Pit bulls proliferating in dog-friendly Portland

[Global Paw]

PORTLAND — Nearly half of the dogs euthanized at the Multnomah County animal shelter in the first half of this year were pit bulls, a breed that is quickly becoming a social pariah.



Throughout the metropolitan area, pit bulls stay in shelters longer than any other breed. Five well-publicized dog bites in the Portland area since July and 45 other bites since January have contributed to that surge.

Nationally, pit bulls top the chart when it comes to serious bites, leading cities across the country to ban the breed or impose stiff sanctions on owners.

That's not the case in Portland, voted one of the nation's best places to be a dog this year by pet-food companies. In Portland, even a dog that inflicts life-threatening injuries does not necessarily face a death sentence, according to The Oregonian newspaper.

But the good intentions that produced Oregon's dog-friendly laws are under challenge by pit bulls.

One ongoing problem is what Stephanie Collingsworth, an animal-care technician at the Multnomah County shelter, calls the "pit-bull puppy mill" in Oregon.

"I don't think people get the scope of how many pit bulls there are in this area," said John Booker, president of the All-American Pit Bull Association, headquartered in Vancouver, Wash.

Pit bulls are being advertised in the classified section of local newspapers for less than $100, even as local shelters continue to fill with unwanted pits. For shelters, placing pit bulls has become more difficult, because of stricter requirements by insurance companies, which now refuse to write policies for homeowners and renters who own pit bulls.

"The industry has reacted," said Nicole Mahrt, spokeswoman for the American Insurance Association. "We have to be responsible for our pets." Well-publicized pit-bull attacks continue to give the breed a bad name, even as breeders insist the dogs are not inherently aggressive and only become violent under the owner's tutelage.