We need you to act NOW. If you cannot go to the hearing please contact the committee members. Especially if you live in their districts.
Please see this post for all the details on the bill and who to write.
http://lsspbc.com/blog/2009/03/09/oppose-hb-1982-bsl-by-another-name/
We need people at the hearing. You don’t have to speak – you can just leave a card. If you cannot go, we need you to call and fax TODAY.
Call everyone on the committee and your own State Rep. Just call and say “I oppose HB 1982″ if they ask why say that it is discriminatory and un-necessary. Local governments can already pass laws like this, and even under state law a dog does not have to bite someone to be declared ‘dangerous.’”
on Apr 6th, 2009 at 10:40 am
I don’t understand the fury over HB 1982. Have any of you actually read it in detail? Perhaps it has changed since its inception & the writer of the main page has not realized that. Upon reading the act in its entirety, no one has anything to be concerned about if their dog is well-behaved, trained and generally follows its owners commands. This bill is written ONLY to protect children, the elderly, and the innocent from angry and vicious dogs – not likely anyone’s dog who is reading this page. If you care about your dog, then you likely do not qualify to have yours labeled “vicious.” I think that there are some areas of the act that need further qualification/definition (i.e. the “dog park” issue for dogs over 40# under Sec. 822.0424. Here I think the act is generally discussing the maintenance of the dog, but I’d like to see a specific exception made re: dog parks, dog hunting, dog training, rescue dog searches, dog shows, etc.
I just want to encourage everyone to pull up the attachment & read the full act for yourself before making assumptions and getting angry. I don’t see there is anything here worth getting angry over, though I will be calling my representatives’ offices tomorrow to inquire about the over 40# section & to ask for further clarification. I encourage you to do the same.
on Apr 8th, 2009 at 5:45 am
Has the country gone completely mad ? I have owned large breed dogs my entire life. I currently have a 110lb lap dog, a rescued dog that has never hurt anyone. Labs by nature are lovable and very protective of children. Dogs, like people are a product of how they are raised. To deny this gentle giant his freedom to romp at the dog park or worse, be subjected to incarceration as a vicious or dangerous animal is simply a travesty. If profiling people is wrong how can you justify doing it to these loyal and loving creatures ?!?!!??? We have too much Animal Abuse already…THIS IS WRONG !!!!!!!!!!
on Apr 9th, 2009 at 7:32 pm
Ashley, the bill has not changed and I have read the bill very carefully, as have the 2 attorneys who are helping us. I attended the hearing and I think the only one who does not fully understand the bill, besides some members of the news media, is the author.
People are furious because it would punish people who follow all the rules and keep their dogs confined, vaccinated, registered, even those who already have proper liability insurance. The dog does not have to bite or even touch a person or animal. All it takes is a report from a neighbor and you have to defend your dog against a vicious declaration.
Defending yourself means taking time off work, paying impound fees on the dog, paying an attorney if you can find a decent one within a few days. And that is if you are INNOCENT. The judge will see “pit bull” and agree with the neighbor regardless. If you are guilty good luck finding insurance that will cover a dog declared vicious. There isn’t any. This means the dog will die.
This is the worst bill to hit our breed since BSL was removed from Texas in 1991.
on Apr 10th, 2009 at 9:45 am
Bill HB 1982
I am absolutely dumb-founded by the ignorance of people. I too have been in astonishment at the violation of my civil rights as a dog owner of a Staffordshire, the biggest baby and loving dog I have ever owned. Yes, he gets an attitude with vacuums, lawn mowers, trash trucks and all the things most dogs go crazy about. I read an article yesterday in which some poor ignorant person compared the owning of a so called vicious dog by a 21 or younger person to that of the hand gun laws not allowing a 21 or younger to own a gun. What?? Have you ever heard of a drive by dog biting? I haven’t.
I am appalled that these people want me to pay more for registration of a dog that is deemed vicious because of his breed or simply because he might bark or growl through his own fenced yard. That is simply bigotry toward all large breeds. If bigotry toward people is frowned upon, why is it accepted toward certain breeds of dogs. I am not partial to cats…lets charge more for them or ban them all together. Makes as much sense to me as this bill. The news media has played a huge roll in making this and keeping this issue more than it actually is.
At what point is government intervention gone just to far? I say this is that point!!! Stop it now while we still have some say in our own lives!! Write your representatives. I have already done it and will do so everyday until this is crushed in congress!