Florida State Statute 767.13 states that if a dog has previously been declared dangerous and attacks a person or domestic animal without provocation, then the owner is guilty of a misdemeanor. In other words, the owner can say they did not know their dog was dangerous and get off the hook. I believe that this needs to be changed. The leash law should also be changed. If your dog is not on a leash, you just get a ticket of $250 for first time offenders. I think this needs to be changed especially with dangerous breeds like pitbulls. On June 8, 2009, My family was going out for a nightly walk. We decided to take our little yorkshire terrier, Harley. My mom took two steps outside of our front door to see a stray pitbull take 5 giant leaps across our front yard and snatch our little pup in mid air. My mom smacked the pitbull's head into the ground until my dad could come over and try to free Harley from the grasp of the killer. After about a 5 minute fight, my dad had finally freed Harley with the help of a metal broom handle(the pitbull had bitten through it). My mom rushed our baby boy off to the emergency vet and he was in shock. The pitbull was later taken to animal control where he sits in quarantine. It took about an hour and a half to stabalize Harley, so they could operate. Once the doctor opened him up, she said there was not much she could do. The pitbull had punctured several important organs including Harley's stomach, kidney, and liver. His small intestine and pancreas were "shredded". We had to euthanize Harley at approximately 3 a.m. on June 9th. People should realize how dangerous pitbulls are from birth. This certain one was trained to kill, you could see it in his eyes. They should never be out roaming around like this! Our dog was attacked and killed, but what if it had been a human or a child. My two younger brothers were outside when this attack happened. It could have been them! It is very important to me to change this statute and leash law and find justice for Harley. No one else should have to suffer by losing a beloved pet or being badly injured by such dogs ever again. Please sign this petition and tell everyone you know! Do not do it for me, do it for Harley.

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