Our Tri-Cities Dog Ordinances

Animal ordinances, especially as they relate to the pit & bully type dogs, can be riddled with confusion.  Each of the Tri-Cities (Richland, Pasco, Kennewick) and the surrounding county areas differ significantly in their animal ordinances. Wine Country Bully Rescue (WCBR) hopes you'll find this page helpful as you consider making a pit/bully dog part of your family.

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The "Tri-Cities Animal Codes at a Glance" button to the right is intended to provide a table of our key Tri-Cities canine laws by city and county jurisdiction. This table is, by no means, comprehensive but will offer a general understanding of the animal laws governing our local areas.  As we learn more, the table will be updated.  We ask that you use this table for INFORMATION ONLY and that you follow up with your respective city/county municipal codes (available online) and agencies-having-jurisdiction to obtain more detailed and current ordinances.  

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Our Tri-Cities Dog Ordinances with a Twist of BSL Tossed In

BSL is short for Breed Specific Legislation.  Both Pasco and Kennewick have defined "Potentially Dangerous Animals" as Pit Bull Terriers, or any dogs commonly recognized as an American Pit Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier or Staffordshire Bull Terrier.  For the sake of brevity on this web page, we'll refer to those dogs having "the pit bull look" as pits/mixes.

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Technicalities aside, please note the requirements placed on pits/mixes in Pasco and Kennewick by clicking on the "Tri-Cities Animal Codes at a Glance" button to the above right.  Both cities deem ALL pits/mixes as "Potentially Dangerous Animals," both have enacted BSL, and yet both have enacted BSL differently. If you own a pit/mix in either of these cities, you have a unique, and often expensive, set of mandates that you must follow. We ask that you use this table for reference only and encourage you to follow up with your respective city municipal codes (available online) and agencies-having-jurisdiction to obtain more detailed and current BSL ordinances.  .

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Wine Country Bully Rescue Wages War on BSL

WCBR is smitten by the sweet and gentle disposition of pits & bullies and yet very saddened by their plight.  Irresponsible breeders and owners have lead many communities to enact the "one size fits all" breed specific legislation, commonly referred to as BSL. Shelters across the country are filled to the brim with gentle pits & bullies that have been (unfairly) deemed unadoptable by the public. BSL and the negative smear campaigns have painted these gentle souls as monsters. The deck has been stacked against these dogs. It is estimated that over 2,000 pits and bullies are euthanized DAILY in shelters across our country.

 

WCBR has assembled a group of dedicated volunteers preparing to wage war against BSL at our local level. They will be armed with facts and figures as they launch their highly political and heated campaign.  We ask that you stay tuned as each battle unfolds, as the outcome of the war has yet to be written ...