On Tuesday, Nov. 12, the Rainier City Council passed an ordinance relating to animal control that amends Rainier Municipal Code following a presentation by City Attorney William L. Cameron.
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On Tuesday, Nov. 12, the Rainier City Council passed an ordinance relating to animal control that amends Rainier Municipal Code following a presentation by City Attorney William L. Cameron.
The move by the council effectively lifts requirements for owning dogs commonly known as pit bulls.
A problem that has faced city councils across Washington State surrounds requirements and restrictions pertaining to certain types of dogs, with many specifically isolating pit bulls as potential problem animals. Before, 27 cities had placed breed-specific edicts ranging in severity that affect animal owners with these breeds.
Eight cities classified pit bulls as “potentially dangerous” while four different cities have listed them as simply “dangerous.” Some councils even took it a step further by putting bans and restrictions on the animals with one city even requiring mandatory pit bull sterilization.
“Most cities have an ordinance, just like ours, that classifies pit bulls as potentially dangerous dogs,” said Cameron. “Legislature is now telling the city they cannot do that without administrative procedures that allow members of the community to challenge the ordinance.”
After new legislation supported by Rep. Sherry Appleton, D-Poulsbo, was signed by Gov. Jay Inslee on April 30, 2019, cities will no longer have the ability to maintain prohibitions over owners of specific dog breeds unless they meet a number of conditions.
Under Appleton’s House Bill 1026, which takes effect Jan. 1, 2020, a city or county may not prohibit possession of a dog based on its breed, impose requirements specific to possession of a dog based on its breed, or declare a dog to be dangerous or potentially dangerous based on its breed unless all of the following conditions are met:
• The city or county must establish and maintain a reasonable process for exempting a
specific dog upon passage of the AKC Canine Good Citizen test or a reasonably
equivalent canine behavioral test.
• Any dog passing the Canine Good Citizen test, or equivalent test, is exempt from
breed-based regulations for a period of at least two years, and may retest to maintain
the exemption.
• Any dog that fails the Canine Good Citizen test, or equivalent test, may retest within
a reasonable period of time.
• A city or county may still document a dog’s breed, physical appearance, or both for
identification purposes when declaring a dog to be dangerous or potentially dangerous.
The term “dog” expressly excludes non-domesticated species and hybrids.
“Washington is the latest state to get rid of this exclusionary and ill-considered prohibition,” Appleton said, “and I’m honored to have helped. I also want to applaud the cities in our state that have previously banned breeds but recently repealed those laws. We have effective dangerous-dog laws throughout Washington, and they work. We can now simply enforce those laws as intended, and stop persecuting people based on what breed of dog they’ve chosen to love and have in their family.”