The Wentzville Board of Aldermen plans to discuss changing the city's pit bull ordinances during a work session Dec. 7.

About 30 people attended the board's meeting Nov. 16 to show their support for changing the laws. Alderman Chris Gard, Ward 2, gave the aldermen a list of his proposed changes to discuss during the work session, scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. at City Hall, 310 W. Pearce Blvd.

Pit bull owners complained that the city's laws are too restrictive. The city prohibits pit bulls, including mixed breed pit bulls, from being outside a kennel unless the dog is leashed and muzzled. It requires the dogs to be confined indoors or in a securely enclosed and locked pen or kennel. If the dog is inside the house, the windows must be closed.

Pit bull owners said the laws are unreasonable. One owner said a neighbor called the police because they left a window open while they were painting inside. The neighbor spoke afterward, saying the pit bull next door displayed territorial behavior that made him fear for his children's safety.

One owner said she was considering selling her newly purchased home and moving outside of Wentzville. Another said she already moved out of the city because of the pit bull laws.

Gard said he wanted pit bulls to be able to run free in fenced yards. He said enclosing them in pens and kennels is inhumane. But he did not want dogs roaming unsecured, he said. He proposed increasing penalties against owners who allow their dogs to run free throughout the neighborhood.

Gard said he wanted to eliminate the part of the law pertaining to mixed breeds. He said it would be impossible to enforce the law, as it would require testing every dog in Wentzville to determine whether it was part pit bull.

"With the information we have today, it is difficult to write breed-specific laws," Gard said. "It is much easier to write better laws that are not breed-specific. I think the board will see that in our discussion."