I am the lucky owner of a sweet, well-behaved American bulldog. I love her like I love the rest of my family. But she may be taken away from me, because of an absurd and misguided ban on “aggressive” dog breeds on all military bases.

What’s crazy is that bulldogs aren’t even on my base’s list of banned breeds, but the housing office says her jaws “look very pitbull.” I had to pay for DNA testing to prove that she is a bulldog, but the test only goes back four generations. If my perfectly-behaved dog, who has never been in a fight or attacked anyone has even 1% pitbull in her blood, we will have to find her a new home. When we asked why they were pushing the issue and not accepting our veterinarian’s paperwork, they said, “because of the way she looks.” To me, that is beyond wrong.

Discrimination posing as law is not okay. These policies force families to give up their pets or seek inferior housing off-base. Please join me in calling on the Department of Defense to throw out this ridiculous and hurtful ban immediately.

I am not alone in my disgust with Breed-Specific Legislation (BSL). The American Bar Association says it does harm -- to families, dogs, due process and the economy -- without actually improving public safety. The Centers for Disease Control found it "virtually impossible to calculate bite rates for specific breeds." Even the Army’s own Director of Veterinarian Service Activity said that breed bans on bases do not serve their purpose, as it is the owner, not the breed, that determines a dog’s behavior. In 2013, Obama came out against BSL. The Department of Defense has ignored them all.

It is absurd to me that the men and women serving our country aren’t given the freedom to choose their family dog while living in military housing. Dogs, like humans, are a product of their environment -- if they’re raised to be aggressive, dogs of any breed can become dangerous. Similarly, they all have the capacity to be well-behaved when raised by responsible owners.

Please sign my petition asking the Department of Defense to reverse its ban on “dangerous” dog breeds on military bases.