From The 'I Had No Idea' File: Denver Colorado Reinstituted Its Ban On Pit Bulls

JohnBckWLD · July 13, 2005, 9:13pm

In one of our ongoing ‘blame the owner / blame the breed’ pit bull debates here at the office, this little tidbit popped up in Google News: Denver’s Pit Bull Ban Roils Owners.

Dateline 6/17/2005

…In 1989, the City Council passed a resolution banning (pit bull terriers) from Denver…and resumed enforcement of the ban last month. Dog advocates fear Denver’s recent action will prompt other cities to follow suit…Statements by some city officials that indicate pit bulls are favored by drug dealers and gang members have also stirred debate that the ban unfairly targets minority pet owners…The number of pit bulls living within Denver’s city limits is hard to determine. In 1989, when the city passed the ban, Denver counted 224 registered animals. But the number of impounded pit bulls has been steadily rising over the past few years, from 103 in 1999 to 652 in 2003…The misdemeanor penalty for owners harboring an illegal pit bull is a fine of up to $1,000 and a year in jail.

In response, Denver-area pit bull supporters started their underground railroad to stay one step ahead of city dogcatchers…Volunteers estimate they have driven or referred about 20 pit bulls to the Mariah’s Promise Animal Sanctuary…

I’ve read a few pit threads about pit bulls & the damage they cause, but don’t ever recall seeing it mentioned a large city like Denver was impounding the breed. Say what you want about the dogs, I’m still trying to figure out if the Mile-High City’s previous year’s ordinances banning Saturday night specials and assault weapons were criticized for being sexist.

JohnBckWLD · July 28, 2005, 4:06am

Denver’s body count is up to 292 Euthanized Pit Bulls & 148 still on ‘death row’