Wapato breed ban, though flexible, lacks effectiveness

While Wapato officials are to be commended for innovative efforts to deal with a serious problem, the city's new ban on certain breeds of dogs is more bark than bite unless it's backed by more than passive enforcement.

And in a city that can't afford an animal control officer, enforcement is a tall order. Wapato Police Chief Richard Sanchez said the ban, which goes into effect Aug. 1, will be enforced on a case-by-case basis, but obviously his officers have higher priorities for community safety than being assigned to dog patrols.

There's no denying Wapato and the Valley have serious issues with problem animals. In the past five months alone, Wapato police have shot six dogs that they deemed dangerous.

It's unlikely, though, that a ban by itself will do much to curb that kind of problem. The new law bans ownership of pit bulls, Rottweilers and mastiffs within the city limits, prompting predictable opposition from those who say breed-specific bans are unfairly discriminatory and won't really deal with other bad dogs -- and irresponsible owners of any breed of dog.

Wapato officials have taken note of that school of thought and offer a way out of the ban. The ordinance provides that dogs with proven good behavior will be exempted. Owners may keep their dog if it's screened for social skills by a trainer certified by the American Kennel Club.

That's a defensible option and we commend the council members for trying for some flexibility.

But what we appear to have here is a new law that will keep good owners honest, but really do little to address the problem of illegal dogs within the city limits. There's every reason to believe that owners who don't socialize their animals in the first place will just hide their dogs or openly defy the ban -- especially with enforcement being passive in nature.

The city of Yakima has banned pit bulls for 12 years and animal control
officers still have trouble enforcing it.

"Some people blatantly walk down the street, deny it's a pit bull or act surprised," Ben Zigan, animal control officer for Yakima, recently told our reporter.

In other words, even with enforcement, a ban is not a panacea.

A law without teeth doesn't have much, if anything, to recommend it.

* Members of the Yakima Herald-Republic editorial board are Michael Shepard, Sarah Jenkins, Bill Lee and Karen Troianello.