Saginaw County Animal Care Poll: Pit bull adoptions

Poll: Should Saginaw County Animal Care Center lift its ban on pit bull adoptions?

Published: Monday, March 12, 2012, 12:00 PM Updated: Monday, March 12, 2012, 2:37 PM

By Gus Burns  
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View full sizeAn 18-week-old pit bull waits for it's owner to claim them from the Saginaw County Animal Care Center on Friday morning. The animal control center has an unwritten policy to euthanize any pit bull that is not recovered by it's owner.

SAGINAW — Pit bulls made headlines in the Great Lakes Bay Region and spurred several discussions about the breed last week.
Saginaw County taxpayers are set to reimburse a farmer $1,150 for the value of two calves he lost during a pit bull attack in October and the Saginaw County Animal Advisory Committee next week plans to review its automatic kill policy for pit bull and pit bull-mix dogs that enter the facility and are not recovered by their owners.
Public comment is welcome at the session at 4 p.m. March 21 in the Saginaw County Board of Commissioners offices on the second floor of the Saginaw County Governmental Building, 111 S. Michigan in Saginaw.
Genesee County until January held a similar policy to Saginaw County, which it's commissioners at that time voted to lift. The shelter, prior to changing its policies to allow pit bull adoptions, did allow transfers of pit bulls to rescue shelters, which the Saginaw facility does not permit.
Employees at the Genesee County animal control facility said they have adopted about five pit bulls, four puppies, to residents in the county since lifting the adoption ban.
The employees said they "temperament test" the pit bulls through observation and interaction to determine if they seem conducive to adoption.
Saginaw County Valerie McCullough said a dog's temperament is difficult to gauge while they are in the foreign setting of a shelter.
She estimates Saginaw County animal control employees only see about20 percent of a dog's personality while it is caged at the shelter and said they could be "totally different" when they get home, which presents a danger.

Do you think Saginaw should allow animal control employees to adopt pit bulls to residents? Please answer poll question and comment below.

Thank you for voting!

Yes 47.62% (10 votes)

No 52.38% (11 votes)

Total Votes: 21

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