The demonstrators targeted the anti-tethering proposal and a separate resolution by Vallone that sought to reverse a state law that does not allow cities to ban the sale of pit bulls. The group said that if Vallone is discriminating against certain breeds of dog with the latter, he is discriminating against responsible dog owners of limited means.
“New Yorkers know better than to put up with discrimination and profiling,” Goer said. She pointed to language in the resolution that describes pit bulls as the weapon of choice for drug dealers and criminals, and called the initiative racist.
“We want to make sure Mr. Vallone’s constituents are aware of the language he is using,” Goer said. “Any time discrimination is encouraged” against a specific breed, “it becomes harder to buy insurance, to rent housing. These are issues for all New Yorkers.”
Goer, who owns a 10-year-old pit bull named Cuba, said that if anti-tethering measures become law, people who can’t afford to buy a fence for their yard will have to get rid of their pets. She said her federation, which claims some 400 members throughout the state, supports laws that encourage responsible dog ownership, but not laws that target the dogs themselves.
Nancy Hassel, another member of the federation, came from Long Island to demonstrate. “I just saw the cutest pit bull go by with its owner on a bicycle, and a Rottweiler on her leash, legally, as it should be,” Hassel said. “We’re in opposition of Vallone. We want to keep the law that’s already in the state.”
Nancy Silva of Astoria was one of seven residents who signed the petition in the first hour of the two-hour demonstration. Silva used to have a pit bull, Pistol Pete.
“I used to, when I went grocery shopping, leave him by my daughter’s carriage,” Silva said. “I love pit bulls. They’re one of the nicest dogs that I’ve ever owned. It all depends on the owner.”
An animal of any breed will become aggressive if it is abused, she added, and pitbulls are no exception.
A spokesman from Vallone’s office said proposed restrictions on the tethering of dogs are geared toward curbing abusive owners. Dogs left tethered outdoors for hours on end are suffering from improper care, he said, characterizing the issue both as a public health problem and an animal rights issue.
“”If you don’t have the economic means to care for a dog, you shouldn’t have a dog,” Andrew Moesel added. “If you don’t have the space to house a dog humanely, you shouldn’t have it. The majority of the tethering we want to stop is just people who tie their dogs outside their house for hours.”
Moesel said the protesters are conflating two separate issues, and scoffed at charges that legislation discriminates against lower-income dog owners. “A lot of these accusations are too ridiculous to justify with a response,” he added. “They’re calling this racist because it will affect people with a lower income. They’re the ones making racist presumptions.”
At Saturday’s protest, though, Goer said dog owners who can’t afford to buy fences for their pets will have to sell them — or give them away — causing a rise in animal shelter populations. “What it leads to is good owners having to give up their dogs,” she said. “It causes people to relinquish their dogs when they can’t comply.”
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