Left In Lowell

I am not crazy about dogs. But I can clearly say that there are a lot of dog lovers in this City. Tonight the City Council held a public hearing on an ordinance that would have required “pit bulls” to be muzzled.

The 1-hour long public hearing and vote was the result of a September 23rd motion that was passed by the CC “Request the City Manager to have Animal Control and the Police Department to enforce the existing Leash Law and investigate instituting possible restrictions on Pit Bulls

So part one was done and now the CC had to focus on part II: “the pit bull.”

There were two people who spoke in favor; both had their dogs attacked by another dog which they described as a pit bull. There were dozens who spoke emotionally and convincingly against the ordinance.

I did not know that most dogs which are identified as pit bull are not. The Humane Society, the MSPCA, Lowell Unleashed (the city’s dog lovers club), a veterinarian, an animal hospital worker, and a number of other professsionals spoke against this regulation. By far, the dog owners who live in Lowell were the most passionate and convincing.

The residents who spoke against this ordinance made two great points: one enforce the current leash law and dog permitting ordinance and second, we just passed a vicious dog ordinance, why not let that law be implemented and fully evaluated before we pass a stronger and discriminatory ordinance.

Here is a statistics that should concern all of us: 265 strayed dogs were picked up in this City; 8 were licensed. Lowell needs more than one animal control enforcer!

CC Jim Milinazzo, Chair of the Public Safety Sub-Committee (CC R. Elliott, A. Kazanjian) reported that the Sub-Committee recommended to the Council to support this action. But he then stated that based on the comments made at the Public Hearing, he moved to delay the vote to further discuss the issue with the experts and perhaps make some adjustments.

This public hearing should serve as encouragement to all of us. If you are passionate, your arguments are sound and you motivate people to speak up, you will persevere.

Congratulations to all your dog lovers!