Woman asks city to ban pit bulls

The next time neighborhood pit bulls go on a rampage, Cari Elmore fears they will kill a child, the same way they ripped apart her beloved cat, Thomas.

That’s why the Coeur d’Alene woman is asking the City Council to ban pit bulls within the city limits.

“My cat weighed about 21 pounds, and the neighbor child weighs about 25 pounds,” Elmore said Thursday. “I’m telling you it’s only a matter of time before we lose a kid.”

She brought color photos of the mangled, dead, black-and-white cat to Tuesday’s council meeting and read a short story written in honor of her feline friend.

Thomas, who had been declawed, was killed March 5 when two pit bulls allegedly jumped into the fenced Ninth Street yard and dragged him off. Elmore woke to his screams and her husband ran to fight the dogs with a shovel. But by the time he got outside, the dogs and Thomas were gone.

Elmore found Thomas’ body on a neighbor’s lawn the next day.

Now she’s collecting signatures for a petition to rid the city of what she calls a “vicious” breed that’s bred to kill. She wants the measure named “Thomas’ Law,” after her cat.

City Administrator Wendy Gabriel said staff will look at Elmore’s request and research other cities, such as Denver, that have banned the breed.

Yet some local dog owners and trainers argue outlawing pit bulls won’t solve the problem of irresponsible pet owners.

“What we need to do is have better enforcement for dog owners,” said Vicki Pennington, a Spirit Lake dog groomer, trainer, 4-H leader and owner of two pit bulls. “It doesn’t end with one breed.”

One of the two pit bulls that allegedly killed Thomas is impounded at the Post Falls Animal Shelter. Coeur d’Alene Animal Control has classified the spayed female as dangerous, said Officer Debi Slater.

The owner, whom Coeur d’Alene Police declined to name, isn’t contesting the classification. Instead he’s trying to meet city requirements to keep the animal, such as constructing an enclosed kennel, securing liability insurance, posting “beware of dog” signs and muzzling the animal in public, Slater said.

The other pit bull, which lived at the same house and allegedly also came into Elmore’s fenced yard, has moved.

Slater said she had received calls about the same pit bulls running free but that they were never considered vicious until Thomas was killed.

Sgt. Christie Wood said the owner of the pit bull that’s impounded was cited in October for letting his dog run.

That makes Elmore question why nothing was done to keep her neighborhood safe.

“The whole thing has been handled really lousy,” Elmore said, adding that neighbors who live closer to the pit bulls tell horror stories. She said one elderly woman keeps a gun handy for protection, and another man has had to throw his groceries at the canines to keep them away.

Wood said that the city gets vicious dog complaints but that they haven’t risen to the level of an epidemic.In 2006, Coeur d’Alene Police officers responded to 44 animal bite complaints, 425 dog-at-large calls and 221 vicious animal complaints, according to the department.

Of those vicious animal complaints, 23 resulted in the city impounding the animal. Owners received citations in eight instances and in 70 cases the police took no report.

City Councilman Mike Kennedy said he was saddened by Elmore’s story and that he agrees the city needs to review its options. But he isn’t sure if a breed-specific ban is the solution.

“I think the goal is to have staff to look at our ordinances to see if anything could be done to get a better handle on who owns potentially dangerous or vicious dogs,” Kennedy said, adding that steeper fines might be a good option.