I dont think that a dog that can be taught to be that vicious should be within city limits, all dogs can be mean but most dogs you can get to stop attacking, pits try to kill if they attack that is the long and short of it. Leash laws dont always help in fact they can be detrimental to dogs who arent mean as some chained dogs fall victim to the pit bull who happens to get lose. Also, if a person is raising a dog to be vicious they aren't really all that worried about the laws about dogs anyway. My dog can not be taken out on a leash by my children for fear that she will draw the attention of the pitbulls across the alley, and she is a cocker spaniel. I love dogs but there are some dogs that dont belong in town, I dont think coon hounds should be in town necessarily either, they are raised to bark and be heard which is disturbing to people who arent their fans or owners, its not that I dont like them its just that some dogs are better suited to not be where there are a lot of people, pits fall into that category.

Angela, as you point out, the problem is that the dog is NOT adaquately confined. So wouldn't you say that the Leash Law is not being adaquately enforced? You further point out that someone raising a dog to be viscious isn't going to be worried about the law--so I take it they would pay no attention to this ban you would like to impose, now would they? So the ban would accomplish nothing, now would it? Finally, you give us a glimpse at where all this will lead by signalling out coon hounds as another breed you think ought to be banned. Others have pointed out that in the past the big alarm was over Doberman pincers and German shepherds. I recall that Irish sitters tend to be high-strung and irritable. Sakes alive we'll soon ban dogs, period, now won't we? As you point out, any dog can be raised to be viscious, so I will maintain that a Leash Law answers all the problems while still permiting Pet Owners Rights.

Dan, my sympathies for your brother, but if you are in any way familiar with dogs then surely you are aware it is in the nature of a dog to run across the street if it sees another dog. Had the pit bull been adaquately confined as required by the Leash Law this would not have happenned, now would it? You say if there is a ban and some one gets a pit bull preople will talk. Oh, they'll talk, all-right. And 99% of the time the police will go to investigate and the "rotweiler" will turn out to be a ****zu and the "pit bull" will turn out to be a Golden retriever or just a common mutt. Sure did look like pictures the neighbor had seen of rotweilers or pit bulls, though! And when the police do nothing the same neighbor will again call a couple of weeks later to complain about the same "rotweiler" or the same "pit bull" and the police are required to investigate all such calls. How many additional officers is the City of Hastings going to have to hire to look into all these wild goose chases? And of course each one of these calls will require a report and that means paperwork and paperwork means an additional secretary. How much do you want the City of Hastings to raise your property taxes to cover this exercise in futility? Care to re-consider that Leash Law that already addresses pretty much all of your concerns and at no additional expense?

I understand the fear everyone has with these dogs and their compulsion to attack. I also understand why people want to ban them from the city limits. But what happens to the dogs and the people who have them? The owners will have to put the animals in the pound and ultimately the animals will have to be uthenized. Why, because the animals were born? And if someone has a pitbull, if they want to keep it, they'll have to move from the city limits or possibly will have to move to another town or out of state. Why is that a good option? With small towns losing residents, losing just one person is too many. I think you might be creating more of an issue with a dog ban that you are with an fine for dog and owners who violate city ordinances.

a friend of mine visited my family recently and during that visit I handed out cookies to the kids.......i own a pit bull mix. During this this visit, my friends dog and my pit mix played and had a wonderful time while we visited and the kids played. with the training i have extensivly done with my pit mix, my dog not once "asked" for a treat. he sat at my feet when done playing. The children were done with there cookies and got on the floor to pet the dogs and my friends dog jumped up and bit my daughter in the face. Riping the side of her mouth open was all I could see, blood running down her face, the dog continued to jump toward my daughters face aggressivly then the my friend jumped in to calm the dog down......my pit is still sitting there as i never gave him a command other wise, just looking......she is crying and my friend is in tears!! Long story short, she had a deep scratch, that almost went through her upper lip, it looked alot worse when it happened!! This dog was a jack russell. Of coarse my daughter is still fearful, but we also explained to her that the dog more than likely still smelled that cookie on her and bit her. I didn't want the dog or the jack russell breed banned, nor do i still. My father has a jack russell, he's a farm dog, barks and yelps, i don't want to ban him for yelping. Man distroy's what they fear. Did you know the boston terrier was brought over as a fighting dog, breed to be a fighting dog?? At over 35 plus pounds back then. These dogs have since been breed to there currant size, small 10-15lbs to over 25lbs. Do you see these dogs fighting, since they "have it in them"?? Did you know humans have a PSI or "lock jaw" as someone mentioned, rating on their jaws of 120 while pit bulls are 127?? Domestic dogs average at 320lbs. So the "law jaw" is myth/rumor. The American Temperment Test Society's statistics, say that the American Pit Bull terrier has a temperment pecentage at 83.3%, the wiener dog 70.2% and the lab is at 91.8%. How is BSL going to stop dog bites and keep people safe, really think about it? The leash laws that are already in place in towns, that is supposed to keep dogs in their yards, doesn't keep them there. You see dogs running loose in towns all the time. If that law was enforced you wouldn't see half as many animals running loose and giving them a chance, any breed, to bite someone or something they are fearful of. If a dog is loose like someone mentioned, instead of a $20 fine, give a $200 fine. I'm sure those owners will make very sure those dogs don't get loose!! So they ban pits, what is that seriously going to accomplish other than my well trained, disiplined dog will be killed. Do you think the puppy mills with stop or the dog fighting? Don't they already have a dog fighting ban, has that stopped man from making these dogs fight?? Who do you think will own these dogs if a ban goes through?? Certainly not the responsible pet owner, because they are the ones following the laws in the first place!! So we get punished and the low life people that use these breeds for fighting will continue to fight and continue to scare children and YOU!! If you want to fight for stricter laws, fight the one that makes since........Tell your councilman to ACTUALLY enforce their currant laws, making all "vicious" dogs or any breed and there owner be accountable!!! Knowledge is Power, Ingnorance is Bliss!!!

No Dan im not nuts the way I look at it is it's a dog and yes it should have been on a leash but it's just a dogs nature to chase other dogs im sorry about your brother but it's like this when bad people do bad things we can't ban them so why dogs?

I moved to Nebraska from Dodge City Ks, an hey actually passed a law where all vicous breeds have to have additional insurance always be leashed, and chipped this is a far higher expense then just enforcing a leash law the right way but it is still and better and cheaper option then banning a complete breed, my dog is not chipped cause it is not the same animals I had when I lived in Dodge City, but the ones i did have i had to have additional insurance for the case that I owned the pitbulls full chest harness's and the dogs were chipped as well, this may still be overkill but as I said this is still an option for these cities it helps keep the owners a lot moreresponsible and its not just aimed at one breed its aimed at all aggressive breeds and yes in Dodge City lab's and even pointers were considered a vicous breed, and to further explain what I am saying at my above post it is proven that there are by far more hispanic natured, or african american natured people who are envolved in gang actions so once again if this is really the way we are looking at it this race/breed is a more vicous race/breed then the next why dont we say ok if you dont have blond hair blue eyes your banned from our cities exactly the people that believe in this cause are just as badin the end as the one person everyone in the world wih the right mindframe dispises, Hitler himself.

Let me explain my point of view just a little bit clearer I have been held at gun point and knife point by both african americans, and hispanics in my past just cause of where I grew up, does that mean I am going to hate all of them of course not some of best friends are hispanic and african american, and yes I have also been held at gunpoint by caucasians as well, I am white myself, the point is the same as those people that did that to me. Do I hate them for it no, why do I not cause it was their parents fault in the end not their own that a 16 year old kid sometimes kids were not raised right, its the same with the dogs raise them right and they will be the best possible pet you could ever have, raise them wrong and you will regret every minute of it, and then when someting bad does happen you will sit around and cry and say he was a very good dog I dont know where I went wrong. Your puting the blame where it belongs, but its too late. Its the same when some kid goes out and shoots someone that is 13 years old or robs a liqor store do they look at the kid and say its allt heir fault no they dont they turn and point at the parents, once again blame the owners not the dog.

As a member of the Wilcox Village Board--we have inplace a ban on certian breeds of dogs. We have done this to protect the taxpayers in the Village. Yes there are leash laws--but when a child or adult gets attacked--its then a little late to argue the point--I also agree its the owners of these dogs that are at fault--but try to explain that to the parents of the little girl in Omaha that lost her scalp in her incounter with a Pit Bull and will be scarred forever.

If you were forgive the saying "man enough" to kill the dog maybe you should of been man enough to tell the parents that they need to hate the owners not the dog as well.

Jim I TOTALLY agree with your statement!!!!!!

Since there is no ban or ordinance in my town, I think I am going to get a lion. I think I already know of one. I know he will be real nice, I trust him. I will keep him on a large heavey chain. I think it is comparable to a pitbull, " Unpredictable " But hey, he has never attacked anyone yet. What do you think, should I get one? this is the way I look at it and is only my opinion. I think the dogs are unpredctable.

There are good dogs with bad owners and there are good owners with bad dogs and there are good dogs with good owners and there bad dogs with bad owners. The thing is a dog is a domesticated wild animal. And that wildness is still in them. All dogs will attack at some point in there life. I would much rather try to fight off a ankle biter than a 110 pound pit bull or what ever breed it is dog. Just think what kind of chance a little kid has with a 110 pound dog. And if you can't see that you need to find help.

And before you chastise me for being an animal hater I have 3 dogs (all ankle biters) and 4 cats. I have had hunting dogs and a Doberman and a step son with a rotty that I can say is the dummist breed I have ever seen.