Putting a cap on 2008

2008 has come to a close.  It's been a year marked with a lot of big moments.  I really do think we are making progress in this fight.  Over the next few months I'll be gathering stats from 2008 -- just to get a feel of what ordinances are working, and which ones are not. As always, the number of case studies we look at  will be contingent on how much time I have and how easy the numbers are to come by.  No promises.

So before we dive into that, I'm going to cover some of the top stories, and successes from 2008. Many will focus on what our group, KC Dog Advocates has done, or for me personally, but many will be nationwide also. So with that, here are some of the key moments, for me, from 2008.

On January 13, ABC showed the Purina Incredible Dog Challenge -- in which Roo and Wallace won 1st place for freestyle flying disk. And awesome with for Roo, Wallace and all bullies.

SB 886 was proposed in the state of Missouri. The bill would prohibit BSL in the state of Missouri. The bill didn't make it out of committee in Missouri -- but has the backlash against BSL on the radar in the state of Missouri.

Bad Rap and several of the dogs saved from the Bad Newz Kennels were written up in People Magazine.  The first of a lot of positive press for Bad Rap and the Vick Dogs.  Not long after, Jonnie Justus and Donna from Bad Rap appeared on the Rachel Ray show.

Edwardsville, KS voted to strengthen its dangerous dog ordinance by repealing their breed ban and "modernized" their ordinance by implementing a law that protects citizens from aggressive dogs regardless of breed.

In March, I published the numbers for the first 18 months of Kansas City's ordinance mandating the spay/neuter of all pit bulls.  The numbers reflected a 76% increase in the euthanasia of 'pit bulls' as animal control officers are using the ordinance as a reason to confiscate (and then kill) the dogs that are unaltered.

Also in March, the KCMO Dog Park Task force group began hosting meetings to get public input on possibly putting in more dog parks in the city. 9 months later there has been no recommendation put forth by the task force.

In April, Osceola, MO repealed its long-standing ban on pit bulls.

I got the opportunity to speak at the Bully Conference in Iowa City, IA.

California Bill AB1634, a bill that would have mandated the spay/neuter of all pets in California was thankfully killed.

Los Angeles Animal Control Director Ed Boks came out with the news that euthanasia in the shelter was up 31% in 2008. It was the first year of an increase in nearly a decade. The increase also follows the implementation of a mandatory spay/neuter ordinance for the city.

The Netherlands repealed it's 15 year old ban on 'pit bulls' citing that there was no evidence that the ordinance was effective.

Wellington, KS repealed its BSL.

Kansas City Greyhound Track the Woodlands closed.

A new group formed in Central Ohio that is working to address responsible and successful legislation when it comes to canine laws that will protect dog owners - and citizens from aggressive dogs. Welcome Help Fido.

More great publicity surrounding the Mike Vick Dogs -- including a story that ran in the Washington Post, Chicago Tribune and Atlanta Journal Constitution.

Nikko, a dog that was confiscated from his owners for being a 'pit bull', but then, 9 months later was returned to his owners after he was deemed not a pit bull, finally found a forever home after several months of rehab due to the habits picked up after 9 months of living in a kennel in KCK.  He, and his family, were victims of BSL and the vast problems that come with difficulty of breed identification.

In September, Omaha passed their new dangerous dog ordinance. There were many parts that were quite good including some tethering restrictions and an ordinance that forbids canine ownership to people who have 3 violations in a 2 year period. However, the high fine structure, and the Breed Specific Language make the ordinance a likely death march for many dogs and those ordinances will actually undermine the impact of the good parts of their ordinance. Unfortunately, we may never know the impacts as the Nebraska Humane Society is more than content to hide their numbers so people can't call them out on their problems.

Best Friends Animal Society held their first national conference in 4 years out in Las Vegas. The conference was such a success, they had planned on capping attendence at 500 people, but had to extend that to 600 people -- and still turned peopel away. The organization appears to be adopting the No Kill model set forth in Winograd's book Redemption....which has a proven track record for ending shelter killing.  I was thrilled to get the opportunity to attend, and speak at, this conference.

Nathan Winograd's book, Redemption, turned 1 last year and has made a huge impact on the animal welfare community and saving the lives of animals.

People from 87 cities in 34 states and 2 foreign countries participated in the animal Roverlution/Pit Bull Awareness Day march -- including 100-125 people in Kansas City.

Kansas City, Kansas' struggles with their breed ban continue -- 20 years after passing the ordinance.  Brutus became at least the 6th non-pit bull in the past 18 months to be confiscated from his family and then later returned when his breed ID was challenged. Their law continues to harrass law-abiding families in their community - - and ignores the problem areas of the city (and there are many).

Massachusetts passed a law banning greyhound racing in the state.

California passed Proposition 2, making caging requirements for egg-laying chickens more chicken-friendly.

Billboards attacking Denver's pit bull ban began making news -- and raising awareness of the slaughter that is going on in the Denver shelter because of the ban - -in spite of head of animal control Doug Kelley admitting that there is no evidence that there are fewer bites because of the ordinance.

The Vick dogs that are living their lives happily made the front cover of Sports Illustrated.

About 1/3 of the over 100 dogs that were rescued from a hoarding case in Newkirk, OK were sent out to homes across the midwest and California. The dogs had all been originally slated to be euthanized, but local rescuers, and folks from MABBR and Bad Rap were able to convince local officials that many could and should be saved.

The TV documentary Pedigree Dogs Exposed ran in the UK and Canada -- addressing problems that have occurred because of shallow breeding pools in many breeds of dogs in the UK show community.

It's been quite a year. A LOT of positive momentum is going on out there. For everyone who is making a positive impact in their communities, I tip my hat to you. It is a collection of everyone's efforts that is making change possible. We're not done yet...but please keep up the great work.

If you have your own local successes you want to share -- please feel free to post them in the comments section. I didn't have nearly enough time to go through all the cities that we successfully defended from breed bans and put in responsible canine laws. 

Here's to a safe, successful and fun 2009. 

Comments

[Rinalia]

I've been keeping track of BSL hot spots for the past three years or so. I'm sure I've missed some but, for sure, in 2008, at least 27 cities chose generic dog laws or repealed BSL.

You can see the list here: http://community.livejournal.com/stop_bsl/195190.html

[Kara]

so i LOVE roo and wallace... they have their own fan online community- For Disc Doggers and/or Bully owners.. come join us!
www.wallacethepitbull.com
They are simpily amazing..

And on the ROVERlution pics you have- one of the pics is of my mother holding my White Chow-he's a Therapy Dog with Delta Society. I am with My Pit/Boxer Lucky, slightly out of the picture.. The Luv-a-bully march was a great success!!

And i didn't realize that on our 4 hour drive to Table Rock Lake, that in each city we normaly stop for gas, potty breaks, food.... ALL had BSL.. Pit Bull Bans..
We always take my Lucky with us...
Guess we should look for breed friendly cities..