Ok, I admit I've stunk at putting together the roundups of late. We've been pretty busy with most weekends being spent out at the shelter. I'm going to try to be better.
So for this week's roundup I'm going to go back and grab some of the older stories that I've missed by being out of pocket a lot more lately. Some other stuff I'm going to hold so I can discuss it more in-depth this week. As always, feel free to add your links and comments in the comments section.
Cities/States and Laws
Tupelo, MS is now looking at a new law that may potentially target 'pit bulls', Rottweilers and Doberman Pinschers. Looks like baggy pants may be outlawed too.
Add the Metro Services Animal Control in Nashville, TN to the list of places that has a policy against adopting out 'pit bulls' -- helping lead to very high kill rates.
Wentzville, MO seems to be moving forward with the repeal of their breed-specific law.
Rushville, NE stepped back 30 years by banning 'pit bulls' from their community because they have been having problems with stray dogs coming into their community from a nearby Indian Reservation.
A BSL Alert for Slater, MO.
Donnellson, IA is considering changing their animal control laws and moving from breed restrictions to a breed ban.
Pierce County, WA's dangerous dog ordinance was ruled unconstitutional by a state court because it violates due process. I'm very excited by the number of state courts that are beginning to take due process in dangerous dog laws seriously.
The state Senate hearing for HB 14 -- a bill that would repeal Ohio's state-wide breed specific law -- was heard this week. Among the testimony in support of the repeal was Dr. Linda Lord, who was testifying on behalf of the 2400 veterinarians and 300 student members of the Ohio Vet Medical Association. Experts almost unanimously agree that breed-specific laws are failed thinking.
A great story out Australia noting that the latest edition of the Medial Journal of Australia says that breed-specific legislation is not an effective way to minimize dog attacks. Many legislators in Australia are considering banning certain types of dogs after a fatal dog attack earlier this year in spite of there being zero support from canine experts on the continent.
Dog Bits/Attacks
Major dog bites/attacks are rare given the 78 million dogs in this country-- but when they happen, you can almost be assured that it is the actions of the people surrounding the animals that led to the attack.
A Kelso (WA) woman was severely attacked by two German Shepherds. The owner of the dogs has been fined more than $1300 since October for allowing her dogs to roam at large and for failing to license her pets.
A Sierra Vista (AZ) woman was attacked when three dogs escaped from a fenced yard and attacked her and the dog she was walking. Two of the dogs, both Boxers, were shot at the scene. The third dog was defined as a "pit bull" puppy.
A Santa Rosa (CA) man was attacked by his neighbor's "Pit bull". The dog broke loose from it's chain (see yesterday's commentary on Chained dogs) and attacked the man. The dog had a history of aggression and the owner a history of illegal drug use.
A 21 year old Seattle man climbed over a 10 foot tall fence to get into a back yard. The man was trespassing and is believed to have been looking to burgle two cars that were behind the fence. The man ended up getting attacked by four "pit bulls" that were in the area (this was a tough part of town, and the dogs were likely used as guard dogs). The owner of the dogs called off the dogs and then put the victim in a hand truck, wheeled him out to the curb, and called the police. However, one has to wonder why when the Associated Press covered the story, they just told the part about the man being attacked, and not the fact that the man was trespassing and likely a thief. It sure made a huge difference in the types of comments left on both articles.
While not in the US, so it doesn't count in US fatality numbers, this story out of the Czech Republic discusses a 60 year old woman who was killed by up to 25 Rottweilers that she was keeping on her property. The dogs were described by authorities as "abused and starving".
Kansas City Area News
The Bonner Springs city council has reached an agreement with the Bonner Animal Rescue to help decrease the city's euthanasia rates and decrease the costs of animal control for the city.
Jackson County, MO has finalized its 2012 budget -- and a lot of funding for local low cost spay/neuter services was a part of the cuts.
The KC Pet Project, a new group that will be taking over the KCMO animal shelter on Jan 1, 2012 and is co-managing the shelter in the interim, held a major adoptioin special last week which helped more than 70 animals find homes.
Police in Salina, KS are dealing with an issue where a 69 year old man apparently was having "sexual contact" with his neighbor's dog.
Thanks to KCMO fire fighters, a family's pet 'pit bull' was rescued from the basement of a burning home.
No Kill
There are many folks in Columbia, MO that are pushing for New Leadership at the Central Missouri Humane Society to become No Kill. The CMHS has had a live release rate below 50% for more than a decade (although they have been gtting better over the past 3 years) -- and this chart has all the numbers.
A not-for-profit group in Michigan, the Michigan Pet Fund Alliance, is tracking the shelter statistics of shelters across the state -- noting that some large shelters are reporting nearly 81% save rates while others, including the Michigan Humane Society (which has the biggest budget in the state) has only a 30% save rate and is killing 17,000 animals a year among its 3 facilities.
Six pit bulls seized froma cruelty case in Baltimore are working through a transition to become adoptable -- a great story about rehabilitation and caring people in the Baltimore area.
After a change in shelter management in Valparaiso, IN, the community is apparently rallying around the shelter in order to help it achieve no kill.
Miscellaneous
A story about Staten Island police officers' propensity to shoot people's pets for fear of aggression.
Dogs Naturally Magazine has a very interesting article on the Bordetella Vaccine -- calling it a fraud. My own vet recommends against it, but unfortunately my boarding facility requires it. Some very serious discussions need to be taking place about the efficacy of vaccines so we can discourage the over-vaccination of pets.
An interesting infographic on the cities that spend the most on their pets -- #1: Scottsdale, AZ.
Vaxin, Inc won a $1 million research grant for a new animal contraceptive vaccine which could change the face of spay/neuter in this country.
Blogs
When the heart gets ahead of the mind -- Pets Alive has my favorite blog post of the week about rescues that get in over their heads, or deny adopters as they wait for 'perfect homes' while animals die in shelters because they can't find good homes. If you read one link today, make it this one.
Transparency in Animal Sheltering - PAWS Chicago has a great article talking about transparency in animal sheltering and a newly proposed law that would require shelters to be open with their kill rates in order to force them to be better stewards for the animals.
Does this puppy make me look fat? -- according to a pretty cool info graphic by Dog Spelled Forward, about 75% of dogs and cats are overweight and 20-25% are obese. This obviously leads to a lot of health issues including earlier death. The Chicago Tribune had a similar story on this topic.
Animal Shelter Adoptions: How to Increase Community Investment - Dancing Dog Blog talks about a great program that focuses on kennel enrichment for dogs in shelters and how it helps make them more adoptable.
Canine Stress: Calming Solutions that Work - Dancing Dog Blog discusses the power of Music in calming stressed animals.
"A lack of collaboration' (it's still YOUR fault we killed) -- Saving Pets (AU) discusses the notion that criticzing groups who are flat out doing it wrong is often called a "Lack of collaboration" instead of owning their responsibility to save as many animals as possible...including being progressive in their attitudes toward sheltering.
Can the Bulldog be saved? -- For the Pit Bulls discusses how deformed and unnatural the English Bulldog has become and questions whether a breed that can no longer reproduce naturally can be saved.
Forbes Magazine calls out ASPCA, PETA -- Winograd has the deets from an article 15 Key insights from 2011 from 15 Key Thinkers and Writers. #8 focused on the failure of two leading animal rights organizations.
What is true euthanasia -- Winograd takes a look at euthanasia and what it really means to have to make the decision to end an animals life.
The No Kill Movement: We are the 71 percent -- Dogged Blog notes that national statistics note that 71% of Americans believe that shelters should only be allowed to euthanize animals when they are too sick to be treated or too aggressive to be adopted -- while 25% believe kiling should be allowed for populatoin control.
A pit bull's reality - Lucky Dog discusses the plight of 'pit bulls' in shelters and hopes to do her part to correct the situation.
No Kill: Everybody's Doing it -- YesBiscuit! notes the large number of individual people who have created their own minature no kill shelters and wonders why large, taxpayer funded shelters cannot seem to do the same thing.
Angels? or Agendas? -- Wisconsin Watchdog takes a look at PETA and their "better off dead" montra.
Bad. Or Bored. A new group called "Fire Cracker Dog" has a great post about training high-energy dogs and how it is important to not just physically wear them out, but also to work their brain.
On Dog Aggression - -from John Sibley
A Youtube video I love that shows a news anchor getting 'viciously' loved by a 'pit bull' on air.
With Friends like this -- who needs enemies? -- Wisconsin Watchdog comments about inaccurate information that is leading to more animal deaths, not less.
Thanks for the shout-out!
That graphic is from the fine folks at http://pet365.co.uk . They do one a month, and they are always very good.
Posted by: Eric Goebelbecker | December 18, 2011 at 01:04 PM
You forgot an article. :p
14 Bomb dogs died en route to Afghanistan. The company that was transporting them is getting their pants sued off.
http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Lawsuit-14-bomb-sniffing-dogs-on-way-to-2402337.php
Posted by: CristyF | December 18, 2011 at 04:14 PM
Love your roundups! Lots of good stuff! I especially take interest in the blog section.
Posted by: Lindsay | December 18, 2011 at 05:41 PM
I found the article on the bordetella vac interesting. My dog hasn't had it and I don't intend to ever give it to him, one of the reasons is that I know someone who has always given it to her dogs. Last year her dogs both got kennel cough.
Posted by: Ruth | December 18, 2011 at 09:54 PM