Breed-specific bill not specific enough I would...

Breed-specific bill not specific enough

I would like to register my opposition to the proposed change in

dog regulations targeting specific breeds -- Senate Bill 861,

introduced by state Sen. Jackie Speier (D-San Francisco) to allow

cities and counties to regulate specific breeds of dogs through

mandatory spay/neuter programs and other breeding requirements.

The problem with introducing breed-specific legislation is that it

is not specific enough.

Obviously a large, heavily muscled dog with powerful jaws is able

to inflict more damage if it attacks, in the same way that a 6-foot-6

man weighing 250 pounds has the potential to cause more serious

damage in a fight than a little old lady of 5-foot-2 weighing a

hundred pounds wringing wet.

This does not mean that we need to fear all tall, muscular men.

This is the kind of profiling that has been getting bad press.

To be specific: legislation needs to target those people who by

their lack of responsibility permit their dogs, of whatever breed, to

intimidate and threaten the general public.

Local officials need to have the power to cite these individuals

and to bring them before the courts in a timely manner, thereby

removing those particular dangerous dogs from circulation.

If the legislation is based on behavior alone, and not on breed,

there will be no unjust citations because an official has

misidentified a breed as being on the “restricted” list.

It is not as easy as it has been claimed to recognize the breed of

a dog at a glance.

Since the mid-1980s, my late husband and I have owned, trained and

shown in American Kennel Club obedience competitions three Dobermans.

These dogs are bred to protect, but they have never been a threat

to any of our neighbors or indeed to strangers met on the street.

The breed needs responsible owners who obey leash laws and are

conscientious in their training to make sure that the dogs are under

control at all times.

In fact this applies to all owners of all dogs, large or small,

mixed breed or American Kennel Club registered purebreds.

I sincerely hope that California’s existing dangerous dog law,

which focuses on the responsibilities of individual dog owners, will

be retained, as it is a fair and just approach to the problem of

dangerous dogs.

ANN GREEN DE TOTH

Burbank