The Douglasville City Council was scheduled to vote Monday night on an ordinance that would ban pit bulls, but it decided to delay the vote for at least two weeks.
Five of the seven council members said they want the proposed ordinance to be reviewed by a committee of representatives from the American Kennel Club and the Humane Society.
If the ban is approved, Douglasville would become one of the first cities in Georgia to enact such a measure.
Current pit bull owners would be allowed to keep their dogs, but be required to register them or face a fine of up to $500. Those pit bulls would have to be kept indoors, in a covered pen, or behind a fence at least six feet high. Out in public, they'd have to be muzzled.
The council's Public Safety Committee, chaired by Dennis McLain, has recommended the ordinance be approved for the city of 30,000, located 20 miles west of Atlanta.
The ordinance gained momentum after a Douglasville woman was bitten and seriously injured by three loose pit bulls while she took a walk July 5. Then, in a separate incident, a police officer had to a shoot pit bull that attacked a puppy.
Mayor Mickey Thompson said at a recent meeting that he had no problem singling out pit bulls, according to the Douglas County Sentinel.
"Without exception, it's a pit bull when I see it on TV," he said, according to the newspaper. "In my opinion, it's way too frequent. We had an incident where a police officer had to shoot a pit bull and instances nationwide where children have been killed."
But the Atlanta Humane Society called the ordinance a bad idea.
"We don't condone breed-specific legislation," said Miguel Abi-hassan, director of animal welfare initiatives and outreach. "We believe it's about the owner, not the animal.
"If you go back to PR stigmas, in the 80s you had a stereotype on German Shepherds, and in the 70s it was Dobermans and Rottweilers. Limiting the breed is not going to do anything if people are not encouraged to train, properly restrain and ultimately be entirely responsible for their animals."
Councilman Terry Miller, who opposes the ordinance for similar reasons, called it "a very emotional issue." He believes the city would be better off crafting an ordinance on vicious dogs in general. And he wondered who would enforce the ban.
"We've got an animal control that doesn't respond well now to things like raccoons in people's backyards, so where would we get the manpower?" he said.
McLain, whose committee proposed the ban, could not immediately be reached for comment.
Major cities such as Miami, Denver and Cincinnati have banned pit bulls, though some bans have been challenged in court as too vague.
Miami-Dade County enacted its ban in 1989 after an 8-year-old girl was mauled by a neighbor's pit bull, according to the Miami Herald. The ban covers American pit bull terriers, American Staffordshire terriers, Staffordshire bull terriers or any dog that matches most of those breeds' traits, the Herald said.
Following the July 5 attack on Frankie Forsh, 56, authorities charged the pit bulls' owner, who was out of town when the attack happened, and their caretaker.
Forsh suffered bite wounds to her arms, legs and face. Neighbors heard her screams and hit the dogs with rocks and sticks. The dogs scattered and were eventually captured.
They're being held at the county's animal shelter until the criminal cases are resolved.
Favoring the vote delay were Mayor Pro Tem John Schildroth, Councilwoman LaShun Burr Danley and Councilmen Terry Miller, Samuel Davis and Larry Yockey. Opposed to the delay are Councilmen Dennis McLain and Roy Mims.
The city's Chief Assistant City Attorney Suzan Littlefield said the proposed ordinance is patterned after a court-tested ordinance in Miami / Dade County and is identical to their ordinance. She said "two or three" other Georgia governments have "breed-specific legislation."
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