Many people have heard the Makayla Woodard story. Her life was taken by a vicious attack from 2 Pit Bulls. Her great grandmother threw herself over Makayla, trying to cover & protect her from these attacks, while being attacked herself. All of this occurred in her own back yard by the neighbor's dogs. Since this attack on January 12, 2011, there have been several dog attacks in our area. Most of these attacks have come from Pit Bulls and all have been to children.
As we began to study the NC law & looking at statistics on dog attacks, we found a need for change in the law. For instance, NC law gives a dog one free bite. This needs to be changed. We also found the nationwide statistics concerning pit bull attacks. These dogs make up over 60% of all dog attacks. The other thing that we found, is that NC has a law against banning any specific breed of animal. It is a kind of animal discrimination law.
At the very minimum, we would like to see tighter laws for those owning such dogs. I'm not sure exactly what could be done, but would like to offer some suggestions:
1. Remove the law & ban the dog. Several cities in the US have an ordinance against dangerous animals
& have pit bulls name specifically on the ordinance
or 2. There be a registration law for anyone wanting to own these dogs
- This could be like a license that a person would have to earn
- Maybe, the potential owner would have to go through a class (similar to handguns) In which they
would have to pass before they could own the dog
- Maybe, they have to pay a special tax for owning a pit bull or their homeowner insurance be higher
- The registration law would give the right for local law enforcement to seize the dog if the owner was
not licensed & registered
- The owner would understand his/her liability & responsibility if their dog was to bite anyone. If there
be a fatal attack, the owner could be convicted of man slaughter
- These may sound ridiculous to some people but they are just suggestions.
- The right kind of law put in order would make someone think twice before owning a dog of this nature.
HERE IS WHERE WE NEED YOUR HELP. We need as many names on a petition as possible to get the ball rolling in Raleigh. They won't move if we don't move them. The only way that we can move them is by getting together. Many of you have voiced your opinion against these dogs. Don't let it stop with just words. Put your name on the dotted line to show your full support. There is a link entitled "PETITION"
on the right hand side of this blog. Click on it & you will be linked to the website that has this petition. Once you have signed it, you can place a check beside the items that you would like to see changed.
Please let us know that you have signed it. Don't let Makayla's death be in vain. We have the power to help another family from having to go through such a tragedy! Will you help us institute "Makayla's Law"?
