Aurora – With a city ban against new pit bulls in full effect, municipal courtrooms have become the latest venues for the drama over the restricted dogs.
Jennifer Davis, a single mother with two jobs, cried on the stand Monday, pleading for Judge Julie Anderson to spare her unlicensed 3-year-old pit bull, Edge, who was impounded 10 days ago for running loose.
“Please, give me my dog back,” Davis said. “My dog is our protector. He’s part of our family. … I love the dog to death.”
Davis told the judge she misconstrued the Jan. 31 deadline to register pit bulls and she has leased a home outside the city to move with the dog – if the judge released it to her.
“I’ll pay you whatever I have to,” she said. “I just hope and pray you give me my dog back.”
This is the latest phase of the pit bull ban, which was approved by the City Council in October and went into effect Feb. 1.
Owners could keep the dogs they had if they got $200 annual restricted-breed licenses and complied with a host of conditions.
The city said 477 people signed up.
Now, dispatchers report receiving about 15 anonymous calls a day from neighbors turning in suspected illegal dogs.
“We have barely started handling those type of calls,” said Cheryl Conway, Aurora spokeswoman. She said reports of vicious dogs or animals at large get priority.
Officers also have a backlog of homes to inspect to determine if they comply with the city’s security measures, which include warning signs and secured pens.
As of Monday evening, animal care officers had 388 restricted- breed checks backed up – some for home inspections and others based on reports by neighbors.
Davis’ dog hopped the fence Feb. 4 and was spotted by neighbors. Animal care officers were called, and the dog was impounded.
Davis got a ticket and court summons.
Davis’ dog wasn’t the first violator. Last week, the city euthanized the first pit bull under the ban and fined its owner $700 plus court costs.
Davis said she was gone the day her dog escaped because she was looking for a new home outside the city, where her dog would be legal.
She found one in Centennial and provided the lease to prove it.
She moves in March 1 and told the judge she would keep the dog in a Douglas County kennel until then.
Assistant City Attorney Billy Stiggers said he still wanted the dog put down.
But Anderson said as long as Davis could prove the dog would be housed in a licensed facility outside Aurora until March 1, she could have Edge back. Anderson still levied the $700 fine.
“Fine,” said Davis, wiping away tears as she left the courtroom. “At least they aren’t going to kill my dog.”
Staff writer Jeremy P. Meyer can be reached at 303-820-1175 or jpmeyer@denverpost.com.
