New state law takes effect Sunday that will lift Miami-Dade ban on pit bulls

MIAMI —  A new law signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis will go into effect on Oct. 1 that will supersede a Miami-Dade ban that prohibits the adoption of pit bulls in the county.

That means the 1989 county ordinance forbidding the breed’s adoption will then be null and void,  .

.”For us it means an opportunity to find more homes for pets that we have in our care,” said Gabriela Dominguez, spokesperson for the Miami-Dade Animal Service Pet Adoption in Doral. “With this ban being lifted we are hoping that the community can adopt these larger dogs because they have so much love to give (and) they should not be judged by the way that they look.”

The county implemented the ban 34 years ago after Melissa Moreira, who was 7 years old at time, was attacked by a pit bull.

During a previous interview with CBS News Miami, she said was forced to undergo eight reconstructive plastic surgeries to her face as a child.

“You could see all this white bone, you could see my lip hanging up,” she said. “I was in the police car (and) I was a 7-year-old. I didn’t know what was going on.”

She said in March that she found it alarming that the ban would be lifted after the state legislature passed the measure, which was subsequently signed by DeSantis.

“And when the first kid gets attacked, where is the accountability?” she said.

According to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, “each dog should be evaluated and treated as an individual, regardless of breed.”

Although state law overrides the county’s ban on the breed, residential communities, such as condominiums and apartment buildings” can still restrict specific pet breeds in their communities.

Dominguez has advice for anyone interested in adopting any dog.

“Don’t look at a specific bread by the way that a dog looks because that is not a true testament to the way they behave,” she said. “So it just depends on the lifestyle of the person as to what they should be adopting.”