News : Supervisors uphold order removing \'vicious\' dog; Wiley calls for change in rule

Revisiting the Benton County ordinance prohibiting pit bulls and other “dangerous” dog breeds is on Todd Wiley’s “short list” of issues for the Benton County supervisors to address in the future.

Wiley made that comment during Tuesday’s meeting, where the supervisors unanimously voted to uphold an order removing an American Staffordshire Terrier from a home in the Timber Ridge area south of Shellsburg.

Deputy John Lindemann issued the order after responding to a report of a dog barking and growling at a person at Timber Ridge

While the dog did not bite – or even bark when he knocked on the door – Benton County Ordinance 37 requires its removal.

In addition to alligators, chimpanzees, bats, lions, wolves, badgers and similar animals, the ordinance specifically mentions: “Any dog which has the appearance and characteristics of being of the breed of Staffordshire Terrier, American Pit Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier, any other breed commonly known as pit bulls, pit bull dogs or pit bull terriers, or a combination of any of these breeds.”

Owner Carol Offerman told the supervisors that the dog was a gift from her recently-deceased boyfriend, and she relied on it for comfort therapy. She told the supervisors the dog had already been moved to Cedar Rapids, where she believed, she too, would be moving.

Wiley told Offerman that Lindemann was merely doing his job, enforcing the ordinance that was adopted in 2000. Wiley said he believed that Benton County, like many other area governments, banned pit bulls after some high-profile attacks by dogs of that and similar breeds.

Yet, said Wiley a life-long farmer, to claim that all pit bulls are dangerous is like saying that all Black Angus bulls are violent. He supports changing the ordinance. However, he said, the supervisors are also required to uphold current rules.

Terry Hertle and Don Frese agreed, and the order for the removal of the dog remains in place.

There is no set date for a discussion on the issue, but said several times during Tuesday's meeting that he would like to see the supervisors change it.