New state law ends Smithfield's dog breed restrictions

Smithfield residents will no longer be barred from owning pit bulls, huskies, rottweilers and several other breeds thanks to a new law that went into effect Thursday.

House Bill 97, which was passed during Utah’s 2014 legislative session, prohibits a municipality from enacting or enforcing any breed-specific ordinance about dogs. These breed restrictions usually involved banning “bully breeds” such as pit bulls or Rottweilers, which have been stigmatized as being aggressive or vicious.
Breed restrictions were in place in 10 Utah cities: Delta, Duchesne, Filmore, Garland, Honeyville, Morgan, North Salt Lake, South Jordan, Smithfield and Springville. Those restrictions are no longer in effect.
According to Smithfield City Manager Jim Gass, the town has had their breed restrictions since about the late 1990s, though he was unsure of the specific year. While the other nine towns that have breed restrictions only addressed pit bulls, Smithfield banned “pit bull, Rottweiler, German shepherd, husky, Alaskan malamute, Doberman pinscher and wolf hybrid” breeds. Gass said he believed the longer list of breeds was probably adopted from another city.
Gass said that the Smithfield City Council had already started talking about reviewing the animal control ordinances in the city’s municipal code before they knew about the new law.
“We have talked about going back and revisiting it,” Gass said. “I'm sure that's one of the items that will have our attention.”
This change in state law has been seen as a step forward in removing the stigma of these “bully breeds.” According to Cache Humane Society director Roland Bringhurst, Cache Valley has always been pretty accepting of all breeds of dogs.
“In this valley, they've been very well accepted, and people really understand it's not really the breed. It's how the dog is treated,” Bringhurst said. “I can take any breed of dog and turn it into a vicious thing that's going to bite anything that moves. It's not just particular to these 'bully breeds.' I could do that to any dog by poor ownership and not taking care of the dog properly.”
Bringhurst also said that he has found that “bully breeds” are often some of the sweetest dogs that come into the shelter.
“There are some who have been mistreated by their owners. We end up getting them here, and in order to turn the dogs around, it requires a lot of patience and time. But all they want is someone to love them, just like humans. So if you start to show these dogs love, they're the sweetest things ever,” Bringhurst said. “Even though bully breeds may have been mistreated, they can be turned. I believe that of any breed of dog. If they've been mistreated to the point where they're mean and aggressive, they can be turned around. They can be re-socialized and become a pet again.”
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