[RDOWS]

Warren may give vicious dog law more bite

By STEPHEN ORAVECZ Tribune Chronicle
POSTED: January 17, 2008


New legislation deigned to get pit bulls off the streets of Warren may not be needed, several city officials said Wednesday.

City ordinances already define pit bulls as vicious dogs and require owners to have insurance and register the animals. But not one pit bull has been registered since the law was passed in 2006.

Deputy Health Commissioner Robert Pinti said he has received several application to register vicious dogs, but none have had the required insurance certification, so they were rejected.

Yet, Councilman Robert Dean, D-at large, said, there are dozens of incidents, including one last week when two pit bulls ‘‘literally ate up a Chihuahua on Belmont Street N.E.’’

His plan is different from Youngstown’s ban. Following a Garfield Heights law, Dean would add a definition of all varieties of pit bull into the law and place full responsibility for their behavior on the owners.

The law would ‘‘take them off the streets of Warren’’ before a child is hurt, Dean said.

Other officials are not sure Warren needs to alter its vicious dog ordinance.

‘‘You have a good vicious dog law. It needs to be enforced,’’ said Barb Busko, director of the Animal Welfare League of Trumbull County.

At a council committee meeting, Councilman Andy Barkley, D-3rd Ward, said banning pit bulls would lead irresponsible dog owners to move to another breed.

Others defended pit bulls, saying bad owners train them to be vicious. They said other breeds also can be trained to be dangerous.

Council President Robert Marchese said three things need to be done to address Warren’s dog problem:

The city dog warden needs a larger vehicle so he can nab more than one dog at a time;

Warren should consider placing the warden under the Health Department instead of the Police Department, since bites and other problems are heath issues;

The hours the warden works should be examined since he finishes his day by mid-afternoon.

Safety Service Director Doug Franklin said Warren only has one person to cover the entire city, and Busko said the city needs one more person.

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