By Maria Hickey, KWMU
St. Louis, MO – Shrewsbury residents will decide next Tuesday (Aug. 8) whether to keep a city ban on pit bulls and rottweilers.
The Shrewsbury Board of Aldermen passed the ban last November after some residents expressed concerns about dogs in their neighborhoods.
When pit bull and rottweiler owners learned they would have to give up their dogs or move, the ban became controversial.
That did not surprise mayor Bert Gates, also a dog owner. "When you're talking about people's dogs it's like they're part of the family," Gates said.
Gates says the aldermen tried to reach a consensus by toughening the city's vicious dog ordinance and revoking the ban. When that didn't happen, he says they decided to take the issue directly to voters.
| Election 2006 - Aug. 8 primary BALLOT QUESTION - City of Shrewbury | |||
| Question | Yes | No | |
| Proposition A - Shall the city of Shrewbury's ban on all breeds of Pit Bulls and Rottweilers be continued? | (Simple majority needed) | ||