New animal control rules won’t target pit bulls [Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, Iowa]

Oct. 08--WATERLOO -- Pit bulls will not be singled out under more stringent animal control rules being drafted by city officials.

Sandie Greco, the department head in charge of Waterloo Animal Control, updated City Council members and a packed house of concerned residents Monday about the status of a new ordinance being developed in the wake of several vicious dog attacks.

"We're basically going for nonspecific breeds," Greco said. "To specify a breed to be banned does not work.

"One of our goals is to target the real problem, and that is the dog owner," she added.

The recent high-profile attacks involved pit bull breeds and left some elderly residents with injuries that required hospitalization.

There were calls for the city to ban or crack down on all pit bulls, similar to 93 other cities in the state. Pit bull supporters fought back, saying it was not fair to target one breed when the problem was a lack of responsible owners.

Councilwoman Carolyn Cole said the city staff has talked to other cities -- including Omaha, Neb., and Des Moines, which have breed-specific ordinances -- as they work on new rules locally.

"To talk about a vicious animal rather than being breed specific makes it a lot easier to enforce," Cole said.

Greco said early proposals in Waterloo would be to put more restrictions on all pet owners whose animals have been deemed potentially dangerous or vicious.

She suggested all dogs picked up by Waterloo Animal Control officers would have to be microchipped, spayed or neutered. Any warnings and fines to animal owners would be specific to the owner instead of the dog and would not start over each year, which is the current rule.

Owners of dogs deemed "potentially dangerous" already have to provide proof of liability insurance to cover their pet. But Greco suggested the ordinance would also require them to take their pet to obedience school.

Higher fines would apply to vicious dogs, and their owners would lose the right to own dogs. Numerous other ideas were floated targeting owners and even landlords of homes where pet owners live.

None of the proposed changes can be enforced until the City Council actually votes on an ordinance change. No final ordinance has been released to date.

"It will probably be a little bit until we actually have an ordinance to present," said Mayor Buck Clark, emphasizing that a full hearing would be held when the rules are ready for consideration.

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