THE PIT BULL CONTROVERSY: GUILTY BY DNA? NATURE VS. NURTURE?

An excerpt by Christina Eisert's report for Boulder Weekly reported:

Say the words "pit bull," and watch fear seep into people’s eyes. Free association, no doubt, will uncover other words, like "dangerous," "unpredictable" and "killers."

Glen Bui is a geneticist with the American Canine Foundation, a national group dedicated to repealing BSL. (BREED SPECIFIC LEGISLATION)  "When you look at the breed ban, the whole original idea was to stop illegal dog fighting," he says. Bui is a member of a task force that cracks down on dogfights. "There’s still ongoing problems in Denver, and everywhere else in the country with abuse to animals, so the breed ban is not the answer, and the specifics prove it." READ MORE

Leaked: photos of pit bulls killed due to Denver ban
By Jared Jacang Maher (This is a 2009 article, but the ban is still in place.)

The photo-taker, who asked to remain anonymous, tells Westword the pictures were taken in 2006 on the grounds of the city animal shelter. According to officials, animals euthanized by the shelter are removed by a contractor for disposal.

Below is an article called: Inside Denver's (Colorado) "Pit Bull Row"  written by Joe Tone for Westword.

Jared Jacang Maher investigates whether twenty years of outlawing pit bulls in Denver has made the city safer. (You can also read more about the numbers of dogs killed in "Pit Bull Row")  Under the pit bull ban, Denver has put down an estimated 3,497 pit bulls. You can read the full report below  or click here to go to Westword.

Photos by Anthony Camera. Text by Maher.

Challenging Denver's Pit Bull Ban
Posted by Megan A. Senatori, ALDF Volunteer Attorney on June 10th, 2009

The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit recently released an important decision allowing a case challenging the City of Denver, Colorado’s pit bull breed ban to move forward. The Animal Legal Defense Fund was part of the successful effort.

The history of the Denver pit bull breed ban is long and complicated. The ban was originally enacted by the City of Denver in 1989. Shortly after its enactment, a group of dog owners and humane associations challenged the constitutionality of the ban. The case ultimately was heard by the Colorado Supreme Court, which rejected the challenges and upheld the ban. Colorado Dog Fanciers, Inc. v. City & County of Denver, 820 P.2d 644 (Colo. 1991). Since then, numerous other legal challenges to the ban have been mounted. However, to date, those challenges have been unsuccessful. READ FULL ARTICLE

The photo-taker, who asked to remain anonymous, tells Westword the pictures were taken in 2006 on the grounds of the city animal shelter. According to officials, animals euthanized by the shelter are removed by a contractor for disposal.

Portion of pit bull ban is overturned

AURORA, Colorado - Allen Grider Sr. spent a year of his life fighting for his country in the jungles of Vietnam. He's spent the last year of his life fighting against the City of Aurora to keep his service dog. That's because Grider's service dog has been identified by Aurora as a pit bull, a breed banned by legislation passed in 2005.
He has worked with Precious as his service dog for seven years. About a year ago the City of Aurora ordered Grider to remove the dog from the city in order to comply with its pit bull ban. Grider had a friend, who lived outside the City of Aurora, care for Precious while he sought legal help to fight the ruling.

That fight may be over as the U.S. Department of Justice has issued a clarification of ADA regulations as they relate to restricted breeds of dogs. That clarification states that municipalities will no longer be able to prohibit a disabled person from using a restricted breed as a service dog. The Department of Justice has given municipalities with breed restrictions until March 15, 2011 to comply with the ruling.

The City and County of Denver have already taken steps to do so. On December 6 city council will consider a bill that would modify their current pit bull ban to allow the breed to be used as service dogs. Pit bulls not used as service dogs would still be banned under the law. READ FULL ARTICLE at 9 NEWS.