Lowell city councilor proposes ban of pit bulls after 7-year-old fatally attacked
Updated Oct 24, 2017 ; Posted Oct 24, 2017
A 7-year-old boy was killed by two pit bulls inside a fenced area on Clare Street in Lowell.(Google Maps)
By Melissa Hanson | mhanson@masslive.com
In the days following the devastating attack in which a 7-year-old boy was killed by two dogs, a Lowell city councilor is proposing a citywide ban on pit bulls.
It's not the first time the city has debated banning the particular breed.
On Saturday, a boy got into a fenced area on Clare Street and was mauled to death by two pit bull dogs. The boy has not been publicly identified.
One of the dogs got away and was euthanized. The other dog is in custody of animal control.
7-year-old boy mauled to death by dogs remembered during Lowell vigil
Flowers were left near a home in Lowell this weekend as neighbors remembered the 7-year-old boy who was mauled to death by pit bulls there on Saturday.
Now, Councilor Rodney Elliot is saying that the city should ban pit bulls.
A spate of pit bull attacks led to the June 2011 passage of the Responsible Pit Bull Ownership Ordinance, according to The Lowell Sun. But that ordinance was overruled when state legislation outlawed breed-specific regulations, signed by then-Gov. Deval Patrick in 2012.
Elliot told the Sun that the legislature should leave the decision to cities and towns.
Various organizations have said that pit bulls -- a common name that actually characterizes several breeds of dogs -- are not a dangerous breed.
"Some pit bulls were selected and bred for their fighting ability. That means that they may be more likely than other breeds to fight with dogs. It doesn't mean that they can't be around other dogs or that they're unpredictably aggressive," the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals wrote in a position statement on pit bulls.
"Other pit bulls were specifically bred for work and companionship," the ASPCA continued. "These dogs have long been popular family pets, noted for their gentleness, affection and loyalty. And even those pit bulls bred to fight other animals were not prone to aggressiveness toward people."
According to The Sun, Lowell does have a "potentially dangerous or dangerous dog ordinance" that was adopted in 2008. It allows the city to enforce rules against dogs that have exhibited aggressive behavior.
There are currently 1,413 licensed dogs in Lowell, 74 of which are licensed pit bulls, Elliot told The Sun.
Elliot told the newspaper that when the city wrote the original pit bull ordinance it was "good, common-sense restrictions" in the wake of attacks.
The councilor also told The Boston Globe that it made no sense to him that Lowell bans chickens but not pit bulls.
7-year-old boy killed in pit bull attack in Lowell
A young boy was killed in an apparent pit bull attack on Saturday.