Colorado lawmakers refused Tuesday to loosen the leash on local governments when it comes to pit-bull bans.
A panel of Colorado senators rejected a bill that would have let cities and towns declare bans on specific breeds of dogs, affirming a state law that passed two years ago.
“The state doesn’t have any business being in the business of patrolling dogs,” said Sen. Lewis Entz, R-Hooper, sponsor of Senate Bill 54, which lost on a 5-2 vote in the Senate’s local government committee.
In 2004, lawmakers prohibited local governments from passing breed-specific bans, but some cities, such as Denver, have used “home rule” authority to ban pit bulls. A state court upheld Denver’s ban last year.
Entz wanted to restore the power of all Colorado cities and counties to declare their own bans – a position that won support from the Colorado Municipal League but was attacked by dog lovers.
“It’s the deed, not the breed, that we should be concerned about,” said Todd Towell, veterinarian and president of the Colorado Veterinary Medical Association.
Towell testified that breed- specific bans punished responsible dog owners who do not train their dogs to attack without provocation. Towell blamed misleading media coverage for tagging certain breeds of dogs as dangerous.
To deal with dangerous dogs, the panel unanimously approved Senate Bill 25, which would require owners to disclose that their dog is dangerous if it has been declared so by a judge.
Sen. Dave Owen, R-Greeley, sponsor of that bill, said it is needed to protect the handlers who come into contact with the dog.
Anita Knudson, a veterinarian at the Coal Ridge Animal Hospital in Longmont, said Adam Stutzman, a handler at her practice, was attacked by three dogs – boxer mixes – that severely wounded him in September 2004.
Stutzman, sent to intensive care with life-threatening wounds, had not been warned by the dogs’ owner that they had been declared dangerous.
“He stopped breathing the next day, and his neck is still not right,” Knudson said, choking back tears. “Those dogs are free.”
SB 25 requires owners of a dangerous dog to post signs, notify the state about the dog’s ownership status and to inform handlers and other potential owners of the threat posed by the dog.
The bill now heads to the full Senate for its review.
Staff writer Mark P. Couch can be reached at 303-820-1794 or mcouch@denverpost.com.
