Pit Bull Law Revisions Head Back to City Council for a Vote

An ordinance clarifying the language in Lakewood 2008 pit bull ban is headed back to city council for a vote.

City council’s public safety committee took a couple of suggestions from the Lakewood Animal Safety and Welfare Advisory Board on Monday night, and the slightly altered legislation head back to council as a whole next Monday.

The 2008 ban required residents, who owned pit pulls and canary dogs, to register the animals, carry special insurance and implant a microchip in the dogs. The measure also ruled that no new pit bulls could live in the city. 

Kevin Butler, the city’s law director, said the idea behind is to outline the process and the obligations of the city — as well as the rights and obligations of dog owners.

Only a couple changes to the original proposal have been made.

members decided this summer to send the ordinance back to committee for further discussion. The animal safety and welfare advisory board was also asked to weigh in.

At its Oct. 4 meeting, LASWAB made five recommendations to the public safety board.

• An “immediate and complete repeal” of the ban.
• Further clarification of the language of the proposed legislation
• To allow exemptions in ban for service animals — including therapy and companion dogs.
• To allow exemptions for dogs and dog owners that successfully complete the American Kennel Club Canine Good Citizen Program.
• Further discussion of the issue.

Of those recommendations, the public safety committee discussed the issue further and allowed exemptions in ban for service animals.

As the legislation stands, once the city learns that a dog may be a pit bull — or a canary dog — an animal control officer responds and takes photos of the dog in question for further examination. If the division of animal control determines the dog is a pit bull, the owner has 40 days to get rid of the dog.

The new legislation would make hearings — which are not currently mandatory — a standard practice.