Panel kills dog breed measure

Bill would have let cities resume banning certain types of canines

April M. Washington, Rocky Mountain News

Published January 25, 2006 at midnight

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Animal rights groups scored a major victory Tuesday when a Senate committee killed a bill that would have allowed cities to resume banning specific dog breeds.

The lawmakers' decision to keep the state law that prohibits cities from passing ordinances that ban certain breeds comes nearly a year after Denver resumed its pit bull ban after a Denver district judge upheld the city's home-rule authority to set its own animal-control policies. But it's not clear whether that ruling also supports the right of other home-rule cities to have such bans.

"If you ban pit bulls, I promise another breed will come along as the breed of choice," Dr. Todd Towell, president of the Colorado Veterinarian and Medical Association, told the Senate's Local Government Committee on Tuesday.

The committee voted 4-3 to kill Senate Bill 54, which also would have allowed local governments to regulate animals in general. The bill's sponsor, Sen. Lewis Entz, R-Hooper, argued that a 2004 state law that prohibits cities from outlawing pit bulls and other breeds is basically meaningless because it's not being enforced.

Cities across the state are enforcing pit bull bans or adopting them at a record pace, he said.

"I don't think the state has any business controlling dogs," Entz said. "It should be done on the local level. If you've got a specific breed of dog causing a problem, you should be able to go after it."

Other cities have followed in Denver's footsteps. About 11 either ban pit bulls or have put in place tough restrictions to regulate them to avoid becoming a dumping ground for animals increasingly not welcome in Denver and elsewhere.

Since resuming its ban last May, Denver has rounded up 1,086 pit bulls kept in the city illegally and euthanized about 750 of them, city officials said.

Sam Mamet, executive director of the Colorado Municipal League, denounced the state law as one that infringes on local governments' ability to protect the safety and welfare of their communities. "What's truly inappropriate is for the state to take the heavy hand of the state and reach in and take away these local laws," Mamet said.

Opponents of breed-specific legislation contend that pit bulls are being unfairly targeted and labeled as vicious and dangerous. They urged state lawmakers to back legislation that punishes irresponsible owners - not the breed.

The committee did advance Senate Bill 25 to the floor. It would increase the liability of owners of dangerous dogs.

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