I don't do this often

But a NYC Council Member has decided city residents should no longer be allowed to own pit bulls.

New York City Council Member Peter Vallone, Jr. said the city should ban residents from owning pit bulls and he is calling for the repeal of a state law prohibiting breed-specific legislation. Overturning this law would clear the way for NYC to enact legislation banning city residents from owning pit bulls. North Shore Animal League America opposes this campaign and encourages you to send an email to Councilman Vallone, Jr., encouraging him to reconsider his campaign to ban pit bulls from New York City.

"Dear Mr. Vallone,
North Shore Animal League America of Port Washington, NY, would like to respectfully express our concern and disagreement with your pit bull breed legislation campaign. After reading your statement in the New York Sun, it has come to our attention that like many people who share your fears and concerns regarding "pit bulls," you may be misinformed regarding the behavioral, psychological and physical attributes of these collective breeds, which usually contributes to this common confusion."

"Pit bull" is a general title used to describe several breeds of dogs who share similar physical characteristics. Commonly, the American Pit Bull Terrier, Staffordshire Bull Terrier and the American Staffordshire Terrier fall under the category of "pit bull," though many others are often associated with it as well. However, using such a generic term, like pit bull, is as non-specific as saying retriever or hound. Therefore, we request that you clarify which exact animal you are referring to so we can all fully comprehend your notion and feel confident that you fully comprehend it as well.

Please sign the open letter today and let Vallone know how you feel about breed specific legislation, which has been proven not to work because owners will either move out of the city or move on to a different breed of dog.

Would this ban include pit mixes? How about dogs who look like pits but really aren't? Who exactly is going to foot the bill for regulating these dogs? Are they going to give city animal control workers a raise? How about a bonus?

Or, an interesting concept would be to actually start cracking down on dog fighting, taking it and what it does to the animals involved, seriously. I bet that would work much better at fixing the real problem instead of blaming the dogs. Like Supernanny told some parents last night (except she was talking about kids but it applies to animal mommies and daddies, too), "How dare you blame the dogs for how they turned out. They didn't ask to be put here."