February 21, 2008

HAMILTON, OH – Every shelter faces the same tough reality: there are too many unwanted dogs and too few adoptive families. But the executive director of an Ohio shelter hopes to turn the tables on this sad ratio.

Leland Gordon of the Animal Friends Humane Society is calling on Hamilton officials to pass an ordinance requiring residents to spay or neuter their pit bulls.

The county has a prevalence of pit bulls. According to Butler County Chief Dog Warden Julie Holmes the county has a pit bull problem. She contends that it stems from owners wanting the breed as a status symbol or even for dog fighting.

Fifteen pits came to Gordon’s shelter alone this past weekend. Unfortunately, if the animals are not adopted, they are put down.

The director said the problem is that pits are bred for money, but that they are abused to make them aggressive and then are often neglected or abandoned.

But this issue, Gordon believes, can be reduced. He pointed to San Francisco, where shelters took in a quarter fewer pit bulls after mandatory sterilization.

Holmes agreed that if people are made to have their pit bulls fixed, those who breed them for less than honorable intentions cannot become pit bull owners in the first place.

“If you truly love the dog, or the breed, you’re going to take care of it regardless of whether they’re spayed or neutered, and that’s what we wan to see,” Holmes said.

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