Louisiana Town Enforces No Pit Bull Ordinance – Dog Owners React

A Louisiana town in Beauregard Parish has more than a dozen owners of the pit bull breed of dog gnashing their own teet this morning. The principles behind the ordinance in Merryville say the ordinance is nothing new. However, their decision to enforce the ordinance has taken some of the breed's owners by surprise.

KPLC Television in Lake Charles Louisiana is reporting that the Town of Merryville in Beauregard Parish gave more than a dozen residents notice that the town's police force would begin enforcing an ordinance that has reportedly been on the town's books for more than a decade. While the thought of having to move or get rid of a family pet is certainly troublesome, many of those who received the notice say it's the time frame that has them upset.

In a letter that was written on Merryville Police Department letterhead and was signed, according to KPLC, by "Town of Merryville City Hall" those dog owners were given just 48 hours to make arrangements to move their pets out of the city's limits.

For the sake of clarity, many communities in Louisiana and other states for that matter have ordinances on their books relating to specific breeds of dogs and other animals. Communities such as Crowley, Franklin, Breaux Bridge, and Lake Arthur do, just to name a few.

Merryville's City Council was in the process of taking up changes to the ordinance but that item was tabled for further discussion. In the interim the town's Chief of Police Tommy Robberson, after consulting with the town's mayor decided that the current ordinance needed to be enforced.

Those who are found in violation of the ordinance could be subject to a fine of $250 and their animal impounded. The letters to the owners in question were sent out yesterday, December 6th. Many of those who did receive the notice have reportedly contacted the Chief of Police and presented proof that they were not in violation of the town's ordinance.

It was also noted in the story published by KPLC Chief Robberson explained that if the Merryville City Council takes up the issue at their next meeting and the ordinance is adjusted those who were forced to move their animals will be allowed to bring them back.

A story published by WFAA Television in Dallas Texas looked at the pit bull breed and how the breed compared to other breeds where violent behavior was concerned. That story noted that the pit bull breed was about average when it came to unruly behavior and aggression.

The story noted the breed is not particularly aggressive toward humans but it did rank high in aggression toward other dogs. In fact, the WFAA article quotes an animal expert as saying "they are a very friendly breed". Many pit bull websites and social media sites say it's not the dog, it's the people around the dog that make it aggressive.