Weekly Roundup - Week Ending 12/21/08

It's been a pretty amazing week...with a few of the things I'll talk about later.  For now, we'll just dive into the week's top stories, including a lot of state-wide legislative items

Cities and Laws

The Oshkosh Kennel Club has stepped forward in opposition of a proposal by the city health department that would place restrictions on owners of certain breeds of dogs. Health Department Director Paul Spiegel apparently put the proposal together without input from ANYONE in the community. He stated inaccurate information from the HSUS web site in support of his ordinance -- which HSUS has come back upset about and setting them straight. Now the Kennel Club is upset -- and the Oshkosh Area Humane Society has told them point blank: "Don't do it, it doesn't work." Meanwhile, a group of individuals have already set up a website protesting the ordinance and begun an online petition -- that has garnered 420 signatures, most from out of Wisconsin, in a very short amount of time.  Maybe he should have asked the dog experts in their community first.

Wilson, KS, a town with a population of around 700 people, passed a ban on pit bulls this week.

Tea, SD is rethinking a law that bans pit bulls in their community. The council voted Monday night to study the possibility of requiring the breeds that are currently banned to be spayed or neutered.  Opponents of the breed ban offered it up the breed specific spay/neuter as a preferrable opton to the current rules. The council will mostly likely vote on the possible new rules after the new year.  While I'm certainly no fan of mandatory spay/neuter laws -- this is certainly a step in the right direction. We must continue to make the focus of our animal control on animal behavior and how dogs are maintained, vs making the emphasis breeds of dogs.

New Berlin, WI is potentially looking at a ban on certain breeds of dogs. If you live in New Berlin, please contact your city council members.

A state Senator in Florida has filed a bill, S372, that would allow individual cities in Florida to pass breed specific laws. Breed specific laws are currently illegal in Florida. Please contact your local senator in Florida and discourage them from moving forward withh this legislation that would allow cities to pass ineffective legislation that specifically targets small numbers of people in many communities. NAIA has more details.

Legislators in Texas may also be discussing whether to get rid of their ban on BSL as Lame Duck representative Tony Goolsby has brought the issue up for the next legislative session.

The state of Massachusettes is looking at a state law that would prohibit declaring dogs dangerous based on breed.  The ordinance is supported by the Animal Control Officers Association of Massachusetts, the Masachusetts SPCA, the Animal Rescue League of Boston and many other small groups.

Riverside, CA is looking at a bill that would potentially mandate the spay/neuter of all dogs and cats in the community.

Four pit bulls were confiscated from a home in Mansfield, OH because they were in violation of the city's ban on 'pit bulls'.  Somehow this article also includes a list of breeds from the AVMA and the CDC, and HSUS of "potentially dangerous" breeds -- even though all three organizations strongly oppose breed specific legislation.  Where does the media find this stuff?

Alex Neil, a member of the Scottish Parliament, has issued a new bill that would overturn the Dangerous Dogs Act that bans four breeds and would better protect the citizens of the country from dangerous dogs, regarless of breed.

Vote for change.  Obama's website has a list of "ideas for change" that America wants. One is banning breed specific legislation -- and another is protecting the Constitutional Property rights of animal owners.  Go and vote.

Dog Bites

A thrid grader in Oklahoma City was bitten three times when he was attacked by 5 dogs in his neighborhood. The dogs had been left behind when a family moved out of a house.  When the dog's owner was talked to about the dogs, she said "They're mean, they're trained to be mean. I want them to be mean, nobody better be in my back yard." As long as we have situations where people want dogs with the purpose of being aggressive, we will continue to have situations like this.  Breed of dog is irrelevant.

A four year old boy in Sikeston, MO was bitten by what is being called an American Bulldog -- and the boy's mother wants the dog to be euthanized. Except, the mother does admit "They were outside hitting the dog, hitting him with sticks.  They were trying to get on top of the doghouse." Two things. #1) This is  a great reason for people to not chain their dogs unsupervised. The dog was caught without the ability to run from these kids who were hitting the dog with sticks. #2) Parents MUST take responsibility for their children and teach them that hitting dogs is NOT appropriate behavior.

A Goose Creek, SC woman, who had previously served in Iraq and was recovering from injuries sustained there,was attacked by a 100+ lbs mixed breed dog that ran out and attacked her as she ran by. It's my understanding that this was a Chow mix that was involved in the attack.

A young girl in the UK required 30 stitches to her face after being attacked by a Cocker Spaniel. The Dangerous Dogs Act in the UK continues to do nothing for the protection of citizens there.

Mediots

Police went on a drug raid this week in Waterville, ME that turned up cocaine, hashish, marijuana, cash and weapons.  What makes the headline and the story lead? That the man owned 'pit bulls.'  The dogs were easily controlled using mace, and no one was bitten.

Abuse Cases - again proving what is the more dangerous species

A Golden Retriever was shot twice and left for dead in a snowbank in rural Glenwood, MN.

A Cape Girardeau, MO man could face jailtime after being charged with poisoning hs neighbor's German Shepherd.

Police in Ashland, TN found 12 dogs -- 9 living and 3 dead -- that had been abandoned at a home there. The living dogs were malnourished with their ribs visible.

Miscellanious

Residents in Western Lake estates (TX) are concerned about the large numbers of stray dogs that are out roaming in their neighborhood. Most cities could solve a lot of their aggressive dog problems just by handling stray/loose dogs and enforcing animal cruelty laws.

A one year old 'pit bull' mix was found this week. It was previously missing after an intruder broke into the owner's house -- the dog chased the intruder out of the house but then disappeared. After a few days of the dog being gone, someone found the dog tied to a pole outside of a Costco.

The owner of the dog that attacked 2 year old Charlotte Blevins this summer was sentenced to 275 days in jail this week for the attack. Tina Agerson will start serving her jail sentence on January 5th. Fortunately the legal system has punished Agerson for her negligence in the attack. Unfortunately, the city has decided to punish thousands of other dog owners for her negligence with their ridiculous and costly legislation.

Here's a good editorial on OregonLive.com: Pit Bulls: Fear Mongering and breed bans don't work. Worth the read - and well done.

Rambo, a dog confiscated from his owners in Mississauga, Ontario, because of the provencial breed ban, appears to be doing well in his new home.

Events

Learn a bit about pit bull rescue as the Cape Girardeau, MO Petco will host the local pit bull rescue for the 2nd year anniversary of their rescue from 1-4 this afternoon.

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The Lucas County commission has approved forming an 11 member advisory committee to oversee the work of the county animal control and head dog warden, Tom Skeldon. The advisory committee was formed after a group of residents brought forth 3,000 signatures on a petition to have Skeldon fired. Their complaints ranged from unfairly targeting and treating owners of pit bulls and his catch and kill mentality that has caused Lucas County to have one of the highest shelter kill rates in Ohio. While the county is trying to figure out how to manage Skeldon, the dogsbite.org site has ridiculously named him "Dog Warden of the Year."  I guess when you're 3,000 miles away, your determination of what constitutes a good dog warden is quite different...once again proving that they have their own agenda, and public safety and animal welfare is not a part of it. I've written a bit about Skeldon before...