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Florida’s new pit bull law is certainly stirring the pot and sparking intense debate. This law, which will come in October, will lift the ban on the breed. This has led to a flurry of cheers and jeers.
A new Florida law that will go into effect in a few months will invalidate Miami-Dade County’s ban on pit bulls.
Lauree Simmons said the bans have unfairly cost the dogs their lives because there is a misconception that the breed is unpredictably more aggressive than others.
According to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, every dog should be evaluated and treated as an individual, regardless of breed. Simmons agrees.
“I have more chihuahua bites and I’ve never been bitten by a pit bull,” Simmons said.
Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the new dog restraint authorization law after state lawmakers passed it as Florida State Bill 942 and Florida House Bill 941.
When it takes effect Oct. 1, it will invalidate Miami-Dade County’s pit bull ban, which began in 1989 after a 7-year-old girl survived an attack that required reconstructive surgeries.
Although state law invalidates the county ban, it still allows residential communities to ban specific breeds of dogs. Simmons said that needs to change, too.
“Landlord surrenders are up 60 percent, 40 percent of that is due to rental discrimination where people are downsizing, renting somewhere small or moving to a different community,” Simmons said.
Simmons, the founder of Big Dog Ranch Rescue, at 14444 Okeechobee Blvd., in Loxahatchee Groves, has been rescuing pit bulls for decades.
There are opponents of the law who are concerned about public safety without the ban. National Pit Bull Victim Awareness is among the advocacy groups that continue to support breed-specific legislation.
It’s unclear why Ron DeSantis supports legislation that would overturn Miami’s pit bull ban. Of course, many pit bulls, like many pit bull owners, are friendly, peaceful and responsible, and dogs in many cases are a loving and positive presence in the home. Unfortunately, the consequences of irresponsible ownership, and sometimes just unforeseen circumstances beyond the owners’ control, can be devastating and fatal when it comes to this breed.
Pitbull activist Simmons is quoted above as saying, “I’ve been bitten by chihuahuas and I’ve never been bitten by a pitbull.” This is very likely true, but it completely ignores the relevant factor that a chihuahua attack causes much less damage than a pit bull attack. Just a few days ago, a 6-year-old boy died from a pit bull attack in North Port, Florida.
A 6-year-old boy has died after being bitten by dogs in North Port.
According to the North Port Police Department, the boy suffered serious chest injuries Tuesday, so severe that he had to be airlifted to Sarasota Memorial Hospital after initially receiving life-saving treatment.
After he was stabilized, he was transferred to Tampa General for further treatment, but died a day later.
“He was inside the house,” said Josh Taylor, public information officer for the North Port Police Department. “The dog was in a bedroom, the boy went into the bedroom to get something. The next thing you know, people heard screams and sprung into action.”
In this case, there was no history or signs of aggression from this pit bull, which the family raised from a puppy, before its fatal attack on a child:
“Based on all the information we have so far, there’s no history of the dog acting out that would indicate anything could happen,” Taylor said. “The animal lived in the house basically a puppy, a couple of weeks old, between 2 and 8 weeks, if I’m not mistaken, and you know, it was a family pet.”
Investigators are still trying to figure out what led to the attack.
NPPD could not say for sure if the dog was affected by the fireworks and possibly acted on it.
Patrick Logue, master dog trainer and behavioral therapist at Bark Busters Home Dog Training, said it’s a possibility.
“When dogs are in distress, when they’re adrenalized, it’s never a good combination,” Logue said. “Then you add kids into the mix. Kids bring their own stress, as any parent will tell you, and their own sense of chaos, and it’s just a bad situation, especially when kids are unsupervised with dogs.”
Chihuahuas may bite and act out more, but when Chihuahuas do attack, the consequences are rarely, if ever, fatal for children. And the above is not an isolated case: a quick Google search turns up countless incidents, many of which are even more horrifying than the case described above. Another case this year is that of a 3-year-old girl whose face was ripped off by a neighbor’s pit bull. The poor girl is now fitted with prosthetic ears.
A Michigan family is raising money for a girl who survived a terrifying dog attack.
According to WWMT, 3-year-old Arial Harrison is still recovering from serious injuries she suffered last year when she was attacked by a neighbor’s dog.
Harrison was playing on the trampoline at his grandmother’s house when the pit bull attacked. He lost his ears and most of his head is now a skin graft.
“I guess the dog had grabbed her by the head, by the hair or something,” said Kendra Canen, Arial’s mother.
It’s not just children who are maimed and killed by rogue pit bulls. Other dog breeds are also frequently attacked and killed. Circumstances like those shown in the video below are not uncommon:
Anecdotes are anecdotes. So what are the statistics on the matter? Pit bulls make up less than 8% of the dog population, but accounted for more than 70% of fatal dog attacks from 2011 to 2017.
Given the statistics and the stakes involved, it seems reasonable that citizens would want to take safety measures to protect themselves from this breed, especially in highly concentrated urban environments. It is not clear why DeSantis, who despite his troubled presidential campaign is an excellent and beloved governor, would want to go against the will of the people of Miami on this issue.
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