Medical Weight Loss Near Prince George's County, MD

Pit bulls may soon be welcome in Prince George's County after a decades-long ban. The county council is considering a bill right now that would lift the ban.

According to the council, Prince George's County is the only county in the region with a ban on pit bull terriers.

What we know:

The Office of the Environment says it has become untenable — they don't have the officers to enforce the ban countywide and it's expensive on top of that. It’s estimated to cost $3 million a year to enforce it, so Council Chair Ed Burroughs wants to lift the ban.

"It's estimated that more than a third of the dogs that live in the county — they're saying 20,000 to 30,000 — could be categorized as pit bull-type dogs. So they live here. The ban doesn't work. It's a waste of our money," said Caitrin Conroy, Executive Director of the Prince George's County Pet Unity Project. "As a taxpayer, I'm paying for us to house a dog in the shelter, feed the dog, staff to care for the dog, and then kill the dog. And that's…that's not okay, to just be killing adoptable house pets."

Personal connection:

After Conroy and her husband moved to the county, they were told their dog looked too much like a pit bull and they had to get rid of it. That was never an option for their family and ultimately, they used DNA testing to prove their dog was not in fact a pit bull terrier. That's what inspired her to create the Pet Unity Project to help people in similar situations.

But not everyone is on board with the new bill. Just last month, FOX 5 told you about a pit bull incident that injured three people including two children.

Dig deeper:

The bill increases civil penalties for dangerous dogs. It would make the first violation $500, the second $1,500 and the third $3,000. It also would strengthen the leash law ensuring all animals are on a leash unless they're in a designated space like a dog park.

Tied to lifting the ban on pit bulls, the bill would establish a pilot program for adopting pit bulls that requires owners to apply for a permit, pay a fee and take a pet parent class. Dogs would also have to get them microchipped and they would have to be spayed or neutered.

The Council is currently considering amendments to the bill and has not yet taken a final vote.

Pit bull terriers have been considered an illegal breed in Prince George’s County, Maryland, for several decades, though the law hasn’t really been enforced to the fullest extent in recent years. Now, it may be going away entirely.

A bill moving through the Prince George’s County Council would both strengthen penalties against dogs that are deemed dangerous, but also allow people to register pit bulls in the county — and even adopt them from county animal shelters. It’s being pushed by Council Chair Ed Burroughs, who said the current 1996 law just doesn’t work.

“We have between 20,000 to 25,000 pit bulls in our system in the county right now,” Burroughs said. “So what this bill will do is actually strengthen the penalties against all dangerous dogs, strengthen the leash law and strengthen the consequences for having dangerous dogs.”

While the bill is still a few weeks away from a final vote, if approved, it would increase penalties for so-called dangerous dogs to up to $3,000, and make clear that any breed of dog could be deemed dangerous or potentially dangerous.

It would also start allowing residents to adopt pit bulls from county animal shelters after they pass certain tests proving they aren’t aggressive. Burroughs said the county has long struggled to determine what is and isn’t a pit bull, essentially going off someone’s determination made by looking at the dog.

“It’s completely arbitrary and made up,” Burroughs said. “They’re guessing. The same person labeled a dog differently during different periods of time.”

He added that the county is spending millions of dollars in court trying to enforce the dated law.

However, Burroughs admitted there are still some concerns about the wording in the bill, so it’s possible his effort to overturn the law this year will stall out; though for now, it’s on track for a final vote Nov. 18. If it does get held between now and then, he said he plans to bring it back next year.

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The legislation would lift a decades-long ban on pit bulls in the County.

PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, Md. — Caitrin Conroy of the Pet Unity Project says 13-year-old PopTart has been part of her family since 2017. Her little brother, Doug, joined the family three years later.

However, when Conroy and her husband moved to Prince George’s County in 2020, she said they were given an impossible choice.

“We were told that we weren’t allowed to live here,” she recalled. “We had to choose between our house, that we had put the down payment on and was gone, or our dog, who was determined to look like a pit bull.”

Although a DNA test allowed PopTart to legally stay in the County with her dogs, Conroy said the experience was terrifying.

“It felt like you ate a bag of rocks, and your chest got heavy,” she said.

Now, new legislation may soften Prince George’s stance on pit bulls going forward.

Prince George’s County has banned bull terriers and other so-called “bully breeds” since 1997, along with any dog that even looks like them. Yet Conroy says these kinds of bans are ineffective.

“Breed bans don’t work, it’s a false sense of security,” Conroy says. “They’re completely ineffective in stopping and reducing dog bites.”

The American Veterinary Medical Association says that bans on specific dog breeds are not a reliable or effective solution for dog bite prevention. Currently, Virginia is one of 13 states that prohibit breed-specific bans.

Now, Prince George’s County leaders are discussing a bill that would also allow residents to adopt pit bulls from the county’s shelters if they pass certain tests proving they aren’t aggressive.

The bill would also raise penalties for any dog breed deemed dangerous, with fines up to $3,000, and it would expand the definition of a dangerous dog.

“It expands the requirements and the definitions of what a dangerous dog is,” says County Council Chair Ed Burroughs, III. “It ensures accountability for irresponsible dog owners regardless of the breed....it also prevents us from really inhumanely killing so many dogs that are not a threat whatsoever.”

Last month, Councilmember Ingrid Watson also introduced legislation that would create an Animal Welfare Advisory Committee. The committee would be the link between the animal welfare community and local government.

Conroy says she hopes the new legislation passes soon, so more of PopTart’s potential playmates can find a happy home.

“Everyone deserves to have that, and all good dogs deserve that as well,” she said.

Week 7 of the 2025 Maryland high school football season in Prince George's County, Maryland took place this weekend. There were once again plenty of one-sided affairs with teams scoring a lot of points en route to victory.

Each week, High School on SI has you covered on the latest high school football scores and news.

Charles H. Flowers 35, Oxon Hill 0

The Charles H. Flowers High School football team has been in the news for all the wrong reasons this past week. Head coach Dameon Powell was suspended following the news of an ineligible player being on the team. As a result, the team had to forfeit the games the player participated in.

Nevertheless, the Jaguars still looked like the Jaguars as they shut out another PG County contender in Oxon Hill. Flowers running back Kodi Gardner was the MVP of this contest, finishing with five touchdowns, four rushing and one receiving.

Wise 35, Potomac 0

Funny enough, there was another game on Friday night featuring a PG County football powerhouse with the exact same final score. Wise visited Potomac and shut them out with five touchdowns. Even funnier, the Pumas have now scored exactly 35 points in their last three games as they improve to 5-2 on the season.

Gwynn Park 21, Crossland 3

Finally, Gwynn Park is not to be underestimated in the county. They deserve to be in the same conversation as Wise and Flowers. The Yellowjackets visited Crossland and put up three touchdowns for the victory on Saturday afternoon. Gwynn Park improves to 6-1 on the year.

Other Prince George's County High School Football Scores

Douglass-PG 62, Friendly 0

Parkdale 18, Northwestern 6

Eleanor Roosevelt 47, Bowie 0

Largo 62, Central 28

Laurel 55, Bladensburg 0

Tracy Bryce and others with the No Limits Outreach Ministries distribute food to federal workers affected by the government shutdown on Tuesday, Oct 21, 2025 in Hyattesville, Md. Many more people than expected showed up for the distribution. This was the first for federal workers coordinated by the Capital Area Food Bank.

The Capital Area Food Bank started the morning with 300 boxes, enough for 150 families to receive two boxes each. They ran out halfway through distribution.

Cheers erupted as another truck backed into the shopping center parking lot. Federal workers, in a line that wrapped around the shopping center and into the neighborhood, clapped and cheered at the sight of reinforcements arriving at the emergency food distribution site.

It’s nearly a month into the government shutdown. In Prince George’s County, home to more than 60,000 federal workers, the sight was staggering: Middle-class professionals lined up for boxes of pasta, protein, and produce to feed their families.

Jay, a furloughed worker from the National Institutes of Health, who asked to use only his first name for fear of losing his job, carried his two boxes in a stroller. He has a one-year-old and a five-year-old at home waiting.

“This whole fiscal year — 2025 — I was worried about my job, worried about getting RIF’d,” he says, referring to the reduction-in-force notices that have swept through federal agencies. “So it was a lot. It was draining, emotionally draining. Now the reality is sitting in when you’re not getting checks and you need to provide for your family.”

For many federal workers in this majority-Black county just outside Washington, the shutdown is another layer of stress. They’ve spent their careers serving the government, only to find themselves suddenly unable to afford groceries.

And the timing is a double burden. The Capital Area Food Bank has seen some of its own federal funding slashed even as demand skyrockets.

“It’s a perfect storm of increased need in our community and throughout the country,” says the food bank CEO, Radha Muthiah. “At the very same time we’ve got reduced sources of food supply.”

But Muthiah says they plan to keep buying and distributing food as long as they can. After witnessing the overwhelming turnout, they announced they’ll double their distribution, from 300 to 600 boxes at each site for the rest of the week, enough for 300 families. They’re working with retailers, donors, and volunteers to keep food flowing.

Wanda Bright, another furloughed federal worker, reached the front of the line just as the first batch of supplies ran out. When the second truck pulled up, she felt relief wash over her as volunteers handed her box with shelf goods and some bread.

“A lot of us are stressed and it takes a toll on our mental health,” Bright says. “Some people can handle this. A lot of people cannot.”

And while some federal workers in need of assistance waited in food lines, others were running food drives for the broader D.C. community. In Montgomery County, home to over 50,000 federal workers, Anna Culbertson set up a weekly donation site.

Culbertson is a former scientific administrator laid off during earlier federal cuts. She co-founded 27 UNIHTED, the spelling referencing that the group is primarily made up of laid-off NIH workers who’ve banded together in what they call an alumni network. The volunteer work, she says, gives her meaning again while she lives off savings and builds what she hopes will become a supportive nonprofit for the scientific community.

“It’s not just federal employees who are affected during a shutdown,” Culbertson explains. “Federal employees, depending on your position, may or may not be living paycheck to paycheck. But also local businesses that rely on federal employees to buy their food, get their hair cut — they’re all hurting.”

Pastor Oliver Carter, of No Limits Outreach Ministries, explains the procedures for the food distribution to federal workers in line in Hyattsville on Tuesday.

A federal worker leaves the distribution site with their food.Tyrone Turner / WAMU

A federal worker moves through the food distribution line.Tyrone Turner / WAMU

No Limits Outreach Ministries volunteer, Nat Douglas, brings more food to the distribution site for the federal workers.Tyrone Turner / WAMU

Pastor Oliver Carter, of No Limits Outreach Ministries, explains the procedures for the food distribution to federal workers in line in Hyattsville on Tuesday.Tyrone Turner / WAMU

A federal worker leaves the distribution site with their food.Tyrone Turner / WAMU

Frances Stewart, a retired Navy captain and physician who collaborated on NIH projects, dropped off bags with beans, rice, tomatoes, and tuna. She’s become a regular at the weekly events the group holds.

“Last week they had the food drive, which I didn’t know about. So this week, I made sure I had food to bring to help people in our community who are suffering, particularly with the shutdown,” Stewart says.

As the shutdown stretches on, organizations like the Capital Area Food Bank, local churches, and community groups like 27 UNIHTED say they will continue soliciting resources and distributing them to the community.

And the need is clear. At the Capital Area Food Bank’s second food distribution site in Montgomery County on Wednesday, lines had already started to form hours before distribution began.