Wild cats, bad ducks and Pit Bulls, oh my!
By Jim Konkoly
Rocky River
Published May 4, 2005

Outlawing all Pit Bull dogs as intrinsically "vicious and dangerous" pets would amount to a version of "racial profiling" and ignoring America's rule that defendants are "innocent until proven guilty."

That's the assessment of one part of the proposed animal control law by Chris Pfeil, the chairperson of a 15-member citizens committee that has spent 22 months helping City Council write a comprehensive new law to address animal problems.

While much of the discussion at Monday night's public hearing on the proposed animal ordinance focused on domestic pets, many residents said problems with wild animals must be addressed.

Among the statements about wild-animal problems that must be addressed, made mainly by residents living along the Cleveland Metroparks Rocky River Reservation valley and in homes on the West Channel at Cleveland Yacht Club, were these:

Ducks, geese and pigeons are leaving so many "droppings" that they are creating health and safety problems which threaten children and cause thousands of dollars in damages to homes;

People who put out food for wild animals, from waterfowl to feral cats to deer, are exacerbating an already serious problem and should be hauled into court for breaking the law;

Feral cats are an especially big problem for people living along the Rocky River valley, and citizens need more help in catching the wild cats humanely so that they can be killed by the city.

Council will seriously consider all comments made by people on the proposed animal control law before voting on the ordinance, Ward 1 Councilman Rob Frost said.

Frost, who chairs council's safety committee, which held Monday's public hearing, said the legislators are committed to a compromise measure on the issue of Pit Bull dogs, often viewed as "vicious" because some owners train them to fight to the death in illegal gambling dens.

Dr. John Reveley, a veterinarian and one of the 15 citizens on the animal-control law advisory committee, said he has cared for thousands of Pit Bull dogs over 16 years of practice and has never seen a single mean Pit Bull.

If the council adopts the animal-control law revision as currently written, he said, Pit Bull owners from across northern Ohio would "descend on the city like locusts." He also said the Pit Bull owners are a "well funded group" and would be likely to file lawsuits against a city law that outlaws this breed of dogs as household pets.

As written, the proposed ordinance defines a Pit Bull as a "vicious and dangerous" dog, which would make it illegal to own one in Rocky River.

According to Pfeil, a Pit Bull, like any other dog, could only be adjudicated as a "vicious" or "dangerous" dog if there was evidence of a brutal and unwarranted attack on another animal.

Based on Pfeil's and Revely's comments, Frost said, council has decided not to outlaw Pit Bull ownership, but to keep the current restrictions on this breed. Those restrictions include registering the Pit Bull with the city and paying for a special liability insurance policy for this type of dog.

"I intend to offer an amendment to keep the restrictions on Pit Bulls the same as they are now," Frost said. "Under the proposed ordinance, we no longer allow a 'vicious' dog at all, and Pit Bulls are defined as 'vicious, so that would mean any resident would no longer have the ability to own a Pit Bull.

"But that was not the intent," Frost added. He said the ordinance will be rewritten to define Pit Bulls as a "dangerous" dog instead of a "vicious" dog and that will allow people to own them under the city's current regulations.

Dave Cook raised 10 objections to the ordinance as it's currently written, citing mostly scientific, technical and legal questions.

Frost said council agreed to address all of Cook's concerns, as well as those of the other residents who commented, to make sure "that we have a solid and an enforceable ordinance."

As one example, Cook said the ordinance refers to feeding "Canada geese" and that may not be sufficient legally because there are 13 different types of Canada geese, all with different names and all with the propensity to migrate through and possibly make their homes in Rocky River.

Frost also said council will respond to the many residents who are calling for a ban on feeding all wild waterfowl, particularly ducks and pigeons, because of the mess and the destruction they are causing to residential areas.

"There is a prohibition against feeding gulls and Canada geese in the ordinance, and numerous residents requested that we also prohibit feeding ducks and pigeons," Frost said. "That's something we heard a lot of testimony about, and that's certainly something that council needs to consider, especially based on the graphic testimony (about health and safety concerns)."

A spokesman for and many residents of the Cleveland Yacht Club said the sanitation and property destruction problems caused by ducks and pigeons is becoming so severe that something must be done to discourage these birds from residing there.