Breed Specific Legislation

The Lincolnwood city council is set to pass a Breed Specific Legislation (BSL) this evening, Thursday June 15th. If you are a concerned dog owner or a resident of Lincolnwood please attend this meeting. Steve Dale of WGN Pet Central Radio will be speaking against the BSL but we need people there to show support. The meeting will be held at Lincolnwood Village Hall at 6900 North Lincoln. The time of the meeting is 7:30pm but the topic most likely won't be discussed until 8:00pm or later. If you cannot attend please send an email as soon as possible to the Mayor of Lincolnwood and the city council members. Their e-mail addresses and phone numbers can be found by going to the Village of Lincolnwood's web site www.lincolnwoodil.org

Collins Canine is against any breed specific legislation as such legislation is unfair to responsible citizens, ineffective, unenforceable and costly. We would urge the city to instead actively pursue legislations that would render owners liable for the actions of their pets such as good non-breed specific dangerous dog law. Voting for this or any breed specific stands only to harm law abiding responsible dog owners.

The professional animal care community of Chicago and elsewhere around the country is against this breed specific legislation. Experts agree that this kind of legislation does nothing to reduce the incidents of dog attacks because the owners of these dogs that attack are not the type of people that will acknowledge the law. Research shows that most of the owners of dogs involved in attacks on humans and dogs are also involved in other criminal activity. This law would only harm responsible dog owners who license and care for their dogs properly and therefore would not be involved in these situations.

As dog experts agree the problem is not with the dog, it is with the owners. The owners of these dogs that attack should be punished. Right now they are only given paltry fines for infractions such as not having a license or having their dog off leash. If the owners would be punished more only then would these incidents decrease.