Flossmoor - A pit bull puppy that had been at the center of an effort to regulate dangerous dogs in Flossmoor has been moved out of the village, according to its former owners.
``We got rid of it, but not because of (the neighbors who complained),``
said William Banks, whose family had adopted the puppy earlier this year. ``We just weren`t ready for a dog right now.`` (Which means the pit bull puppy was becoming a handful).
A discussion on banning such dogs from the village, or at least regulating how they may be kept, still is scheduled for the Flossmoor Village Board meeting at 7 p.m. Monday.
Neighbors of the Banks family and other residents concerned about pit bulls, formally known as American Staffordshire terriers, asked for the meeting late last month.
They expressed concerns that the dogs, which have a fearsome reputation for vicious attacks, could escape and injure children or other dogs in the village.
More than 100 Flossmoor residents have signed a petition asking for village action against the dogs.
Village Manager Peggy Glassford said at least two other pit bull terriers are kept in Flossmoor, according to dog license records, and there may be more.
The Village Board is expected to consider a variety of options for regulating pit bulls, the most likely of which are: banning them entirely from the village, requiring owners to buy liability insurance on the dogs, keeping them muzzled when outside on walks, and keeping them at other times inside or in cages with floors and ceilings.
Though most villages, including Flossmoor, have general laws regulating vicious dogs, Francis Pullam, a next door neighbor of the Banks family, has argued that they are not sufficient in the case of pit bulls.
``The drawback to those laws is it requires a tragedy to happen before the dog can be declared dangerous,`` he said.
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