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A ‘pit bull’ takes a break during a dog-training class in Navarre Park last summer.
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Behavior, not breed

The Blade

Behavior, not breed

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Ohio is no longer the only state that defines so-called pit bulls as inherently vicious dogs, a distinction that too often has been an automatic death sentence for members of the breed, especially in Lucas County. Gov. John Kasich and the General Assembly deserve credit for replacing that obsolete law with a new measure that places the emphasis where it belongs: not on breed, but on behavior -- of both the dog and its owner.

The new law should encourage dog owners and animal-control officials, here and across the state, to pursue responsible ownership practices. They include expanding incentives to animal-welfare groups to rescue dogs of every breed from the county pound, and to prepare them for adoption by good homes.

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Enhanced public education is in order to dispel lazy generalizations about "pit bulls" and their owners. Also required are greater efforts to control the local animal population. That means decisions by conscientious owners to spay or neuter their pets -- practices that improve dogs' health and conduct rather than damaging them.

Don't say you can't afford it. Humane Ohio provides the service for licensed "pit bulls" in Toledo for just $5. The procedure includes implantation of a microchip that can track a dog if it gets lost.

The new state law does not leave Ohioans defenseless against dog attacks, as hysterical critics claim. It creates three categories of bad dogs: A "nuisance" dog chases, shows threatening behavior toward, or tries to bite a person. Its owner can face sanctions.

A "dangerous" dog has hurt someone without provocation or killed another dog. Its owner may be required to buy liability insurance, as may owners who repeatedly allow their dogs to run loose.

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A "vicious" dog has seriously injured or killed a person. Such animals, of whatever breed, are properly subject to seizure and euthanasia. Local dog wardens are required to justify these classifications. Owners can appeal them.

Lucas County Dog Warden Julie Lyle acknowledges that the new law will not end her department's killing of "pit bulls," although it should reduce the toll. But there are still too many of the dogs who can't or won't be adopted, and they can't be caged indefinitely, she says. "Pit-bull" types account for about 40 percent of all dogs that enter the pound, she notes.

The new law will enable the pound to make "pit bulls" available for direct adoption where it's appropriate. The dog warden's office also is relaxing its rules to encourage animal shelters and rescue groups that work with the county to take more pit bulls. These institutions should show similar flexibility.

Rigid stereotypes, whether they are applied to animals or people, are counterproductive. The new state law reminds Ohioans that dogs and their owners deserve to be held accountable for individual behavior, not collective prejudices.

First Published February 23, 2012, 5:30 a.m.

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A ‘pit bull’ takes a break during a dog-training class in Navarre Park last summer.  (The Blade)  Buy Image
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