LUMBERTON — Amy Barnes says she wants to give a voice to her dog and other pit bulls in Robeson County.
That’s why Barnes started a petition last week asking Robeson County commissioners not to adopt a policy similar to an ordinance the Lumberton City Council has passed declaring some breeds, including pit bulls, as potentially vicious —although there is doubt about the county’s ability to do so.
The petition was posted on change.org Tuesday and by Friday afternoon it had received 849 signatures from Lumberton residents all well as others in Robeson County, surrounding counties and as far as England.
“I’ve had enough,” she said. “If you own a pit bull here, you’re being bullied.”
Barnes, who works as a paramedic, owns two pit bulls, Gotti and Athena, and a dachshund.
Barnes has a Lumberton address, but not inside the city limits, where a new ordinance will place additional requirements on the owners of bull terriers, Staffordshire bull terriers, American pit bull terriers and American Staffordshire terriers as well as any dogs that have previously bit a person or pet without provocation. Intended to prevent dog attacks, the ordinance requires that potentially vicious dogs be kept in a pen, on a leash or in a home at all times.
Owners of those dogs would also have to register their pets with the Lumberton Police Department for a fee of $25, provide a photograph of the dog and have at least $100,000 in liability insurance. Additionally, the dogs will have to be spayed or neutered, be vaccinated and be implanted with microchips, which was already required by city code. City code also already required dogs to be registered with the city tax collector and wear a tag stating their name, address and that they have been vaccinated against rabies, which is a state requirement.
Barnes started the petition in hopes that Robeson County commissioners will “listen to both sides” and encourage the Lumberton City Council members to reconsider the action they took on Monday. County Manager Ricky Harris said the county currently has no plans to pass such an ordinance.
Barnes said she feels residents who own pit bulls and their dogs are being treated unfairly; all dogs can be potentially dangerous, so all breeds should be equally regulated, she said.
She also raised concerns about the health of the dogs that would be subject to the Lumberton ordinance, saying being kept in a concrete-bottom pen can make dogs more aggressive, lead to overheating and injure their feet.
She also questioned how city officials would identify the breeds of dogs, particularly mixed breeds.
“Just because it looks like a pit doesn’t mean it’s a pit,” she said.
Pit bulls or pit bull mixes have been involved in all three fatal dog attacks in Robeson County since 2012, and account for the majority of attacks reported in Robeson County, partly because of the severity of their bites.
Lumberton City Councilman John Cantey said there is also considerable opposition to the new ordinance in the city, and that residents are likely to make their concerns known at the council’s meeting in August. The council does meet in August.
Cantey, who was one of three council members who voted against the ordinance, owns a pit bull, but said he would oppose the ordinance even if he did not. He said requiring residents to have liability insurance and to spay or neuter their pets is asking too much.
“A lot of them feel like the government is overstretching and reaching onto your property,” he said. “In most families a pet is considered a family member … it doesn’t matter whether I have a pet or don’t have a pet, I still would take up this fight because of the other issues.”
Barnes plans to make her case at the next meeting of the Robeson County Board of Health, which is Thursday at 6 p.m. at the county Health Department.
