Keep Military Families Together - End Breed Restrictions on Bases!
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Sponsor: The Veterans Site
Our service members shouldn't have to choose between their pets and their homes. Take action now!
Thousands of service members live on military bases across the world. Sadly, not all of their family is welcome on base with them, namely their dogs.
When military housing was privatized in 1996, the six companies that took responsibility for the bases1 — known as the Residential Communities Initiative consortium (RCI) — sought to create common policies across all bases. One such policy includes the banning of specific breeds of dog2 — breeds the RCI has deemed "dangerous," including, but not limited to: Pit Bulls, Rottweilers, Doberman Pinschers, and Chow Chows3.
Sometimes, despite their actual DNA, dogs are only given the eyeball test, and initially banned based solely upon their looks4. This forces dogs to undergo a DNA test to prove they don't fall under the restriction. But, under this policy, even a 1% positive result will end in a ban, despite the lack of evidence showing the correlation between dog breed and dog bite.
This is ridiculous. Dogs are more than just a breed. They're more than therapeutic to service members performing some of the most demanding jobs in the world, they're family5. And, because military family after military family continue to be separated by this policy, the time to act is now6.
Sign the petition below and urge the RCI to do away with their breed-specific restrictions.
- Matthew C. Godfrey and Paul Sadin, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army, Installations, Energy & Environment (2012), "Dog Breed Restrictions For On-Base Military Housing."
- Dawn N. Smith, Militarybyowner.com (2020), "A Veteran Banned From Military Housing."
- Corvias Property Management (2021), "Frequently Asked Questions."
- National Canine Research Council "Visual Breed Identification."
- American Veterinary Medical Association, "Why Breed-specific Legislation Is not the Answer."
- Pets for Patriots, Military.com (2021), "PCS and Your Pet."
The Petition:
To the Residential Communities Initiative,
Myself and many others are concerned about your policy of breaking up military families through poorly designed and managed breed restrictions implemented on military bases across the globe.
Animals are one of the best ways for people to deal with stress and isolation, and they have an immeasurable positive effect on the mental health of families. This is especially important for families living on military bases who face untold stress. Forcing them to choose between their careers and their family is not only cruel, but a horrific burden to place on the men and women putting their lives on the line for us.
The breed restrictions applied to bases are based in simple fear and perception as opposed to any fact. The Center for Disease Control has shown there is no connection between breeds and dog bites, and that breed specific legislation has no bearing on the number of bites seen. Cities across the United States and Canada have enacted BSL and have seen no change in attacks, only an increase in the number of animals being euthanized and abandoned.
These laws do nothing to protect the families living on military bases, and serve no purpose but to tear apart families. Dozens of organizations have spoken out about the pointlessness of the breed restrictions being implemented, and without evidence as to the effectiveness of the bans, the only reasonable action is to remove the restrictions.
Dogs should be judged on their merits, not their DNA results. Help keep families together and allow our men and women in uniform to bring all of their loved ones with them!
Sincerely,
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