If Boland gets his way, dog owners could face felony punishment if their animal becomes uncontrolled - whether running loose from their yard or from restraint - and seriously injures someone. A hook in the proposed law, however, is that the owner will face punishment only if the dog is not spayed or neutered.
Boland pointed to statistics, substantiated by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, that show 70 percent of dog bites are inflicted by animals that are not spayed or neutered.
Boland, a former dog owner himself, argues his idea will be effective because it targets two of the key elements found in many attacks: owners who don't keep their dogs under control and hormonal dogs who haven't been fixed.
"Right now if a dog attacks someone, what happens is the dog is put down," he said during a Friday morning news conference at the Peoria Public Library. "That's not an answer, because those type of owners will go out and get another dog or go out and buy another breed.
"We want to send a strong message to dog owners who are not responsible."
But Lauren Malmberg, director of the Peoria Animal Welfare Shelter, said the legislation Boland is proposing is not going far enough.
Whether a dog that mauls somebody is neutered or not should have no bearing on whether the owner is punished, she said. "It's a silly restriction."
Boland said Friday he may be willing to "amend" the legislation by removing the restriction, but said he still wants to meet with animal experts.
Another stupid dog law.
By a FORMER dog owner. In other words, is this guy a dog hater? I have heard this garbage before, from people who said they USED to own dogs… as if that makes them an expert on the topic.
Boland pointed to statistics, substantiated by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, that show 70 percent of dog bites are inflicted by animals that are not spayed or neutered.
Boland, a former dog owner himself, argues his idea will be effective because it targets two of the key elements found in many attacks: owners who don't keep their dogs under control and hormonal dogs who haven't been fixed.
"Right now if a dog attacks someone, what happens is the dog is put down," he said during a Friday morning news conference at the Peoria Public Library. "That's not an answer, because those type of owners will go out and get another dog or go out and buy another breed.
"We want to send a strong message to dog owners who are not responsible."
But Lauren Malmberg, director of the Peoria Animal Welfare Shelter, said the legislation Boland is proposing is not going far enough.
Whether a dog that mauls somebody is neutered or not should have no bearing on whether the owner is punished, she said. "It's a silly restriction."
Boland said Friday he may be willing to "amend" the legislation by removing the restriction, but said he still wants to meet with animal experts.
Another stupid dog law.
By a FORMER dog owner. In other words, is this guy a dog hater? I have heard this garbage before, from people who said they USED to own dogs… as if that makes them an expert on the topic.
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