Other cities have restricted ownership or banned pit bulls

Some Southeast Missouri cities have tried to collar pit bulls with tough laws aimed at preventing them from attacking people.

Sikeston implemented tough restrictions on pit bulls this summer, but few pet owners are abiding by them.

Charleston has banned the dog for several years, citing public safety concerns.

"They are considered a vicious dog and they are trained to fight," said Russell Borders, Charleston's animal control officer.

"If a pit bull gets hold of you, he just won't let go," Borders said. "His jaws are locked in."

Borders blames pet owners for a dog's temperament.

"Most times they beat them. They make them mean," he said.

Borders said he has had to destroy several pit bulls whose owners refused to move them out of town.

Charleston is among a number of cities nationwide that have banned pit bulls. The city council in Ottumwa, Iowa, banned pit bulls in January in response to the August 2002 death of a 21-month-old girl who was killed in her yard by her family's two pit bulls.

In Illinois, Gov. Rod Blagojevich last month signed legislation into law designed to protect the public from dangerous dogs.

Animals declared vicious by animal control offices must be kept in pens by their owners. If a dog escapes and causes serious injury, the owner can be charged with a felony, punishable by up to three years in prison.

The bill also allows county boards to pass ordinances to require owners to have microchips implanted in their dogs or cats. Animal control officers now have the authority to spay or neuter vicious animals.

Sikeston implemented a dangerous dog ordinance on July 4 that requires owners of pit bulls and pit-bull-mixed breeds to register with city hall.

Pit bulls can't be kept in a fenced-in yard. They must be confined to the home or outside in a padlocked pen with a roof and a solid floor. Owners must post signs warning the public of the dogs and show proof that they have liability insurance.

Violators can be fined $500 in municipal court.

The regulations also apply to individual dogs that have bitten people or other animals regardless of breed.

Seven registered so far

Ken Fowler, Sikeston's animal control officer, said the restrictions are needed for public safety.

Pit bulls are being used by Sikeston drug dealers to guard their drug houses and are a common problem in the city's high-crime and blighted areas, he said.

The city has identified 96 pit bulls. Only seven have been registered so far, Fowler said.

Poplar Bluff city officials -- citing a number of dog attacks -- have looked at imposing restrictions on pit bulls similar to those in Sikeston but have yet to act.

"Right now, we are still going over different ordinances from different cities," said William Locke, an animal control officer in Poplar Bluff.

Poplar Bluff held several public meetings last spring to discuss proposed restrictions on pit bulls.

The publicity alone has helped, Locke said.

"Our pit bull situation has actually gotten better since we started talking about it," he said. "People are being more responsible with their animals."

mbliss@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 123