Dogs should not be banned for their breed
My husband and I visited the new Woodbridge Township Animal Shelter a few weeks ago and were pleased with how clean and cheery it appeared. The one thing that disturbs me is their adoption policy.

After talking to one of the volunteers there, I was told that they would not adopt out any dogs belonging to specific breeds. The breeds I remember her naming were pit bulls, Rottweilers, chow chows, Doberman pinschers, and mixes of the above. If one of the above-named breeds is picked up as a stray or is surrendered by the owner, theywill not be adopted out to an individual, no matter how good-natured and stable the dogs are. She also told me that Edison Township has a similar policy for their shelter.

While I certainly can understand and agree that some dogs are too aggressive and cannot be safely adopted out, it seems very unfair to blame all dogs of a particular breed for the deeds of a few unsound dogs and irresponsible owners. It really is no different than racial profiling, to me. Shelters should evaluate the dogs on an individual basis to see if they are good adoption candidates. Adopters should also be screened to see if they would make responsible pet owners.

The sad truth is that Woodbridge and some other towns will not adopt out certain dogs just because of their breed.

My husband and I own a pit bull, Dottie, whom we adopted over two years ago froma rescue in Linden. She is a great dog who earned her Canine Good Citizenship Certificate and is now a therapy dogwho visits theMenlo Park Veterans Home in Edison twice a month with the TheraPet Programout of Clark. She was one of the lucky ones. Most aren't.

Liane Mancini

Edison