Pit bulls and their owners celebrate end of ban in Rhode Island town

PAWTUCKET, R.I. - Dozens of pit bull owners paraded with their dogs in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, to celebrate their legal victory that overturned its decade-long ban on pit bills.

About 40 dogs and their owners on Sunday celebrated a Superior Court judge's Nov. 18 ruling overturning the ban.

Ann Clark of Pit Bulls for PTSD, which organized the parade, said it was a celebration that "all dogs are free in Pawtucket."

Opponents of the ban say they wanted to honor pit bull owners who left town or gave up their dogs, because of the past restriction, reports CBS affiliate WPRI in Providence. On Sunday, pit bulls with jackets, bandanas and even jerseys, were freely walking the streets of Pawtucket for the first time in ten years.

Tim Devine, a pit bull owner, said: "I was a little under the radar for a while, because I didn't know if someone was going to come and pick up my dog and take him from me."

Devine added that taking his dog to the parade Sunday afternoon was "the first time in almost a year that I've been able to take him for a walk."

Pawtucket Police Chief Paul Kelly said the city imposed the ban in 2004 to try to curtail the number of pit bull attacks. At the time, Kelly said local drug dealers were using pit bulls to prevent police from house raids.

The state last year barred cities from banning specific breeds. Dog owners say authorities should "punish the deed, not the breed."