MUSKEGON, Mich. — Pit bulls are no longer considered dangerous in the city of Muskegon. City commissioners voted to remove the breed from their animal ordinance during their Tuesday March 14 meeting.
Lana Carson and the staff at Pound Buddies Animal Shelter were thrilled.
“The pit bull breed is a wonderful breed,” Carson said during an interview with FOX 17 on Tuesday. “They’re hearty, strong, intelligent, incredibly loyal and lovable dogs. But, if you don’t know the breed they can be, just based on their look, their size and their strength, maybe they are a little bit intimidating.”
Pit bulls are no longer considered “dangerous” in Muskegon 🐶
— Lauren Edwards (@LaurenEdwardsTV) March 21, 2023
The @cityofmuskegon recently voted to define a “dangerous” dog by its behavior and not the breed 🐩
Best part: I got to hang out with these 2 cuties at the Pound Buddies in Muskegon. // @FOX17 pic.twitter.com/YaM6PyreDT
Carson, who’s the executive director at Pound Buddies, said for years pit bulls were the only breed listed in the ordinance. Owners, even of pit-mixes, had to abide by a number of laws.
“There is additional muzzling. If they’re out in public, a shorter leash; signs on their house; [and] additional liability insurance. And again, that’s solely been based on the aesthetics of the breed,” she said. “It’s not on the behavior, and the public safety risk is a dangerous dog, that propensity to bite or harm a child, harm an individual, harm another dog.”
Carson said any dog can be a dangerous dog.
She said one of the worst bites a staff member experienced was from a chihuahua. She has 100 dogs at her shelter and 90 are pit bulls. A couple of months ago, the only dog that was labeled a "bite-risk" was a Yorkie-mix.
She said all dogs need training. However, she’s grateful the city of Muskegon is helping to remove the stigma from pit bulls.
“So happy because we’ve been seeing that cities all across the United States are repealing these ordinances and they’re updating that it’s not just the breed,” Carson said. “So, when you’re sitting here going ‘Oh my gosh, all this is happening around the country. C’mon, c’mon.’ So the fact that the City of Muskegon did this is yet another reason [that] they’re a great city. They’ve been progressive. So, we really hope that other municipalities in our area will adopt the same verbiage.”
