A persistent opponent of pit bull dogs is canvassing (and littering) the landscape at the intersection of Sunset Boulevard and Las Lomas Avenue with dozens of illegal flyers. The postings aim to stigmatize a breed that often gets a bad rap.
Using pushpins on telephone poles, trees and even real estate advertisements, the individual is affixing flyers displaying large quotes, such as, “pit bulls are inherently dangerous.”
Photos: Matt Sanderson
Another flyer shows a picture of a child’s face next to the question: “Why? Do pit bulls kill more Americans than all dog breeds combined? ‘Tenacious, unrelenting’ attack style.”
The illegal flyer postings have occurred at least three different times this summer, most recently on Wednesday, Aug. 6.
“When I see stuff like that, and it keeps coming, it bothers me,” said Kim Derby, a pit bull owner who lives in an apartment on Sunset near Las Lomas. “One time, okay, but more than that, it’s so wrong. It’s so ignorant and uneducated.”
Bowden Russell disagrees. On the Post’s Facebook page, he commented, “Pit bulls are nice dogs, but like all dogs they can go “rouge” [sic] and if they do someone is horribly hurt. If a retriever goes nuts, no big deal. Pit Bull? Sorry, no one needs a Pit Bull. Way too many people have died because of that breed.”
Derby, who has lived in the Palisades for 15 years, said she thinks the anti-pit bull flyers are targeting her and her 3-year-old pit bull Blue even though the dog is trained and has never attacked anyone.
Photo: Matt Sanderson
One of the flyers cites the 2012 Tracey v. Solesky Court of Appeals ruling, in which Maryland lawmakers ruled that if a pit bull or pit bull mix attacks someone, not only is the owner held liable but also the landlord of the property where the attack occurred.
This year, Maryland’s governor signed a bill that abrogated the 2012 decision, according to The Baltimore Sun.
This page is available to subscribers. Click here to sign in or get access.
