Florida Dog Laws

Correction:  Tuesday 2/28 13.59 *

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Ken Keechl was serving as Mayor of the Broward County Commissioners in 2008 when the County passed tough new dog legislation. During the next two years a total of 5,828 dogs were euthanized in Broward County for various reasons. Only 56 of those dogs (fewer than 1%) were euthanized under provisions of the new law, the majority of which were pit bulls and Rottweilers that had attacked children and family pets.

During the 2010 campaign Keechl faced stiff opposition from Chip LaMarca. The dog laws that Keechl ushered into law became a  campaign issue and LaMarca promised to revoke them. This earned him the enthusiastic support of pit bull advocacy groups, and in November 2010 LaMarca defeated Keechl. In January 2011 LaMarca pushed through a revision of the dog ordinance which removed the existing provisions and replaced them with softer Dangerous Dog Laws. Under LaMarca's new law, dogs can attack a human, or kill a pet, and return to the safety of their home.

This, of course, is exactly the point! -- It's exactly what the heavily-financed and highly sophisticated pit bull lobby is working for. Across the country, pit bull advocacy groups are lobbying cities, counties, and states to roll back protections and to write laws which will allow dogs that kill to return home. As a result, incidents like the recent attack in Lake Mary (see links below), or the attack which resulted in the death of Roy McSweeney near Hawthorne, by pit bulls which were known to be dangerous, will continue with numbing frequency in Florida.


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Related posts: Lake Mary; Lake Mary II; Gameness VIII

Related Post: Pit bulls that maul Hawthorne man involved in other attacks, police say

Related Posts: Dangerous Dog Laws

Google News: Today's pit bull attacks


Correction: SRUV received the following email from Chip LaMarca:

Sir,
I would like to offer my comments [about] the new ordinance that was revised in 2010.  The ordinance does not allow an attack on a human being.  The changes were specifically intended to deal with the issue of altercations or attacks between two animals.  I appreciate your communication and look forward to any questions that you might have.

Best regards,
Chip LaMarca