Pit Bull Rally in DC Led by Rebecca Corry Draws Thousands

A Saturday rally of pit bull lovers in Washington, D.C. drew thousands of people. The rally was organized by comedian Rebecca Corry of Comedy Central. Corry also stars in King of Queens and Last Man Standing.

The crowd mainly rallied against what’s known as breed-specific legislation that targets pit bull dogs and other breeds that might be considered to be dangerous. Participants said negligent and abusive owners should be held accountable, not dogs.

The advocates have a strong ally for their issue in President Obama, who has questioned breed-specific legislation’s effectiveness.

The rally came at a time when multiple stories are reaching the media about pit bull attacks against people across the U.S. In rally organizer Corry’s home state of Washington, Yakima city officials described an incident where a pit bull attacked three people after running away from home. All three people were bitten by the pit bull, who is now being held in quarantine.

Yakima has a ban on pit bulls, but recently gave an exemption to the rule for service or therapy dogs, according to the Associated Press.

In Phoenix, Arizona, a pit bull was sentenced to life in a shelter after an attack on a 4-year-old boy. The dog, named Mickey, will live in a Maricopa County no-kill shelter under the jurisdiction of the county sheriff. Under orders from a judge, Mickey will be defanged and neutered before he goes to the animal rehabilitation facility.

The final judgement in the fate of the pit bull was the result of multiple court hearings and international media coverage that started when Mickey mauled 4-year-old Kevin Vicente’s face in February. Vicente has gone through several extensive surgeries to recover, while Mickey got international support to save him from being put down.

In another alleged pit bull incident in the San Francisco area, two loose dogs attacked a pair of Brentwood residents walking their dogs, one of which was tasered by police. One dog was initially described as a pit bull, but its owner said it is actually a mastiff-shar pei mix. The other dog was a black labrador. They had both escaped from nearby yards and were wandering the neighborhood at about 9:30 a.m. The same two dogs attacked a different resident walking his dog. In both incidents, the dogs repeatedly bit the victim.