by Amanda Hara
Springfield, Tenn. - The City of Springfield already requires pit bulls to be registered, muzzled and leashed at all times and registered on a city database, but those rules could soon become stricter.
City Manager Paul Nutting says a new ordinance will likely pass requiring owners to pay a 50 dollar registration fee for their pit bull.
If the ordinance passes, Emily McFadden would be one of those people paying up.
Is she happy about already having to register her pit bull "Blue", provide pictures to the city, and update his address if they move? No. But it's something she said she's willing to accept.
"I understand the need right now because there are people who fight them and I hate that because it ruins the breed," McFadden said.
What McFadden's not happy about, are recent comments made by City Manager Paul Nutting.
"I'm just very much surprised at the number of parents who come in with toddlers that are keeping one or two pit bulls in the house at the same time," Nutting said.
McFadden happens to be one of those people, four small children with Blue by her side.
"My baby's usually in the swing and he (Blue) will give him a kiss every morning. I trust him completely with my children... It makes me very nervous that the city I'm living in is making statements about how I'm a horrible parent because I have toddlers and have a pit bull," McFadden said.
City Manager Paul Nutting said the new ordinance would add a fifty dollar registration fee to any pit bulls coming into Springfield.
"Once the dogs are registered we have to go out and check the location and inspect the locations and they have to register with the city recorder so we have the time involved in that. So it's basically recovering city expenses involved with this program," Nutting said.
And while McFadden said she doesn't have a problem paying the fee, she is bothered by what she calls misconceptions about the breed.
"I want them to understand it's not the breed it's the owner," said McFadden.
McFadden said she'd like the city to conduct temperament testing so that pit bulls with good temperaments can be allowed to run in fenced yards and not forced to wear muzzles.
City Manager Paul Nutting said the ordinance passed its first reading and will likely pass its third and final reading no later than November.
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