Your Action Needed to Prevent Breed Discrimination
UPDATE: August 21, 2009
City Council drafted the breed discriminatory ordinance for approval on August 17, 2009. There will be another council meeting on August 31, 2009, at 7:00 p.m.
Please contact your council members today!
To see the draft ordinance banning certain breeds of dogs from the city, click here.
To Indiana Residents
The city of Elkhart, Indiana is considering adding breed specific language to its pet ordinance.
Contact members of the Elkhart City Commission today to request non-breed specific dangerous dog/reckless owner laws
Best Friends opposes canine profiling as it does not reduce dog bite incidents nor effectively manage dangerous dogs. Rather than breed-discriminatory restrictions, legislators should mirror good generic dangerous dog/reckless owner laws that have been enacted in Illinois and Minnesota.
Some of these laws include regulations that:
- Protect innocent dogs and responsible owners.
- Encourage residents to spay/neuter their pets.
- Effectively identify and manage truly dangerous dogs.
- Restrict tethering.
- Enforce stricter consequences for dog fighting.
- Prevent reckless owners from having dogs.
1. Provide your name and address
Legislators want to know that you are one of the people they represent.
2. Ask for specific action
Ask members to oppose any ordinance that bans or regulates a specific breed of dog.
3. Give reasons and examples
- Chose from the list below or share your own. Remember to be always be respectful and avoid being emotional. This is your chance to educate someone about truly effective ways to manage dangerous dogs.
- It is often difficult for even experts to determine the breed of a dog-particularly with mixed breed dogs. Click here to find the pit bulls on the web. Many dogs are misidentified and confiscated simply for their appearance.
- Breed discriminatory laws cause unintended hardship to responsible owners of friendly dogs that happen to fall within the regulated breed category.
- Breed-discriminatory laws compromise public safety by requiring officers to enforce regulation on dogs that may or may not be dangerous instead of investing resources into proven, effective tactics that make the community safer.
- A dog is an individual with its own personality. It should be judged on its temperament and not its appearance.
Contact City Council Members Today!
Mayor:
Dick Moore
Municipal Building
229 S. Second St.
Elkhart, IN 46516
Telephone Number: (574) 294-5471 ext. 240
Fax Number: (574) 293-7964
denise.blenner@coei.org
City Clerk:
Sue Beadle
229 S. Second Street
3rd Floor
Elkhart, IN 46516
Telephone Number: (574) 522-5272
Fax Number: (574) 296-9811
sue.beadle@coei.org
Contact information for Council Members
Thank you for taking action for animals!
Additional Information and Resources
Photograph by Clay Myers, Best Friends Staff
Posted by Cheri Moon, Best Friends Staff