This holiday season is proving to be an unhappy one for dog owners. A new law allows discrimination against breeds of dogs. Napa's Assemblywoman Noreen Evans co-authored the bill in a misguided effort to target dangerous dogs. Unfortunately, this legislation represents a step backward toward heavy-handed government and legalized discrimination. Rather than holding all dogs and owners equally accountable for their actions, this bill discriminates against dogs that have the misfortune of being born with the wrong looks. It makes no exceptions for service, guide, therapy, search, working, or show dogs. It does not distinguish between pure-bred dogs and dogs that look like they could be mixed with the "wrong" breed. It will cause insurance companies to blacklist breeds, forcing people to choose between their homes or their best friend.

Many people believe this is "pit bull" law, but nowhere do the words "pit bull" appear in the bill. The law allows counties to decide which dogs people should own, show, or breed. It is not, nor will it be, limited to pit bulls. In other areas that allow breed discrimination, counties have restricted boxers, St. Bernards, Great Danes, Dobermans, Chows, Akitas, Alaskan Malamutes, Siberian Huskies, German Shepherds, and other breeds. Instead of actually targeting dangerous dogs and pet overpopulation, this bill acts as a soft ban on breeds and will force the senseless euthanization of thousands of loving pets.

Those who think this is just a pit bull problem should meet Ed Nelson of Sacramento. He owns a service dog, Ace. Ace has never hurt anyone. However, when Ed tried to renew his insurance, he was denied coverage because his dog was of the wrong breed. The insurance company didn't care that Ace was a service dog, nor did it care that, without Ace, Ed's life would be turned upside down, and it would be hard for him even to leave his home. Ace is a German Shepherd.

Even if SB 861 did just target pit bulls, it would still be wrong. No one breed is inherently dangerous. A daschund ripped through a playpen and killed the family's infant. A Chihuahua attacked a mail carrier, causing a serious injury. Those type of attacks rarely make headlines simply because they don't involve the words "pit bull."

Unfortunately, pit bulls make news even when they don't actually attack. Various news agencies reported a dog that killed a Detroit elderly woman to be either a pit bull or pit bull mix. The Detroit Free Press, however, identified the dog as a bull mastiff, complete with a graphic. ABC Channel 7 news aired the story of a "pit bull" attack, and on the Web version of the story writes, "One NYPD housing officer was attacked by a pit bull." However, the dog was a rottweiler, and the station admitted the "pit bull" label was an error (that, weeks later, remained uncorrected on the Web site). Then there are cases of outright lies, such as when a boy claimed he'd been attacked by a pit bull. The Green Bay Press-Gazette reported the youngster later admitted the offending canine was an acquaintance's German Shepherd.

Unfortunately, pit bulls tend not to make news when they do good deeds. Few people are aware that Stubby, America's earliest and most decorated war dog, was a pit bull. Almost no one has heard about Dakota, a California pit bull search dog that NASA invited to help search for remains of the Columbia shuttle.

Hardly anyone knows that RCA, Alaska's first certified hearing dog, was a pit bull. RCA's family dumped her when they couldn't find housing that would accept a pit bull, and she went to the SPCA. At the time, Alaskan veterinarian Dr. Joyce Murphy was starting a hearing dog program. Murphy temperament-tested 170 dogs, and RCA scored the highest, so Murphy chose her to be Alaska's first hearing dog.

Pit bulls are no more dangerous than other dogs of their size. They do not, contrary to myth, have locking jaws, nor can they bite with 2,500 pounds of pressure. The National Geographic did a study of bite force in dogs, testing a rottweiler, German Shepherd, and pit bull. The pit bull bit with the least amount of pressure, at approximately 320 pounds. Despite the facts showing that pit bulls are not substantially different than other large dogs, legislators often quote these fake statistics when advocating breed discrimination, ignoring both the California Veterinary Medical Association and the American Veterinary Medical Association. Both organizations officially oppose breed specific legislation.

Dogs are among the most intelligent species on this planet and deserve our respect. It is incumbent upon humans to draft reasonable, effective laws to target irresponsible owners and unethical breeders rather than discriminating against innocent family pets simply because they were born with the wrong looks.

(Capp lives in Napa.)