A lot of interesting news stories, some evidence of a postive trend, and of course, some great blog postings this week. I know today is a holiday, but I hope everyone is planning a quiet evening at home and can take the time to click through some of the links.
Enjoy.
Cities/states and laws
There is a positive trend going on -- and it is very clear in this week's laws section. The majority of cities that begin discussing breed-specific regulations are by-and-large opting for behavior-based ordinances and more and more cities that have old breed-specific laws are starting to look at repeals.
New Bedford, CT is discussing the possibility of breed-specific regulations. The same commissioner proposed a similar law last year and it died in committee because there was no support for it on the council. It is unknown at this point if this bill will suffer the same fate.
Port Moody, BC has decided against breed-specific legislation -- meanwhile, nearby Coquitlam has breed-specific provisions but is considering repealing those provisions, as is nearby Castlegar.
Lowell, MA is discussing potential breed-specific legislation.
Beatrice (NE) has decided against making their new dangerous dog ordinance breed-specific and are focusing on behaviors instead.
Garden City, MI is amending their dangerous dog law with a law that will not be breed-specific.
Fabians law has passed is Arizona -- which increases penalties for owners of dogs that attack other dogs.
Dog bites/Attacks
Serious dog bites are rare - and when they occur, a wide variety of different types of dogs are involved. This is why we must focus on the circumstances behind attacks, and not breeds, in order to help prevent them.
A postal worker in Catawba, SC was attacked as she was delivering a package to a home. The home had a signs indicating that there were aggressive dogs on the premises (indicating that they may have been owned for the purpose of guarding) and the 5 mixed breed dogs attacked the worker.
A 1 year old Jacksonville, FL child was attacked by the family's dog. The dog is described as a "Border Collie-Chow mix" but the photo looks more like a Golden Retriever.
A 7 year old New Zealand child was viciously attacked by a neighbor's Bull Mastiff.
A 10 year old Des Moines girl was attacked by a "mixed breed dog".
An 8 year old St. Paul, MN boy was attacked by a Presa Canario.
An 11 year old Chicago area boy was bitten by a friend's mixed breed dog when he was coming over for a sleepover. The dog was described as a "Chow/Labrador/Shepherd mix" -- which seems to me like they're just guessing.
A 6 year old New Jersey girl was bitten by a German Shepherd that acts as a service dog for a 9 year old girl battle brain cancer.
A Lake Wailes, FL woman was attacked by two "mixed breed pit bulls' that were roaming at large while she was walking her own dogs.
A 56 year old Sullivan, OH man died after being bitten while trying to break up a spat between two dogs in his back yard. The man suffered from high blood pressure and high colesterol and had a massive heart attack following the incident -- even though a lot has been made by the media trying to blame the dogs for the incident.
A Shih Tzu bit off the tip of the nose of a worker at Home Depot.
Missouri's Prop B
Some follow-up information after Governor Nixon's compromise plan for replacing Prop B in Missouri:
Fulton Sun - gives their opinion
Two rallies were held at the same time in Jefferson City -- one in support of the changes, one opposing the changes and demanding to keep Prop B in tact. The rally supporting the compromise bill had several hundred attendees, whereas the "keep Prop B" rally had about 100. The keep Prop B folks were apparently chanting "No Compromise" even though this group was promoted by HSUS -- who's director Wayne Pacelle noted this week that they supported compromise.
Governor Nixon's "Missouri Solution" is a bad Prop B -- Best Friends, I don't agree with their stance on this, but hey, in the interest of giving the other side. Nothing in their post is technically wrong, but they do fail to acknowledge that Nixon's solution brings with it the promise for more enforcement funding which is sorely needed in this state and a major part of the agreement. If you only focus on what you lost during a "compromise" and not what you gain, it will, of course seem like an unfair compromise.
Miscellaneous
The Animal Legal Defense Fund, along with four residents, filed a lawsuit against the Palm Springs Animal Shelter for calling itself a "no kill shelter" even though they killed 38% of the dogs that entered their shelter last year and 68% of the cats they impounded last year.
Camden, NJ police are investigating an incident in which an 8 month old 'pit bull' puppy got loose from a home and ran toward police officers. At no point has anyone interviewed said the dog was acting agressively, only that it was running toward people -- as dogs are inclined to do. The police officers, uh, panicked, and fired 33 rounds (that is not a typo) striking 3 cars and a house before finally killing the non-aggressive puppy. Breed hysteria can be very dangerous when officers start spraying bullets around a neighborhood over non-aggressive dogs.
Blogs you should read
A rescuers guide to creating awesome web videos -- Saving Pets, as always, has some awesome advice on doing a better job of promoting adoptable pets -- this time through the use of video. She has also included several awesome examples of how to show off the animals' personalities through video.
The battle for the lives of Victoria's pets -- Saving Pets asks how shelters can still champion killing in the face of alternatives. The answer - -to paint the alternative as even darker.
Mythbusters: If dog breeders stopped breeding all our problems would be solved -- Wisconsin Watchdog continues here "mythbusters" series by discussing the common myth that we will solve out shelter killing problem if we end breeding. Indiscriminate breeding - yes. But breeding as a whole, no. This is a good, well-thought-out blog posting.
Mythbusters: Volunteers are more trouble than they're worth -- more Mythbusters from Wisconsin Watchdog, this time highlighting the importance of volunteers in improving the situation for shelter animals.
Defending the indefensible - Wisconsin Watchdog looks at the mental process for how shelter workers end up defending indefensible practices at their shelters.
Can you feel death in the air? -- Pound Dogs looks at troubling video from the Montreal Animal Shelter (provided by Berger Blanc) and takes a look at the business of killing dogs -- as funded by the Montreal taxpayers, and apparently enjoyed by some of the workers at Berger Blanc.
Earlier this week in Kansas City, 2 dogs were found dumped in a dumpster after being brutally killed. PawPrints the Magazine has some good pictures from the memorial event held at the site.
Too often, people look at all acts of aggression by a dog as the same -- but Canine Aggression Issues with Jim Crosby is taking a look at different types of aggression. Part 2: Resource Aggression. Part 3: Social Aggression. Both are well worth your time.
Where are real people supposed to get dogs? - Save a Pit Bull Save the World takes a look at a friend of hers that wants to adopt a new dog but was denied by rescue...leaving her with few options. This is a story that is FAR too common.
Why you should fight BSL (and encouragement for the battle) -- Jodi Pries at Bless the Bullies has an awesome piece about the turning tide and why people must join (or continue) the fight.
Where are all these fake service dogs -- For the pit bulls asks a logical question following all of the hysteria about people having fake service dogs following a recent ADA ruling
Houston SPCA's plan to kill 50 "rescued" Rottweilers -- from Houston No Kill Examiner
The Evolution of a Bad Rap -- Stubby Dog takes a look at how 'pit bulls' have developed their reputation.
And Finally, I want to give a HUGE tip of the hat to Shirley at YesBiscuit!. Shirley has been doing an amazing job of covering the ongoing slaughter in Memphis. I plan to do a separate writeup on this this week, but please go check out all of Shirley's stuff on the topic, because she has been doing an amazing job of showing how animal advocates can keep an eye on shelters and force improvements for animals in those shelters.
As far as Missouri goes - My husband attended the rally at the Capitol in Jeff City last Wednesday to support agriculture and the Governor's compromise on SB113. He said Sen. Parson (R-Bolivar) wanted 1000 people there and he got 1000 people.
The people that were against the compromise were protesting over at the Governor's mansion because they neglected to secure a permit to protest at the Capitol. :-) There were allegedly about 135 people. That protest was organized by Missourians for the Protection of Dogs, the PAC that was set up to fund Prop B. They are also running radio ads - I guess they have to burn up that four to six million dollars someplace. Too bad they don't give it low cost speuter/vet care clinics, rescues, rural shelters, etc.
I was at a dog event this weekend and there were several friends there from the southwestern Missouri area - Lamar, Joplin, and Carthage. They still see a lot of puppies in their shelters (we don't here in the KC metro area) and could really use more resources for speutering. It's a two hour drive from here to Lamar and it's a difference of night and day in the shelter situation.
Posted by: kmk | April 25, 2011 at 05:13 PM