First of all we were there for an “El Paso City-County Health and Environmental District FY2008 Proposed Budget Meeting”. The main agenda items were Animal Services (Animal Control) and Dental Clinic. There was NOT a “Pit Bull Ban” on this Agenda. The actual issues of this meeting didn’t even get covered.

I was at this meeting to support Dr. Galvan and all the other people at the Health District for there many efforts over the past six months in trying to get a better budget for animal control. I was there to remind all the City Council Representatives and the County Commissioners about the promises they had made to improve animal control. Animal Control has been under funded, under staffed and basically a forgotten part of our city government for many, many years. Last year when the Health District came under attack for the lack of performance regarding animal control many promises were made. Again I was there only to remind everyone about those promises and to ask that the Budget “Program Improvements” be seriously considered and the additional $579,580.00 dollars being asked for the 2008 budget be allocated to animal control. That is what yesterday’s meeting was about NOT a Pit Bull Ban.

I was trying to make a point to everyone at that meeting that we have serious animal welfare issues in our community that must be addressed. I stated that we have a serious Pit Bull problem in our community. (That is a fact we do). I did ask what it was going to take to finally address this issue, a couple more kids getting killed by Pit Bulls? I did say we had to do something! I went on to say that in Germany they require a permit for owning a Pit Bull, they have an application process, they want to know who you are and why you want a Pit Bull they want to know if you are going to be a RESPONSIBLE PIT BULL OWNER. If they feel you can be a responsible Pit Bull owner they will issue you a permit to have this beautiful breed! That is all I said. One of the City Reps asked Dr. Galvan if we could ban Pit Bulls? The conversations went on a bit about that but it was more of general question being asked. I at that point did not comment again about this issue because that is NOT why we were there. We were there to talk about the sorry state of affairs over at animal control and how much money was going to be allocated to them for the next budget. As a speaker at these meetings you are given THREE MINUTES to address the room, they had already been gracious enough to let me have more than three minutes.

I do NOT believe in Breed Specific Bans in any City or State. The problem with Pit Bulls is NOT the Breed itself but the many irresponsible people that end up with these dogs. FEW Pit Bulls are fortunate enough to end up with wonderful responsible people. But yes some are lucky enough to end up with great people!! I have adopted out about 10 Pit Bulls to wonderful people. It is NOT easy finding these people but it is possible if you are willing to keep these dogs for a long period of time until you find the right person.

But let’s be clear on a few things. I did not come to that meeting with an AGENDA of banning Pit Bulls in our city. I do NOT believe in specific breed banning. I am actually glad this has come up because I hope that it will bring much needed awareness to our Pit Bull problem. Please let me clarify exactly what I mean by that:

Our Pit Bull problem is this, many IRRESPONSIBLE PEOPLE HAVE THESE DOGS IN OUR CITY THAT HAVE NO BUSINESS OWNING THEM. They breed them just to breed them and then scatter them all over the city to other people that have NO BUSINESS OWNING THEM. They end up with people in gang and drug activity and many times in DOG FIGHTING activity. (This is a fact). They end up chained inhumanely just so they can look tough in the front yard. I get calls all the time from Elderly People in our community that are scared to come out of there back yard because the neighbors have Pit Bulls and they jump into their yards so they keep the back door closed and never go into their back yard for fear of being attacked. People breed them to sell them and I can tell you that these dogs end up in really bad places. Go down to Animal Control on Fred Wilson and look in the windows and you can see for yourself how many of them end up there. The Pit Bull is not the problem nor is the Doberman or Rottweiler, or German Shepherd or any breed for that matter the problem is the irresponsible pet owner who does not take care of their dog. I cannot tell you how many Pit Bull mamas’ I run into all over the city with litter after litter of puppies. Is this responsible dog ownership? NO it is not. But it is not the breeds fault, they have just been so mistreated by humans and exploited and abused yet when it comes down to it the dog is actually blamed. It is NOT the breed or the dog it is the PEOPLE that are not responsible for their dogs. Yes I believe people should be made accountable for their actions when it comes to owning dogs, any breed, any animal.

I DO NOT appreciate anyone giving me an AGENDA anywhere. I know what I believe in and I also know that many other rescue groups here in El Paso and all over the country would tell you the very same thing I am telling you about our Pit Bull problem, it is NOT the Pit Bull Breed it is the Human Breed that has done them such harm. Make people accountable for their cruel and irresponsible action not the poor dog that has no choice or voice to defend it’s self. I can tell you for a FACT that the Humane Society, Pet Guardian Angel, Animal Rescue League, From the Heart Rescue, Pet Haven and many other individuals try very hard to place as many Pit Bulls as they can and educate owners about not breeding these dogs. It is not easy and the majority of them get euthanized for lack of people wanting to adopt them. We need people to stop breeding these dogs! Every month we get a report from Animal Control on specific breeds euthanized at animal control every month. The Pit Bull is always the dog that gets euthanized the most. Every month it is the #1 dog on this list. (This is a fact).

I have asked the El Paso Times and KFOX news to allow us to do a story on our Pit Bull problem to help educate the community about just how serious this problem is. I would hope that maybe if we did a story on this issue we could even raise enough money and awareness to spay and neutered some of these Pit Bulls! Truly spaying and neutering the animals in our community is the only solution! Education is also crucial we must educate people about our over-population problem.

As a citizen of El Paso I also encourage all of you to get more involved with our issues at Animal Control and our many other animal welfare issues. Your tax dollars fund the euthanizing of thousands of animals every year. Last year over 23,000 (Twenty Three Thousand) animals were euthanized in our community alone. We must find a way to do better for our animals.

Jessie Miller
Citizen of El Paso
Animal Advocate
Founder - Animal Cruelty Heartline of El Paso
Pet Haven Kennel Manager