By Sloane Quealy-Miner

Boston, Massachusetts Mayor Thomas Menino and Rob Consalvo, who initially penned the cities “pit bull ban” six years ago, are continuing to take an irresponsible approach when it comes to keeping the city of Boston safe from dangerous dogs.  In the name of “safety” the duo are attempting to resurrect a city law requiring “pit bulls” to be muzzled in public, despite a recent statewide ban on breed specific legislation.  

They are trying to create hysteria surrounding a recent isolated incident that involved two individual dogs.  According to Menino “pit bulls have something in them that makes them vicious.” According to BSL News, it is Menino and Consalvo who are the vicious ones.

The prejudicial pair are more than happy to demonize millions of well adjusted dogs that fall under the term “pit bull” and make them pay for the bad acts of a few.  Furthermore, it hasn’t even been proven yet that the dogs involved are in fact “pit bull” type dogs. This would require DNA testing . But this is of no concern to the hateful duo.

If Mayor Thomas Menino  and Rob Consalvo were serious about the community’s safety when it comes to dangerous dogs, they would be pushing to strengthen and properly enforce Boston’s current dangerous dog laws to ensure the community’s safety from ALL dogs.

Breed specific legislation provides a false sense of security to the community and it does not work. This has been proven time and again which is why numerous jurisdiction and states, including their own, have outlawed breed specific legislation.

I encourage everyone to spend time carefully reading the invaluable information on NCR’s website including the 2010 Dog Bite Fatalities NCR and 2011 Preliminary Dog Bite Fatalities Report

The National Canine Research Council “re-interviews sources the media has reached, and located others they have not, among whom may be police investigators, animal control officers, coroners, veterinarians, health department officials, dog owners, and eye witnesses. They have obtained incident reports, bite reports, human and animal autopsy reports, summaries of judicial proceedings, and crime scene data and photographs when available.”

Access the National Canine Research Dog Bite Statistics HERE
NCRC’s informative section on ineffective laws including breed specific legislation HERE
FAQ’s regarding dog bites HERE and Breed Specific FAQ’s HERE

Dog bite-related fatalities are exceedingly rare. In 2010, 33 fatalities occurred within a population of more than 308 million and a canine population estimated at over 78 million. NCRC is currently investigating 31 incidents in a dog population of over 78 million that occurred during 2011 that may qualify as dog bite related fatalities. A final tally is subject to change as a result of NCRC’s thorough investigations. Their final report will be available the first week of 2013.

It is important to recognize that when attempting to research dog bites, researchers have frequently failed to acknowledge the relevance of stressful or inhumane situations that humans often force dogs to endure. At NCRC, they  urge people to consider what the world looks like from their dog’s point of view.

CALL TO ACTION:
EMAIL  Mayor Thomas Menino  mayor@cityofboston.gov PHONE 617-635-4500

EMAIL Rob Consalvo Rob.Consalvo@cityofboston.gov   PHONE 617-635-4210

SIGN Stop The Bullying of Pit Bulls and their Owners