Concerns about the pit bull ordinance were addressed at the Benton County Supervisor's weekly meeting on Tuesday which can be seen here at the 31 minute mark, by Julene Jensen.

In the 20 minute speech, She wanted to ask a few questions of last week's presenter on the topic of how it would benefit Benton County taxpayers, where he lived, and if he had any pit bulls. The sheriff agreed that he didn't think that the change would save money. Preston Moore the Iowa Director of the Humane Society spoke encouraging the supervisors to update their 20-year-old ordinance, which he addressed in last week's meeting.

Jensen became emotional as she covered everything from responsible dog owners to the fears that she has of pit bulls because she had a puppy killed by the breed in Cedar Rapids. She believes that the dog had been raised in a loving home but that it just turned on her puppy. She was upset that she lost her puppy and the dog who attacked had no other record so it was allowed to live. She went on to say that she moved to Benton County to prevent this from happening again because of Benton County's ban. She's afraid that there will more pit bull incidents and said that people would leave if the ban is lifted.

Jensen went on to say that she has labs but never tells anyone that they're the nicest dogs in the world or that they won't hurt anyone because they're dogs and you just never know. "I am totally for the pitbull ban and if you accommodate these people are you going accommodate me and my PTSD?" which she claims to have gotten because of this incident with her dog.

She believes the people in Keystone were lying about the information they received. "If they are lying about being told they had 10 days and if they're lying about that what else are they lying about?" (See article about where the disinformation came from here)

She said that she tried to calm down one of the presenters in Keystone who was crying because the other woman was hysterical because she's gonna lose her dog, "at least I hope so, it's a pit bull," she said.

Jensen believes that this breed is bred to be vicious citing TikTok and other online videoes involved in dog fights to back up the claim. She went on to say that if you adopt a dog you don't know how it had been raised, comparing it to adopting a child and not knowing the child's history. Jensen also said that while she was present at the Keystone council meeting but said she was afraid to speak afraid of repercussions from the pro-pit bull crowd. She said that had commented on an article on the KCRG page and was met with push back for her views. Jensen also said that she "can't deal with people anymore," and that "the world has gone to s***."

Supervisors Gary Bierschenk and Tracy Seeman clarified that the supervisors only make decisions about areas outside of the Benton County towns and that the county has not changed or lifted any ordinances. He relayed information for the speaker to be able to contact Preston Moore of the Humane Society.

Vinton Today reached out to Preston Moore the Iowa Director of the Humane Society for a comment concerning Jensen's remarks.

"As a lifelong Iowan, I am deeply invested in making our state a better place for both people and for animals. I have helped Iowa communities across the state with their animal codes and I've had the good fortune of passing several state laws and regulations that have improved animal welfare and the lives of Iowans.

Each community's needs are different, but regardless of the issue I advocate for sound, science-and research-based policies that help communities address their most urgent problems. I look forward to helping Benton County and the communities throughout the area implement commonsense and more enforceable dangerous animal laws that will use tax dollars more efficiently, free up law enforcement resources, and protect Iowans' rights to own the dog they think is best for their family.

I'm here for the long haul, just one county away, and I'm committed to working with the residents of Benton County to get this done."

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A map is shown in the photo of how many city or county bans still remain in Iowa. Blue indicates either no breed ban or bans on the animal based only on its behavior. Red indicates breed-specific bans or restrictions on select breeds. At this time less than 10% of Iowa has breed-specific bans. Benton County's 20-year-old ban is one of them.


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AO August 11, 2022, 1:02 pm “Jensen said that she has labs but never tells anyone that they're the nicest dogs in the world or that they won't hurt anyone because they're dogs and you just never know”

If we just never know, then we better ban ALL dogs?
ML August 12, 2022, 10:08 am Jensen should have watched the body cam footage before she spoke out. By failing to fully educate and inform herself she has now committed slander. Making an assumption that people are “lying and calling them “liars” when there is actual proof is slander. The bans are vague for instance a lab has a blocky head according to the body cam footage that’s a characteristic of a pitbull. So again Jensen is not clear on all the information. Does she realize this could affect her dog? Some ordinances include size of dog and your ability to handle it; given her statement she doesn’t sound confident that she can control her own dog.
SS August 12, 2022, 1:12 pm Annette - Great point!
ML August 12, 2022, 4:25 pm "I am totally for the pitbull ban and if you accommodate these people are you going accommodate me and my PTSD?"

She is expecting the ordinance to stay in place because of one incident she allegedly had with a “pitbull”.
Her whole statement is based on assumption and half truths. The footage shows that these families are not “liars”. She should have made this statement when the opposition had the opportunity to comment if she felt so strongly about the issue.
EL August 25, 2022, 4:50 am Maybe we should also ban her Labradors...since she suggested that they too can be dangerous.