GROSSE POINTE SHORES, Mich. (WXYZ) — A dog breed ban is up for discussion in Grosse Pointe Shores.
City council is expected to vote on the matter Tuesday evening. The ban is taking aim specifically at pit bulls.
Fran Bachmann, a dog behavioralist, believes the move punishes responsible dog owners. Two dogs she had when speaking with 7 Action News on Tuesday “have never had any incidents.”
“They would have to get $100,000 of insurance for each dog that they have each year that they want to get the dog licensed and they have to have a 6-foot fence and they can’t be 10 feet from the lot line. So in many cases, they’re going to have to have a small enclosure in their backyard,” Bachmann said. “They can stop you and say ‘you’re walking a pit bull.’ Then it’s on you to prove that it’s not a pit bull.”
Bachmann has trained more than 1,200 dogs in more than 16 years. She says not only are most rescues mixed with pit bull, but the problem is not all pit.
“If you do one breed, then you’ve got to do all the breeds if that’s what you think is going to stop this from happening,” she said. “I feel it’s implicit racism because when you take pit bulls, a lot of people would maybe associate them with the African American community and the Latino community, and that’s not really a fair thing to do and it feels like they’re kind of saying we don’t want certain people and certain dogs in our community.”
Bachmann has a petition to stop the proposed pit bull ban in Grosse Pointe Shores with 300 signatures and counting.
Related: Grosse Pointe Shores debates dog breed ban after attack involving Pit Bull
Joe Theis’ name is not on the list but living in the city 31 years, his thoughts co-sign with beliefs that it’s not about the dog, just the owner.
“People need to control their dogs and I’ve seen too many instances where people do not have dogs on leashes and they just run wild. And that’s when the problems come into effect,” Theis said.
City Councilman Donn Schroder released the following statement ahead of Tuesday’s meeting:
It is now September 19, three and a half months since the tragic June 4th incident when a pit bull attacked a couple walking their dog on Lochmoor Street in Grosse Pointe Shores, Michigan. At the June council meeting the Mayor and city council vowed to fast track an ordinance to improve public safety from dog bite injury. We wondered if this was an isolated incident, so we investigated dog bite attacks in Grosse Pointe Shores since 2020 and found that hat there were 14 dog bites and 2 attacks. The most common offender were pit bulls on 6 separate occasions.
The Mayor tasked the council to research the issues that may be involved to dispel any myths or prejudicial bias when drafting such an ordinance in the areas of strengthening our current dog ordinances and to consider breed specific legislation
The Village of Grosse Pointe Shores attorney drafted examples of 3 dog ordinances and presented them at the last city council meeting. The one that the council majority voted to pursue tightened regulation of all dogs in Grosse Pointe Shores, including changing our current restriction leash length maximum from 10 feet to 6 feet, updating our vaccination rules, amending the statement that a public safety officer “may seize” a suspected vicious dog to “will seize”, and changing dog bite injury from a civil infraction to a misdemeanor. In addition, a pit bull ownership ban would be placed on dogs not already registered with the Village Grosse Pointe Shores, A Michigan City when the ordinance goes into effect.
In addition to this proposed ordinance, we hope to enact a policy which promotes education on responsible dog ownership. Dog owners have a responsibility to care for their dog(s) in a way that fosters good behavior, respecting the rights of other citizens and animals as well as the environment. Dog owners are required to comply with the laws of the State of Michigan and local ordinances pertaining to their dog(s). When applying for or renewing their dog license they will be asked but not required to sign a Responsible Dog Ownership pledge modeled after the American Kennel Club Canine Good Citizen Pledge and will be provided links to education on responsible dog ownership. It is our hope that combining preventive and punitive measures that that we can reduce the incidence of dog bite injuries in the Village of Grosse Pointe Shores
