Prince George’s Authorities Seize Service Dog Under BSL
Prince George’s County has gone TOO FAR this time, taking a service dog away from someone who needs her dog to get around and live a more normalized life…because of its breed.
Breed discriminatory legislation fails the Public Good because behavior cannot be predicted by what a dog looks like AND because it takes too many innocent Family Dogs who are of immeasurable benefit to their people whether a pet or a Service Dog, simply because of unfounded hysteria.
The Maryland Animal Law Center is working with the dog’s owner to challenge the county for violating the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). You can read more from the MALC about this case below.
The Maryland Dog Federation is pleased to be a participant in this case in order to challenge other troubling aspects of the breed ban; that the law as enforced in Prince George’s County in particular does not give a dog owner sufficient Due Process, and that the law was enacted improperly. We are looking for additional plaintiffs…Are you a Prince George’s resident who has had his or her Family Dog taken away under the county breed ban? The more participants we have, the better. It’s possible that your situation, your loss, will be the one that clearly demonstrates the need to eliminate this ineffective, unfair law. Please contact us at marylanddogfederation@yahoo.com, or fill out our survey athttp://bit.ly/PGBanSurvey
Let’s fight this once and for all!
With a canine population in the United States of over 70 million, and billions of dollars spent taking care of them, we are clearly a nation of dog lovers. Dogs are family members that provide immeasurable health benefits to us; some very special canines provide invaluable, life-saving assistance to those in our community who are differently abled and tackle challenges head-on every day. Taking a service dog from someone because of a breed ban is a special kind of mean, an above and beyond kind of mean. The exact kind of mean the federal courts have already ruled against when they determined the Americans with Disabilities Act trumps ANY breed specific law. Breed discrimination is bad enough when families are torn apart; it’s worse when it prevents someone from getting around safely and living their life.
Announcement From the Maryland Animal Law Center:We are pleased to announce our upcoming challenges to the Prince George’s County “Pitbull” Ban. Federal regulations for service animals preempt the ban, and our case involves a mobility-impaired polio survivor whose service dog, a “pitbull”, was impounded simply because of her ‘breed’.Gary Norman, Esq., of the Maryland Human Rights Commission will be Of-Counsel in this and future cases. Mr. Norman is blind and an established civil rights leader, specializing in issues affecting the ever-growing disabled population. Mr. Norman, accompanied by his Guide Dog, Pilot, and will argue the case in the courtroom, alongside a sighted attorney. The service animal challenge should carve out a large exception into the “ban”; and, we hope the other arguments, the law was not passed by correct procedures and that its enforcement doesn’t comply with Due Process, will nullify the ban altogether. Enforcement procedures in Prince George’s County are unique to that county, don’t exist elsewhere in the state or country, and defy all precedent. The arguments here are novel, and we hope they succeed.
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