Elgin has had documented problems with pit bulls and dangerous dogs attacking since at least 2002. There were at least three attempts to pass a pit bull ban to solve this problem. But each attempt was thwarted, the last by interference and intimidation by Best Friends Animal Society in 2010.
Instead, Elgin passed breed neutral ordinances that relied on extremely high fines and restrictions of dogs labeled dangerous or vicious. In an attempt to make their ordinance pro-active, officials have the power to deem dogs that exhibit menacing behaviors as dangerous. But, the result of not directly addressing the problem and not banning pit bulls and instead deeming dogs that bark and growl at people dangerous has created the usual absurd results.
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| Dakota attacked a neighbor's dog and was declared dangerous. His owner takes him to see the elderly as a therapy dog. Elgin is home to a chihuahua that never bit anyone that has been put on the dangerous dog list for life. Among the requirements for keeping the chihuahua is a 6 foot fence to contain it. Elgin is also home to a supposed “therapy” pit bull that is also on the dangerous dog list. The pit bull attacked another dog, but the owner believes it has been rehabilitated and is safe and appropriate to bring around the elderly. Neither of these absurd results would have come about if Elgin had recognized breed differences, banned pit bulls, and acknowledged that an aggressive chihuahua might require different restrictions than an aggressive pit bull. |
The dangerous therapy pit bull’s owner wanted to change the ordinance so that dogs could be removed from the dangerous dog list after a number of years of good behavior. Thankfully, though Elgin did modify the ordinance, only dogs that have never attacked or bitten are eligible for removal from the dangerous dog list. Now the chihuahua is off the dangerous dog list and in a year a German Shepherd that never bit or attacked can be take off if it behaves. The dangerous therapy pit bull will remain on the list. The dangerous therapy pit bull’s owner claims the therapy dog certification organization and the organization that allows her pit bull to hang out with the elderly know that the pit bull is dangerous.
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| Another pit bull will be added to the dangerous dog list after attacking these dogs and their owner |
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