The City of Excelsior Springs will be reconsidering the Pit Bull “breed ban” that was established in 1987. In addition to the breed ban, Excelsior Springs has an ordinance regarding “Dangerous Dogs” in general. The council will revisit the topic to decide whether to keep the breed ban or if the Dangerous Dogs Code alone is sufficient. The effort to lift the ban is being led by Councilman Stephen Spear who says after being questioned about the issue during his campaign, he began researching surrounding communities and their policies on breed-specific bans. Pit Bull bans took hold in the 1980s after a series of high-profile pit bull attacks prompted communities across the United States to begin instituting bans on owning or breeding pit bulls. The Dangerous Dogs Code and the Pit Bull Breed Ban Codes are shown below:
Should there be a Pit Bull ban in Excelsior Springs, or is the Dangerous Dogs Code sufficient? Leave a comment below to let city officials know what you think!
Excelsior Springs City officials are planning to hold a listening post to allow concerned citizens to voice their opinions and share their experiences. The Excelsior Citizen will share the date and time of the listening post when details become available.
Access the City of Excelsior Springs’ codes and policies on their website.
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Dog bans are absolutely ridiculous. If you were to ban dangerous breeds based on bites and attacks then chihuahuas should be banned. The only reason pitbulls get a bad rap is because of biased media reports. If a dog attacks its the fault of the owner not the whole dog breed.
I would rather get bit by a chihuahua than a pit bull. Really can’t compare an animal that Is completely different in size and bite force.
They don’t implement the ban either way, even when there have been attacks from that very breed within city limits.
I don’t think Pit bulls should be targeted.
The Dangerous Dog Code is best, because it covers any and all breeds.
Pits can be gentle as any other dog.
My daughter has a Pit, he’s 7 yrs old now, he has grown up with my grandson. My grandson was born at 24 weeks, spend almost 10 months in the NICU and when he finally came home, that dog did not and has not left his side.
My daughter’s family has grown since then, she now has her 7 yr old son, 4 yr old daughter and a miniature long haired weiner dog.
My family is all for lifting the Pit bull ban, I also recently spoke on the radio about it. Don’t punish the breed, punish the owner.
Breed Specific Legislation has been proven over time to be very ineffective at preventing dog bites and dangerous dog incidents. Many cities, large and small, have repealed their breed bans after careful consideration of the data and studies now available. A much more effective approach is to focus on enforcement of dangerous dog laws, which are non-breed specific. A dog’s breed does not predict dangerous behaviors, but irresponsible owners most definitely do. Owners who are chronically irresponsible must be held accountable to reduce the number of bite related incidents. Any dog in the hands of a bad owner is a danger- regardless of breed. Until these owners are held accountable this will not change.
Pitbulls are, by nature truly loving and friendly, and make wonderful family pets for the responsible owner. I have a background and experience in animal welfare and shelter work, and this issue is near and dear to my heart. I have had experience with breeds of all shapes, sizes, and temperments- and breed bans have never made any logical sense to me. They target the wrong problem: the dog, and not the owner.
Here is a link to the American Veterinary Medical Association’s explaination on why they are against Breed Specific Legislation.
https://www.avma.org/resources/pet-owners/why-breed-specific-legislation-not-answer
You have to just love the ‘mad dog’ picture used to create a bigger bias than the one that obviously already exists! Pit bulls are awesome pets – it’s ignorant people that should be banned.
I normally enjoy the photos featured here but not this one. Must be a stock photo and not a pic of anyone’s local pet. The danger is in the owners and NOT in the breed. Every local Pit mixed dog that I have seen locally has been well-behaved and a loving pet. We need some common sense here and I’m happy that this will be re-visited.
Well considering there is a ban, no one locally should own a pit bull mix. Goes to show people do whatever they want.
I would like to keep the pit bull ban. I understand it’s the fault of the owner if a dog is aggressive but how are we as citizens supposed to know whether someone has a nice pit vs an aggressive one. When I go to the dog park I don’t want to have to have stress about a pit bull being there. I dont want to have to worry about my young children or dogs being attacked when we go to the dog park. There’s a bad view on them for a reason, it didnt just happen out of nowhere.
Your last sentence alone tells anyone that you haven’t actually done an ounce of investigation towards the reasoning behind breed specific bans, or where and how the bad reputation of pitbulls arose. Do the work to educate yourself first, and then revisit the topic, rather than just having a blind bias.
My last sentence doesn’t show that I haven’t done research at all. Don’t project yourself 😀
Agree 100%, keep the pit bull ban.
Dogs aren’t the problem. You yourself even agree with your first statement of “I understand it’s the fault of the owner if the dogs aggressive ” It’s always been the owners. Dog parks are always risky. You can’t expect every dog to be “friendly” no matter the breed!! With that logic you should be worried about walking out of your house, driving your car, talking to strangers, riding a roller coaster, letting your children play outside. ANY dog can be dangerous. Why live in fear. Life’s going to carry on. If your that afraid, stay in your back yard, better yet don’t leave your house. Sounds like you let fear control your life and emotions instead of you using logic. It’s your duty to protect you and your family and naturally there’s a level of fear with that, but be REASONABLE and RATIONAL.
I disagree with breed bans or “dangerous breeds”. There is no such dog breed that is just bred because they are vicious. I have worked in animal welfare and at veterinary offices and have been a dog groomer. I’ve been bit by a vicious Boston Terrier, a vicious shepherd mix, countless vicious Chihuahuas and a Poodle. I’ve groomed vicious Cairn Terriers, Cocker Spaniels, Poodles, and other breeds that aren’t known for being vicious. I worked in areas where the main breeds were pitbull and pitbull mixes and Chihuahuas. I have NEVER been bitten by a Pitbull, Doberman, or Rottweiler. In my experience, any breed can be vicious, many bite when they are scared, some bite because they haven’t had much human interaction and some, it’s how they are trained. I would say 98% of the Pitbulls/Pitbull mixes I have come in contact with have been the most loving, goofy and loyal dogs. People need to be held accountable for their pets actions but the pets shouldn’t be punished just because they are a certain breed. I agree with having rules requiring leashes, tie outs and fencing. Your dog might be nice, that doesnt mean other dogs are.
There’s a difference between a chihuahua bite and a pit bull bite/attack…what a joke
So WHY are Pit Bulls so heavily associated with dig fighting?
Absolutely Excelsior should abolish breed specific bans; they are bias and lack evidence that they make communities safer for people or companion animals. In fact, evidence shows that they often compromise public safety. When Florissant, Missouri, enacted its breed-specific ban from 2005 to 2015, the city reported the number of dog bites doubled despite a decline in the city’s population. Not only do breed bans reduce safety in these localities, they also have a serious economic impact [PDF]—one that Overland Park, and many other cities, cannot afford.
Enforcing breed bans diverts resources from effective laws that make communities safer. Responsible owners of friendly, properly supervised, and well-socialized dogs should not be penalized because their dog happens to resemble a specific breed.
The victory in Overland Park is part of a growing trend and comes on the heels of Breed Specific Laws-repeal victories in other Kansas cities: Junction City, Fort Scott, Prairie Village, Paola, Andover, and most recently, Liberal.
And to the lady who is worried at the dog park if seeing a pit bull. First an owner should not bring a dog of any breed to a public dog park if said dog does not get along well with others. Second, the comment is like you saying you’d be worried about seeing a person of a specific race or other characteristic in a park. Open your horizons; experience the world; rid yourself of misconceptions and prejudices.
We applaud the citizens and council members for taking a stand against this misguided law.
How did my comment have anything to with race? Thats wild, people will come up with anything nowadays and through the race card in there.
Why are you implying im a woman in the first place….maybe you need to open your horizons.
You say that when the breed ban was enforced, bites increased….and that it reduces safety…ok now explain how? How does not having a specific breed cause the city to become less safe?
So you’re telling me I should just trust that no one will bring an unfriendly dog to the park. Thats implying that there has never been a dog attack at the park which is 100 percent not true at all. People do whatever they want and will bring their unfriendly dog to the dog park, hence it has happened before.
Guess which breed is in yhe lead for dog bite fatalities? https://www.dogsbite.org/pdf/16-year-dog-bite-fatality-chart-dogsbiteorg.pdf
https://www.dogsbite.org/pdf/16-year-dog-bite-fatality-chart-dogsbiteorg.pdf
I don’t now own, nor have I ever owned a pit, but I feel breed specific bans are unfair. All types of dogs can act aggressively if not properly trained. I am more concerned with enforcement of requirements that dogs be kept in an adequately fenced yard or leashed and controlled when walking. No one should take an unpredictable dog to the dog park.
I hope they pass the pit bull ban!!! Both my dogs and I have been attacked by one with rabies and the owner did nothing.
Totally agree!!
Pit bull type dogs kill one person roughly every 15 days. No other breed even comes close to that – in fact ALL other breeds COMBINED still kill fewer people than pit bull breeds. Does a baby stop dog bites? No, not always. That isn’t the purpose of BSL. The ban helps curb serious bites and fatalities, both on humans and other animals. Pit bull breeds are also responsible for an outrageously disprortionate % of canine caused fatalities on animals (pets and livestock). When you have dogs that exist solely because they were genetically engineered for centuries to fight other dogs to the death for sport and exhibit a unique trait referred to as gameness, it obviously makes for a dangerous animal around other pets and small animals/people. Some people don’t believe in genetics and claim it’s the owner …if a bad owner can cause an animal to kill people and pets, perhaps no one should own that type of animal, especially when these dogs often come from shelters where there is no way to determine how they were raised. There is no way to sort through bad owners BEFORE someone gets hurt, and only 21% of owners face criminal charges after an attack, even a deadly one on a child.
*ban, not baby… autocorrect…
My friends pit bull was rescued from a vacant house chained outdoors. This girl is so grateful and loving she is almost annoying. It’s wrong to judge a whole group of anything as bad. I have been looking for another dog and there are so many Pit bulls in the shelters it is sad.
I completely agree with the person that talked about pit bulls killing people more than any other breed. If people want to own pit bull breeds then they should be subject to a background check and screening….since it’s not the dog it’s the owner right?? The majority of dogs in shelters even in cities that don’t have a pit bull ban are Pitt bulls and pit mixes. And the majority of them can’t be adopted out to families with children. You don’t know their life before or whether one day they will just snap.. You see on the excelsior page that dogs are loose all the time…I see a post at least everyday. I dont want Pitt bulls to escape and be running around freely and putting people at risk. Is the city going to be held responsible for Pitt bull attacks if this ban is lifted? I think a city should make the people feel safe not that they are potentially putting their lives and children’s lives at risk.
I definitely don’t think pit bulls should
be banned. obviously reconsider if it has a background of being aggressive. it’s all about how it is raised. Banning the entire breed is like saying all cops are bad. it’s not true.
Excelsior Springs better have plenty of money set aside for lawsuits. Because after what happened to Jessica Houston’s son recently by Sunny Side Park. We got a good demonstration as to WHY these types of dogs are so heavily banned. Why should we allow someone who blatantly violates a law on the books by owning one of these dogs to have a seat on the city council? If this ban gets lifted and anyone gets mauled or killed by a Pit Bull in the Excelsior Springs city limits? Not only will the city council look bad in the eyes of everyone except for Pit Bull owners and advocates. They will end up getting sued for a LOT of money, not only have I been near eaten by this particular type of dog on numerous occasions. They are the only type of dog I have ever watched repeatedly try to dart headfirst into moving traffic to chase after headlights on St Louis Avenue. Pit Bulls being so popular in downtown Excelsior Springs is WHY I no longer like to walk my dog downtown. Awhile back I was walking my dog by Broadway and two gentleman had a Pit Bull that easily weighed 120 pounds and it really wanted to come up to my dog and I. If they had not restrained him it would have eaten my dog and possibly me.
I am very sorry to see that there is a pit bull ban in this city. My wife and I have three dogs that we acquired from shelters. The youngest is 5 and she is a terrier mix. She’s only 55 pounds and is a sweetheart. We have had numerous visits to our property from friends, relatives, electricians, plumbers, etc. Never had a problem. She is well behaved at the vet’s office, and everyone that meets her seems to love her.
I’ve only been bitten once by a dog. I was 10 years old. It was a German Shepard. I don’t blame the dog. He was not properly restrained or attended. I would never consider banning German Shepards.
We’ve been looking for a home to purchase as we are moving from central PA soon. Too bad we cannot consider Excelsior Springs.
City Council is considering a repeal of the ban.