HoustonChronicle.com - Officials to temper biting term

Officials to temper biting term

By CINDY HORSWELL
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle

THE Anahuac City Council has dealt with sensitive topics on occasion, and today's meeting could provide another opportunity.

Tammy McDaniel, the animal control officer in that Chambers County town, has suggested replacing the word "bitch" in the city's animal control ordinance with "female dog."

"It's a term that's been around forever. Even kennel clubs use that word," McDaniel said. "But people don't like to hear it called out."

The word has even been used in classical literature by such authors as William Shakespeare, in The Merry Widow, and D.H. Lawrence, in Sons and Lovers.

But city officials said one of the word's most common slang definitions, which refers to an ill-tempered woman, is considered profane.

"The word does not necessarily offend me. It's what I've grown up calling a female dog," said longtime councilman Ottmar Schimek, who retired after the council's most recent meeting. "But the word has a different meaning to the younger generation since the women's movement and equal rights."

The ordinance, which currently states that it is unlawful to let a "bitch in heat" run at large, will be changed to say "female dog in heat," McDaniel said.

Oh, please.