Weekly roundup - Part 2 of 2

Here's the rest of the stuff from last week that I wasn't able to get to on Sunday.

Guest Columnist Uses Fear/Paranoia and no information

I could go on for several days about the inaccuracy in this Guest Column in the St. Petersburg Times...from the "multiple attacks that led to Denver's ban (it was really just 2), to going back to 1999 to find her fifth example of a pit bull attack to prove her point, to using areas like Denver, Ontario and Miami having bans to prove that Tampa should somehow too (without actually looking at the "success" of the laws in these places -- tips, they're not.  Even goes so far as saying "we could all be victims at any time" -- nice hyperbole.   Completely inaccurate, completely uneducated.

Three dozen dogs, formerly believe to be used for dog fighting, cleared for adoption

Showing that even these dogs that were actually, legitimately bred and trained to fight (not all pit bulls are, but these were) can be trained to be perfectly good dogs under good circumstances.  More than anything else, dogs are a product of their environment...

Another Horrible, uneducated opinion piece -- this one from Dallas

Got a horrible quote from Paul Curington, from the city's animal control department, noting that Rottweilers, Dobermans, chows, and German Shepherds are predisposed to biting (untrue) but a pit bull will feign friendliness to "draw you in, and then rip you apart. It's the only breed I've seen do that." (Also untrue, as dogs don't have the cognitive ability to deceive and trick.  All dogs show what they're going to do -- if you know what signs to look for.)

The author then mentions that the city could get around the state-wide law forbidding BSL by banning all dogs over 40 lbs (or requiring them to be muzzled -- Lab/Golden Retriever owners beware!)   The reality turns out that Dallas lacks the properly funded/staffed animal control department to properly enforce the laws they have now.  It's amazing that people aren't more outraged by the lack of animal control funding -- which if current legislation is enforced the vast majority of the other problems end up taking care of themselves.

Pit bulls best friend -- surely not man

A really sad story about Bullet - a friendly and loving pit bull type dog that is looking for a home in San Francisco.  Bullet is struggling to find a home -- like so many dogs like him that people don't want because of the reputation the media and bad owners have given them. It's a sad story that I see all too often.

Another story I see all too often

A dog that attacked a police officer in Colorado Springs had actually been involved in attacks on three previous occassions...and yet was returned to the home after each occassion.  When dogs show aggression, either a) put the dog down or b) work with the owner to create a different environment that will not cause the dog to be aggressive.  But returning the dog to the owner without changing environmental factors is a recipe for a repeat -- or four-peat -- offender.

Youngstown, OH passes breed restrictions

They say it is "important to have this legislation...so the citizens of our city are safe."  They site that an escalating problem in the city involving pit bulls including dog fighting (already a felony under state and federal law) led them to make this move.  Never mind that the restrictions require muzzling and 4 ft leashes for dogs to go outside and 79% of all attacks happen in the home where the legislation doesn't have restrictions. Strangely, there seems to be surprise that there is a lot of opposition to this ordinance.  The law will do nothing to protect its citizens.

Lincoln Heights Woman Walks Free from Animal Cruelty

She allowed a pit bull to die a slow death in her back yard and walked free from charges of animal cruelty and would be allowed to own a dog again.  She had the support of a room-full of people and the NAACP.  This case further brings out that we need to have better rules and prosecution in animal cruelty cases.  If her dog had attacked someone, or if a future dog attacked someone, would we really be surprised?

Apparently someone hasn't been getting enough column readership lately

This is the second time this person has written a column saying we should ban pit bulls without a single bit of research or information supporting her position.

Arkadelphia holds hearings on pit bull ordinance

At least two of the council members didn't even want the ordinance read at all because they didn't support BSL.  Twice as many people showed up against the ordinance as before it.  One city council member rightfully noted that the city already has a dangerous dog ordinance....which would cover virtually all the problems that could possible come up.

Article about dog fighting from Detroit

Not much to comment on this story -- but it's a pretty good story that I wanted to include.

80 yearl old man attacked by "dog"

The dog was a "shepherd mix" and was shot by a neighbor that saw the attack.  The newspaper also used the opportunity to talk about a pit bull attack that had previous happened.  I also note (again) that breed is never mentioned in a headline unless it's a pit bull.

Yakima WA Humane Society points to the actual cause of a dog attack

There was an attack in White Swan, WA last week (I think I covered this on Sunday) that invovled a Rottweiler that attacked a young boy.  The Yakima Humane society has gone to the media (and they reported it) and has focused on the actual CAUSE of the attack.

"The main reason it probably attacked is because it probably had been chained up for so long it wasn't being socialized with people, it has all that pent up energy and unfortunately it attacked," says Vaughn Merry of the Yakima Humane Society.

"Take your pets to petsmart, petco, take them to the park as long as they interact with other people and animals," says Vaughn.

Now if only everyone would focus on root causes, instead of thinking breed matters, we'd take huge strides in making our communities safer.

Comments

[Michelled]

"banning all dogs over 40 lbs" Please remind me again why people don't care about BSL? I actually hope some city does pass this kind of crap. Maybe then it will force all these "I don't have a pit bull so its not my problem" people will get off their a$$es and do something.

The NAACP needs to change their tactics - I no longer support anything they do - they're PETA to me. You want to make a point please start protesting the cases of White folk getting off things they should be prosected for instead of defending Black criminals.

[Grisha Stewart]

I love push for socialization in the last article. Why is it that every time a Rottie or a Pit Bull does something wrong, it's in the headline of the story, and when it's a different breed - like the lab that destroyed that woman's face in France, most articles skip the breed?

While something *does* need to be done about dog fighting and encouraging socialization, the band-aid of BSL is just not going to do the trick!