KC DOG BLOG

Happy Halloween

Go give some treats to your dogs when they do tricks.  Dogs are fun all dressed up for Halloween...so with that, I share a picture of my girl SweetP in her St. Patty's Day garb. She doesn't care much for being dressed up, but will do pretty much anything we ask of her (except stopping licking). 

If you're into seeing pups dressed up, you can check out this Growloween video that shows the dogs dressed up at a recent event sponsored by Three-Dog Bakery.

Have a good (and safe) Halloween and we'll resume the series tomorrow.

Selective Inclusion (Part 2 in the series)

So yesterday's readers properly lept to the second installment on the media, and any "data" gathered solely from news sources isn't viable research for use when making laws.  TV News stations' number one goal is to achieve ratings.  Newspapers' goal is to gain readership.  In return they gain advertisers that generate revenue.  Sadly, getting the facts straight has become secondary. 

Also, because news sources cannot possibly report on every event in an area, they selectively choose which stories to proceed with, and which ones they won't cover.  Thus, by their nature, news stories are far from all-inclusive as a source for compiling data for use as research.  They selectively pick and choose what to cover.  They have to.

But is there a chance that the media over-reports biting incidents of certain types of dogs more than others?  Or does the small percentage of dog bites (less than 1% of the total based on 1,008 major dog bites every day requiring an ER visit and my finding roughly 10 unique news stories a day about these events) that they cover equal a fair representation of the overall bites?  If you've read this blog before, you probably know the answer.

Yesterday, Carianne appropriately pointed us toward a report by the National Canine Research Council that analized four major attacks, over four consecutive days involving four different breeds of dogs. The one involving the "pit bull" received 230 news reports while the other 3 combined (one of which was a fatality) received 4 total news items covered.    This isn't the first time the NCRC has done such a study, each one with a similar result.

Even locally, we spoke with a reporter at one news station who informed us that his publisher would not run a news story about  a dog bite unless it involved a pit bull. 

It's also not uncommon for the media to mess up the breed of dog entirely or to take completely unexpert opinion on what breed of dog attacked them.  It's no coincidence that in the category cloud on my blog has "Media Irresponsiblity" as its largest category where I've made the most posts.  Here are a few examples:

There is this story from KCTV5 in Kansas City that reports that a woman was attacked by "2 or 3" "pit bulls" (you have to watch the story to get the "pit bulls" part as they've taken it off the online portion.  This woman identified the breed of the dogs that attacked her, but is unsure of the actual number of dogs involved in the attack.  The local Kansas City Star reported this story and noted it was a pit bull by saying another news source said it was a pit bull.

There is this report from Kansas City Based KMBC that reports about a French Mastiff attack but if you watch the video, you'll see "pit bull attack" on the banner highlighting the story.

There was this story from the San Jose Mercury News about a 2 year old that was reportedly "chased home" by two pit bulls. No injuries, or bites, but this made the news.

And this story (again from KCTV5) about "what could have been a vicious dog attack" on a woman who wasn't bitten by a pit bull.

And then there are stories like Marjorie's gem from yesterday about police arresting 9 people who were allegedly involved in a gang fight that has the headline "pit bull shot, policeman attacked at party".  Note that the officer was attacked by a beer bottle over the head and not by the actual dog.

It appears that the media is very prone to selective inclusion when it comes to their reporting on incidents...eager to report events involving pit bulls, not so much when it comes to other breeds of dogs.  Fear of pit bulls sell newspapers and ratings -- and the media is earning its keep on this.  Misreporting stories, over-reporting stories, and relying heavily on eye-witness breed identifications (I'll talk a bit tomorrow why that's a bad idea).    Even the CDC noted this when they did their report on attacks by dog breed back in 1997 -- but idiots like Merritt Clifton refuse to acknowledge that the media influence has created a major skew in his data.   

More tomorrow.

Data vs Information (Part 1 of several)

It's always important to me to make a distinction between data, and information.  Data is defined by Dictionary.com as "individual facts, statistics or items of information." Information is defined as "knowledge gained through study."

I think this is an important distinction to make because information trumps data...and yet too often, people make decisions based on data, not information.

Merrit Clifton's data is a perfect example of the difference.  Clifton's data is starting to gain popularity in city council meetings.  Just yesterday, I linked to two stories that mentioned Clifton's data.

Clifton's data is compiled information of media reports of dog bites that were considered either "deaths or maimings" over a 24 year timeframe listed by "breed".   Clifton uses this data to try to "prove" that pit bulls are more dangerous than other "breeds".

What's interesting though, is if you research other sources, such as Dog Bite Law, you'll note that according to their data, nearly 800,000 dog bites per year are serious enough to require medical attention.  Approximately 368,000 victims require an emergency room visit. 

So during the 24 year timeframe in which Clifton's data is pulled, there have been approximately 8.8 million dog bites that have required an emergency room visits and a whopping 19 MILLION bites that require medical attention.  Clifton's data includes 2,209 bites....or .025% of all dog bites that require a trip to the emergency room. 

Clearly Clifton's data involves a statistically insignificant number of dog bites that an ER visit.  Why so few recorded? 

Well, in many cases the news reports that Clifton reads don't include the breed of the dog.  Many are thrown out based on Clifton's decision that the attack wasn't severe enough to include (based 100% from how the newspaper reported the accident, Clifton never visits any of the victims to get a true feel of how "disfiguring an attack is, and I have all kinds of examples of  newspaper reports that have over-exaggerated the devastation of an attack, here's one for an example).  Additionally, not nearly every dog attack that occurs is reported by a media outlet -- in fact, just a tiny fraction of a percentage of them are.

There are plenty of other reasons why using media reports are misleading...which I'll attempt to get to later in this series. 

Clifton's data is clearly represents just a small fraction of the overall significant bites.  I would suggest that the reason pit bulls show up in such high numbers on his list is due to selective inclusion.  Not only do I feel strongly that the media reports pit bull attacks with more regularity, I also feel as if Clifton's bias against this group of dogs causes him to include more as "maimings" and dismiss those of other breeds more readily.  In this case, the data is not even information, is mis-information.  Even worse.

Tomorrow, why using just a fraction of the information available will get you in trouble.

Luv-a-bully march a huge success

Yesterday's Roverlution Luv-a-bully march was a huge success.  By my best c0unt (which was very difficult to do) we had around 45 dogs and about 80 dog owners out for the march in Mill Creek Park and on the Plaza.

The group was all there to support responsible dog legislation that would provide protection of dogs from bad people, protection of people from bad dogs and protection of dog owners' ability to keep their loyal companions.

KSHB did a nice story on the event -- I hope that they post the video at some point because they did a nice job with it that just doesn't come across in the printed version.

We had a lot of passers-by that came up and talked to us too...which is always nice.

Meanwhile, similar marches took place in 7 other states across the country.  Indianapolis got some great news coverage for their event as well.

My hope from events like these that people can see that there are many bully breed owners that are loving, caring owners that have very loyal, caring dogs.  Just because we don't make the nightly news because of our dogs chewing bones and laying on couches doesn't mean we don't exist. 

Hopefully we changed a few minds yesterday...and we can make some progress...a few people at a time.

I took quite a few pictures at the event that I'll get posted later this week to share.

Weekly Roundup - Roverlution Edition

Roverlution was great fun yesterday...tons of people out with their dogs, enjoying the fall weather and protesting stupid legislation.  Thanks for all who attended, and hats off to the organizers of the event.  From a personal note, I appologize for being gone for a couple of days....been traveling and otherwise really busy with my day job so I haven't been able to get to the blog as much.  But I have some a short series planned for this week, starting tomorrow, so stay tuned.  A lot of news out there this week, so let's get started.

Pit bull bites toddler in Baltimore

This is quite the researched story. Supposedly, the family pit bull bit a toddler, maybe on the nose (but not confirmed), and the father on the hand trying to pull the boy away.  The dog may or may not even belong to the family.  Nice research.  They probably shouldn't have even written the story with no information, but this does prove a point - -and that's that the vast majority of dog bites/attacks occur on the owner's property and usually involve someone the dog knows...which is why leash length laws, muzzling laws, etc do virtually nothing to improve the safety of citizens.

Great Dane Kills Dog in Lower Township, NJ.

The dog was being walked by someone other than the dog's owner that may not have been well-versed in the warning signs given by the dog.  Incidents like this happen.  I wish they wouldn't, but they do...and it's not just pit bulls, or Rottweilers that are responsible.

Two boys attacked by Rottweiler in Cookeville, TN

The dog was of course chained in the back yard when the attack occured.  Some day I hope to see headlines that read "chained dog attacks two  boys" instead of putting the breed in headline.

While I'm mentioning Cookeville

Here's a nice story about Pit Bull Awareness Day with an interview with Jodi Pries, of Bless the Bullies, and founder of the Pit Bull Awareness Day idea.  Sounds like they're event was as successful as our local Roverlution march, and hopefully next year the two national events can be merged together into one.

Dog Fighting Ring Busted near Dexter, MO

25 pit bull type dogs and one beagle were confiscated from a rural home near Dexter.  In spite of many of the dogs showing signs of wounds and fighting, the dogs showed no agression toward their rescuers.  "They weren't aggressive at all" said County Sheriff Carl Hefner.  "You could walk up to them and they'd jump on you and lick you." Our friends out at Bad Rap have been working on this and have some great thoughts on the story.

Ft. Wayne, IN Committee won't recommend Breed Specific Legislation to Council

The recommendation almost never entails BSL when you put experts on your committee and people who actually spend the time researching the issues and responsible legislation.  Hopefully the Ft. Wayne Couuncil will follow the committee's recommendation.

Harold Wefald of Montgomery Village Maryland is an idiot

His letter to the newspaper this week tries to pretend that pit bulls and Rottweilers aren't dangerous due to lack of socialization, but due to "Millions of years of instinct" -- which is why there wasn't a single fatality by a "pit bull" until around the mid 1970s.  But ok.  He then claims that an owner kept his dog on a 1-foot leash and had to use their strength to hold them.  Ok, so let's criticize responsible owners that restrain their dog from jumping on passers-by.  And then, a third owner he mentions had a dog on a 40-foot leash (never seen one that long, but ok) and the dog put his jaws around his ankle but never applied any pressure. 

These are his support points to justfy thinking pit bulls and rottweilers are dangerous.  Some people are idiots, and you just have to let them be.

Frostburg, TN decides against breed specific legislation

The law looks to be pretty solid.  It's based on a sample ordinance by the HSUS (which usually scares the heck out of me).  City Commissioner John Ralston said he favored a breed specific ordinance but didn't want to pass something that would cause the city to end up fighting court battles.  At least he realized there is a legal issue with BSL.

Pit bull and baby become best friends

This American Pit Bull Terrier was rescued from a Colorado Animal Shelter.  The dog and the family's young child have become best friends.  It's a great story, and yet another example of how these types of dogs, when kept in good environments, are great family pets and companions.  The story is made even better with the inclusion of the photo that I couldn't resist posting here.

Pit bulls often controversial but often loved breed

How in the world does Alan Beck continue to present himself as an expert in dog behavior?  This guy has made quite a name for himself by being the absolute ONLY "expert" in animal behavior that thinks there is anything different about "pit bulls" than other types of dogs. Here are a couple of "classic Becks"

"This breed alone is a risk of serious public health factors,” Beck said. “We are keeping them alive against their own best interests.” 

Exactly how is dying in their best interests?  And how is the "breed" a risk of health factors?  There are more than one breed of dog being talked about here...

“If these dogs were carrying an actual disease, people would advocate euthanizing them,” Beck said. “This breed itself is not natural.”

But they're not carrying diseases Alan.  And how is the "breed itself" not natural?  There are 3, 4 or in Toledo, 16 breeds that are classified as "pit bulls" -- are ALL of them unnatural?  This is idiotic.

At least they interviewd the director of animal control and local animal shelter David Hall:

"It's heartbreaking, Pit bulls are among some of the best dogs around when treated well."

Dog Attacks on Strangers are rare

This is a great letter written into the Pleasanton (CA) Weekly.  The person covers a lot of ground in the letter, from the reality that most dog bites occur on people they know.  It covers how people are working so hard to shelter their children from death, that their kids don't have the ability to live.   Enjoy.

Breeding Concern

"Gizmo the dog jumped up and looked for a chin to lick.  With a word from his owner, he sat down.  Gizmo tried again to get attention, though he was more polite this time. He lifted a paw to offer a shake.  The scene was sweet, except for one detail.  It wasn't a Golden Retriever or a Cocker Spaniel...her dogis a 75-pound pit bull terrier."

It's a pretty balanced story, but has some quotes from the usual suspects like Meritt Clifton.   Like this gem.  "I'm not really interested in whose fault it is."  See, that's the difference.  I am.  And I want to make laws that make people safer.  More on Cliffton on Monday.

Meanwhile, Erie is considering what to do with their ordinance and whether or not to make their new ordinance breed specific.  Hopefully they listen to the real experts on this,  and not phonies like Clifton.

Lorain, OH City Council Still Working on Pit bull Law

According to city officials, 85% of the pit bulls brought in by the shelter were euthenized because no owner came forward to claim them (which of course, ALL of the dogs in the shelter are there because no owner came forward to claim them...the difference is, the shelter doesn't want to adopt out the pit bulls) and less than 20% of their dog bites are coming from a "breed" that is apparently filling up their shelters.  The dog attack that they keep showing pictures of are the pictures of a 7 year old girl who was attacked by a dog that was CLEARLY CHAINED AND UNSOCIALLIZED.  They're completley barking up the wrong tree on this one.

Palm Beach County, FL looks to enact mandatory spay/neuter

The city shelter is looking to enact mandatory spay and neuter because of the county's "pet overpopulation crisis" and the emotional toll on shelter workers of having to kill over 18,000 dogs and cats in their city last year.

To put this in perspective, Palm Beach County, Florida has a total population of about 1.3 million people.   So if they could convince about 1% of the population of Palm Beach County to adopt, rather buy a new animal, they would have almost no overpopulation problem.  I always have to wonder if they are following the model for  battling "pet overpopulation" based on Nathan Winograd's proven model, that involves no laws, but shelters doing more offsite adoptions, better more convenient hours, good VOLUNTARY Spay/Neuter programs and better marketing by the shelters.  Guessing from their weekday hours that end at 6 every evening, I'm guessing not. Let's try that first before enforcing legislation on people that has never proven to aid the situation at all.

Family dog died from eating poisoned meat

Apparently a local Blue Springs couple found their dog dead when it ate contaminated meat that was tossed into their backyard.  Scary stuff.  I find myself asking a lot, what is wrong with people.  This is the type of story that almost makes me want to walk out and check out my back yard before I let my dogs out each day...which is sad.

Garflied Heights defends its pit bull ban

The article starts with the note that they passed the law because residents ignored previous laws, so the city passed a ban on the breed entirely.

Merritt Clifton's "statistics" make another appearance in this article as well.  More on this tomorrow.

UK's ban on four breeds of dogs working well.

The UK, one of the first places in the world to put a ban on certain breeds, continues to show why other cities should not follow suite.  Once again, they have a week full of major attacks.

This story is about two teanagers, one is hospitalized due to an attack.

And This story is about a woman's fox terrier tha twas attacked by stray dogs.

The UK's Dangerous Dog Ordinance, that has a ban on 4 different breeds of dogs continues to be a disaster and does nothing to improve public safety.

Fatal Dog attack in Ada Oklahoma

A 65-year old woman got mauled and killed by a pack of 6 dogs.  Details in this case are really slow getting in.  Needless to say, I don't condone allowing packs of dogs to roam around without owners being around.

3 dogs maul Richmond boy

The dogs attacked the boy on his bicycle.  It sounds like a pretty horrible attack and I hope the boy recovers.

Bust of dog fighting ring revives debate  over pit bulls as pets

This is actually a pretty good story (in spite of the headline).  True experts are talked to like Ledy Van Kavage of the ASPCA, Karen Delise of the National Canine Research Council (and writer of two books on this subject), Amy Nash, an Animal Control officer in Peculiar, MO, and Marcy Setter of PBRC.  When you interview experts (and not self-proclaimed ones like Alan Beck and Merrit Clifton), you get good information.  When you interview idiots...well, you get what you deserve.

October Draws for Paws!

Come join us for our Monthly fundraiser helping us in our efforts in building responsible dog legislation throughout the metro area.

Pit Bull Awareness Day

Last weekend (October 20), many groups throughout the country participated in the first annual "Pit Bull Awareness Day".  While most of the people out there are more than a little aware of "pit bulls", most are only aware of the ones that actually did something worthy (or sometimes not) of making it on the nightly news.  People never hear (or want to hear) about the good "pit bulls" out there (which is most of them). 

People in 100 cities across 36 states and provinces in North America participated in the event. 

The Atlanta Journal Constitution had a great story in the paper this weekend on the nation-wide event that was held to dispell the myths about "pit bulls".

"These are highly misunderstood dogs," said Shari Brewer.  "Because they are popular to breed and some irresponsible owners think it's a macho thing and they encourage aggression and fighting, people think that's what pit bulls are.

"If you isolate them, beat them and teach aggressiveness, that's what you get. But these dogs are very people-oriented dogs by nature."

Bless the Bullies -- a group based out of Cookeville, TN -- has some great photos on their page -- so go check them out.

I'm a bit embarrassed to say that I didn't even hear about "pit bull awareness day" until the day it happened.  My hope is that next year we can merge "pit bull awareness day" and "roverlution" to get all the groups together fighting for the same cause on the same day.   

Although in my household, every day is pit bull appreciation day....

Congrats to everyone who made the first ever Pit Bull Awareness Day a success.

You say you want a Roverlution

On Saturday, October 27th, people in Kansas and Missouri will be joining dog lovers in 9 other states in the 2nd annual Roverlution March.  People will meet at 11 am at the Horse Fountain in Mill Creek Park on the Country Club Plaza.

Who are the roverlutionists? They:

Oppose the expoitation of dogs in crimes and violence.

Oppose animal abuse, neglect, starvation and tethering.

Oppose inadequate animal control and animal welfare legislation.

Oppose laws that violate Constitutional Rights.

For you folks living in the Kansas City area, unless you live in Olathe, Lawrence, Mission, Lenexa Merriam or Blue Springs, your community is affected by either inadequate laws, over-restrictive laws or inadequate animal control enforcement.    Wear your red, white and blue down to the Plaza on Saturday and show your support in protesting laws that violate the rights of law-abiding citizens.

For those of you outside of the Kansas City area, similar marches are taking place in California, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Nebraska, and New Jersey. 

Come out for a good time, and friendly pooches.

For more information, check out roverlution.org or email [email protected]

A couple of upcoming events

We'll start from closest to furthest way (for Kansas Citians).

An American Opera Screening

St. Louis, MO.  -- On Friday, November 16, 7:30 pm, Ken Foster, the writer of the Dogs that Found Me and Chris Green, an animal attorney, will be  in St. Louis for the screening of a documentary directed by Thomas McPhee called  "An American Opera" dealing with the pet rescue/reunification after Hurricane Katrina.   In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, America suffered the worst domestic animal crisis in history. Tens of thousands of house pets were left to perish in neighborhoods throughout the Gulf when owners were forced to evacuate.  McPhee traveled to Gonzalez, LA just knowing he needed to help somehow.

He volunteered at the Lamar Dixon Expo Center and found himself photographing thousands of animals.  Through all the chaos it quickly became clear that not everyone was working toward the same goal. 

The screening will be held at Webster University, 3547 Olive St, St. Louis, MO  Phone number is 314, 289-4152.  Tickets cost $10.

Prosecuting Reckleless Owners and Muzzling Dangerous Dogs

New York, NY -- There are 73.9 million dogs living in the United States. A recent poll revealed that 69 percent of Americans view their pets as members of their families. However, severe dog attacks are generating more media attention than ever before, and legislators often react by passing dangerous-dog ordinances. Some dangerous-dog ordinances fail to adequately address the problem of dangerous dogs and reckless owners. Some ordinances and statutes have been ruled un-constitutional because they infringe on the property rights of owners.

This one-day session will examine the constitutionality of canine profiling. Effective dangerous-dog/reckless-owner ordinances and suggested ordinances to protect citizens from dog bites will be discussed. A case study of the breed ban in Prince George’s County will be discussed.

The factors involved in fatal dog attacks also will be examined. Last year, there were 31 fatal dog attacks in the U.S.: Unsterilized dogs were involved in 97 percent; reckless owners in 84 percent; and guard dogs, yard dogs, or fighting dogs in 78 percent.

Successful prosecutors will discuss what is involved in litigating these high-profile cases, and private attorneys will talk about their successful representation of dog owners appealing a dangerous-dog determination. Dr. Randy Lockwood will speak on the role of the expert witness in dangerous-dog cases. Insurance issues regarding breeds will also be discussed. Larry Cunningham, author of The Case Against Dog Breed Discrimination by Homeowners’ Insurance Companies (11 Conn. Ins. L. J. 1), will discuss canine profiling done by insurance companies.

Bernard Rollins, renowned philosopher, will talk about the implications of canine profiling and the human-animal bond.

Event is Saturday, Dec 1 at New York University -- for more information or to register, go here.

Media reports of media reports on a local dog attack

A few weeks ago I got a nice email from a local reporter who was a bit defensive about my stance that newspapers were quickly getting replaced by online journalists who were doing a better, faster, and more accurate job of providing "journalism" than local reporters.  His stance was that "The Star still consistently produces quality work that far surpasses the research seen on local blogs."

Actually, it's not all that different.

In today's issue of the Star, there is an article about a woman who was attacked by dogs locally.  Here is the story (I choose not to reward them with site traffic for this story, although, if you must, you can read it here).

Kansas City woman fights off attacking dogs

A woman was attacked by a group of angry dogs in Kansas City Sunday night.

According to authorities, the attack happened about 7 p.m. in the 7000 block of South Benton. The woman, who was bitten multiple times, did not suffer life-threatening injuries.

The woman, who was walking along the street, fought off the three pit bulls, according to media reports. She then sought help at a nearby home and called 911.

The article is based on the "researched" report from KCTV5 that ran live last night from the scene.  You have to watch the video to get the full "report" where my most favorite reporter, Ty Wilson goes on about this vicious dog attack and the woman's many injuries and how the woman thought she was going to die.  Turns out the woman was treated at the scene and returned home.  Also of note is that police wanted animal control to come to the scene, but they wouldn't come because it was after hours.  Nice. 

Instead of that being the story, Ty notes that the woman said that she was attacked by "2 or 3" pit bulls.  THIS was the Star's news source on this.  Let's think about it for a minute, the woman got such a great look at the dogs to identify them as pit bulls, but DIDN'T get to look at them close enough to even know if there were 2 or 3 dogs.  Interesting.  And the Star reported this as news exactly one day after Reader Representative Derek Donovan noted that the Star ran a major story about Lt. Gen Ricardo Sanchez's speech that was based 100% on the NY Times story about the speech.  No one at the star watched the speech, listened to the speech or read a transcript on the speech.  They reported the story based on someone else's coverage of the story.  Embarrassing.

The Star continues to fall in line behind the TV news stations' inability to do good reporting by now just reporting on what their stories actually were.  It's no wonder that when people like Merritt Cliffton write articles about dog bites based solely on media reported information that they end up tragically flawed and end up making for horrible policy.

Sadly, the Star is doing LESS research than the local blogs...with is tragically sad for the information the people in this city are able to get.