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Author Topic: West Columbia, Tx  (Read 1585 times)
Circle C
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« on: July 20, 2009, 03:28:32 pm »

TX-RPOA E-News
From RPOA Texas Outreach and
Responsible Pet Owners Alliance
"Animal welfare, not animal 'rights'
and, yes, there is a difference."
Permission granted to crosspost.

July 20, 2009

The link to the article posted below is:
http://thefacts.com/story.lasso?ewcd=da1171d66cefa2aa

Breed specific ordinances are prohibited in the State of Texas.
Letters to the editor advising same and outlining specific reasons why
BSL is ineffective may be sent via an online form:
http://thefacts.com/letter.lasso

According to the article, the city council has already decided to ban rottweilers and pit bulls from the city limits, but it has not decided
what to do with animals already there as family pets. As such, please send your POLITE AND RESPECTFUL letters opposing BSL to the West Columbia city officials listed below.

West Columbia City Hall
512 East Brazos Avenue
West Columbia, tx 77486-2944
Phone: (979) 345-3123

Mayor Laurie Beal Kincannon
Email: mayor@westcolumbiatx.org

Alderman Position 1
Name: Robert Puga Thomas
Email: pugathomas@westcolumbiatx.org

Alderman Position 2
Name: Charlie Tindol
Email: charleytindol@westcolumbiatx.org

Alderman Position 3
Name: Donna Schwebel
Email: TBA

Position 4, Mayor Pro Tem
Name: Jamie Walker
Email: jamiewalker@westcolumbiatx.org

Alderman Position 5
Name: Howard Pickle
Email: hpickle@westcolumbiatx.org

ARTICLE READS:
Vicious breed ban fuzzy on existing pets
By Erin McKeon
The Facts
Published July 20, 2009

WEST COLUMBIA - City Council already has decided it wants to ban rottweilers and pit bulls from the city limits, but it has not decided
what to do with animals already there as family pets.

At a meeting last week, West Columbia City Council instructed City Attorney Wes Griggs to draft an ordinance banning the dogs. Council
still has to decide whether to let animals already there stay, and if so, for how long.

Police Chief Michael Palmer said there is a standard procedure for ordinances that likely would be followed.

"We'll give them a certain amount of time to comply with the ordinance," Palmer said. "Then we'll issue tickets and fine them if they don't
remove the animals from the city limits, then we'll have to confiscate their animals if they still haven't complied."

Council will discuss any issues that might arise from the ordinance once the attorney has drafted and presented it at the next meeting, City Manager Debbie Sutherland said.

"My suggestion would be that the ordinance be written in such a way that it be suspended as far as dogs that are already in the city limits for
one year," Councilman Jamie Walker said. "That would give you a year to determine whether or not you want to find another place for your dog, find another place for yourself or find another place that's open to having a vicious dog in city limits."

Council voted to craft an ordinance to ban the breeds after several residents complained at the July 13 council meeting that a pit bull
lunged at a West Columbia resident and knocked her down, council members said.

"There was actually no bite, but most of us here are for banning those two breeds of dogs," Palmer said. "We have a whole lot of calls for those two and dealing with those two types of dogs is really difficult."

Councilwoman Donna Schwebel voted against the ordinance because she said breed-specific ordinances in other cities haven't done much good and she would rather enact a law that had stringent requirements for pet owners
of those breeds.

"Any dog breed can be vicious," Schwebel said during the meeting.

Apostolic Lighthouse Pastor Danny Johnson, who spoke at the meeting, said an ordinance, restrictions or no action won't help keep people safe.

"My concern is that you may have an ordinance that would fine somebody, but that's after the fact," Johnson said. "That's a limb gets chewed off of a little child, or after they've been maimed or killed."

Though many pet owners could say their animals are the exception, Walker said pit bulls and rottweilers are more prone to aggression by their nature.

"They can be nice dogs until they're not nice dogs anymore," Walker said. "Some of them never are, but the deal is that you don't know which one of them is going to be."

Though the ordinance could be hard to enforce, Palmer said officers are up to the task.

Some residents said people in town wait until the animal control officer is off duty, then let their dogs roam outside without leashes.

"I've changed the animal control officer's hours up a little bit before to try and deal with that," Palmer said. "I guess I'll have to do it again."

Council members understand the plan could upset residents.  "I can understand their situation about pit bulls and rottweilers and
all that stuff, but I know for a fact there are a lot of other aggressive dogs, too," Councilman Charley Tindol said. "It's a touchy situation when you tell people you can't have this type of dog or that type of dog."

RPOA Texas Outreach (501C4 Nonprofit)
www.rpoatexasoutreach.org
Responsible Pet Owners Alliance (501C3 Nonprofit)
www.responsiblepetowners.org

900 NE Loop 410  #311-D
San Antonio, TX  78209
$15 Annual dues (January - December)
To subscribe, contact rpoa@texas.net
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buddybegone
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« Reply #1 on: July 20, 2009, 03:54:14 pm »

well i guess you could put human beings in the place of dogs. can you really say a human won't blow up at anytime and i think they have before and will do a lot more damage than a dog! Dogs in the wrong hands are just as bad as guns in the wrong hands. So what if everybody with a dog in West Columbia moves out you probaly won't need those dumb a-- politians. To you pastor dogs are Gods creatures too!
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Circle C
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« Reply #2 on: August 11, 2009, 03:45:01 pm »

West Columbia, Texas:  City Council Meeting -- August 10, 2009
 
West Columbia passed a breed ban in July that would ban American Pit Bull Terriers and Rottweilers from this Texas city. Their city attorney was given the task of drafting an ordinance that would accomplish what they wanted. They soon found out that Texas has a statutory provision, Sec. 822.047 of the Health and Safety Code, that prevents laws that target one or several breeds of dogs.
 
Fortunately, the City took the position that they did not want an ordinace that was contrary to state law and are to be commended for that. But they went a step farther. Their City Council invited Jeff Shaver and I to come talk to them and their citizens about breed specific laws and the Texas ban on them. This effort was spearheaded by City Council Member Donna Schwebel who voted against such an ordinance. She had done some independent research that indicated to her, and correctly so, that breed bans do not work.
 
When we walked in to Council Chambers last night, I was a bit taken aback. The facility was packed. I sort of glanced over the crowd and wondered if Jeff and I were about to be roasted. Nothing could have been farther from the truth. We were warmly received and people listened attentively and not one person said a negative thing about dogs of any kind.
 
I spoke about our Texas laws, Texas' tough dangerous dog laws, and their city laws. I live in a small city, too, and in over 20+ years there has not been one dog bite incident and not one dangerous dog determination. That is because we do not have a loose dog problem which takes citizens willing to get involved in making sure dogs are kept off the streets. The idea of being proactive before an incident occurs seemed to really resonate with them. Of course, as on owner of two American Pit Bull Terriers, I had to brag on the true nature of these wonderful dogs in the right hands and stress how breed bans do not change the hearts and minds of people. Any issue with dogs is really an issue about people.
 
Jeff talked about Denver's breed ban and how it has sorely failed. He explained why these laws do not work, the drain on the city trying to enforce them, and the unfairness to people whose pets were killed for no reason at all. Jeff is the owner of Rottweilers and talked about some of the great things Rotties have accomplished (service after 9-11) and how versatile his breed is in their service to people in all sorts of way. He brought the Sports Illustrated edition regarding Michael Vick's dogs showing these dogs as pets and even therapy dogs.
 
We both had handouts for them, and I prepared a brief guide on the law concering BSL. At the end of the presentation we entertained a few questions and then were thanked by hearty applause from everyone. It was very gratifying to see the response to a positive approach in talking with the citizens and lawmakers of a city about BSL and working with them instead of against them.
 
In conclusion, West Columbia is not going to implement an ordinance banning any breeds of dogs. Importantly, they were open to listening and learning about the subject and it turned out to be a win-win result for everyone.
 
Zandra Anderson
www.TexasDogLawyer.com
 
Permission to Crosspost.
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