Is it really nearly February already? It's been another busy week and a lot of stories I didn't get to with my daily posts. So let's sit back, relax, and get caught up on the more interesting news and opinion items for the week. If you have others I've missed, feel free to post them in the comments section.
Cities/States and Laws
This won't likely result in any type of law, but a resident in Wendell, ID is pushing the city to try to ban 'pit bulls' in the community. The reason is because there is a pit bull in the community that is chained up, without adequate shelter and very aggressive. While they are trying to issue citations to the owner, the owner will never answer their door. Instead of actually dealing with this situation (where the dog owner is clearly negligent), a resident proposed a breed ban instead. Fortunately the city council appears smarter than this and a ban doesn't seem likely.
Wentzville, MO continues to consider getting rid of its breed-specific law.
The city Rules Committee in Jackson, MS unanimously opposed a proposal to make certain breeds of dogs automatically "dangerous".
Chicago briefly discussed breed specific provisions after a major attack in the community earlier this month -- but wisely has chosen to focus on responsible pet ownership instead of breeds of dogs.
Earlier this year, Amsterdam, OH passed a law mandating that requires an expensive insurance policy for "vicious" dogs -- although their "vicious designation is very arbitrary. The insurance has proven to be almost impossible to get which whereas most home owners' insurance automatically covers your dog, the new law makes it almost more likely that the dog will not be insured than it would have been previously.
Dog bites/attacks
Major dog bites are rare, but do happen. And when they do there are almost always a series of events that led up to the attacks. If we are to minimized dog bites and attacks, we must focus on these circumstances, not the types of dogs themselves.
In Aurora, CO, a woman was out walking her small dog when two larger, off-leash dogs ran up to her and began attacking her dog. The woman was injured when she tried to protect her dog. Aurora has a ban on several breeds of dogs but the law didn't address the real issue of irresponsible ownership and stray and free-roaming dogs.
UK Dangerous Dogs Act
Dog attacks leading to hospitalization have risen 120 percent in London -- representing a 5th consecutive year that hospitalizations have increased. The UK has a ban on four different breeds of dogs but has proven, repeatedly, to not be successful in increasing public safety -- and in fact, has proven to be the exact opposite.
No Kill
While a shelter in Baton Rouge, LA is not yet No Kill, htey are making progress as total euthanasia from the shelter dropped from more than 8700 animals in 2008 to 3,287 in 2011. They still have a long way to go but are making progress...
The shelter in Lewiston, ME has been doing a lot of promotion - -and now is seeing lines of people waiting to adopt animals at their shelter.
Miscellaneous
Dog escapes euthanasia twice -- by doing tricks -- Ok, this is a story by People Pets that will almost drive you insane. The dog, later named "Tricks" was slated for euthanasia by Georgia's Clayton County Animal Control. However, the dog was so well-behaved that he was just sitting patiently waiting his turn. The staff couldn't bear to euthanize him. So he was spared. Tricks again ended up on death row, and again, acts of obedience and cuteness caused the staff to spare him. And THIS time they posted on Facebook about the dog and people lined up to rescue him. Which leads to the question, why not promote the dog first instead of euthanasia being the first option (twice).
Seven dogs, including six 'pit bulls', have been found dead after being randomly killed by someone in Houston.
Blogs
Breed Bans, BSL and Psychology -- an interesting post on why people can't admit when they're wrong from Pet Health Care Gazette.
Learning leadership from Congress -- love this post by Seth Godin this week.
This video was making the rounds on Facebook earlier this week - -but I'm going to give YesBiscuit! credit for posting it. But this Boxer is handling being surrounded by curious cows expertly.
The Rise and fall of Cesar Millan -- Pets Advisor takes a look at the good and bad of the Dog Whisperer.
Economy and bad luck hit KC woman and her huskies -- this is a really touching story of bad luck and love of pets in Kansas City -- from one of our local Examiner writers.
The smallest volunteer -- this is a really sweet story of a volunteer that helped out at our shelter earlier this year.
The state of California is now apparently looking to revoke "Hayden's Law" which would be a step back for state animal welfare in California -- Winograd has the details.
Memphis animal services decided to CLOSE THE SHELTER for public adoptions on a Saturday in order to perform Mandatory Euthanasia Training. Maybe they should focus a little more time on being open, and getting animals adopted, vs focusing all their efforts on euthanasia. -- YesBiscuit has been all over this story. Meanwhile, the city got no bidders for the shelter contract because they wanted whatever contractor to follow the city's failed policies.
Dogs playing fetch -- three very different styles -- love these videos at The Poodle and Dog Blog
Just for Fun
How a dog's brain works -- by I Love Charts
Comments