As many of you are aware, the city of Kennewick, Washington currently has breed specific legislation (BSL) that automatically deems any pit bull type dog to be considered a potentially dangerous animal requiring the owner to obtain a special permit just to legally own their dog. According to Kennewick Municipal Code 8.02.320, these special permits are only granted when the owner of a pit bull shows evidence of a proper six-sided enclosure to keep their dog in, posts signs warning that they have a dangerous animal on their premises, obtains a $250,000 surety bond or liability insurance, and informs all of their neighbors they are harboring a dangerous animal and gives those neighbors an “opportunity to comment on the confinement plans” for the dog.

In addition, as per Kennewick Municipal Code 8.02.020, it is also unlawful for the owner of a dangerous animal to permit it to be outside a proper enclosure unless the animal is muzzled and restrained by a substantial chain or leash and under physical restraint of a responsible person. This means that you have to keep your pit bull muzzled and leashed ANYTIME they are outside of your house. Technically that applies even in your own back yard. Any person violating or failing to comply with the requirements listed above shall be guilty of a gross misdemeanor and upon conviction, the City can seek an order mandating destruction of the animal.

The city of Pasco, Washington has similar requirements for pit bull type dogs, however they do at least allow for an exemption to these requirements if the dog has passed the AKC Canine Good Citizen test (and continues to pass the test every two years). With the passing of HB 1026 earlier this year, any cities or counties in the state of Washington with breed specific legislation are required to have an exemption such as what Pasco has in place with the Canine Good Citizen test. Cities without an exemption for BSL must update their ordinances by the end of 2019 as the new law goes into effect on January 1, 2020.

Kennewick is now at a pivotal point as the city council members are considering whether to add an exemption for pit bulls who have passed the AKC Canine Good Citizen test OR remove Section D of the Potentially Dangerous Animal definition which calls out American Pit Bull Terriers, American Staffordshire Terriers, and Staffordshire Bull Terriers as potentially dangerous animals.

Towards the end of last year, a small group of folks from across the Tri-Cities who have a common goal of seeing BSL eliminated in our community submitted a public records request to get the dog bite statistics from Tri-Cities Animal Control for the three cities it serves (Kennewick, Pasco, and Richland). We have five years of data that clearly demonstrate pit bulls in Kennewick are not the danger to public safety that the breed specific legislation purports them to be.

Between 2014-2018, there were 177 dogs involved in human bite cases in the city of Kennewick. Of those 177 dogs, only 18 were pit bulls along with one supposed chihuahua/pit bull mix if we want to add that into the count. Speaking of chihuahuas, there were 41 involved in human bite cases in Kennewick during that same period of time, making up 23% of the total reported bites. But everyone would agree that Retrievers are man's best friend and the perfect family dog, right? Well, they accounted for 18 human bites cases in Kennewick from 2014-2018. Same number as pit bulls. The data shows that a wide variety of dog breeds were involved in human bite cases in Kennewick over the last five years, which goes to show that any dog can and will bite and it's unfair to impose special requirements on any particular breed of dog.

I know that some people are scared to remove the BSL because they have this image in their mind of Mr. Burns from the Simpsons saying "release the hounds" or something horrible like that. However, removing the BSL actually opens up opportunities for pit bull owners in Kennewick to be MORE proactive with their dogs to ensure they are "good" canine citizens. Having BSL in place backhandedly contributes to the problem it's trying to solve because some pit bull owners in the city will hide their dogs inside and never socialize them, take them to training, or even take them to the vet unless absolutely necessary because they are afraid of having their dog taken away if they get caught without having them properly licensed or not having the right homeowners insurance requirements in place. An unsocialized, untrained dog that happens to slip out the front door or the fence (as many dogs do at one point or another) is more likely to bite somebody, yes?

What will happen if we remove the BSL in Kennewick? Well, let's look at the dog bite statistics for the city of Richland, which has no breed specific legislation in place. Theoretically there should be more pit bulls in Richland since the owners of these dogs prefer to live where there are less hoops to jump through to legally own their dog. And yet from 2014-2018, there were only 83 dogs involved in human bite cases in Richland (less than half the total number in Kennewick during the same time period) and of those 83 bite cases only 10 involved pit bulls. Just a few months ago, Richland actually got rid of their pet licensing requirements altogether so they don't appear to be worried about what breeds of dogs people have in their city.

I dream of a day when dog owners, especially those with pit bulls, can live wherever they please without having to worry about absurd requirements being placed on them (and their dogs) purely based on their dog's breed. By signing this petition, you will be showing your support as we respectfully request that Kennewick City Council members vote to remove KMC 8.02.010 (18) Section D which lumps any "Pit Bull Terrier or any dog commonly recognized as an American Pit Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier or Staffordshire Bull Terrier" into the definition of a Potentially Dangerous Dog.  

Please sign and share, share, share so we can make history by ending BSL in the city of Kennewick!!!