A Louisana Town Repeals Pit Bull Ban To Save Zeus, Other Towns Not Budging

Pit bull bans have been rising and falling in America, but a recent one truly struck the heart. The Inquisitr reported on the story of Zeus the pit bull. Zeus was the name of the pit bull at the center of the fight to rescind the recently instituted pit bull ban, or “vicious dog ban.”

It was Zeus’s family member O’Hara who was the focal point of the heart-wrenching story that helped bring a national audience to the October passage of Moreauville’s, Louisiana, pit bull ban.

O’hara, who is wheelchair bound and wears a restrictive neck brace, was devastated over the news of the ordinance that would take away her “therapy dog.” CNN reported that the girl explained that her pit bull Zeus helped with spasms she has that she used to wake her mother in the middle of the night for before getting her pit bull.

In the language of the pit bull ban, which also covered Rottweilers, it was written that the pit bull that was taken away was to be euthanized. The Times-Picayune reports that the town alderman admitted the language was in the bill, even though the mayor said the dog would be placed outside the town limits.

A Facebook page, national outcry, and a petition containing 200,000 signatures later, the town chose to halt the ordinance. According to the Times-Picayune, the mayor stated that it needs to be “rethought” and “redone.” As well, he stated the December 1 deadline was “not going to happen.” The mayor suggested that he did not understand why the national attention was squarely focused or “jumped on” Moreauville, Louisiana.

This having to do with the fact that many, including St. Francisville, have pit bull bans as well. Alderman Lemoine states that Moreauville’s ban was based of the St. Francisville pit bull ban.

Despite the heartfelt appeal that changed Moreauville’s and the other locales in the country that have begun to repeal or repeal and replace pit bull bans, locales in Louisiana have not budged on their pit bull bans. St. Francisville’s ban, according to the Times-Picayune, is exactly like the one that was just mostly repealed in Moreauville.

“Prohibited breeds, according to the St. Francisville ordinance, would be dealt with if found out by requiring the owner to find it another home outside the town limits, or if the dog remains impounded for more than 30 days, the dog shall be destroyed pursuant to applicable provisions of law.[emphasis added]”

Joanna Armand, Zeus’s owner, feels that pit bull bans or Breed Specific Legislation (BSL) is discriminatory and is glad she brought the country into the pit bull ban discussion that centered around Zeus. KC Theisen, the director of pet care for the Humane Society of the U.S., says BSL’s are based on a “myth.” Theisen went on to explain that there is “no evidence” to suggest that “one breed” is “more dangerous” than any other.

PETA senior VP Lisa Lange states that “in this country right now” pit bulls are the “most abused” animal. Lange stated she was not aware of Moreauville’s pit bull ban until after it was repealed. However, she feels her group would have been against it.

Zeus’s owner said she is satisfied her call to stop the pit bull ban that would have separated Zeus, her “fur baby,” from her family. She plans to use the experience in Moreauville to stop breed bans in other places.

“Now family just wants to pay it forward to another community and keep going with it,” she said

There are nineteen states that, at this time, ban towns and communities in it from passing such legislation.

[Images via Saving Zeus & Breed Specific Legistration Map]