At the Saginaw County Animal Care Center, you can adopt shepherds, labs, and beagles - but no pit bulls. That's because the county has a long-standing policy to euthanize the controversial breed.
"I believe in public safety, and if this is what still needs to happen to keep everyone safe, that's what we're going to do,” said Valerie McCullough, director at the center.
But McCullough says it's a policy worth revisiting.
On Wednesday Genesee County commissioners approved an ordinance allowing pit bulls – like any other breed - to be evaluated individually, to see if they're suitable for adoption.
Stepheni Lazar, chief officer at the Genesee County Animal Control Department, said, “Our goal is to try to place animals that are of sound temperament and to also place them into a home where it's going to be a good fit - not only for the family, but also for the dog."
McCullough says the Saginaw shelter takes in a lot of pit bulls, and it's hard to tell how they were bred and raised, which makes it hard to determine if they're safe for adoption.
"We don't know what kind of lifestyle that they've lived,” she said.
"To put those animals back into public, I don't know if that's something we want to deal with at the moment."
Right now, McCullough said it's better to stand by a policy intended to keep the public safe. She expects to discuss it with the advisory board in March.
