Breed-specific legislation (BSL) bans or restricts certain types of dogs based on their appearance because they are perceived as “dangerous” breeds or types of dogs. A breed ban usually requires that all dogs of a certain appearance (”targeted breed”) be removed from the area wherein the BSL has been implemented. It does not take into account how the owner has raised, trained, or managed the dog. It does not take into account the dog’s actual behavior. There are millions of dog bites reported every year, but only the name "Pit Bull" makes the headlines. The media has tarnished their reputation so much by this, that BSL pops up whenever one of these headlines come out. They fail to realize it is not the breed that should be banned, but it is the owners who should be held accountable for their irresponsible ownership. Almost every case you hear about is a dog who was loose or unsupervised. Dogs, any dog can bite under certain circumstances. A responsible dog owner ensures that their dog is either inside a fence or on a leash and supervised.
Banning a specific breed does not effectively address the problem of dangerous dogs and penalizes responsible dog guardians. Some owners are simply poorly educated and do not know what it takes to properly raise, train, socialize and manage any dog. Owners who are intentionally bad or owners who are undereducated and irresponsible are the problems that need to be addressed. Also, BSL are tough to enforce, expensive and often very vague with their descriptions and how to identify a dangerous dog. These breeds are targeted because of a lack of education. Legislators and the general public do not take the time to learn the truth behind many breeds mentioned in BSL. Instead, they believe hype and information from undereducated and unreliable sources. The people creating the most problem with dogs are: those using dogs as status symbols for the wrong reasons; undereducated owners who do not realize the time it takes to properly raise any dog; those who unintentionally allow undesired behaviors to grow and fail to address them.

WHY BSL IS BAD & DOESN'T WORK • POINTS
• BSL fails to target the problem: BAD DOG OWNERS!
• BSL punishes responsible dog owners while bad dog owners go underground.
• Those who are causing the problems with their dogs will not care about the law. Either these owners will continue to own the breeds mentioned in the BSL Law or dump the dogs, get a new breed and continue the cycle.
• A restriction will make the breeds more attractive to those who get a feeling of power by intentionally breaking the law.
• Responsible dog owners leave the city or county. • Loss of revenue, dog owners often stop traveling through BSL cities, counties. There are many websites devoted to alerting people to BSL areas. Also Dog Club shows, competitions, etc will look to hold conferences, shows, etc in NON-BSL locations.
• Costly to the city and taxpayers. Higher cost to enforce BSL, more kennels to house the dogs, vet care, food, Euthanasia, etc.
• Bite severity is not specific to a breed. ALL dogs bite!
• Diffculty in determining breed. There are 25 + breeds that are commonly incorrectly identified as pit bulls. Pit Bull is not a breed of dog. So the definition varies.
• Bite Statistics are inaccurate for many reasons, including pit bull as they are not a breed, but a term for 3 breeds. So when looking at the report the number of pit bull bites should be divided by 3 immed. to be remotely fair.
• BSL does nothing to educate or protect the citizens from dangerous dogs. Dogs of any breed can be dangerous. Laws need to be based on the Deed, not the breed.