Peninsula's pit paranoia

For example, Delucchi referred to how the city of Denver has had a ban on pit bulls since 1989 but city officials still estimate about 5,000 pit bulls are in the city. He said putting something on paper doesn't mean it will happen.

This week, San Bruno Councilman Chris Pallas suggested new pit bulls be banned from coming into San Bruno and citizens who have pit bulls be required to spay or neuter the animal to maintain their numbers.

"I just want to start discussion," Pallas said. "It is important to protect people from something that's dangerous."

San Mateo County Sheriff Don Horsley is also calling for new limits on pit bulls in the county. Horsley said the recent fatal mauling in San Francisco prompted the call to explore forcing the PHS to kill all pit bulls that come into their care.

While current state law prohibits such regulations, state Sen. Jackie Speier, D-San Mateo, introduced an amendment to Senate Bill 861 this week that would allow regulation of dangerous or vicious dogs at the local level.

San Bruno Mayor Larry Franzella recognized that at this point even if the council wanted to pass regulations they weren't legally able to. Franzella does think the board could discuss supporting the efforts of Speier to amend current legislation, saving the discussion for restrictions when the council has the power to place them. The amendment is scheduled to be heard in the state Assembly Health Committee on July 5.

Pallas said he has been hearing stories about pit bulls within the city recently and that is why he has made his request.

However, Capt. Neil Telford of the San Bruno Police Department said he hasn't noticed an increase in calls or reports of problems with pit bulls recently. However, a quick look at the police blotter shows people are paying close attention to dogs in San Bruno. Recent calls include a report of a loose boxer on the 100 block of Siskiyou Court, a loose German shepherd on the 2600 block of Rollingwood Drive and a loose pit bull with puppies on the 100 block of San Diego Avenue Friday.

In the past month, he said, there were about 50 dog bites in San Mateo County most from Labradors and German shepherds. Even if there weren't pit bulls, Delucchi said, "people who do bad things with animals will just do that with different breeds. It's not a dog problem. It's a people problem."

While stories of pit bulls are out there, Delucchi said they are not the only dogs that bite.

"Lots of dogs can be dangerous," Delucchi said.

The PHS has a different approach to the pit bull frenzy, a four-part plan that includes education and free surgery. Currently the PHS is paying people $10 if they get their pit bull or pit bull mix spayed or neutered. Since the offer started a week and a half ago 40 pit bull owners have made appointments for surgery, under normal circumstances there would be only two or three appointments for pit bulls, said Delucchi.

Last year, 122 pit bulls were adopted out from the PHS. The PHS is selective over which dogs are approved for adoption. Before a pit bull adoption goes through the PHS does a home check to make sure the yard is secure. The PHS requires training courses be taken.

Dave Deleissegues, a dog trainer from SteinbeckLand Kennels, said there is only a small percentage of these dogs that he recommends to be put down. Some of the dogs are just not trainable. But Deleissegues, who has been a dog trainer for 23 years, has trained hundreds of pit bulls. More than 90 percent of the dogs can be trained with obedience training, he said.

Deleissegues believes both positive and negative training should be in use. Positive training, he described, was using food, praise, toys and love to reinforce when the animal listens. Negative reinforcement should be used when the dog is at the point in training when it understands and willfully disobeys. It can then be controlled with a down or sit command or with a collar and leash.

"It's the old alpha deal," he said. "The human has to be in charge."