Park board allows pit bulls (Kansas City Star)

[cheekymunkee]

JOHNSON COUNTY | Breed-specific ban rejected for county’s parks
Park board allows pit bulls
By FINN BULLERS
The Kansas City Star
An overflow crowd of more than 100 crammed into a Johnson County park district hearing room in Shawnee on Wednesday to send a resounding message: Don’t ban pit bulls from the county’s 10 parks; ban bad dog behavior.

In a 4-2 vote, park board members agreed, rejecting a proposal to ban pit bulls from all county parks.

Veterinarians, dog owners and animal rescue workers all made the same point Wednesday night. Breed bans ignore the scope and nature of dog problems and do not address the real issue: dangerous dogs.

In April, two county residents approached the county’s Park and Recreation District after an attack at the off-leash dog area in Shawnee Mission Park. They urged the board to consider a breed-specific ban on pit bulls because of an attack that maimed a mixed-breed Dalmatian belonging to one of the women.

Nora Hicks, who witnessed the attack, told the board it was unprovoked.

But Hicks and the dog’s owner, Andrea Vielsker, were in the minority. About 30 people addressed the board, all opposing breed-specific bans.

“All types of dogs have the ability to inflict injury. Ordinances banning specific breeds build a false sense of security,â€