It was National Dog Bite Prevention week this week, so there were a lot of good articles out there with good tips on dog-bite prevention which I'll include in the roundup. A little late getting this out -- but finally some sunny weather in Kansas City so I was out enjoying the weather yesterday.
Cities/States and Laws
Andover, MD is looking at some new dangerous dog legislation -- and breed specific legislation has been mentioned as a possibility. Many in the animal welfare community and veterinary community are noted as saying that breed specific legislation is not the answer.
Auburn, CA is now looking at a potential law mandating the spay/neuter of all 'pit bulls'. The law would be arbitrary, unenforcable and lead to the mass killing of dogs that have blocky-heads.
Kirksville, MO appears to be looking at breed-specific legislation for their community. One proposal would allow for a grandfather clause so current 'pit bulls' could remain in the community. Another would ban all pit bulls period. Since 2006, there have been 63 total dog bites in Kirksville -- of which 46 broke the skin (roughly 10 per year). Of the 46, only 3 have been attributed to 'pit bulls'. So the city is now looking at a law that would impact only 6% of the dog bites over the past 4.5 years?
Mount Vernon, MO is looking at changes to their dangerous dog law after one person and one dog have been attacked in the past two years. The ordinance is expected to be behavior-based and not breed based.
Las Vegas' mandatory spay/neuter law went into effect last week...a law that has caused an increase in euthanasia wherever it has ben implemented. Want to guess what 2010 numbers look like? I'll be following up.
Dog Bites and Attacks
Dogs are amazingly safe -- but with 78 million dogs in this country, incidents are bound to happen. However, when you read through the causes of such attacks it becomes very clear that human actions usually lead to the attacks, and that such attacks occur among a large variety of breeds and breed types.
In Calgary, a Rottweiler/Bull Mastiff mix will be euthanized after jumping a fence and attacking a Chihuahua that was being walked by two women. One of the women sustained some injuries trying to prevent the attack. This is the second incident the dog has been involved in in about a week's time. Interestingly, the dog is described as biting the dog and shaking it -- which is what most dogs do in such an instance, even though several, including Tom Skeldon in his interview 2 days ago, have tried to make that into a breed-specific trait.
A four year old Jackson, MI girl was taken to the hospital after being bitten in the face by a a German Shepherd.
A 10 year old Lexington, KY girl received 21 stitches after being bitten by a neighbor's mixed-breed dog.
A census worker was bitten by a 'pit bull' in Coalinga, CA. The census worker rang the doorbell and the dog got through the open door when the owner opened it. The woman's injureis do not apear to be severe.
An 11 year old Maplesville, OH boy was severly injured after being attacked by a boxer/Bull Mastiff mix. The boy was apparently playing with a ball in his yard and the ball went into the dog's kennel. The boy went into the kennel and got the ball, but left the gate open and then the dog came out of the kennel and the fenced-in yard. The dog was reportedly playing well with the children for awhile, but then became aggressive when the dog's owner arrived at home.
A 12 year old Ohio girl had more than 100 stitches after being attacked by a Labrador Retriever. The dog was chained up in the back yard and the young girl, who had been told to not go near the dog without the owner around did, indeed, go up to the chained dog when she was bitten. The dog's owner says that the dog was sometimes teased by neighborhood kids who threw rocks at the dog. A whole host of errors here on all sides of the equation....and while Labrador's are often thought of as great family pets (and they are), they too are a product of their upbringings, just like all other breeds.
A 5 year old Ocala, FL girl was bitten by a 'pit bull mix". Apparently the dog was hiding from the girl and some other children under a shed with a stick in its mouth and the girl tried to take the stick away from the dog. Possession aggression is one of the most common types of aggression in all dogs, and this looks like a typical case. While owners need to work with their dogs on overcoming possession aggression, children also need to be taught boundaries with dog to prevent possible incidents like this.
I don't usually cover dog on dog attacks in this blog, but thought this story was interesting. In this article, it notes two dogs that were attacked by other dogs in recent days - -one was attacked by two greyhounds at an off-leash dog park, and another dog, a poodle, was killed by an attacking labrador. Dog/Dog aggression is fairly common for undersocialized dogs -- and again, something that is dog-specific, not breed-specific.
A two year old boy needed more than 200 stitches after being attacked by his family's German Shepherd/Husky mix -- it is speculated that the boy may have stepped on the dog's tail, injuring the dog and causing the dog to lash out.
An Australian Cattle Dog attacked and nearly killed a young boy in Christine, TX. The two year old boy apparently tripped over one of the dogs and fell on it, and the dog lashed out at the boy. The boy needed more than 300 stitches, wires to help with his fractured jaw and won't be able to eat solid foods for the next 6-8 weeks. The boy needed 6 hours of surgey to save his life.
Headlines
Some really, interesting headlines this week that I thought I'd break out separately.
UPS driver survives pit bull attack - - The Fargo, ND driver sustained what are described as minor injuries to his calf after being bitten by two dogs on a delivery. The man fended the dogs off using a clipboard. In a media attempt to create hysteria, the man's minor injuries become "survival".
In Lake Forest, CA, a 6 year old girl was attacked by a Boxer. The dog was eventually shot by the girl's mother (after someone else tried to spray the dog with Windex to stop it - -not sure if they were trying to stop the dog, or clean it). The reason this makes this list is because in an intial report, the dog was called a 'pit bull' -- and says so in the headline (even though the article notes in the fourth paragraph that it may not have been). Later stories that report the dog as a Boxer don't put the breed of dog in the headlines.
This is a letter to the editor -- something I again, usually don't cover. However, this one is from someone sho claims all 'pit bulls' as dangerous after some neighborhood children accidentally let out the family chihuahua that then snuck into the fenced in back yard of a neighborhood home where the two dogs in the back yard killed the chihuahua. While I do think people need to work to overcome dog/dog aggression in their dogs -- the owners of the chihuahua are clearly to blame in this case for the incident for having their dog not only running at large, but running into the neighbor's fenced in yard. "Pit bulls are dangerous animals" is the headline.
Abuse cases
A St. Petersburg, FL man was arrested this week for strangling his daughter's pit bull with a zip tie and then dumping the dog in the trash. The man supposedly did so because the dog was "living better than him".
National Dog Bite Prevention Week
The National Canine Research Council has a Nantional Dog Bite Prevention press realease noting the significant decrease in dog bites over the past 3 decades (in spite of huge growth in the US population of both people and dogs) and noting that less than 1% of emergency room visits are due to dog bite injuries.
Understanding dog bite behavior or don't blame the dog when it bites - from Riley's place. This is one of the better overviews on dog bites from a behavior standpoint that I saw this week and well worth the read.
More great advice, tips and statistics on dog bites from Eric at Dog Star Daily.
Miscellaneous
The shelter in Berkeley, CA burned down this week. About a dozen cats died in the blaze, with about 15 cats and 15 dogs being unharmed. The shelter is actively seeking foster homes for the now-homeless animals and for donations to help them rebuild.
Editorial by the Toledo Blade with good thoughts for the Lucas County Dog Warden Advisory Committee that is currently working on drafting a new ordinance in Toledo.
Russellville, KY had major budget cuts last week -- and among the hits was the Logan County Humane Society that is losing the entire $7200 the city had been providing as it was considered a "non-essential" expense.
A criminal investigation of the Grapevine, TX Animal Shelter and Adoption Centerfound thousands of dollars missing that were stolen from the shelter by at least one staffer over a 2 year period of time.
Gracie, the pit bull, helps her paralyzed owner escape from a fire.
A pit bull in a wheelchair inspires and comforts kids with disabilities.
Blog Postings you should read
If only the truth had such good PR - No Pit bull bans breaks down the situation in Toledo following the Toledo Free Press's interview with Tom Skeldon -- including info about the attempts by the state to overtun the state wide BSL.
Mixed emotions flow with pregnancy glow - Dogs & Storks notes the changing relationship pregnant dog owners go through with their pets and how important it is for parents to realize their shifted priorities and adjust to them.
AR-HR has some scoop on the new VP of Philanthropy Deborah Peeples - -who apparently has an $87,164 federal tax lien on her.
The Rot at the Heart of the Movement - Winograd commenting on the failures of the groups that are supposed to be leading the animal rights movement in the US.
A new campaign to end BSL in Denver.
Breed Specific or Looks Specific? From Saving Pets (Australia) -- Struggles with breed identification continue everywhere.
Are dogs ever proven innocent of dog bites? From Pet Docs On Call.
Best Medicine - Bad Rap has an awesome review of one of their former dogs that is now a therapy dog working at hospitals helping people with mental illnesses.
HSUS seized over 200 dogs from a breeder in IN who hadn't paid taxes on the puppy sale money she received. I wonder if HSUS has seized the pets of their new VP of Philanthropy or if they are giving her a pass.
Posted by: YesBiscuit! | May 25, 2010 at 06:15 AM
In an effort to educated myself, what was the proper way to handle the IN raid? A friend participated in the medical evaluation of those dogs and here is what she reported: The dogs were living in squalor. Dead puppies, dogs with mouths and ears so full of pus they had to be rushed to medical care elsewhere, giardia, dogs with coats matted into shells.
I found it puzzling that they didn't press charges related to the condition of the animals.
The person who described the animals as living in "squalor" has a small (20 or 30 dogs, non-breeding) rescue kennel and so she's familiar with "reasonable" cleanliness in a kennel facility. She would not have been shocked by a the presence of feces in a kennel.
If anyone can offer some insight as to the "best practice" for dealing with substandard commercial breeding facilities, I'd love to learn more.
Posted by: Lori | May 25, 2010 at 09:58 AM