Pit bull owners angry after addresses published

Commerce City paper's editor cites fear of dog attacks

John Aguilar, Rocky Mountain News

Published January 26, 2006 at midnight

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A newspaper editor in Commerce City has put her own spin on the old axiom of "publish or perish."

The specter of a fatal pit bull mauling prompted Kathy McIntyre, editor of the Commerce City Gateway, to print the addresses of every registered pit bull owner in the city.

"If we have even one citizen attacked by a pit bull, that's enough for me," McIntyre said.

She said she printed the 24 addresses for the "greater good of the community" and deliberately withheld names or phone numbers.

"My philosophy and my reason for doing this is if we know where the pit bulls in Commerce City live, we can take measures to protect ourselves," McIntyre said.

But several pit bull owners are incensed that their addresses were published in the Jan. 6 edition of the weekly paper, which is distributed to about half of the city's 30,000 residents.

They say it's an invasion of their privacy, subjects them to possible intimidation and paints them all as owners of vicious dogs.

"I could see if she had gotten out and done something to someone," said Stephanie Cardona, referring to her pit bull mix, Missy.

"I don't think (McIntyre's) argument about safety makes any sense unless someone is coming into your yard," Cardona said. "At that point, any dog would protect its property."

Commerce City is among several metro-area municipalities that have banned all new pit bulls, while imposing severe restrictions on ones already there.

The restrictions include keeping the dogs in cement-reinforced cages in the owner's backyard, implanting an identifying microchip and buying liability insurance.

"My address is published - now people can get my dog or my children," said Cindi Gilhousen, a resident who is looking after her son's registered pit bull, Hoss.

"The first thing it put in me was fear," she said.

Gilhousen said Hoss plays with her five children and that listing her address in the newspaper, as if she were a registered sex offender, is abusive.

"They're treating us like we're criminals," she said. "Nobody's ever taken the time to meet these animals."

Kelly McBride, who specializes in media ethics at the Poynter Institute, said that editors need to think long and hard before printing addresses.

"It encourages vigilantism, and you aren't providing any context," McBride said. "You're not saying whether fences have been installed or whether there were complaints against that dog."

Moreover, she said registration lists can be inaccurate if not updated regularly.

But McIntyre said that most of Commerce City's pit bull owners had already thrust themselves into the public eye by writing letters to the editor or being vocal at city council meetings.

"They lost their privacy when they registered their pit bulls," she said.

aguilarj@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-892-2550

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