KC DOG BLOG

Weekly Roundup, week ending 11/8/09

So, I was out of town last weekend getting some much needed R&R, so I have two weeks worth of news to go through today, so I'll probably be a lot shorter on commentary today. There is a LOT of stuff going on out there in the BSL/No Kill worlds, so I should have a good week of stuff coming up. For now, onto the roundup.

Cities and Laws

A host of cities in California rushed through talks of municiple bans on cat declawing before the state law that prohibits such bans takes effect. Santa Monica and San Francisco each passed restrictions that call for potential jail time for violators who declaw their cats. Los Angeles is also considering such a law. While I don't personally support cat declawing, I do think outlawing it is short-sighted and will impede progress in the no kill movement.

Hays, KS is still talking about potential restricions on owners of particular breeds of dogs. If you are in Hays, be sure to keep in touch with your commissioners.

Independence, KY has a new ordinance that allows animal control officers to declare a dog dangerous based on its behavior -- even before it bites.  Independence had been discussing breed specific regulations, but realized that targeting laws based on behavior vs breed is more effective.

Elkhart County, IN is looking at a new animal control ordinance that could end up being breed-specific.

Shelter experts in Elgin, IL recommended to the city to NOT go with Breed Specific Regulations. Experts across the country are unanimously opposed to breed specific regulations because they are not effective, and not warranted.

Mandatory Spay/Neuter ordinance is withdrawn from the city of New Orleans -- which is great news.

Jackson, TN also voted down a push for mandatory spay/neuter in their community.

Dallas' Mandatory Spay/Neuter ordinance is taxing local groups that are trying to help low-income pet owners comply with the law.

Dog bites and attacks

In Tulsa, a 1 year old girld was critically injured when she wandered outside unattended and up to a 'pit bull' that was owned by the family while it was eating.  I actuaally am pretty pleased that Fox News in Tulsa actually covered the fact that the dog being chained as its primary form of containment was a bad idea, and that children shouldn't be left alone around dogs -- particularly when they are eating.

A Vista, CA boy is recovering after being attacked by two Rottweilers.

Another dog attack in Omaha -- this one involving a Rottweiler. Omaha continues to have an increase in dog bites in the city after focusing all of their emphasis on particular breeds of dogs instead of upon responsible dog ownership.

A Labrador Retriever  in Pindale, WY killed a small Pomeranian. While many people continue to hold onto the idea that only pit bulls are dog aggressive, the reality remains that dog aggression -- while usually minor -- can manifest itself in all breeds without appropriate socialization.

A six year old girl in Indianapolis was bitten in the face by a Husky mix at her insurance office.

A nine year old Australian girl sustain major facial injuries after being bitten by the family's Alaskan Malamute that wanted to eat her breakfast.

A 65 year old North Carolina woman has been upgraded from critical condition to serious condition after being attacked by a pack of wild dogs.

An 11 year old Provo, UT boy was attacked by a German Shepherd that jumped the fence and attacked him.

A 10 year old Texas boy was attacked by a stray "German Shepherd".  Neighbors said the dog had been roaming the neighborhood for several days.

Some dogs in Bulgaria were put down after a child was killed by a group of street dogs. The dogs are a bunch of skinny mongrel dogs.  Dogs that become aggressive come in all shapes and sizes...it is upbringing and training that matter.

Abuse Cases

Memphis Mayor AC Wharton fired Animal Services Director Ernst Alexander this week. Investigations into the horrific abuse cases associated with the shelter are ongoing, but Alexander is now justifiably out.

An off duty state trooper in Elkhart, IA shot a Labrador Retriever he said was being aggressive. The owners think the action was unneccessary.

A Cambridge, MD man is facing 8 charges on counts of animal cruelty for the way he was keeping a litter of pit bull puppies in the dark with no room to exercise.

A breeder in Denver has been accused of selling sick and dying puppies to unsuspecting families. This is why if you want to get a new pet, you should either adopt, or get one from a well-respected breeder.

The Humane Society in Hamilton, OH is seeking help for a 'pit bull' pup that was rescued and was nearly starved to death.

Positive Press

Some positive press out in Denver surrounding a fundraising event for Colorado Pit Bull Rescue.

From the Toledo area, "Dog Advocate says 'pit bulls' are unfairly demonized". It's a great article -- nice job Ledy. Here's another story on her presentation.

The National Dog Show (televised on Thanksgiving Day) will feature some alumni of the show with a particular spotlight on Therapy Dogs. One of the therapy dogs will be Rufus, a Bull Terrier that won best in show in 2005.  Rufus would be included in breed bans across the US as one of the "pit bull' breeds. "Rufus dispells so many myths", says commentator David Frei. "Some communities target the breed, calling them dangerous merely based on appearance. Of course, it's ridiculous, and Rufus is out there proving how ridiculous it is. He adores children."

KCMO has welcomed some new canines to their police force.

A pit bull brings joy to residents of an assisted living facility in Florida.

Animal Advocates trying to clear misconceptions about pit bulls - this from Salt Lake City.

Miscellanious

A four year old boy was hit by a train while chasing his dog that got away. The boy will be ok (thankfully), but even more reinforcement behind the idea that people should take special efforts to train their dog to "come" for their own safety, as well as the safety of the dog.

A Fresno family has been forbidden from ever owning pit bulls again after they have had three aggressive dogs seized from them. Seems like they should keep them from owning ANY dog again, no just 'pit bulls'. By cracking down on problem owners like this we can make a real difference in public safety.

Critics in San Francisco are accusing the SPCA of valuing money over animal welfare.

A really good audio piece by Ryan O'Meara in the UK about how the Country-wide breed ban is costing the taxpayers in the UK millions of pounds, and has done nothing to improve pubic safety.

What a dog can do that Mike Vick can't -- a good feature on how one of Mike Vick's therapy dogs, Leo, is changing how kids perceive pit bulls -- in a way that Mike Vick could never do.

What Happens in Vegas Doesn't Stay in Vegas -- Winograd takes an empassioned view from the Best Friends Conference in Las Vegas on moving the No Kill Movement forward.

Weekly Roundup - Week ending 10/25/09

     It's been kind of a crazy week. A lot of stuff going on -- includingDenver's continued problems with their ban and more problems for breed ban enthusiast Tom Skeldon in Toledo. Also, Best Friends is hosting their annual No More Homeless Pets Conference out in Las Vegas this weekend -- but thanks to new technology a lot of folks are providing instant feedback from the conferences and it sounds  like the conference is going great.  You can follow along on Best Friends' blog for yourself -- and Christie has been live blogging from there as well. I'll collect a few of the posts after the conference is over because I have a few comments I want to make.  Yesterday was also National Pit Bull Awareness Day -- I'll be posting some stories from that this week.  On to the rest of the week's stories:

Cities and Laws

Madison County, GA is discussing animal control options after a five year old boy was attacked by an Akita earlier this month.

Auburn, CA is supposedly discussing the idea of a breed ban in the city.  State law in California does not allow for individual cities to impose bans on certain breeds.

The Seattle Humane Society has come out against the proposed breed ban in Bothell, WA.

Jackson, MS is eyeing new dangerous dog legislation -- including potentially Breed Specific Legislation.

Lincoln, NE continues to explore options for their dangerous dog law that are not breed specific -- although they aren't completely ruling out BSL, it is definitely not their first option.

Las Vegas is now looking at a potential law that would mandate that all pets be spayed or neutered. While targeted low-cost programs have proven effective at reducing pet populations, mandatory programs have not proven effective.

Residents in Mashpee, MA voted overwhelmingly against breed specific legislation in their community.

Southgate, MI is still considering a new dangerous dog ordinance.

Dog bites

A Crystal River, FL man was attacked when four dogs that lived at his neighbor's house got under the fence and began to attack him and his dog. The attacking dogs are believed to be Mastiffs.

A 19 month old Tennessee child was severely bitten by a Greate Dane. The dog was apparently new to the family and the owner set the food bowl down near the dog and the child in order to answer the door and that's when the dog bit the young child.

A 10 year old Miami-Dade County boy was hospitalized after he was bitten by a Husky mix. 

An Everett, WA man nearly died after he was bitten in the hand by one of his dogs. His two dogs, one a Labrador/Blue Heeler mix, got in a fight in the yeard and he got bitten trying to break up the fight. A few days later the man was suffering from a serious infection from the bite and nearly died.

A UK Rottweiler was given a Muzzle order after it attacked a 10 year old girl.  The UK banned 4 different breeds of dogs in 1991 and have continued to see an increase in dog bites in their community.

A Piercetown, IN woman was severely attacked by a 'pit bull' that was chained out in front of her son's home. The woman came to visit her son, but the chained dog was able to reach the sidewalk and attacked the woman.

A New York woman apparently lied to police -- the woman had reported to police that her toddler was bitten by a "pit bull" -- however, upon further investigation, it turns out the woman's own American Husky was involved in the bite.

Abuse Cases

A UK dog breeder who abandoned 99 St. Bernards while she went on vacation has been jailed for 18 weeks for animal cruelty.

Police in Hagerstown, PA shot a Labrador Retriever this week who they said was acting aggressively. Note the sympathetic tone for the owners that this article is written with vs when dogs of other breeds are attacked.

Twelve 'pit bulls' that were seized from a dog fighting ring earlier this month in Buffalo were euthanized because they were aggressive. 13 others have the possibility of being rehabilitated.

Media Reports

There was a story outside of Denver where a man was shot, and another woman injured, after an apparent argument. The argument stemmed from some concerns that one family had that another family -- who apparently lived on the same property -- were letting their dog, alegedly a 'pit bull', run free on the property and it was harrassing their livestock on the property. A 16 year old boy ended up shooting the dog owner and killing him.  While the story is tragic in its own right, it was amazing to me the number of headlines that included the words "pit bull" in them -- as if the pit bull had caused the man's death.

Animal Shelters

The largest no kill shelter in the Kansas City Metro, Animal Haven, is at capacity and had a large adopt-a-thon this weekend to try to get more animals adopted.

Manatee, FL animal shelters are killing just more than 50% of the animals that that enter the shelter. Seems a shelter that is ripe for no-kill programs.

Miscellanious

Residents in Memphis are upset after multiple dogs have been shot in the area in recent weeks.

Pit Bulls' unfair reputation thwarts adoptions.

A great video story about one of Mike Vick's former dogs who is thriving in its new home in the San Francisco area.

A great photo of a friend of mine's dog during a dog show in Springfield, MO. Mandy is a beautiful Am. Staff that is actually banned in Springfield (where this shwo took place) in spite of having multiple training titles.

The owner, not the dog, is the issue.

A sad story about a 'pit bull' that saved its owner from being attacked by a cobra...but ended up paying the ultimate price for saving his owner.

Prairie Village, KS is cracking down on barking dogs.

Weekly Roundup - Week ending 10/18/09

  I have a lot of topics that I'm going to cover off individually this week - I'm behind on a few major events, including a few court cases -- that I will get to this week. So the following is a list of the top stories from the week that won't get their own headlines.

Cities and Laws

Mashapee, MA appears to be deciding against breed specific regulations.

Fremont, OH heard from concerned residents and their chief of police regarding their city potentially enacting breed restrictions.

The Dandridge, TN City Council has decided against breed specific legislation after listening to expert testimonyon the subject. 

Park Ridge, IL has new laws pertaining to "dangerous dogs" -- that are based on behavior, not breed.

Lincoln, NE is looking to "beef up" their dangerous dog ordinance after another dog bite in the community. Lincoln has been seeing a pretty dramatic decrease in bites in recent years, and have consitently decided against breed restrictions when they've been brought up -- but if you are in the area, you should pay attention and call your city council members to find out what is up.

Senath, MO has decided against passing an ordinance restricting specific breeds of dogs and instead to try to curb their dog bite problem by more strictly enforcing the current dangerous dog ordinance.  Most cities now, when pushed about breed specific policies, continue to make the wise decisions and focus on effective, breed neutral ordinances instead of ineffective breed specific ones.

Dog Bites and Attacks

A Billings, MT woman is suing her neigbhor after being attacked by the neighbor's three Boxers.

This one probably deserves its own header, but aLaguna Hills, CA woman is suing the Orange County Animal Care Center for their role in her being attacked by three Bull Mastiffs. For the life of me I don't understand why more cities don't put the emphasis on responsible ownership vs it being the city's role to protect citizens which I think opens them up to suits like this. However, very often, it is animal control that is aware of dangerous dogs and do nothing that do end up leading to major attacks.

An Ehrhardt, SC boy had his ear ripped off by a mixed breed dog that was roaming at large. The bite has caused the city to look at a city-wide leash law.

A UK man was attacked and hospitalized after being attacked by a black Alsatian. The UK ban on four breeds of dogs continues to not provide safety for the citizens because it still has not addressed the issue of responsible dog ownership.

A four year old Cape Coral, FL boy was attacked by the family's "pit bull mix". The boy was apparently trying to ride the dog "she wouldn't give me a piggy back ride". I think most people would understand that having a four year old boy, who would be fairly heavy, on top of a 50 lbs dog would actually hurt the dog and likely what spurred the attack. It's a shame the media didn't focus more on that element of the story.

A "family dog" was apparently killed in its back yard by 2 'pit bulls' in Milwaukie, OR. The "family dog" was apparently kept out on a large chain in the back yard and looked like it was mostly ignored back there.  One of the many problems with chaining a dog as a primary form of containment is that it leaves the dog open to potential predators.

A Marco Island, FL boy was bitten by what appeared to be a large German Shepherd.

An 11 year old Grove, OK boy needed surgery and more than 100 stitches after being attacked by a Great Dane.  The attacked actually occurred at a "strut your mutt" dog walk.

An Indianapolis man was hospitalized after he had a heart attack while breaking up a fight between two dogs. No one was bitten in the dog fight.

A five year old girl in Barcelona, Spain needed 208 stitches after being attacked by a dog. It is interesting to note that the dog was "not considered to be a dangerous breed".  Until we end the practice of thinking about dogs as "dangerous breeds" vs dangerous individual animals, we will never solve the problem of dog bites.

A Japanese boy was killed by two dogs, a Rottweiler and an Akita. Dogs that cause problems in different areas of the world merely reflect their popularity in different parts of the world.

Mediots

This one amazingly made dozens of media outlets, including boston.com, but a 12 year old girl was reportedly "attacked" by a 'pit bull".  The dog apparently bit the girl's shoe and the girl was "uninjured" in the "attack".  Does anyone else think a similar incident, involving non-injury and another breed of dog would have made the paper?

Abuse Cases

A Schaumburg, IL woman was charged with animal cruelty after her "pit bull' was found with a chain so tightly held around its neck that it caused gaping wounds.

Miscellanious

Winograd has an article on HSUS and their partnership with Michael Vick.

With the Philadelphia Eagles playing their football game today in Oakland, this means that Mike Vick is headed to Oakland for the game. So the folks over at BAD RAP invited Vick to come by their facility to meet some of his dogs that were confiscated from his dog fighting operation 2 years ago. Vick declined. Donna at Bad Rap has a nice post on the topic.

Six of the 407 dogs seized from a series of dog fighting raids across Missouri and Illionis were released to rescue groups this week for adoption. Many of the remaining dogs are still awaiting their owners' trials so theycan be released to the Missouri Humane Society.

Floyd and Guy Boudreaux are now suing the Louisiana SPCA for killing their dogs. The men, well-known pit bull breeders, were charged with breeding dogs for fighting and all 57 of their dogs were confiscated. The dogs were all killed while the men awaited trial. The men were eventually found not guilty, but the dogs were already dead. So they are suing for damages. I don't know the Boudreauxs, and they may have been pretty bad people -- but I think this case highlights the importance of letting the legal system take its course before the dogs end up dead.

And I'm going to end on this bizarre, almost unbelievable story. The story is about a contest that is held in Canada to name the country's "naughtiest" dog. This year's "winner" is an American Eskimo dog that has bitten numerous people, ripped off half of his owner's thumb nail and caused a major scar on a woman's leg. The unbelievable part may come from the tone of the article - in that the behavior is seen as "funny". It also is more appalling because this dog is from Ontario, where they are killing hundreds, if not thousands, of "pit bulls" because of how they look because they are perceived dangerous -- even if their actual behavior is not - and yet this dog is allowed to live there with no problems. Oh, the double-standards we have for dogs on this continent.

Weekly Roundup - Week Ending 10/11/09

  A lot of news stories this week -- plus I owe a few from last week -- so I'm going to try to go through them fairly quickly. I also have a few that I'm going to hold because I want to spend a lot more time with them in the coming weeks.  The "Science of Fear" series will resume tomorrow -- I hope everyone is enjoying them. 

Cities and Laws

The community of Neguac, CA passed a very controversial ban on 'pit bulls'. Interestingly, the reason they passed the law was after a bite by a "pit bull mix" that they pictured in the article that barely resembles any of the 'pit bull' breeds at all...

Elkhart, IN continues to have a citizen's committee that is studying the dangerous dog issue to create a proposal for the council on what changes may be in order for their dangerous dog law.

Independence, KY passed an updated vicious dog ordinance this week.  They had originally discussed breed specific laws, but like most cities, decided that breed specific laws were not effective and focused on an ordinance that would target dogs based on their behavior, not looks.

Ceredo, WV is considering repealing its ban on 'pit bulls'.

Bothell, WA is considering restrictions on owners of "pit bull' type dogs -- even thought they admit that enforcing a BSL will be extremely difficult. If you are in or near this community, please make your voice heard and stear them toward a more enforceable, and better, breed neutral law.

In Ft. Dodge, IA, it appears that there is no support of a 'pit bull' ban among any of the candidates for the mayor or city council.  Some do appear to have more informed knowledge than others.

South Charleston, WV passed a new law on dangerous dogs. While the law is not breed-specific, it appears to contain a clause that singles out "fighting dogs" and does not allow for them to be rehabilitated.

Elk River, MN is discussing dangerous dog laws -- officials say that there are no common breeds in their bites.

Fremont, OH has called a meeting for October 15 to discuss the possibility of restricting or regulating 'pit bulls'.

East Pointe, IL has updated their dangerous dog law -- but it will not be breed-specific.

Southgate, MI is moving toward regulations that would be directed toward owners of 'pit bulls' and "presa canarios".  I do think it is interesting to see presa canarios added to so many lists of late.  This was a breed that was seldom heard of 10 years ago, but now has become fairly popular. This is one reason why choosing breeds is never the best option - -because there will always be another breed that people who have bad intentions will gravitate toward. The best solution is to get rid of dog ownership for the people who have bad intentions - not target breeds of dogs.

Oak Harbor, WA is considering repealing their law that automatically designates 'pit bulls' as potentially dangerous.

Royal Oak, MI candidates all oppose breed specific legislation.

Dog Bites

A five year old Plymouth Township, PA girl was seriously bitten this week in the neck by a German Shepherd.  The bite occurred after the little girl tried to hug the dog (a behavior that is usually not well received in the dog world). The biting dog had a history of aggression -- having bitten two other people and another dog over the past 9 years.  Major bites tend to not be the first sign of aggression shown by a dog...it is usually their last.

A five year old Australia boy was severely attacked in his back yard by his family's Rottweiler. The boy was out with the dog while the boy's father was mowing the lawn.

This was an odd, very popular story, from out of Adams County, CO.  In the incident, a 70 year old woman was attacked by 2 dogs -- and suffered a heart attack while she was being attacked. The dogs were called a variety of different breeds.  What seems to be the most common is the mother dog being called a "Boxer Mix" and the son dog being called a 'Mastiff-pit bull mix' (which defies what is written in most genetics books).  The NCRC had a good article this week on all the different breeds that were claimed to be involved in the attack -- calling into serious question all breed identification that is quoted in the media. For the Pit Bulls had a nice post on this as well.

An 8 year old Moses Lake, WA girl was hospitalized after being bitten by a Doberman Pinscher.  The girl bent down to the dog and blew in the dog's face.  The owner of the dog, sensing the dog didn't like it, told the girl not to blow in the dog's face but the girl continued to do it and that's when she was bitten.  Until we really, honestly, begin talking about what causes dog bites instead of blaming breeds of dogs, we will continue to have incidents like this.

A 3 year old Florida boy was attacked by a chained dog.  The boy wandered into the back yard unattended out back of the family's mobile home and went up to the chained dog -- that was described as "at least part pit bull". Children should be monitored around dogs because they do things that are uncomfortable for dogs -- and often end up bitten because of it. Dogs shouldn't be left chained in yards as their primary form of containment.

An eight year old boy nearly lost an ear after being bitten by a Black Mouth Cur.

A Coeur D'Alene, ID girl was bitten by a neighbor's Belgian Malinois.

A S. African man died after being attacked by four Boxers.

Four Boxers in Whales Township, MI were put down after being involved in an attack on a 5 year old boy. The story of course wasn't front page news, but a small mention in the "In Brief" section of the newspaper.

The media

A National City, CA woman was "attacked" by three 'pit bulls'.  However, it sounds as if the ill-behaved dogs merely jumped up on the woman -- there is no indication the woman was actually bitten.  It does appear as if the woman may have knocked her head pretty hard when she fell -- but this wasn't an "attack", it was unruly dogs jumping up on a woman.

Abuse Cases

Four 'pit bulls' were found dead in a dumpster in Crawford, NY -- police are looking for what circumstances led the dogs to be dumped there.

Two 17 year olds in Baltimore were arrested after they fatally set a pit bull puppy on fire. The boys may have had a "gang affiliation".

More than 1,000 animals from rescued from a home near Houston that were not well-kept and living among piles of trash. The animals include a pony, puppies, chickens, parakeets, ducks, gerbils and snakes.

Miscellanious

An over-anxious La Marque, TX police officer saw a woman out playing in her yard with a dog. However, the officer was alerted by the woman yelling, and jumped out of his car and tried to shoot the dog -- but a bullet fragment ricocheted off the street and hit the woman in the chest. The hysteria that we've created about 'pit bulls' --that leads to police to jump out of cars and shoot at dogs -- injuring people -- is really creating a danger for society -- much more so than the dogs.

A good video report on 'pit bulls' from out of Buffalo.

A 'pit bull' that was paralized after being brutally beaten by two men who broke into his owner's home and robbed the home, is getting around nicely after a local rescue group got a cart for Red that he can now use to get around.

A great article about Charlottesville, VA's shelter that has been no kill for nearly 4 years now.

A good article from Friends of Animals on Nathan Winograd and the No Kill Equation.

More press for the Knock Out Dog Fighting in Alabama.

Weekly Roundup - Week ending 9/27/09

It was a more active media week this week.  Because I have quite  afew other things gong on I'm going to cruise through the headlines pretty quickly today.  I have one post in the hopper for tomorrow about a fairly controversial subject, and then, I think (please don't hold me to this), on Tuesday or Wednesday I'm going to begin a pretty signifcant series of posts that I'm really looking forward to.  I hope the series will create some good dialogue on some pretty important topics.  For now, let's look at the week's top stories:

Cities and Laws

A woman in Horn Lake, MS is seeking a ban on all 'pit bulls' because she is having some problems with here neighbor's dogs. From what I hear, it doesn't sound like the city has a lot of interest in pursuing this, but if you are in the area of Horn Lake, it might be good to keep your ears open.  I could go on a huge rant about the ridiculousness of the situation.  If the neighbor's dogs are truly a problem, then it seems ridiculous that animal control cannot take care of the situation. However, casting a wide net across an entire breed of dogs because of one house is an equally ridiculous solution.

The residents of Jacksonville, TX are continuing to circulate petitions to try to overturn the state law  that forbids breed specific laws following a fatal attack that struck the community earlier this year.

The community of Senath, MO met to discuss the possibility of a ban on pit bulls in their community. The city says they want to do something about aggressive dogs in their town -- and would be well advised to look at some type of breed neutral ordinance that would target aggressive dogs based on behavior -- not breed.

A ban on multiple breeds of dogs in NY City Housing has been leading to the mass killing of these dogs as owners have nowhere else to go with the dogs. So far, 113 pets have been turned into officials and 49 have been killed because of the law.

Royal Oak, MI is looking at revising their dangerous dog laws. While some talks have been had about making it breed-specific, the city attorney is working on a report that he thinks will show that the city would be better served if it focused on all vicious animals rather than applying it solely to specific breeds.

Three dogs in Sarnia, ON were set free this week. The dogs were confiscated because officials thought they looked like 'pit bulls' but their "experts" disagreed.  The amount of time, effort and energy dedicated to enforcing breed bans on dogs that are not aggressive (and not even 'pit bulls') is astounding -- and yet another reason why residents are safer WITHOUT breed specific laws so these energies can be focused on dogs that pose an actual threat to communities.

Elgin, IL is going to renew conversations about a potential breed ban in the community.

Ft. Dodge, IA is reviewing their dangerous dog ordinance -- at least one city councilmember says he is opposed to banning specific breeds from the city and wants the ordinance to focus on owners - not breeds.

Dog Bites

An 8 year old Bluetick Coonhound has been banned from Nantucket after it was found to be responsible for biting four different people.

A 3 year old boy in Worcester, MA needed 100 stitches after being 'attacked' by a "Pit bull" that was less than a year old. There is no word on whether the child was actually bitten -- it sounds like, and appears from the would like, the dog may have just been an overly excited puppy that jumped up on the boy and scratched him with its toenails. 

A six year old boy in lle A La Crosse Saskatchewan was attacked by a free roaming pack of dogs.In response, the community has hired a part time dog catcher to round up the stray dogs in the community.

A Yuma, AZ woman was attacked by two dogs that were roaming at-large.  The dogs are being described as either mastiffs or Rottweilers.

An 8 year old Willowick, OH girl was bitten by a neighbor's 'pit bull'. The girl apparently jumped the fence to get into the neighbor's yard to play with the dog.

An Omaha woman was seriously bitten by a 'pit bull' in Omaha last weekend. The dog was apparently chasing a little boy, and the woman went out to intervene.  Last year, Omaha passed major restrictions on owners of 'pit bulls' and several other 'bully' type breeds -- which created a lot of loop holes for responsible owners to jump through but never dealt with the reality that it is a small number of irresponsible owners that are causing the problems who weren't going to abide by the law anyway. Omaha's law focused on entirely the wrong things and the city is worse off because of it.  Incidentally, there was a separate incident in Omaha this week as well.

Afive year old Mount Airy (NC) boy was attacked this week by up to five Rottweilers at a relatives house. Apparently, animal control officials have been to the home before where there were "in excess" of 20 dogs at the home -- many of which were kept chained in the back yard.  Authorities don't suspect it was a breeding operation, or that illegal activity was going on.

Miscellanious

A Mississippi man says he owes his life to his loyal 'pit bull' who saved his life by snagging a copperhead that was about to bite the man.

A newspaper editorial talks about how meeting a 'pit bull' and bringing it into her home changed her entire opinion about pit bulls. 

Best buylaws target owners, not breeds.

Have a great week everyone.

Weekly Roundup -- Week ending 9/20/09

Is it really late September?  Man, the late Labor Day this year has really screwed up my internal clock. It was a pretty slow news week this week, so fewer links and comments than normal. This is a good thing of course....fewer cities considering BSL, and fewer reported dog bites and abuse cases are good things.  Hopefully this trend continues.

Cities and Laws

South Charleston, WV has removed all references to specific breeds in their new dangerous dog ordinance and instead will focus on the behaviors of the individual dogs.

Senath, MO is now considering making it illegal to own or harbor 'pit bulls' in the community. There is no mention of why the discussion is even taking place.

Independence, KY is looking at strengthening their dangerous dog ordinance because of resident concerns over dogs that are running loose in their neighborhoods. No comment on whether or not the ordinance will be focused on particular breeds, although mention of specific breeds is brought up in the article.  It sounds like they need to be enforcing the city's leash law as much as anything. There is more on this here.

Dandridge, TN is looking at breed-specific restrictions in their community following two bites that have occurred over the past year.

Elkhart, IL is holding a series of public meeting about whether or not they should consider banning 'pit bulls' from the community.  Public comments will not be accepted.

Well, it's official, Whitehall, OH city councilwoman Jackie Thompson will have an election to be recalled in November.  Thompson has made quite a spectacle of herself in two different attempts to try to ban 'pit bulls' in the city and the citizens are tired of it...after two short years.  This is how you affect city action against negligent politicians.

Dog Attacks

 A 39 year old St. Petersburg, FL area woman was injured when she was attacked by one of three dogs that was living in her backyard. The dog is described as a "100 lbs pit bull" -- which is either a major exaggeration on the size or the dog is not really a 'pit bull".  No reason is give for why the woman was attacked...she lived in the same home with the dogs.

A six year old boy in Decatur, IL was the neighbor's "German Shepherd mix" that jumped the fence and attacked the young boy. This apparently isn't the first time the dog has bitten the boy.

A 12 year old Winnepeg boy was attacked in the face by an American Bulldog which belongs to his neighbor. Winnepeg banned 'pit bulls' from the community several years ago...but irresponsible owners have simply turned to other breeds of dogs to own because they never focused on irresponsible owners, only dogs.

Apparently there were no consequences for a dog owner in Kansas City who's dog broke free from it's leash and attacked a woman who was walking home from church.

Abuse Cases

An Independence, MO woman was arrested and charged with 17 counts of animal abuse after authorities found a house full of cats and dogs that were dead, starving, and covered with flea bites.

An Eldon, MO man has plead guilty on federal charges for his role in a dog-fighting conspiracy and for selling dogs for fighting purposes. Jack Ruppel now faces up to 10 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $500,000.

Four eastern MO men have pled guilty to charges in large dog fighting ring sting.

Miscellanious

Much pit-bull rhetoric is not based in experience.

From America's Hero to America's least wanted -- a little history in the evolution of how people perceive 'pit bulls' in the US.

 The Humane Society of Southwest, Missouri is getting a new facility this week that will greatly improve the conditions of the animals that end up there.

Muncie and Deleware Counties (IN) are getting blasted by animal welfare experts in their community and the media for their complete failure in coming up with a viable solution to animal control problems in their community.

An interesting look at inner-city dog-fighting in Chicago -- and a program that is run by Tio Hardiman up there that encourages the city's youth to come up with constructive ways to train their dogs and take pride in them.

An article about inner-city dog-fighting in Philadelphia and attempts to clean that up there as well.

A good Q&A by someone who went to the shelter to adopt a dog, fell in love with a 'pit bull', but was hesitant to adopt it for fears about it growing up into some kind of monster based on media reports. The answer person does a great job of fielding the question -- but this really points out the problems that lie in adopting out 'pit bulls' from shelters because many people, even when they meet great dogs, have an underlying fear that has been created by all of the media drama over the past couple of decades.

Cesar Millan is launching a new bi-monthly magazine for dog owners entitled "Cesar's Way'.  The first issue came out on September 15th.

A great listing of Kansas City Metro-area dog events.

Welcome to the community --No Kill Baton Rouge.

Weekly Roundup - Week Ending 9/13/09

With the holiday weekend last weekend (at least here in the states), I didn't get a weekly roundup out last week. So once again, I've got two weeks of stuff. It always looks overwhelming when I put two weeks worth of stuff together. 

There are a lot of articles -- but as you read through I want you to notice how in all of the bite reports, some very common themes start popping up that led to the dog bite -- regardless of the breed of dog that is involved. You'll also notice quite a bit of difference in how the media reported these bites. Also, a lot of unnecessary incidents where police shot animals over the past couple of weeks.  Have a great week everyone.

Cities and dog laws

Eastpointe, MI is going to introduce a revised animal control ordinance next week that will not be breed specific. Increasingly, cities are wisely creating ordinances that are centered around the dog's behavior, not their breed.

Salem, AR is looking at a possible new law that would create restrictions on  'pit bulls' and rottweilers in the community.

In Kingsport, TN, officials are looking at breed neutral legislation after their research has shown pit bull bans in other places to be unsuccessful.

Whispers of BSL in the state of Texas.

Hutchinson, KS will not ban pit bulls from the city after city officials realized that doing anything about 'pit bulls' would only cover a small fraction of the dog bites in the community. 

Liberty, MO is considering raising their pet limit to allow ownership of more than 2 dogs.

Prosecutors in Toledo lost evidence that was intended to be used to prosecute 2 men on charges of dog fighting.  Toledo has a ban on pit bulls that they told people was to help them stop dog-fighting, but don't have the ability to not lose evidence when a dogfighting trial comes up.

Nackawic, Canada has finally repealed their animal control bylaw that singled out pit bulls, rottweilers and their mixed breeds.

Dog bites

There was an incident in Salinas, CA where a 'pit bull' that was being walked by a 14 year old boy and saw a man with three small, barking Chihuahuas. The dog pulled away from the boy and bit one of the dogs and the man who was trying to protect them. Donna over at Bad Rap has a great commentary on this story -- which did do a good job of using the media to educate owners on training and maintaining control of your dog and that well trained, stable dogs, of all breeds, make great family pets.

A three year old Porter, TX girl was injured this week when she was attacked by a 'pit bull'.  The child was visiting her aunt's house, and went into the backyard by herself to feed the three dogs that lived on chains in the back yard. The media certainly made this a 'pit bull' issue, instead of focusing on the reality that three year olds should be sent out to feed chained dogs by themselves under any circumstance. 

A 7 year old Kansas City boy was attacked this week by a Rottweiler that lived in the family's back yard. The attacked occurred in a very tough neighborhood in Kansas City -- where dogs are often kept as protection dogs.  The dog was one of two that was usually kept chained in the back yard. Neighbors said the attacks were just a tragedy waiting to happen because the dogs seemed aggressive.

A teenage girl Windsor, Ontario was viciously attacked by a Chesapeake Bay Retriever -- that it sounds like is usually kept chained in the back yard.  Windsor would fall under Ontario's ban on 'pit bull' type dogs. Even with this article they focus on the fact that most Chesapeak Bay Retrievers are good dogs (as are most dogs of all other breeds) -- failing to realize that bad behavior is almost always an owner-specific problem that has nothing to do with "breed".

A two year old toddler in Waynesboro, GA was attacked by a 'pit bull' when the toddler ran off into a wooded area after a ball.  Officials say they believe the dog was living in the woods and was likely hungry.  No word on why a two year old is running off into a wooded area by themselves.

Two children in Milwaukee wer bitten by a neighbor's Akita.  The breed of dog involved falls in paragraph 4 of the story.

An 18 month old Tupelo, MS girl was attacked by her "family's pit bull".  The toddler went outside to play with the dog by herself while the dog was chained up to a post in the back yard.

An Idaho Falls (ID) boy was hospitalized after being attacked by a Bull Mastiff - -that had apparently attacked someone before. Again, the breed of dog falls in paragraph 4.

A three year old toddler in Kingston, TN is mounting up large medical bills after being bitten by a stray dog a few weeks ago.

Two young girls in Rome, GA were attacked by a dog described as a "coonhound" that was apparently defending her puppies.

A three year old Fullerton, CA girl was attacked by the "family pit bull". In this one, the girl and her mother went to take food to the dog -- which was chained up in the back yard -- and then the mother went inside leaving the toddler outside with the chained up dog that had just been fed.

A Fergus Falls, MN delivery man was bitten by a Dalmation.

In Glade, Spring, VA, a four year old boy was hospitalized after the boy went outside to play with two large dogs that were tied up in the back hard. The boy was attacked by Rottweiler. 

A mail carrier in German Village, OH was hospitalized after being bitten by a Boxer.

A two year old toddler in Albuquerque was bitten by her grandparents  Chow mix.  The dog was apparently pretty unfamiliar with the child (the toddler did not live there) and a toy the child was playing with ended up too close to the dog - -who was chained up in the back yard -- and the dog attacked the child.

Dogs remain among the most safe animals on the planet. But in spite of this, parents still need to be responsible about watching and monitoriing their children when they are around dogs (or just wandering around outside). Safety can be more readily assured if people actually monitor their children. Honest discussions about how we keep dogs will help too...as so many of these attacks happened with dogs that were chained in their backyard (and appeared to be kept their as their primary form of containment).

Police shooting animals

Police in Troy, NY came to a woman's home in search of the woman's brother in law who did not live in her home. The woman tried to get her dogs out of harmss way and put them in the back yard only to find out officers were in her back yard (where they shouldn't have been without a warrant). The dogs ran out into the back yard and police shot and killed one of her dogs. The dog did not attack or bite anyone, but is now dead because police over-reacted and were not following proper policy.

A family in Raymore, MO is upset after police shot the 18 year old cat with a shotgun. Police were called to the scene with reports of an "aggressive cat" -- and according to the police report, the cat was sick, wild and had its claws extended. However, the dead cat was declawed 10 years ago.  After shooting the cat, the police apparently responded by throwing the cat's body into a dumpster. 

A 'pit bull' in Grand Forks, ND was shot by police for "terrorizing" a neighborhood. The dog reportedly was barking and chasing kids on bicycles.  No one was bitten - -but the dog was killed.

A three year old Milwaukee boy was bitten in the face by the neighbor's American Bulldog. Apparently the young boy went into the neighbor's back yard and let the dog out of the kennel.  The neighbor told the boy to put the dog back into the kennel and that's when the dog bit the boy. Why was the three year old over in the neighbor's yard letting the dog out unattended?

Two 'pit bulls' were shot by a Sioux Falls, SD police officer.  The officer had stopped on a call about a parking violation, but then found two 'pit bulls' running loose. The dogs weren't being aggressive toward anyone and there had been no reports of them being aggressive.  However, when the officer approached the animals, they growled at him so he would stay away. When multiple officers cornered the dogs, they became aggressive toward the officers, and an officer shot both animals with a shotgun, killing one.  This is a classic case where the dogs were clearly not well socialized with people -- but also were not being aggressive unless cornered. Unfortunately, one of the dogs was needlessly killed.  No one was bitten or injured in the incident.

Chicago police fatally shot a 'pit bull' while they were serving a search warrant - -and in the process, bullets grazed two children that were in the home.  The dog was not responsible for biting anyone.

The number of dogs that are not involved in bite incidents that are shot by police is starting to become alarming...

Media Reporting

Police apparently tasered a dog in McFarland, CA that was supposedly chasing children. The dog is being called a "pit bull" and said to weigh 120 lbs -- which would be about twice the weight of a large 'pit bull'...which seems as if their breed identification was all wrong.  No one was injured in the incident, and police just secured a stray dog, but it made headlines because of the breed of dog supposedly involved.

In Memphis, an 11 year old boy was reportedly "attacked by a pack of pit bulls".  Now, I don't know about you, but being attacked by a pack of dogs sounds really scary to me. However, if you read the story, you find that the boy only received what are being reported as "superficial" wounds -- which wouldn't be consistent with an attack at all.  Media drives fear. Fear drives attention to the media. It's a vicious cycle.

Animal Cruelty

A man in Onslow County, NC is being held on $105,000 bond after authorities found both marijuana and 51 'pit bulls' on his property that were apparently in awful conditions.

Miscellanious

Dog Breed bans ignore the realy problem.

Canadian Expert Bill Bruce will be hodling a forum on the tactics Calgary is using to reduce dog bites in their community.  Calgary has long been a successful model for not only creating a no-kill community, but also for minimizing dog bites, without breed specific laws or mandatory spay/neuter.

A good video that shows aggressive manerisms by a dog, along with very submissive behavior toward the dog, that still led to the larger dog biting at the smaller dog.  The more people can learn about the body language of their dog and how to control/react to that body language, the better off we'll all be.

Poochmaster has a good blog posting on how we define "vicious" for dogs in this country. Our paranoia over dog bites has really caused a lot of non-aggressive dogs to be euthanized due to very small, understandable incidences.

A great video from Knock Out Dog Fighting  - the video stresses the importance of giving high-energy dogs a "job" to do.  And if this energy is channeled in an appropriate way, the dogs will be great pets.  Great stuff.

The greatest dog breeds you only think you know -- pit bulls and greyhounds top the list.

Weekly Roundup, Week Ending 8/30/09

It's been a heck of a couple of weeks -- but am starting to get back on schedule and will be posting more regularly in the coming weeks. Sorry for missing the roundup last week -- here are this week's top stories, and a few I missed from the week prior.

Cities and Laws

New Florence city council banned 'pit bulls' from their community of about 765 pepole. I cannot imgaine in a community this size that authorities don't know the name of every aggressive dog in the city....

The city council in Whitehall, OH has decided to drop the costly idea of putting the city's breed ban up to a public vote after 2 failed attempts by councilwoman Jacquelyn Thompson to pass a ban in the city with her council counterparts wisely voting down the ban on both occassions.

Marshalltown, IA is considering a new law that would require dogs that had broken animal control laws on three different occassions to be confiscated by animal control officers.  While I like the spirit of the law, I certainly hope that officials would focus the law on the dog owner instead of the dog and prevent the dog's owner that is in violation from owning a dog again in the city. Just taking the dog in (and sadly, likely killing the dog) will do no good if that owner is just allowed to get another dog.

The Canadian Community of Nackawic is looking at a proposal that would eliminate references to specific breeds from their dog control bylaw.  The revised ordinance has passed its first two readings.

Tulsa, OK is struggling after a decision to cut some of their animal control officers and realizing now that the police don't have time, nor the appropriate training, to deal with animal control calls that are happening during off hours.

Around 100 protesters showed up at City Hall in Denver this week to protest the city's well publicized ban on 'pit bulls'. The city is considering a repeal of the ban because of the high costs of enforcing the ban and defending it in court are a problem in light of the city's $12o million budget deficit. In spite of the reality that the city can show no evidence that the ban is actually improving public safety, some are still in favor of keeping the ban.

Prince George's has onc again stood by their city's ban on 'pit bull'.  This is the third challenge to the law that has been denied in spite of continued task force recommendations that the law is costly and ineffective.

Elkhart, IN is considering legislation that would ban pit bulls in their community.

Kingsport, TN is also looking at a potential ban on breeds - -in spite of opposition from every animal welfare organization in the community.

More problems in Omaha -- in spite of the increased money being spent on animal control by the city, dog bites are up significantly on the year.

Highland Park, IL was looking at potential restrictions on certain breeds of dogs, but decided to forgo a ban in favor of strengthening the animal control ordinance.  I think it's interesting the subtle note that a ban and strengthening animal control are not the same thing...and in fact, are mutually exclusive.

A newly proposed law in Mashpee, MA would ban several breeds of dogs in the community -- and if passed, would require any puppies of these breeds born to be brough into the shelter and systematically killed.

Hot Springs, AR is considering changes to their dangerous dog ordinance that won't be breed-specific.

Perquimans County, NC;  Vestavia, AL; Catawba County, NC; Jonesville, NC (sorry, no link, from the Fight BSL list serve) and Henderson, IN; all are strengthening their dangerous dog ordinances without using breed-specific language.  Most cities now that look at potential bans are starting to realize that the actual data does not support BSL and are going with breed neutral options that have proven to be more effective.

Dog bites and attacks

A 12 year old Norman, OK boy was attacked by 5 dogs  while he was riding his bicycle -- 4 of the dogs are described as Border Collie mixes (2 German Shepherd/Border collie mixes, 2 Border Collie/Pit Bull mixes) and 1 dog was described as a "boxer/pit bull mix". 

A Hoboken, NJ man was bitten in the arm by a Boxer when he reached down and picked up a ball while the dog reached for the same ball.

A father in the Bronx, NY saved his 3 year old son from a dog attack when the child was attacked by a 120 lbs Husky.

A 12 year old Danville, VA boy was attacked while he was swinging on some swings by a "brown and white shaggy haired dog".

A Tucson, AZ man was attacked by three "pit bull mix" dogs that were roaming at large and bit the man.

A 2 year old Harbor Beach boy was mauled by a German Shepherd/Labrador mix -- the boy's father shot the dog in order to stop the attack.

A 5 year old Wilson County (NC) boy was attacked by a Rottweiler while he was swinging on his swing set. The boy's mom left the boy outside alone with the dog and went inside and came back out to find the boy being attacked. What makes this story even worse is that the family had just gotten the dog when they took it in after having been abused by another family.

An 80 year old woman was knocked down by a dog that was clearly running out of control. The large dog knocked the woman down where she ended up breaking her hip. The dog is being called an "American Bulldog/pit bull' Mix.  There are no reports of the dog biting the woman. Interestingly, the initial story called the dog a 'pit bull' and put it in the headline.

Two Sacramento boys were attacked (one receiving 100 stitches) by a neighbor's Rottweiler.

A 7 year old Lake County (FL) boy was attacked by a pit bull that was chained up in the family's back yard.

A postal worker in Overland Park, KS was bitten by a "small black dog". Overland Park has a ban on 'pit bull' type dogs but had several dog bites this week that made the news.

The UK Breed Ban -- yip, still failing

A five year old girl who "strayed back home" while she was playing at a neighbor's house and ended up getting attacked by the family's French Mastiff.

Another young girl was attacked by what sounds like a Doberman and was rescued by a 26 year old man.

In spite of the country's 18 year old breed ban, the citizens of the country are not safer from dogs because irresponsible owners are not breed-specific.

Ontario's isn't working either

After a 13 year old girl was taken to the hospital after having part of her ear detatched by a dog.

The Media

An interesting article from teh Huron Daily Tribune about whether Huron county should hire an animal control officer in the county following an attack of a 2 year old boy by a German Shepherd/Labrador mix and a fatal dog attack involving three Blue Heeler mixes.  What's mostly interesting is that they covered these two stories and never mentioned any of the breeds involved in the attacks.  They even ran a second story and never mentioned the breeds.

A story from the St. Petersburg Times (FL) mentions two police officers that were attacked WITH a 'pit bull' (Not BY one).  The owner apparently threw the dog at the officers on two different occassions. There is no indication that the dog, in spite of its neglegent owner, was aggressive in any way toward the officers, bu that wouldn't be the first thought you had when seeing hte article.

Blog postings definitely worth reading

LA Animal Watch pleads with the city to quit seizing cats during the high kill season.

One Bark at a Time has a great visual  that illustrates the irrational fear mongering that is taking place by many anti-dog people. And yes, idiocy IS a cancer.

Pooch Master -- What did this accomplish?

Miscellanious

A South Carolina couple's American Pit Bull Terrier saved the couple's lives by waking them up when the family home caught on fire.

A good article from About.com on strengthening the human-canine bond.

A good article on pit bulls and parolees -- how the dogs and the parolees in Los Angeles rehabilitate each other.

A great article on Calgary's animal bylaw program. The city has 92% licensing compliance and their responsible ownership program focuses on four main principles: Licensing and permanently identifying the pet, great access to low-cost spay/neuter programs, proper socialization for dogs in the city's 150 dedicated off-leash areas, and not allowing the pet to become a nuissance or threat to the community.  Calgary has one of the lowest bite rates in North America and is essentially no-kill -- all without mandatory spay/neuter laws and breeed specific laws.

Weekly Roundup, week ending 8/16/09

Sorry for the light posting this week -- it's been a really hectic week.  Here are a few of the major stories I missed this week.

Cities and laws

The West Columbia (TX) city council has decided against pursuing a ban on particular breeds of dogs.

Lake Cherokee, MI is considering breed specific restrictions.

From the folks at Families Against Breed Bans, Black Diamond, WA is considering a potential ban on pit bulls.

A Park Ridge, IL Alderman is seeking new regulations for dog owners....that may or may not include breed specific measures.

White County, TN has decided against breed specific laws -- noting that singling out a breed would be impossible on the county level.

Springdale, AR is considering different regulations to crack down on dangerous dogs -- including potentially a ban on particular breeds of dogs. Brett Harris, the Animal Services Manager for Springdale isn't sure that's the right choice. "If you ban pit bulls specifically, you're leaving 50% of the problems out of the mix....from my experience, it's better to target a behavior of an owner who's responsible for the animal rather than the breed itself."  Hopefully the city council will listen to their animal control officers when it comes to this law.

Williams Lake, BC is looking at changes to their dangerous dog law and looking at focusing on the behavior of the dog, not how it looks.

The state of Illinois just passed a law that would prohibit individuals who have been convicted of dog fighting from owning an unsterilized or vicious dog.  The law is there to try to prevent someone from getting back into dog fighting upon their release from prison.  I'm not sure why such laws don't exist already.

Nackawic, CA is still looking at changes that would eliminate the city's breed specific prohibitions.

Dog bites and attacks

A San Antonio man was bitten by two dogs that escaped through an open gate in their back yard.  The dogs were described as "pit bulls or pit bull mixes" (isn't everything?)  that the owner says he got purposefully for protection after both his home and his truck had been broken into. Dogs that are gotten for the primary purpose of protection tend to be very suspicous (and even aggressive) toward strangers because keeping them poorly socialized is part of what makes them effective at 'protecting". Until we end the use of dogs as a form of protection -- by either eliminating crime or by providing propery police resources in particular neighborhoods, bites like this will still be a problem.

A grandmother in Skagit County, WA, was charged for criminal negligence, a felony, after her 10 month old granddaughter received dog bites from her Rhodesian Ridgeback/Labrador mix bit the child two days in a row. It is my understanding that at least one of the attacks involved both the child and the dog being given pancakes to eat at the same time. The dog finished the pancake first and then reached for the child's and bit the child...and then, bit the child a second day too. Most dog attacks like this are not because the dog is aggressive, necessarily, but more of a situation where a dog was put in a position to fail and did....because the dog and child were not completely socialized appropriately.  But we must steer our conversations toward managing children and dogs instead of always focusing on "breed".

A 9 year old Hillsboro, OR girl was bitten by a dog that "resembles a German Shepherd".  The girl needed 15 stiches for her wound.

A 13 year old Poland, OH boy was hospitalized after being attacked by a "German Shepherd/Chow mix" at his uncle's home.

In Newport News, VA, two Cane Corsos attacked and killed a Pekingese and sent the dog owner that tried to break up the attack.

An Alaskan Malamute is being declared dangerous in Lakeville, MA for its role in killing a neighbor's Chihuahua.

A "mastiff-bulldog mix" was responsible for attacking an 8 year old Town & Country, FL boy causing him to have to be hospitalized.

A 5 year old Wasilla (AK) boy was bitten by a northern breed of dog and was required more than 50 stitches.

The UK Dangerous Dog Ban Still failing

The UK's 18 year old ban on four different breeds of dogs continues to be a failure as now bites are occuring by a variety of different breeds because they never dealt with irresponsible ownership issues.

A 16 year old paperboy was bitten by a Labrador Retriever/Staffordshire Terrier cross that sprung on him while he was working his route.

A 13 year old boy was attacked by a Japanese Akita in a park.  The boy needed six hours of surgery to repair damage to his arm from the attack.

Abuse Cases

Seven men were arrested and 9 scarred pit bulls were rescued from a Kankakee County (IL) dog fighting ring.

80 dogs were seized from two raids of suspected dog fighting operations in Southern Indiana.

Miscellanious

Chaining dogs unleashes bad behavior.  Ok, shoot the messenger for the source here, and the person intervied by the source, but I applaud the effort to talk about how we should keep and maintain our dogs.

A great article from K-9 magazine on the Anatomy of a Dog attack.

Do Dogs Turn on their Guardians?  An article by Bark Magazine.

Another great article on the growing field of Animal Law from out in Texas.  The article focuses on a few folks in Texas that are working for better case law in the state -- including an archaic law that says that if an animal is wrongly killed by the city, the dog owner can only recoup the market value of the animal, and not sentimental value - -a precedent that is based on a ruling from 1891. We view dogs much differently now than we did in 1891 and the laws should reflect that.  Good article.

Blog postings worth reading

Pet Connection: This is how an animal welfare organization should talke about Michael Vick.

Move to Act: Cannibalism within animal wefare organizations takes precedent over focusing on animals.  I think this scenerio plays out in cities around the country as people who should have one goal in mind, the welfare of the animals, end up using politics to undermine their main goal.

For the Love of the Dog Blog: A Tax Deduction for our Furry Family Members?

Winograd: Riding on Vick's Bloodstained Coattails.

Weekly Roundup, Week Ending 8/9/09

It's been quite a week. Denver is considering a possible repeal of their long-standing ban on pit bulls because of the financial drain the repeated court cases are having on their city budget. Lakewood, OH has run yet another non-pit bull owner out of their community due to an inability to identify dog breeds, Omaha's first six months with breed specific legislation has proven to be a disaster...both in terms of reducing dog bites and its impact on the city budget, and Kansas City, MO has implemented some new 'performance standards" for animal control that will reward ACOs for bringing more animals into the shelter.   For the life of me I have no idea why a city would want to impose breed specific language when the evidence of its failures is everywhere and there are so many successful models that exist without breed specific language. I feel like the tide is turning...we'll see. 

On to the rest of the week's stories -- and there are a lot of odd ones for sure:

Cities and Laws

The saga in Sioux City, IA took yet another interesting turn this week. For the past 9 months or so, Sioux City, IA has undergone a series of embarrassments coming out of their ban on 'pit bulls' -- the latest being when councilman Aaron Rochester -- who was the leader in getting the ban passed -- let his Labrador get free and it attacked a passing jogger. The dog was declared vicious by the courts and sentenced to be killed -- but this week, Rochester's dog, Jake, was freed from the kennel when someone cut the lock off a chain link fence and rescued Jake.  Rochester's comments seem very odd, including noting that he isn't upset by his dog being stolen, he's 'surprised' but thought something like this could happen and claims to have no clue as to who could be responsible, even though some people have apparently said to him that they might do it. Nearly a year later, the fols in Sioux City are STILL discussing changes to their dog ordinance, and the saga continues to get weirder. Yes Biscuit! has a great writeup on this as well this week.

Mount Clemens, MI passed a ban on pit bulls this week, in spite of about 35 people coming out to testify against the ordinance and only a couple that spoke in favor.  Their ordinance allows people to keep their existing "pit bulls" with restrictions, but that the restrictions could be avoided if the dog is certified through the AKC's Canine Good Citizen program. This is similar to what Omaha did with their ordinance which essentially requires responsible owners -- who were never a problem in the first place -- to jump through a series of hoops in order to keep their dogs and takes the focus away from the owners that are irresponsible in the first place. Omaha's law has not been successful, but I guess Mount Clemens thought they should try it anyway.

Pine Bluff, AR officials are meeting trying to seek additional penalties for repeat offenders of their vicious dog ordinance. In 2006, Pine Bluffs enacted a breed specific ordinance that required owners of 'pit bulls' to have signs, an insurance policy, and a special registry for their dogs, however, the city continues to have problems with a small group of repeate offenders.  Most cities have a small group of dog owners that creat the majority of the dog bite problems in a their community, and yet instead of focusing on these owners, they make a more broad-sweeping law that creates hurdles for good dog owners to have to jump through....which just doesn't make sense.

Elyria, OH is considering a new dangerous dog law with breed specific language.

Denmark is now considering nationwide BSL -- hopefully they'll look at the failures of their UK neighbors (see below) and realize why this is such a bad idea.

Rock Hill, NC is putting in strong restrictions on how dog owners can keep their dogs with the hope of ending the mistreatment of dogs in their community after 13 dogs were found in the woods strapped with logging chains and without dog houses.  These types of ordinances make complete sense if public safety and improving the lives of animals is your goal.

Yorkville, IL has decided against breed specific language in their laws.

Miami Dade County lost two lawsuits this week when dogs that were confiscated from homes under the city's breed ban were determined to not be any of the banned breeds. Breed ID via site is proving to be futile....and not only making BSL unenforcable, it is showing that most dog bite studies based on breed are actually bunk because the breed ID is not reliable.

Nackawic, CA is looking at potentially eliminating their breed specific law and making a behavior-based ordinance.

Ortonville, MI is looking at potential breed specific legislation because an owner can't seem to kep her dog from getting loose -- with the owner getting three dog at large tickets in the past month.  Note to Ortonville, this owner is the problem...not an entire breed of dogs.

Dog Bites/Attacks

A Labrador Retriever that was tied to a metal fence bit a 2 year old Seattle area girl. The girl had a small puncture on her face that required a stitch. 

A 10 year old boy was bitten in the face by a dog (breed was unmentioned) in Connecticut.

An electrical repairman in DeWitt, IA was severely attacked by three dogs that circled him and attacked him. The dogs were described as an American Bulldog, Boxer and a Huskie that were all running at-large.

A four year old girl was bitten for the second time by the family's Beagle/Dachsund mix.  Apparently the dog had bitten the child before, but the child went over and laid on the dog. The incident appears to be a complete example of why educating parents how to introduce children and dogs together is increasingly important....for both the child and the dog. Now the dog will be killed because the parents failed to teach their toddler not lay on their dog.

An 82 year old Park Ridge, IL man was bitten by his neighbor's German Shepherds that were running at large.

Note that in none of the above stories was the dog breed mentioned in the headline.

In Miami-Dade County (which has had a ban on 'pit bulls' for 20 years), there is a news story about a 'pit bull' that apparently attacked a US Postal worker. Now, the term 'pit bull' is used in the headline, but if you go to the 14th paragraph of the article, you'll note that the dog, named "Blue", was registered as an Australian Shepherd (although I wonder if they mean Australian Cattle Dog/Blue Heeler given the dog's name).  In the 15th paragraph, you'll note that the writer of the story admits that the breed of dog has not been confirmed -- even though the headline appears to say otherwise. Meanwhile, regardless of the breed, the owner does need to be held accountable and it is further evidence that Miami's 2-decade-old ban is not improving public safety in their comunity.

A 13 year old girl in Sacramento was bitten by a 'pit bull' that was owned by the family. Apparently the girl was watching the family's three dogs play in the back yard when the dog ran into the girl, knocking her down, and then bit her.  The girl's injuries are described as minor, even though the word "attack" was used in both the headline and the story lead -- along with the words 'pit bull'.

A three year old Apopka, FL boy was attacked by his uncle's German Shepherd that was chained out in front of the home. The boy underwent emergency surgery following the attack.  The boy received over 100 stitches in his face and neck.  Some reports have noted that the young boy may have been throwing rocks and sticks at the dog prior to being attacked.  Apparently this is the second time the boy has been bitten by the dog.

A nine year old Corner Brook girl was bitten when a German Shepherd broke free from its chain and attacked her.

The UK Dangerous Dogs Act

Dog bites in West Yorkshire, UK have gone up more than 43% over the past 5 years in spite of the country-wide ban on  four breeds of dogs. The UK, often cited as an example of a place that passed a ban on 'pit bulls' and other breeds continues to be a complete failure at improving public safety because they still haven't figure out how to deal with the irresponsible dog owner situation.

In Lancashire, the bite increases are even more major. In the past 5 years, the number of severe attacks in that area have more than doubled.

A UK couple that was out walking their Rottweilers were attacked by two at-large Bull Mastiff-type dogs.

Miscellanious

This is a great story from the Gloucester (MA) Times about dog bites, with some refreshing outlooks on causes of dog bites and who's fault it is when one does (yip, that person who owns the dog).  It's refreshing when a newspaper does a well-informed article, that educates the public, and puts the responsibility of dog ownership on the dog owner.

A call for help from Best Friends for rescue groups and foster homes to step up to help the 400_ dogs confiscated from a major dog fighting ring bust about a month ago.

Olathe, KS has voted to keep their animal shelter open for at least one more year. Due to budget limitations, they have been considering contracting out shelter operations to nearby Animal Haven.

An interesting article about the growing veterinary field of canine forensics.

The pit bull, nanny dog, an endangered species -- a good write up from the Examiner folks on the failings of BSL -- featuring a mention of a blind pit bull that was taken from her owner in Independence following the city's breed ban.

I don't know anything about this movie --but an interesting trailer is now online for a trailer to a new documentary highlighting the plight of 'pit bulls' in the city of Denver.

Must-read Blog postings from the week:

Yes Biscuit! has a video of a man who's 'pit bull' save his son's life.

One Bark at a Time posts two photographs that tell a very sad, telling story. Fred is usually a great writer, but sometimes let's his photography skills do the talking for him. Folks, if you have older friends or family in your life, please make plans for what will happen with the companion dog when/if the dog's caretaker dies.

F8Hasit has an interesting post from an American Bulldog owner's viewpoint following two incidences where dog owners of non-targeted breeds were forced out of town by the city's pit bull ban and the city's inability to correctly identify dog breeds.

For the Love of Dog Blog has a good article on dog tethering including a day in the life video of a dog that is left chained as its primary form of containment. It's a worthy watch, regardless of where you stand on the tethering issue. And while I do support certain types of ordinances that restrict tethering, I think they should be tailored specifically toward the types of owners featured in this video who, while tethering their dogs, their complete neglect of the dog is their primary crime. Not all tethering is inhumane...but certainly the type featured here is.

Terrierman has a great post on accuracy of reporting, the accuracy of blogs, and steps people should take to insure they are developing accurate opinions on particular subjects. This is great to keep in mind for those city council members who think BSL is a great solution -- if the only source you can find to justify your position is a website created by someone who was bitten by a dog as her primary credentials, then you may need to go find a more accurate source --like any of the expert animal behavior groups out there.

A really great post fromSave a Pit Bull, Save the World about how no one should be made to feel bad about owning a particular breed of dog.