AGDT 1.1 - Dallas Editorial No Place for Pit Bulls! - Nov 1987

What is at stake for American Pit Bull Terriers and their owners was clearly presented in a July 15, 1987 editorial in the Dallas Times Herald.

Published under the title, "Pit Bulls: Guns Primed to Fire", the editorial declared the breed totally out of place in today's society. The editorial called for the breed's elimination.

"The owners and trainers of pit bull terriers would have the world believe their canines are just like any other, only a little stronger and more maligned than most," the editorial opened. "They (owners and trainers) argue in defense of these brutes that dogs, per se, don't kill people; poorly trained and unsupervised dogs kill people. The argument is fallacious."

"Pit bull terriers," the editorial continued, "represent a throwback to another era -- an unregulated, uncivilized, wide-open period of American expansion when there was enough room for settlers and their killer animals. But times have changed, and there is no place in civilization for animals whose sole purpose is to kill."

What is the solution to the pit bull terrier situation? The Dallas Times Herald editorial staff has this answer: "Those (pit bull terriers) already in private hands should be severely restricted and not allowed to breed. All others should be banned from American cities."

Following description of a reported pit bull attack in Richardson, Texas, the editorial concluded: "Having a pit bull is more like having a live gun that will shoot to kill or wound at its own discretion, a gun without a holster or safety catch."

"Banning dogs that are trained to be the equivalent of landed sharks on a perpetual blood frenzy is only unfair to those who think they have a right to terrorize their neighbors. Richardson, Farmers Branch and Addison should ban the dogs from their city limits, and Dallas should follow suit."

Rather than banning Pit Bulls, as called for in the editorial, the City Council at Farmers Branch passed a dangerous animal ordinance.

The Farmers Branch Times stated (September 16th), "The ordinance does not address specific breeds, such as pit bulls, but allows animal control officers to seize and hold dangerous animals until a hearing in Municipal Court.

City officials emphasized that animals declared dangerous by officers would not be seized from yards unless officers considered the animals an "imminent danger". They also stated that no dogs would be seized without warrants having been issued.

If an animal were declared "dangerous" following a city court hearing the city could require the following: the owner pay a $25 per-year license fee; the owner carry $100,000 liability insurance with the city named as co-insured; the animal confined in a special "child-proof" enclosure.

The Metrocrest News editorialized September 17th, that, "The ordinance is a heavily modified version of the proposed pit bull ordinance that was sent running with tail between legs July 20 by vocal opposition at a public hearing."