[MI] Saginaw council takes next swing at 'dangerous dogs' policy

[PitBullHappenings]

Saginaw council takes next swing at 'dangerous dogs' policy
Published: Monday, June 06, 2011, 10:05 AM Updated: Monday, June 06, 2011, 11:01 AM
By Justin L. Engel | The Saginaw News


Two stray pit bull-mix dogs are caged at the Saginaw Animal Care Center, 1310 Gratiot in Saginaw. The city of Saginaw is considering a "dangerous dogs" ordinance.

SAGINAW — City Council members Monday may finally let a proposed “dangerous dogs” ordinance off the leash.

Thirteen months after Mayor Greg Branch assembled a task force to crack down on irresponsible dog owners, his council — for the second time — is scheduled to cast the first of two votes necessary to create a policy. The rule would owners to register certain breeds, limit the number of dogs-per-household to three and set restrictions on tethering.

The policy does not ban breeds, but it would allow the city to fine owners who don’t comply.

The council in April planned to begin the voting process but stalled to tweak language.

“We’re on the right track to get the ordinance enacted and get about the work of enforcing the way dogs are handled and the way owners are held accountable,” said William G. Scharffe, a councilman and member of the mayor-appointed committee that drafted the policy. “Maybe we’ll start getting a grip on the problem.”

Despite the expected absence of another councilman and task force member — Daniel Fitzpatrick likely will miss the 6:30 p.m. meeting at City Hall, 1315 S. Washington, because of out-of-state work for his job at AT&T — Scharffe expects the majority of the council will approve the proposal.

If his prediction proves true, the group likely will cast its final vote at a June 20 meeting, city Attorney Thomas H. Fancher said. If approved then, the ordinance would go on the books 10 days later, on June 30, he said.

The proposal remains unchanged from April’s draft, with the exception of language that provides slack on tethering restrictions.

An earlier draft featured language that could have penalized people who tied their dogs up outdoors — whether to accompany the owner during a backyard gardening session or to give the animal time to relieve itself.

The new language allows owners to tether animals, but “not for extended periods,” Scharffe said.

“It was just a glitch in the way it was worded,” he said. “As far as I know, everyone will be happy with that aspect of it.”

At least two council members have expressed concern over other elements.

Dennis Browning said he opposes breed-specific language, while Andrew Wendt disagrees with the three-dog limit.

The city plans to single out five breeds — pit bulls, Rottweilers, German shepherds, presa canarios and bull mastiffs — as “dangerous.” The measure would require owners of those breeds to register their animals for a one-time $20 payment or face fines up to $400.

Browning has said the ordinance should allow the city to determine if a dog is dangerous on an individual basis — which the draft does in addition to its breed-specific language.

Wendt has questioned the “constitutionality” of limiting the number of dogs an owner can have. The proposal includes a grandfather clause for owners who already have more than three dogs.

The ordinance also would allow across-the-board exemptions for pet training, veterinarian and Humane Society-type establishments. Residents owning leader dogs, rescue dogs and service dogs also would be exempt.

Officials say the “dangerous dogs” initiative began in part in response to the 2009 attack on Buena Vista Township resident Duane E. VanLanHam, who continues to recover from injuries sustained when he saved a neighbor from three pit bulls attacking her in the city of Saginaw.

News of other pit bull attacks — including an August 2008 incident when two pit bull mixes dug under the fence at The Children’s Zoo at Celebration Square, killing two goats and a rooster and maiming sheep, goats and cattle — made rules governing dogs a priority, officials have said.

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