Tamarac may end pit-bull restrictions

Tamarac is bowing out of the fiery debate over whether pit bulls are more likely to attack than other dogs.

The city is one of only three local governments in South Florida that deem pit bulls dangerous to justify breed-specific rules over them.

But in an about-face, Tamarac plans to repeal its law, saying it’s too difficult to enforce. Within the past year in Broward, there have been 92 bites reported by American Staffordshire dogs, and an additional 26 bites by pit bull terriers— both considered types of pit bulls.

The breed to rank third-highest on the county’s bite list was the Labrador retriever, with 22 bites, according to Broward’s Animal

Care and Adoption Division.

Tamarac’s law, enacted in1985, calls pit bulls “notorious” pets that have an “extraordinary propensity to attack without warning.”

The dogs must be registered at City Hall, kept muzzled and on a leash when outdoors, and their owners must prove they have a million-dollar insurance policy. But only eight pit bulls were registered since 2013, and efforts at taking owners to a magistrate judge largely were unsuccessful because often the breed was difficult to prove.

“I can have a doctor at a doggy hospital say my dog is a chicken— and you can’t refute it,” said Mayor Harry Dressler.

Meanwhile, the other two local governments, Sunrise and Miami-Dade County, are keeping a tight leash on the dogs they deem potentially dangerous pets.

Since 1989, there have been 274 pit bulls registered with the city of Sunrise.

So far this year, 17 cases — mostly for registration issues — have been presented to a magistrate to force compliance.

Dogs in Sunrise also are required to be muzzled when outside.

Stephanie Foley, who registered Hazel and Debo in Sunrise, said the pit bulls are miserable when muzzled.

“Itmakes you so uncomfortable,” she said of the city’s control. “When my lease is done with, I’m moving out of Sunrise.”

Miami-Dade is the only county in the state with a countywide ban against pit bulls, and efforts to repeal it have failed through the years.

The penalty for having a pit bull in Miami-Dade is a $500 fine.

“The people liked it,” said Lilian Bohorquez, spokeswoman for MiamiDade County Animal Services, referring to the 2012 vote when 63 percent of the voters chose to uphold the ban.

Evelyn Lapuerta is the only Tamarac resident who registered her pit bull this year, city records show.

Her 14-year-old male, Dr. Seuss, doesn’t go outside much because he is having hip problems and going deaf.

“The dogs have gotten a bad rap and I get it,” she said. “People are terrified and I get it. But any dog can be aggressive. A Chihuahua can be an ankle biter. It’s about how you raise adog.”

The citation for not registering in Tamarac: $500.

Tamarac officials said there were only two pit bull-related bites in the city in recent years. One of the dogs was sent to an animal rescue group upstate and the other was moved to North Carolina.

Capt. David Walesky, a manager at Palm Beach County Animal Care & Control, who is also the executive director of the Florida Animal Control Association, said Sunrise and Miami-Dade will be the last in Florida to regulate pit bulls.

It’s legislation he said he doesn’t support: “It is behavior, owner training and abuse that lead to situations. If a pit bull bites you, generally it’s going to be a more serious bite than a Chihuahua but it’s more likely a Chihuahua is going to bite you.”

He said dog-bite records are not kept by breed in Palm Beach County.

“I’m not saying there are not bad pit bulls, but there are bad Chihuahuas,” he said .“I’ ve had bad dog bites with golden retrievers.”

Tamarac’s mayor says it’s the right time to repeal the law.

The City Commission plans to tentatively approve the change today.

The Humane Society of the United States has spoken out against breed-specific legislation.

“Pit-bull registries like what Tamarac had didn’t get at the problem,” said Laura Bevan, the southern regional director for the Humane Society. “People should be looking at the behavior of the dogs, not the breed.”