Spokane Leaders Considering Pit Bull Ban

SPOKANE — Neighbors in northwest Spokane are turning to the City Council to get them to combat a growing problem by enacting a ban on pitbulls within city limits.

A handful of residents in one Spokane neighborhood say they’re too scared to walk the streets after a group of pitbulls attacked a woman and her dogs back in April.

“This isn’t acceptable, it’s not okay, our neighborhoods are not safe,” Nancy Sundock said. “I don’t feel safe, after 34 years in my home, to pull into my driveway because I don’t know when they’ll come up the driveway and attack.”

Less than a day after the neighbors addressed their concerns to the council some of them were faced down by a loose pit bull near the intersection of Elm and Everett, forcing them to call Spokanimal for help.

“I have four children at home. If I get attacked by a pit bull, I can’t provide for my family this is very serious for me,” mail carrier Bruce Madill said.

The group wants drastic measures to be taken to insure public safety. Their requests include a complete ban on pit bulls within city limits, mandatory neutering and spaying, microchipping and pet insurance to protect citizens against any potential attack.

Just last month Seattle considered a similar ban while Yakima and several smaller Washington cities have pit bull bans already in place.

Nancy Sundock supports the pit bull ban; she was the one who was attacked by three pit bulls back on April 30th. Since then she says she’s been living in fear.

“All dogs can bite but not all dogs do the damage pit bulls can do,” she said. “They have lock jaws and they stay with an animal or person until it’s dead.”

Chantel Parker is a pit bull owner and she disagrees with Sondock’s position on a complete pit bull ban.

“It actually made me sick to my stomach because my feeling is a lot of the hysteria is from ignorance and people just not knowing what great dogs they can be,” Parker said, adding that she believes the issues boils down to owners not the breed.

“If you know a pit bull that’s been raised well you have a different take on it,” Parker said.

The city council is researching state law and city code regarding this proposed ordinance, which would theoretically ban any new pit bulls and put tougher regulations on those who already own the dogs.