Voters in Aurora, Colorado, on Tuesday elected to keep their city's 9-year-old ban on pit bulls.
The final tally showed 54,809 residents voted to support the ban, while 27,050 voted to scrap it.
Nancy Tranzow, founder of the advocacy group ColoRADogs, told The Huffington Post that though she's disappointed in Tuesday's result, the group is "not even close to done" fighting the ban.
"We'll go back to the drawing table, and with more time to inform the discussion, we will revisit it when we can work to both gather signatures and educate people about why breed-neutral legislation is what protects public safety," she said. "I worked way too many years in [the fight for] LGBT rights to not have a few tricks up my sleeve."
Tuesday's vote was "unfortunate for Aurora’s families and the dogs they love," said Cory Smith, director of pet protection and policy for the Humane Society, in a statement.
But animal advocates say that despite Tuesday's vote, they are heartened that more communities are coming to reject "breed specific legislation," or laws and regulations that restrict or prohibit ownership of dogs by breed.
Groups like the American Bar Association and the American Veterinary Medical Association -- and even President Obama -- have come out against such laws on the grounds they are expensive to enforce and lead to a surfeit of homeless pets, while forcing families to choose between their homes and their pets, without any increase in public safety.
"These bans are inhumane, ineffective and based on myth and misinformation," Smith said. "Aurora’s breed ban is one of very few left on the books because communities are waking up to the reality that managing dogs effectively has nothing to do with breed."
Keep on top of efforts to get rid of Aurora's pit bull ban on the ColoRADogs Facebook page. And get in touch at arin.greenwood@huffingtonpost.com if you have an animal story to share.