WRIGHTSTOWN, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – The Village of Wrightstown is cracking down on its ordinance regulating animals and their owners.
The board of trustees is holding a public hearing and is expected to vote on the vicious dog ordinances Wednesday night.
“I think it depends on the particular dog and less so the breed.”
Sam Bradley lives in the Village of Wrightstown. He tells FOX 11, compared to other places he’s lived, he considers Wrightstown very pet-friendly.
“Last year they opened up this park to dogs.”
But some people aren’t happy with the way their dog is being treated. The village recently sent out a letter to owners of pit bulls.
“Specifically saying that these are attributes of the ordinance that you need to be aware of,” said Keith Wendlandt. “And they weren’t enforced on a regular basis prior to that.”
Wendlandt is a Village trustee and tells FOX 11 part of that ordinance categorizes pit bulls under vicious dogs.
“There were some concerns by a number of pit bull owners challenging the existing ordinance.”
Wrightstown defines the pit bull as any bull terrier or Staffordshire terrier breed. Wendlandt says that’s determined by how the owner registers their dog.
“There’s enhanced steps that need to take place. The owner needs to have an insurance rider, they have to keep a four-foot leash if they have a kennel outside they have to meet certain restrictions so the dog can’t tunnel underneath or escape the kennel unattended.”
Bradley is opposed…
“I don’t agree with that ordinance. I think some dogs are vicious normally, to no fault of their own, and you know, I have a golden doodle and he jumped on you when you came to the park, but I’m sure there are pit bulls that are just as friendly as he is and better behaved, so I don’t think they should be labeled as vicious.”
The board is looking to update the ordinance by removing some of the restrictions currently put on the breed– such as no vicious dog may be kept in a house when the windows are open or the door has just a screen.
“We’ve maintained the breed specific language which identifies pit bulls as vicious,” said Wendlandt.
That’s one thing, Wendlandt says, won’t be changing.
“We’re responsible for the entire village and the protection of all the residents.”
The board is hoping that the new changes will help them better enforce the ordinance. The current rules were decided nearly 25 years ago.
Sixty-six municipalities in Wisconsin have breed restrictions, according to Dogsbite.org.
Some, including Ripon, the Village of Pulaski and the Village of Brandon, ban pit bulls altogether.
