Pit Bull Owners Support Rhode Island City’s Ending of Ban

Dozens of pit bull owners paraded with their dogs in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, to celebrate their legal victory that overturned its decade-long ban on pit bills.

About 40 dogs and their owners on Sunday celebrated a Superior Court judge’s Nov. 18 ruling overturning the ban.

Ann Clark of Pit Bulls for PTSD, which organized the parade, said it was a celebration that “all dogs are free in Pawtucket.”

Pawtucket Police Chief Paul Kelly said the city imposed the ban in 2004 to try to curtail the number of pit bull attacks. At the time, Kelly said local drug dealers were using pit bulls to prevent police from house raids.

The state last year barred cities from banning specific breeds. Dog owners say authorities should “punish the deed, not the breed.”