Montana House Bill 191–which, with little exception, seeks to prohibit the ownership, harboring, or keeping of dogs described as "pit bulls"–is scheduled for consideration by the House Local Government Committee on Thursday, January 22, at 3PM, in room 172 of the capitol building, 1301 East Sixth Avenue in Helena.  The American Kennel Club encourages all […]

Hawaii Senator Colleen Hanabusa, president of the Hawaii Senate, has introduced Senate Bill 79, which seeks to prohibit the ownership, possession, or sale of "pit bulls" in the state.  The bill defines pit bulls as American Staffordshire Terriers, Staffordshire Bull Terriers, or any dog exhibiting those distinguishing characteristics which substantially conform to the breed standards […]

SB 139 is scheduled for a hearing in the Agriculture and Conservation Committee for February 18th at 1pm in Room 409 of the State Capitol. Please contact the committee members and the author to express your concerns. The AKC Government Relations department will provide an update after the hearing on our website and will have an alert […]

The Ohio House Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee has scheduled a public hearing on House Bill 79 for Wednesday, April 14.  This bill, sponsored by Representative Barbara Sears of Lucas County, removes the term "pit bull" from Ohio’s statutory definition of dangerous dogs.  Ohio is currently the only state to have enacted statewide breed-specific legislation.  […]

The American Kennel Club Government Relations Department (AKC GR) has recently learned that the Dunn (NC) City Council will discuss whether to proceed with a proposal to ban "pit bulls" when it meets for its annual budget retreat this weekend (Friday, March 2-Saturday, March 3). While this retreat is not open to the public, it […]

New York Senate Committees will consider two bills next week that would benefit New York dogs and responsible dog owners. Senate Bill 1495 would criminalize stealing a pet from someone’s property, and Senate Bill 6418 amends current law to further protect dogs left in vehicles under extreme temperatures. New York residents are encouraged to contact […]

The American Kennel Club applauds Ohio Representative Barbara Sears of Lucas County for introducing House Bill 79, which removes "pit bull" from Ohio's statutory definition of dangerous dogs.  Ohio is currently the only state to have enacted statewide breed-specific legislation.  The current law states that if a dog "belongs to a breed that is commonly […]

In mid-March, Ohio Representative Barbara Sears of Lucas County introduced House Bill 79, which removes the term "pit bull" from Ohio's statutory definition of dangerous dogs. Ohio is currently the only state to have enacted statewide breed-specific legislation. The current law states that if a dog "belongs to a breed that is commonly known as […]

Ohio House Bill 124 will be considered by the Ohio House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee on Wednesday, June 24.  HB 124 seeks to strictly regulate commercial breeders who produce nine litters of puppies or at least forty puppies in any given calendar year, including. Imposing strict engineering standards (including cage sizes, temperature range, etc.) […]

This story originally appeared in the summer 2012 issue of the AKC Canine Partners News and later was reprinted in a 2013 issue of AKC Family Dog magazine. The story won first place in the 2013 Dog Writers Association of America writing competition in the category of “Magazine Feature Article with the topic of Rescue.”Since […]