Househunting and BSL

We're sort-of-househunting. That is, we're vaguely interested in owning a home (everyone tells us it's the time to buy), and I'm browsing the internet to get a feel for what's out there. There are a lot of things we want in a home, but there are only four things we need:

• Affordable price (this is a no-brainer)
• Safe neighborhood (another no-brainer)
• Move-in ready (we're not the project type)
• No BSL

Thing #5 - antlers

 The fourth one makes things difficult. Earlier this week, Malden, Massachusetts passed breed-specific legislation requiring "pitbulls" to be muzzled. Falling under the "pitbull" umbrella are American Staffordshire Terriers, American Pitbull Terriers, Staffordshire Bull Terriers, Bull Terriers, and mixes. The article didn't make it clear who gets to determine whether a dog, especially a mixed breed, is a pitbull, but in other nearby towns, the police officer or animal control worker decides based on physical appearance.

Good evening, officer. You're not here to take my donut, are you?

As if being first-time home buyers wasn't daunting enough, we now have to do additional research not only on which towns have BSL, but also on which towns are considering BSL. Ultimately, there's no way of knowing where BSL will strike in the 5 years, or even the next 5 months. Now, I know that life is full of surprises, some of them nasty, and no matter how hard I try to keep my family safe (this includes Badger and Mushroom), accidents can still happen. But it's absolutely terrible that things that are supposed to keep us safe (laws) and people who are supposed to keep us safe (police, lawmakers) are actively making things less safe for us (BSL). (Off topic: This is how I feel about racial profiling of people as well.)

When I learned that Lowell, Boston, and several other towns in Massachusetts had BSL, I thought to myself, "We just won't go into those towns." But today I realized that ignoring or running away from BSL is not going to make it go away. I've been reluctant to call my dogs "pitbull mixes" to my friends, coworkers, or even strangers that we meet on walks because I'm afraid of negative reactions. But in keeping my dogs "in the closet", I've also passed up opportunities to bust stereotypes and educate. So from now on, if someone stops me in the street to ask what Badger and Mushroom are, I'll say they're pitbull mixes. We might not change enough minds to stop the spread of BSL, but it's worth trying.

Is "hungry" a dog breed?