Daisy, a nine-year-old Pug, is seen during the 24th annual World's Ugliest Dog Contest at the Sonoma-Marin Fair in Petaluma, California, June 22, 2012. REUTERS/Stephen Lam (UNITED STATES - Tags: ANIMALS SOCIETY) (Reuters)
A western Pennsylvania city working hard to revitalize a key 10-block stretch of its downtown business district is considering banning dogs from the area as part of the plan.
Officials in Beaver Falls, population 10,000, believe part of the problem is that larger dogs, including pit bulls and Rottweilers, are sometimes left tied to parking meters by their owners, The Beaver County Times reported.
[pullquote]
Some of the dogs are "as big as ponies," city officials say, and another concern is that some owners don't clean up after their dogs.
"It’s not that anybody on the council doesn’t like dogs," City Administrator Steve Johnson told Pet Pardons News.
"I like dogs. We certainly don’t want to discourage people from having a dog. It’s just that many dog owners are being irresponsible and ruining things for everybody," Johnson said.
Critics expressed doubt that getting rid of dogs would help.
Gary Davis, standing outside his sister’s furniture store, told the Times the scheme was a “waste of time.”
“What they need to do is patrol the street,” said Davis, a retiree who regularly helps out at the store.
The city is still researching a possible ban and council doesn't expect to act on it until later in the year. While some residents applaud the move, others say the city should focus on drug crimes and prostitution in the city about 30 miles northwest of Pittsburgh.
The hottest stories ripped from the headlines, from crime to courts, legal and scandal.
