[PNWPBR]

Man Wins Dog Back After DNA Test Proves Dog Isn't Pit Bull
Last Edited: Tuesday, 12 Feb 2008, 10:10 PM CST
Created: Tuesday, 12 Feb 2008, 8:27 PM CST
Kansas City News
Chalk a victory up for man's best friend in Kansas City, Kansas. A man just won his eight month legal battle with the city to keep his dog after proving it wasn't a pit bull.

For the last eight months, Niko has been living in the KCK Animal Control Kennels while his owners fought with the city. Animal Control said the dog violated the pit bull ban, but the dog's owner has said all along the dog is actually a boxer mix.

Niko has only been a free dog for a couple of days. Mike Johnson said it's obvious that eight months in the pound was tough on Niko.

"He lost some fur and has quite a bit of a cough," Johnson said. "He lost about 10-15 pounds."

This all started because the family put up an ad trying to find Niko a new home. Animal Control saw the ad and confiscated the dog, calling it a pit bull, even though paperwork called the dog a boxer.

After months of legal wrangling and a DNA test, all charges have been dropped and now they plan on keeping Niko for good.

"I don't feel it's fair at all," Johnson said. "For one they took our dog. We had documentation what type of dog it was but they wouldn't even look at that."

"People like Mike and Amy get caught in this loop, they actually had criminal charges brought up against them," Cheryl Buell with KC Dog Advocates said.

Buell said this shows pit bull bans are hard to enforce and that's exactly why other cities are changing laws, like Edwardsville, which just changed its ordinance Monday night, removing the pit bull ban.

"Beefing up their dangerous dog ordinance, make sure the people with dangerous dogs are held accountable, those are the people you want to punish fine," Buell said.

Buell wants KCK to re-examine its ordinance.

"It was hard on the dog and the people involved and a huge waste of tax money and it didn't accomplish anything because it wasn't a vicious dog to begin with," she said

[ewwies]

why the heck was the owner trying to rehome its dog? for whatever it must not have been that important because they have decided to keep him now.. after 8 months of having that poor dog being put through hell at an animal shelter.

PEOPLE!!!!!!!

at least maybe this will have them reconsider the pit bull ban.

but still!

[NINqueen]

too many people just try to give away thier dogs because of stupid reasons like i am "moving" when i moved i was close to living on the street because if they didnt want my rottweiler they didnt want me. I finally found a place and he loves his german shepard next door neighbor!

[Grizzly]

I could never understand when a ban takes effect, how they can include in the ban "any dog that LOOKS like a pit bull". That is the most ridiculous qualification. Two people may look at a dog, one says " it doesn't look like a pit bull to me" the other one says " yep, that looks like it's got some Pit in it, let's take it". How could that EVER be legal!!!

[NINqueen]

in my opinion it is just as bad as someone being a racist. Its ignorance its all blaming something for what it looks like not what the individual does. I have seen people have thier dogs taken away and that dog has been like a kid to that person or a friend when they lost everyone else. Does not matter breed a dog is a life partner