Omaha Officials Report on Meeting
Omaha, NE - Several cities in Nebraska are considering pit bull regulations in addition to Omaha. These cities include Hastings and Holdredge. Back in June, the city of Osceola, Nebraska had the foresight to pass a pit bull regulation before a serious attack. DogsBite.org applauds the proactive stance of Osceola and we hope more Nebraska cities follow.
Currently, the City of Omaha is still reviewing various options. Committee members met earlier in the week and called their meeting "extremely productive." Mayor Fahey, city council members, and the Nebraska Humane Society met and discussed ideas. They said all options are still on the table, including an all out ban of the breed.
The overall goal is to improve public safety.
Yet, the Nebraska Humane Society, who will end up enforcing public safety if the chosen method is a pit bull regulation is dangling. Judy Varner of the Nebraska Humane Society, as well as Mark Langan do not agree with breed-specific law and therefore do not agree with any type of city policy that directly targets the "pit bull" problem in Omaha.
We remind you that it was Langan that blamed the cloth leash on the attack that ripped off Charlotte's scalp instead of genetic pit bull traits. Langan knows all too well that the pit bull "slipped" out of his collar only to slowly and curiously approach the two mothers and children. With most dog breeds, similar actions would not cause immediate alarm.
But this was a pit bull. As soon as it reached the children -- without a bark, growl or other indication of attack -- it latched on to the child's scalp and ripped it off. This was not a fluke, this was just another instance of "101" pit bull genetics: an attack with no warning signs and the deadly pit bull "bite." Both Langan and Varner are fully aware of these genetic traits.
Related articles:
06/28/08: Coverage of the Omaha Pit Bull Attack - DogsBite.org
The Pit Bull community could avoid all this by simply breeding safer dogs.
From what I understand, the owners of pure bred show breeds that fall under the pit bull designation are doing just that. However, the public won’t pay over a thousand for such a dog when they can go to any shelter or look through any newpaper and get one for far less. Dog fighters breed dogs with animal aggression, drug dealers breed dogs with human aggression, and when these dogs as puppies don’t show these traits, they dump them. Then people adopt them and they mature into what they were bred for later on. Dog fighters and drug dealers are not going to breed safer dogs because that would defeat the purpose of the dog in the first place, and backyard breeders are not equiped to do it either. And on top of that, many owners want the dogs to have these bad traits, either to exploit them or to “train” them away into lovable mushes for their own self gratification. That’s the draw, the danger and violence, and these are the only dogs they can get that fix so easily and cheaply. And that’s why they fight so hard and irrationally for them.