NJ BSL

[bullygirl29532]

This is a post from my other forum WORKING PITBULLS @ yahoo. I suspect my more eloquent brethren will have something to say.


This is a forward... and here is the address to which you need to send your response and issues to: AsmBurzichelli@njleg.org <AsmBurzichelli@njleg.org>

Thank you for your email to my office regarding my bill A2906, "Responsible Pit Bull Ownership Licensing Act."

An increasing body of anecdotal evidence indicates that more and more New Jersey communities are encountering instances in which dangerous and vicious dogs attack, maul, or even kill unarmed and unwary citizens.

Victims have included children and the elderly. In several instances, the attacking dogs turned on their owners or their families. In other cases, police have had to intervene by shooting dogs that have threatened -- even chased -- residents in their neighborhoods.

These incidents of canine terror have occurred in all regions of the state. And while they do not constitute an epidemic, they point to an alarming trend that can no longer be ignored by municipal officials and state policy makers.

It is becoming painfully obvious that New Jersey's dog ownership laws need to be reevaluated and changed to deal with the alarming reality of strong, potentially vicious dogs being kept by individuals who are ill-prepared or ill-suited for such a demanding responsibility.

The need for such action was most recently demonstrated by the fatal mauling of an elderly grandmother in Garfield, Bergen County. Julia Mazziotto, 80, died on December 9 in the home where she had lived for 50 years, her body riddled with deep cuts after being repeatedly clawed and bitten by her granddaughter's two pit bulls. An autopsy revealed the victim suffered an extreme loss of blood after her scalp, back and neck were torn apart in the vicious attack.

While the Garfield dog-attack may have been the most horrific, there have been dozens of other cases in other New Jersey communities.

On two separate occasions this fall, police in Bridgeton had to shoot pit bulls that had threatened officers and residents. Also this fall, a 10-year-old Salem girl needed 20 stitches to close bites from her thigh to her ankle after she was knocked to the ground by two pit bulls that were allowed to roam free in her neighborhood. And in Willingboro, a middle-aged couple was suddenly attacked by two pit bulls they had owned for several months. The husband was bitten so severely he had to be

admitted to intensive care at a South Jersey hospital.

It's unclear what may have triggered these incidents. But the reasons for these attacks hardly matter. The real issue is how they add up to an undeniable, oft-repeated pattern, one that calls into question whether the state's dog-ownership laws ensure the public's safety when big, powerful dogs are kept in the wrong environment or are possessed by irresponsible individuals.

In New Jersey, the time has come to abandon the notion that everybody has the wherewithal, time, and temperament to care for a challenging breed such as a pit bull.

Responding to the wave of dog mauling incidents, I recently crafted legislation that would better enable municipalities to regulate potentially lethal dogs before they attack anyone.

My bill (A-2906) would allow local governing bodies to enact public safety ordinances requiring that special licenses be issued for individuals who seek to own, keep, or harbor pit bulls, pit-bull-type dogs, or Rottweilers. According to a recent study by the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, pit bulls and Rottweilers account for more than 60 percent of all deaths resulting from dog attacks.

My legislation would restrict criminals, minors, and convicted animal abusers from owning such potentially dangerous dogs. It also would enable municipalities to prescribe standards for the restraint, housing and care of these dogs.

For example, pit bull owners would need to display warning signs on the premises where their dogs are kept. The dogs could run loose only in well-constructed, municipally inspected fenced-in areas. To take the dog off-premises, owners would need to securely muzzle and leash their animals.

Violators would risk license suspension or revocation and fines up to $1,000 for each day they are in violation. The bill also would enable municipalities to seize and impound ferocious dogs that are not being properly kept by owners.

Current dog owners would be protected through a grandfather clause in the bill. Finally, municipalities could waive the licensing requirements and one-time registration fee for owners who complete a recognized obedience-training program with their dogs.


This bill would not empower municipalities to enact breed-specific dog bans. In fact, only communities where local law enforcement authorities have documented a problem to exist could employ the bill's special licensing and ownership standards.

Unlike breed-specific laws enacted in other states, this measure sets a new regulatory model for controlling problem dogs. The intent here is to give local authorities a new tool to ensure that ill-tempered, immature, incapable, or uncaring individuals do not own potentially lethal dogs.

This bill respects the fact that pit bulls, pit-bull-type dogs, and Rottweilers can make very good pets. Moreover, this measure does not impose draconian restrictions, like limits on how far an owner and dog may walk from their home. Nor does it allow municipalities to enact outrageous regulations that might otherwise discourage dog ownership.

This is a public safety initiative, a preemptive strike against the wave of dog violence that has generated alarming headlines in recent months.

This measure seeks to save lives by fostering responsible ownership of the breeds that are most likely to cause human deaths. In the most densely populated state in the country, this bill recognizes that some people are not suited to be every dog's best friend.

Sincerely,
Assemblyman John J. Burzichelli

[alicat613]

As far as I understand it, this seems like a great idea. I have to admit that as a former pit bull owner (as a young child) and one who has never encountered a mean dog in her life, I like this more for the well-being of the dog than protection of society. I suppose I live in a sheltered world, I have never lived or been anywhere that vicious dogs have been an issue, but this proposal seems to have good intentions, won't require any ridiculous rules and IMO would benefit all dog owners.

[Guest Anonymous]

I'm not fond of them having to be muzzled, but that's a small price to pay when you think of what could happen...bans. I'm very pleased it would restrict criminals, minors, and animal abusers from having them. I think it's a wonderful compromise.

Connie

[gooeydog]

Bad. They call it the "responsible pit bull ownership licensing act", but it's won't do anything to change the irresponsible owners, so only the responsible ones will pay. The criminals, etc won't follow the law, because they don't care about the law or the penalties they may (but likely won't) face. That means that the only people who will follow the leg. are the ones who already follow the "rules" of good dog ownership, but according to this law, they may have to keep their well behaved dog muzzled just to leave their yard, among other things. Then, since the breeds have been deemed "potentially dangerous", if the slightest incident occurs (such as: a child runs past and the dog playfully jumps on them, scratching them with their paws) the muncipality will be able to order the dog be euthanized, because they will have fulfilled that "potential". There are already laws in effect that govern all breeds, such as leash laws and generic dog laws (one bite or dog showing aggression gets the dog deemed "vicious", and restricted according to the state regulations), and cruelty laws (which need stronger penalties), that alone, would be enough to stop many dog attacks. The key is that those laws need to be enforced. They won't work if no one uses them. If the laws were enforced, loose dogs would be impounded, and eventually confiscated if picked up enough times. Were the dogs that attacked licensed? If not, then why weren't their owners penalized before the dogs attacked. Did people call the authorities about the loose dogs that police had to shoot? After all, they felt threatened... why didn't anyone do something about the dogs before it got to that point? The "dog problem" will never be "fixed" by simply placing more laws in effect, it requires a joint effort by government lawmakers, "cleanup crews" (ACOs, shelters, etc), educators (people need to know how to treat dogs, and have some idea of why they act the way they do) dog owners (of all breeds), and non-dog-owning citizens (too many things go unreported until it's too late and something horrible has already happened). Until this happens, there will continue to be dog attacks, and nothing will change, except more innocent people and dogs will be punished for things they never did.

[bullygirl29532]

No one is all good or bad;just like no rule is all good or bad. at best life is a compromise w/ both sides feeling like they lost something in the bargin. i wouldn't mind having a sign in my window saying BEWARE PITBULL ON PREMISES. my gramma, who lives in Newark NJ has a sign in her window BEWARE OF DOG and she owns a malties (sp?). i think all dogs should be microchipped or tattoed, for any number of reason. i think all dogs and dog ownersshould take classes. And if the state of new jersey needs help finding out which dog is a bully dog i'll gladly email them my pit bull test. have you guys seen that one? it's great it really helps you pick the bully out of the bunch.

[bullygirl29532]

This is funny and I don't know if you have seen it
before or not. It is how you test for a pit bull.


Breed specific legislation continues to be a method that legislators choose To control the perceived problems of dangerous or vicious dogs in their communities. Dogs rights groups often speak out Against this type of Legislation, saying it's unfair to target specific breeds or types of dogs, and that breed identification is too difficult. There is no genetic test to determine a breed of dog, and dogs are so diverse, it's really hard to tell by looking at them what breed they are. At least it was until now.

A new test has been developed and is being promoted
by P.I.T.A (People >Interested in Terrorist Agendas for Pain in the Ass
>Dogs) . Our anonymous >tipster for this organization gave us the complete test,which is outlined >below. According to our source, this is the most accurate method known, and >is nearly fool-proof for determining if a dog has any pit-bull blood in >them.

Test 1- Keep the suspected pit bull dogs in another room of your average home. Wait until they are asleep. The evaluator, in the formal living room of the home, will take an expensive, small-sized throw pillow from the sofa, and toss it into the middle of the floor.
Within two minutes, a pit bull type dog will appear, and will circle and mash
the pillow with its feet. Grunting noises of satisfaction in making the
pillow just so may occur the more full-blooded the dog is. The dog will then lie down on the pillow, trying to make itself as small as possible,
so that it fits as much of its body on the pillow as possible. A snort or
whiffle of contentment is a definite sign that it's a bull breed you're
dealing with.

Test 2- Confine the suspected pit bull dogs in another room. This test will take place in the master bedroom of an average home. You need a queen or king sized bed, immaculately made up. Place a small, fresh out of the dryer personal garment, such as a sock or underwear on
the edge of a corner of the bed. Within two minutes a bull breed will show
up, jump up on the bed and lay down on the item.

Test 3- This test takes place in the bathroom of an average home. The evaluator will enter the bathroom, closing the door firmly butnotcompletely. As soon as the evaluator sits down on the john, a bull breed will smoosh the door open with their face and come on in. They will stare at you pointedly as you go about your business.
Some will lurk behind the door, with one eyeball staring at you in a
disconcerting way (assuming the >evaluator is shy).
Test 4- The evaluator will sit on a sofa or chair.
The suspected pit bull will be placed across the room. The evaluator will
hold their hand, all fingers facing forward, palm down, and reach out
toward the dog. As they reach, they will rotate their hand about 30
degrees from left to right (like the queens wave, only facing the ground). A
proper bull breed will immediately understand that this is the universal,
non-verbal signal for petting, and will proceed to cross the room, and
place their big, fat head under your hand. Grinning by the dog or
evaluator is optional. Leaning on the evaluator or trying to ooze into their lap is a sure sign that it's a bull breed.

Test 5- The evaluator will allow the dog to lick
his or her face. If the dog tries to lick the inside of your eyeball, ear,
or nostril, it's a bull breed.
> >
Test 6- This test will take place in a spacious area. The evaluator will wait until the suspected bull breed is lounging
comfortably on a sofa or bed, and appears disinterested in the evaluator.
The evaluator will casually sit on the floor, and begin to either do
excercise type stretches or attempt to use their 'Ab- Roller". A true bull
breed will ooze off the sofa, and come and stand on your hair, or stick
their very cold nose into your eye, or lay down on you, thus negating the
exercise you were going to do, in favor of petting the dog.
> >
Remember, this test has been developed to allow law
enforcement and the justice system to fairly and accurately determine
which dogs should be unfairly punished for being the breed that they
are. This six step test is an ideal way to address these issues in your
community- be sure to ask for it!
I'D GIVE CREDIT TO THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR BUT HE/SHE IS UNKNOWN TO ME.
this is a disclaimer in no way am i taking credit for anything that may comeabout from reading this, upto and including laughter.

[bullygirl29532]

another brush off letter. maybe i should change my name to john.

Thank you for contacting my office regarding A2906. I truly value your opinion and thank you for taking an active role in government.
Sincerely,
Assemblyman Douglas H. Fisher
AsmFisher@njleg.org

[ArtfulDodger]

bullygirl, I love the test for bull breeds. I conducted it on my dogs and they passed it with flying colours. I think they may have been the dogs the author had in mind when he/she wrote the test steps.
There is another test just to be sure.

Tell dog to be evaluated to sit on his bed and proceed to the couch to watch some television. After 2 minutes a bull breed will begin to slink imperceptively towards the couch stopping and looking innocently around every time the evaluator looks its way. Before long a true bullbreed will magically appear sitting upright, leaning hard and wearing its saddest face just milimetres from evaluators nose. If evaluated dog is a true bullbreed he will sit patiently this way until evaluator pats his head whereupon he will attempt couch and lap privilages or sink contentedly to the floor beside the couch.

[ArtfulDodger]

This whole pitbull phobia has gotten way out of control hasn't it??

I'd like to know for certain how many of these attacks actually were committed by pure pitbulls and not some cross breed. Are we to trust the breed recognition skills of every small town journalist or eye witness to these attacks?
I had an English Bull Terrier X Yellow Labrador who got in a fight with a border collie down at the beach once. She worked him over pretty good before I could get her off him and it made the front page of the local newspaper the next day. The headline read PITBULL MAULS PET AT BEACH. :o
That dog doesn't have a drop of pitbull in her, she looks like a big, muscular cream coloured lab with shorter fur and slightly squinty eyes yet this incident has added to the urban myth of the pitbull as being untrustworthy and vicious. My other dog was there at the time, he's a pure pitbull and he didn't get involved in the fight at all.

The problem with increasing fines and penalties for people whose dogs roam is that the average Joe, who doesn't let his pits roam, may be too scared of finacial ruin or worse to come and claim his dog if it got out by mistake. This would end up with the dog being put down if a home couldn't be found for him.
Where I live there is strict regulation in place now. I have to have a warning sign on every entrance to my property. My dogs are required to wear loudly coloured fluoro collars signifying they are a dangerous breed and they must wear a muzzle and lead at all times in public. I ask you, what if I am obeying these rules and a loose dog, eg labrador, aussie cattle dog, german shep, etc attacks my dog. My dog couldn't effectively protect himself and if he were injured where would those laws be then??

Another knee jerk reaction by a public/govt that needs a dragon to slay!! :mad:

[bullygirl29532]

Yes i too am wondering how many of a claimed pit attacks were really done by a pit. the only places i know of to keep records of that is some hospitals in america. even then they just take the injured or bystanders word on the breed.

[Horsefeathers!]

[quote name='ArtfulDodger']This whole pitbull phobia has gotten way out of control hasn't it??

I'd like to know for certain how many of these attacks actually were committed by pure pitbulls and not some cross breed. Are we to trust the breed recognition skills of every small town journalist or eye witness to these attacks?


This has been my biggest complaint with this kind of legislation. Around here and apparently in many places, anything can be labeled a Pit Bull depending on WHO is making the call. The descriptions can range from long snipey faces to blunt faces and from really lean to heavily muscled. They can be huge or smallish. Anything can be a Pit Bull depending on how convenient it is to need a scapegoat, or to sell some news rag. I am still reeling from someone explaining to me in another thread where there was such a thing as a long haired Pit :o . Then explained it away as saying, well, a Pit MIX can have long hair, so we need legislation to protect us from them as well. Puh-leeze. How much mix? 20%? 50%? WHOSE job is it going to be to determine this and by what established standards? If someone else tells me that trained (trained by WHO, by the way) personnel such as animal control (ha? :o ) and vets will be in charge of determining on a case by case basis what is a Pit, I'm just going to give up in frustration.

Long story short, more legislation serves only to attempt keep honest people honest and will do NOTHING for irresponsible ownership. NOBODY has ever been able to show me where it would be beneficial to enact more laws aimed at breed discrimination. Punish the deeds, not the breeds. Enforce existing laws which already cover neglect/abuse/irresponsibility instead of wasting resources on trying to figure out ways to create new laws. If they can't enforce existing laws, why should anyone expect them to be able to handle new laws efficiently? I see more potential for problems than benefits.

[ILoveLabs]

Ah, you can't say the name "pit bull" without somebody making a big fuss. I love the breed, my friend owns one...and it loves little kids to death, it has never once barked viciously or tried to attack anyone...I think its the OWNER...NOT the DOG!

Any dog can attack, let me repeat- ANY DOG CAN ATTACK! Its those irresponsible humans that are a danger to our society, the irresponsible dog trainers...you can't blame a dog for how it was trained, or because it was abused or neglected, or because it wasn't properly cared for, or maybe because it wasn't trained and raised in a bad environment...no, when you take a dog in your hands...you are taking a precious life..and it is YOUR responsibility to train it up properly.

You mess up, the dog does wrong- and WHY IS IT THAT THE DOG GETS BLAMED? If you know your dog is aggressive- DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. don't let it run around- make sure you KNOW your dog, don't just say "well I don't think it would ever bite anyone" BE POSITIVE! never take chances. I have met many pits and rotties who are just labs in disguise...most loveable dogs you will ever meet!! I own a rotti mix, and he is a big teddy bear. NO ONE CAN FORCE ME TO MUZZLE HIM! I know my dog...I can truly say that I know him...we have put trust in eachother, and formed a love bond...I have tested how he acts in different environments, around differet people- but I still must be careful. I may not know him as well as I think I do, but let me say this- he would lick someone to death before he ever, let me stress this, ever bit them to death.

why are dogs being judged by what dogs of the same breed have done? Do they know the history of the dog that attacked, is there a reason- they can say that it doesn't matter all they want- but it does!!! I disagree- I don't think that dogs are born as biters, there is something that triggers them...and banning the breed won't do anything, so I am glad that they took another step- but if they want to stop dogs from attacking- they are going to have to go beyond the Pits. Any dog can learn to be fierce- and any dog can learn to love. YOU have to be responsible and train that dog,be consistent and firm. Whats next? If they ever did ban pits, we would have another breed that will all the sudden begin attacking. Where is it going to end?

Let me tell you- its going to end when they begin to ban irresponsible breeders, irresponsible owners, and irresponsible trainers- they are the ones that can cause harm to a dog- any dog! So let me say this- don't try to stop the problem by muzzling a dog...thats not going to do anything, how many people do you think will obey that law?

Maybe if we didn't have people who abused, neglected, fight, and train their dogs to attack...or those who don't train their dogs at all...then maybe we would have better tempered dogs. Maybe if those dogs knew what love was...they wouldn't have to use the only protective tool they have (biting)...maybe we wouldn't have so many bad tempered dogs being bred with bad tempered dogs, producing bad tempered pups...which, even if trained well, that bad temperment can still come out in the pups. Maybe if we didn't have people who taught their dog so much hate, we wouldn't have dogs running around lose showing others what they have felt...

When will people smarten up?