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City Councilor would slap liens on people who ignore Boston pit-bull law
By adamg on Mon, 05/17/2010 - 12:09pm
Rob Consalvo, who represents Hyde Park, will seek a change in state law that would let the city go after pit-bull owners who ignore the city's law requiring pit bulls to be muzzled outside.
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Comments
Menace
Good. Animal Control officers often do not have enough tools at their disposal to enforce existing rules. And for every "good" pit bull owner there seem to be dozens of "bad" ones.
Really though all dogs should just be eliminated. (my cats told me to type that)
right problem - wrong solution
while I applaud the Councilor stepping up to address this recurring problem, property liens are misguided. 2/3rd of Boston residents are renters - not owners of property. I venture to guess that the overwhelming percentage of pit bull owners (90+%) who do not comply with the leash and muzzle laws are not home owners. Need to find another tool to get these scofflaws.
ding ding ding. It's also not
ding ding ding.
It's also not going to stop this from occurring with irresponsible owners. Being irresponsible, if the dog gets into trouble they'll just leave the uncollared dog for the police if possible.
Rob Consalvo can shove this
Rob Consalvo can shove this law up his ass.
One Question
Define pit bull.
Seriously. Define "pit bull".
To be honest, I've never had any issues with dogs that could be called pit bulls. I have, however, seen serious problems with psychotic German shepherds, poorly controlled huskies, and rottweilers with marshmallows on the other end of the zip leash.
Maybe a dog-owner license is more in order.
I'd rather see a written
I'd rather see a written exam, interview, and home inspection for potential dog owners than a moronic breed-specific ordinance that only serves to punish those who follow the law.
When pit bulls are outlawed, only outlaws will have pit bulls, etc.
And if it ever reached the
And if it ever reached the point where pit bulls were banned completely (which would also be the exact same moment that I stopped living in Boston), then you can bet that the only people who have pit bulls in Boston will be the ones mistreating them and training them poorly.
Notice I said mistreating and training them poorly. If you treat a pit bull well and train it to behave, it will do so, just like any other dog. The pit bull comes with the added benefit that it will love you like no other dog you've ever known.
In an interesting coincidence, if you mistreat human children and teach them poorly, they are likely to become unstable and social miscreants. I don't see any laws requiring humans to be muzzled and registered for an unnecessarily large fee.
I know a spoiled
I know a spoiled mini-dachshund that would eat many pitbulls for breakfast. Seriously, this thing is a little ball of fury, and can't be around small children. Never been properly trained and spoiled to death. It knows it's the master in that family.
My pitbull has more sense than Consalvo.
Where is Consalvo with the real problems of city life? Gangbangers and drug dealers, boom boom cars and motorcycles that destroy eardrums? Instead of harassing property tax paying citizens who follow the same laws that everyone else does, he has to single out owners of pit bulls because they are the canine de jour of bad boy dogs. If he is concerned about dogs that may attack people then all dogs need to be muzzled because any dog can turn out to be vicious. Even dopey cute labs have and will kill.
If Consalvo is so concerned about dogs when will he push to enforce the basic leash laws? Dogs are allowed to be off-leash in Dorchester, East Boston, Jamaica Plain, and especially in parks. Does Consalvo have any concern about the fact that a person can not walk without dealing with off leash dogs that are ignored by their owners?
Or is this simply a way to pretend that he does something for his salary.
I remember when there was an outcry against banning pit bull type dogs. Perhaps what is needed is to go to Hyde Park and have a howl fest for the City Councilor.
Consalvo to explain proposal on Ch. 2 tonight
7 p.m. on "Greater Boston."