Smiley continues to wait for a home. He may be euthanized at any time for any reason, just because he has been dubbed a part pit/mix. He lives on an island where dogs that look like "pit bulls" can be legally killed just for existing. The law is called Breed Specific Legislation (BSL) and it is in effect in Oak Harbor, the largest city on the island. Because of it, dogs that may or may not be "pit bulls" (whatever that means) are being destroyed. Smiley may be next.

Consider:

"What exactly is a pit bull? Defining it has proved to be a formidable legal hurdle because the pit bull is not a specific breed. Rather, it is a kind of dog, a generic catchall like hound or retriever."
E.M. Swift, "The Pit Bull: Friend and Killer. Is the Pit Bull a Fine Animal, As Its Admirers Claim, Or Is It a Vicious Dog, Unfit For Society?" Sports Illustrated, 07-27-1987, pp 72.

"Finally, it is imperative to keep in mind that even if breed-specific bite rates could be accurately calculated, they do not factor in owner related issues. For example, less responsible owners or owners who want to foster aggression in their dogs may be drawn differentially to certain breeds.
Center for Disease Control's Special Report on breeds involved in fatal human attacks in the United States between 1979 and 1998, September 2000.

(After 1998, the CDC stopped identifying dog breeds involved in fatal attacks, since data is usually based on media reports from untrained eyewitness accounts. There is no centralized, reliable way to collect such information, making meaningful, reliable data collection impossible.)

How breed specific legislation hurts everyone, not just the dogs that are victimized by it:

BSL hurts a city's reputation and impacts tourism. Here, Oak Harbor (which has BSL) is listed among the least dog friendly places in America. Tell Oak Harbor what you think after you read the rest of this column. Email: info@oakharbor.org

BSL hurts the reputation of animal shelters which suddenly get the overflow of dogs that owners can no longer keep without being harassed by city governments. The dogs become hard to readopt, the shelters get overcrowded, and it gradually becomes "humane" for an otherwise decent shelter to start killing any dog that even looks like it may be "pit bull" -- thousands upon thousands of innocent animals are now being systematically killed as part of a national breed extermination system.

For example, WAIF on Whidbey Island has started euthanizing dogs that look like they may be pit bulls or part pit bulls. If you visit WAIF's website, you will see some "pit bulls" or pit/mixes available for adoption on the site (others are euthanized before they ever make it to the website). It looks good to have some pit bulls around if a shelter purports to be "minimum kill." But WAIF makes it nearly impossible for these dogs to actually be adopted. So the dogs are warehoused until they go kennel crazy, then they are euthanized. If you notice that one of the dog's pictures suddenly vanishes off the site, that's because the dog has been euthanized. Keep an eye on Smiley, for example. He could be here today, gone tomorrow. WAIF is not the only shelter in this situation. What is the shelter in your community really doing?

BSL hurts responsible owners who register their dogs, but not the backyard breeders and other lowlifes that fight the dogs. They simply go underground. Responsible owners face higher insurance rates and other harassments even if they have no record of problems with their dogs ever. If they want to walk their dogs in a BSL community, they have to muzzle their dogs, which makes them look dangerous and further feeds the hysteria.

Enlightened communities gear their legislation toward irresponsible owners of any dog breed, not one dog breed in particular. They hold the humans responsible. They fight backyard breeding at its source. They work to end stereotyping of dogs and promote accuracy in media coverage. They help responsible owners build networks of support. They encourage fostering, training, care, and kindness.

Unfortunately, we live on an island where this isn't happening.

So odds are, Smiley will die.