Dear Mr. Kelley,
Your comment (when recently interviewed by Fox News) proudly boasted “there have not
been any attacks by pit bulls since 2005”, was merely an attempt to deceive the public and
draw support for Denver’s unpopular and widely criticized breed ban. Interestingly, you
defended a 2006 dog mauling when you reported: “Boxers can be very protective.” The
Attack — Good Samaritan Fights Off Boxers To Save Woman, also reported on ABC
Channel 7 News March 28th, 2006. Furthermore, next time, when you are asked about
dog attacks in a televised TV interview or news article, we expect that you will also sadly
remember the German Shepard mix that mauled a little girl, reported on August 2nd, 2006
by ABC Channel 7 News.
You also reported that Denver mostly picks up the strays. Tell that to Gema Martinez,
whose house was raided and her beloved dog Kane seized. Or Heidi Tufto, a respected
citizen and soldier in the US army, who was walking her dog Lumpy in a park when she was
accosted by the police and held at gunpoint, forced to surrender her dog. And if you are
mostly just killing the strays, why have so many panicked dog owners moved away from
your city? Just ask Sonya Dias, one of the plaintiffs in a civil lawsuit against Denver , who
hid her dog Griffie for several months before she could sell her house and move.
In the true interest of public safety, it makes more sense to ban all dogs. You are not
fooling informed dog owners armed with libraries of factual data on why breed bans do not
protect the public. Worse yet, breed bans are an insult to responsible dog owners who
have had to pack up and move out of Denver to keep you from killing the family dog. And
for those residents who cannot endure the hardships of moving out of Denver , why are pit
bulls allowed to be cast off to other cities so they can maul those people?
Other cities in your state have accomplished a reduction of dog bites and made their
communities safer without inflicting a penalizing breed ban on their citizens. Why has
Denver not contacted Colorado Federation of Dog Clubs? This legislative organization
helped introduce an effective dangerous dog ordinance without reference to breed in the
city of Englewood . Denver would be wise to follow in the footsteps of Englewood ’s
success and also thereby limit the probability of additional civil lawsuits.
This site http://www.ci.englewood.co.us/Index.aspx?page=495 will take you to the
Englewood citizen newsletter (September/October issue) that has an article written by one
of the city council members. The ordinance itself can be found at http://www.englewoodgov.
org/Index.aspx?page=284 and the city council member contact information can be found
at http://www.englewoodgov.org/Index.aspx?page=101.
Mayor Jim Woodward of Englewood would be the most knowledgeable person for you to
contact. However, we are confident that any of the Englewood city council members would
be happy to share their positive experience with this ordinance as well.
It is time for change in Denver . We call on you to start protecting the lives of innocent
dogs by sharing this valuable information with your city council. Become a hero in your
community and a positive force for change in the New Year!
Respectfully,
Dr. Paula Terifaj, DVM
Your comment (when recently interviewed by Fox News) proudly boasted “there have not
been any attacks by pit bulls since 2005”, was merely an attempt to deceive the public and
draw support for Denver’s unpopular and widely criticized breed ban. Interestingly, you
defended a 2006 dog mauling when you reported: “Boxers can be very protective.” The
Attack — Good Samaritan Fights Off Boxers To Save Woman, also reported on ABC
Channel 7 News March 28th, 2006. Furthermore, next time, when you are asked about
dog attacks in a televised TV interview or news article, we expect that you will also sadly
remember the German Shepard mix that mauled a little girl, reported on August 2nd, 2006
by ABC Channel 7 News.
You also reported that Denver mostly picks up the strays. Tell that to Gema Martinez,
whose house was raided and her beloved dog Kane seized. Or Heidi Tufto, a respected
citizen and soldier in the US army, who was walking her dog Lumpy in a park when she was
accosted by the police and held at gunpoint, forced to surrender her dog. And if you are
mostly just killing the strays, why have so many panicked dog owners moved away from
your city? Just ask Sonya Dias, one of the plaintiffs in a civil lawsuit against Denver , who
hid her dog Griffie for several months before she could sell her house and move.
In the true interest of public safety, it makes more sense to ban all dogs. You are not
fooling informed dog owners armed with libraries of factual data on why breed bans do not
protect the public. Worse yet, breed bans are an insult to responsible dog owners who
have had to pack up and move out of Denver to keep you from killing the family dog. And
for those residents who cannot endure the hardships of moving out of Denver , why are pit
bulls allowed to be cast off to other cities so they can maul those people?
Other cities in your state have accomplished a reduction of dog bites and made their
communities safer without inflicting a penalizing breed ban on their citizens. Why has
Denver not contacted Colorado Federation of Dog Clubs? This legislative organization
helped introduce an effective dangerous dog ordinance without reference to breed in the
city of Englewood . Denver would be wise to follow in the footsteps of Englewood ’s
success and also thereby limit the probability of additional civil lawsuits.
This site http://www.ci.englewood.co.us/Index.aspx?page=495 will take you to the
Englewood citizen newsletter (September/October issue) that has an article written by one
of the city council members. The ordinance itself can be found at http://www.englewoodgov.
org/Index.aspx?page=284 and the city council member contact information can be found
at http://www.englewoodgov.org/Index.aspx?page=101.
Mayor Jim Woodward of Englewood would be the most knowledgeable person for you to
contact. However, we are confident that any of the Englewood city council members would
be happy to share their positive experience with this ordinance as well.
It is time for change in Denver . We call on you to start protecting the lives of innocent
dogs by sharing this valuable information with your city council. Become a hero in your
community and a positive force for change in the New Year!
Respectfully,
Dr. Paula Terifaj, DVM
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