Dogs have their day, their say, their way at Brewster Council

BREWSTER – Pit bull dogs will no longer be banned from the City of Brewster after a majority city council members voted to once again allow pit bulls, or mixes thereof, within city limits – with restrictions and conditions.
Bridgeport resident, Eduardo Orozco, raised the issue of the pit bull ban as he addressed council members concerning Luna, the female mixed pit bull he owns. Orozco told council he was not aware of the ban and asked member to reconsider the ordinance banning them.
Council member, John Housden, spoke against lifting the ban and cited newspaper accounts of bite incidents, including one in Brewster that occurred in July, 2002.
“The ordinance was adopted in Brewster after that,” Housden said.
Council member Tim Rieb also opposed lifting the ban and said when they attack “pit bulls don’t know when to quit.”
There have been few bite incident in Brewster in recent years. Deputy city clerk, Desha Dawson, said the recent two of record were from a lab and a red heeler.
Council member Jan May asked Brewster Police Lieutenant Kelly Hook if he was aware of anyone else in town owned a pit bull.
Hook said he was not aware of another owner and under the current ban the dog would have to be removed from town within a week.
On a split vote, Council voted to lift the ban subject to existing restriction in the city’s municipal code (Section 6.10.040) specific to Keeping of Licensed Pit Bull Dogs. Among those provisions:
• Designation of a pit bull as potentially dangerous.
• Purchase of a lifetime license.
• Proof animal has been spayed or neutered.
• Use of leash and muzzle.
• Secure confinement.
•  Proof of vaccination.
• Microchip implant.
• Beware of Dog sign(s).
• Prohibition from city parks.
In other business related to dog ownership, city attorney Chuck Zimmerman recommended 10 additional measures to the four already enacted under the heading of Offenses Related to Safety and Sanitation. Among the new clauses are provisions for:
• Adequate shelter, bedding and shade for protection from extremes of heat and cold.
• Heated water dish for temperatures below 25 degrees.
• Proper tethering for access to food, water, shade and shelter.
• Collar and body harness guidelines.
Council approved the additional measures recommended by Zimmerman.