At a Glance
- Jurisdiction
- City and County of Denver, Colorado
- Date
- 2022-07-13
- Status
- Pending
Pit bulls are on pace to lead all dog breeds in reported human bites in Denver for the second straight year, according to city data provided to Axios Denver, raising fresh questions about the effectiveness of the permit system that replaced the city's decades-old breed ban [1].
Between Jan. 1 and July 8, Denver Animal Protection identified 88 bites from pit bull breeds, which under city ordinance include American pit bull terriers, American Staffordshire terriers, and Staffordshire bull terriers. [1] By comparison, only 27 bites were reported for Labrador retrievers and 26 for German shepherds. [1] Pit bulls also topped the list for most severe bites, those considered Level 5 offenses on the Ian Dunbar Dog Bite Scale, which goes up to Level 6, signifying death. [1]
The 2022 figures extend a trend that emerged immediately after Denver lifted its ban. Denver Animal Protection identified 117 bites in 2021 from pit bull breeds, which include the American pit bull terrier, American Staffordshire terrier, and Staffordshire bull terrier under city ordinance. [2] By comparison, only 54 bites were reported by Labrador retrievers and 61 by German shepherds that same year. [2] The breed had not appeared in Denver bite data during the prior three decades. City voters lifted Denver's pit bull ban in November 2020 after more than 30 years, overriding Mayor Michael Hancock's first-ever veto blocking the measure, which had been passed by the Denver City Council. [1] After repealing its decades-long pit bull ban in 2020, Denver implemented a Breed-Restricted Permit system, which allows pit bull ownership under strict conditions, including microchipping, vaccinations, and a probationary period. [3]
Compliance with that permit system remains limited. As of July 8, only 169 pit bulls were licensed in Denver, a legal requirement for pit bull owners in the city. [1] Denver Animal Protection says that most bites come from unpermitted pit bulls that have not had a breed evaluation and whose victims may misreport their breed. [1] The agency's spokesperson, Tammy Vigil, told Axios Denver that residents routinely bring dogs in for breed evaluations only to learn the animal is not, in fact, a pit bull [1]. The low licensing rate complicates any direct comparison between pit bull bite rates and those of more established registered breeds.
The data has prompted a policy response at the council level. Council member Chris Herndon, one of the city's top proponents of pit bull legalization, said he started a conversation with Denver Animal Protection to change the way dog bite data is reported after Axios Denver shared the latest statistics, arguing the city can do a better job by individually breaking out the three breeds defined as pit bulls instead of lumping them together. [1] Colorado applies a strict liability standard to dog owners, meaning they can be civilly liable for injuries caused by a dog bite or attack even if the dog had no prior history of that kind of behavior. [4] That framework places direct legal exposure on owners of unlicensed pit bulls whose animals are involved in biting incidents, regardless of whether the owner was aware of any dangerous propensity.
References
[1] Axios Denver. (2022, July 13). Pit bulls in Denver account for most bites in 2022, city data shows. https://www.axios.com/local/denver/2022/07/13/pit-bulls-denver-most-bites-2022-data
[2] Axios Denver. (2022, January 25). Pit bull bites in Denver outnumber those of any other breed. https://www.axios.com/local/denver/2022/01/05/pit-bull-bites-denver-outnumber-breeds
[3] Boesen Law. (2025, January 29). Are Pit Bulls Illegal in Colorado? https://boesenlaw.com/blog/are-pit-bulls-illegal-in-colorado/
[4] Frickey Law. Dog Bite Statistics. https://www.frickey.com/blog/dog-bite-statistics/