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MIAMI (CBSMiami) – A bill that would ban breed-specific legislation is one step closer to becoming a reality.
If it passes, Miami-Dade County would have to end its ban on pit bulls – ban that started in 1989 after a little girl was mauled.
“Just because a dog is born of a specific breed does not make it inherently dangerous,” said Dahlia Canes with the Miami Coalition Against Breed Specific Legislation.
That’s the message animal advocates like Canes says they want to get across.
And she’s hoping Senate Bill 614 will pass and finally do away with laws banning specific dog breeds, like pit bulls, German Shepherd and terriers.
“It’s canine discrimination at its best, definitely, to pick out a dog and call it dangerous based on what it looks like without the dog having any issues or evaluating its temperament is totally insane,” said Canes.
But many disagree, including Melissa Moreira, who was attacked by a pit bull back in 1989 when she just 7 years old.
“As a child that went through over eight reconstructive plastic surgeries to my face, it is alarming that the ban could now be lifted,” she said.
Moreira’s attack was instrumental in Miami-Dade County implementing a pit bill ban. She says the incident was so traumatizing that he still remembers it vividly.
“We were unloading groceries because we’ve been away all weekend and the dog came out of nowhere, knocked me down, ripped off almost most of my lip,” she recalled. “It was able to be salvaged and most of my forehead, which I had to have about eight plastic surgeries after that.”
Miami Dade’s pit bill ban will go away if SB 614 and its sister bill in the House passes.
And in a previous statement sent to CBS4 by State Sen. lleana Garcia, who sponsored the measure, she wrote, “Pets become a part of our families and this bill would keep families together by eliminating pet housing restrictions in the state of Florida.”
And now those on both sides of this issue remain mixed.
“Be responsible when you’re talking about lifting a ban that could really harm a lot of children and the after effects of what happens to a child not only when they’re mauled in the face,” Moreira said.
“No specific breed of dog is dangerous. Every dog is an individual, they should be treated that way,” said Canes.