Concerned Aberdeen residents hope to see a ban on pit bulls
by Jeff Clark/Monroe Journal
5 months ago | 532 views | 4 4 comments | 4 4 recommendations | email to a friend | print
ABERDEEN – Concerned residents in the Meadowlane neighborhood have taken their issue to both city and Monroe County officials – the issue of banning pit bulldogs (American Pit Bull Terriers) in the City of Aberdeen.

“We now have five of these dogs in our neighborhood,” concerned citizen Brick Young said. “These dogs can be extremely vicious and even deadly – we need to have something done so that we do not have problems of that nature in Aberdeen.

Young, along with other residents from the neighborhood, have brought the topic of pit bulls in front of both the city’s aldermen and the county board.

Young and his group first approached the Aberdeen Board of Aldermen on the issue during the September 2 meeting. It was tabled until the following meeting. At the September 16 meeting, Young and other once again brought the notion of banning pit bulls in Aberdeen before the board. The board tabled the measure at the request of city attorney Robert Faulks until October.

“I had a pit bull once,” Ward 3 Alderman David Ewing said. “I loved that dog a lot, but eventually I had to put him down.”

Ward 1 Alderman Alonzo Sykes said he, too, recognized the potential danger of rogue pit bulls.

“These things can be very dangerous,” he said. “This is something we definitely want to look at and see what we can legally do about it.”

Monroe County Board of Supervisors President Randle Gray said the county would also have board attorney John Creekmore address the issue.

“There is definitely a hazard with these animals,” Gray said. “We will see what our options are. This is a very serious matter.”

Virginia Pounders, who also lives in the Meadowlane area, sees the pit bull situation from another perspective as a volunteer with the Aberdeen Animal Shelter.

“When we have pits’ brought into the shelter, we have to have them put down,” she said. “We don’t have the cages to hold them. These dogs can be extremely viscous and hard to handle. We have a lot of children and elderly people in our neighborhood and we need to do something about these dogs before it’s too late.”
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comments (4)
« tupelolady wrote on Wednesday, Oct 07 at 01:06 PM »
FYI articles about this can also be found on the monroe360.com page

http://monroe360.com/bookmark/3804705/article

and

http://monroe360.com/bookmark/3785587/article

« pitbulllover wrote on Monday, Oct 05 at 08:08 PM »
The only thing your town needs to ban is ignorant people. I have had pitbulls ALL my life. They are the most loving,loyal playful, sweet dog i have ever had. I currently have a pit, a bassett hound and a miniature pinscher. By far the meanest of the 3 is the min pin. It's not the pitbull breed that is the problem. It is the owners. Irresponsible people misuse the dog as a status symbol to show power. They are NOT, i repeat NOT mean by nature. My pitbull does not have a mean bone in her body. Scared of a balloon. She may however, lick one to death. Take a look at every news story where a pit attacks and look at the owner who raised them. If we ban pitbulls , then why stop there? How about German Shepherds, Rottweillers, Dobermans,Etc.. It breaks my heart that pitbulls are so misunderstood and it is NOT their fault. As with any breed, it is how they are raised. How about we start locking up some of the owners who choose to make thse dogs vicious. I will own a pitbull til the day i die. Ignorance is the crime
« ultracreep wrote on Friday, Oct 02 at 09:53 AM »
Oh and big shout out to Westminster, Co who started a mandatory license to track all dogs so you can easily identify the vicious ones, and no BSL! It's pit friendly. Yay to them for not following Denver's bad example. Other places should look to their program as an example.
« ultracreep wrote on Friday, Oct 02 at 09:51 AM »
This makes me gag. This is a startling display of ignorance. I'll bet half of the dogs they're complaining about aren't even pit bulls. I've seen people identify everything from a boxer to an american bulldog as a "pit." As far as I know, these dogs haven't even done anything but exist. Breed specific legislation does not work. Denver,CO supposedly has one of the harshest pit bull bans out there,they were busting into people's homes without warning,confiscating innocent dogs and killing them, yet when I was in downtown Denver last year, here comes a happy white pit pulling his owner on a skateboard. That ban really got rid of them huh? What you do is impose a harsh leash law on ALL dogs. No loose dogs allowed, ever. Then you fine the owners for infractions. IF a dog is vicious, put it down. Doesn't matter what breed it is. I've owned several pit bulls, and I find them very lovable and intelligent dogs. Too many of them find themselves in the hands of owners who are using them as a way to feel macho, or are just plain bad dog owners. The breed shouldn't have to pay the price for the idiocy of humans. Yes, when you take a large, smart dog and don't raise it from a puppy or socialize it properly and put it through obedience training, it probably will turn, or at least do things you don't want it to do. The same is true of a Rottweiler, Akita, German Shepherd, or any other large dog....so let's ban all of them or none at all. It pretty much already sounds like they're going to pass this thing, and it's ridiculous. These dogs are beloved family pets in many quarters, people need to get off the idea that the only owners are gangsters and criminals. Rachael Ray owns one for pete's sake! That dog capering around with her on the dog food commercial....it's a PIT BULL people! The breed has been around since wayyyy before this was an issue. If they were bad to the core they would have been bad at the turn of the century when they were really popular, and yet didn't hurt or kill anyone. This is all the fault of unscrupulous breeders and owners, punish them accordingly and try to help the dogs. They are man's best friend, but considering the way we often treat them, I wonder why.