It's cold outside, and we just got about 4" of snow yesterday on top of our inch of ice. Good times. It's weekends like this that I don't quit thinking about the dogs that are left outside to deal with the elements. If you want to help others who are helping these dogs, be sure to catch up with the folks at the Winter Assistance Program to help.
Pit Bull Rescue Group may not be able to build shelter
The American Pit Bull Rescue Association had put down a $10,000 depoist on a 160 acre farm in Butler County, NE. They about the property for $416,000 with the hopes of using it for the Good Newz Dog Hotel, a national rescue for abused pit bulls. However, the Butler County government is now considering some changes in zoning that would prohibit the building of the shelter.
Mostly bad advice given by local animal control officer
I get really frustrated when "experts" spread the same types of myths that they read somewhere in a newspaper and then continue to pass the myths along. At least he got the fact that breed bans are not affective right.
Dog "snaps" when its tail is pulled
Yeah, the owner really said the dog "snaps" when its tail is pulled. This is a story from out of Toledo where a 2 year old was bitten by a dog while the kid was likely pulling on the dog's tail (no one knows for sure since the toddler was unsupervised.
Another NFL player gets in trouble with his 'pit bulls'
Jerome Mathis, a wide receiver for the Houston Texans, got citations for his animals running at large after his gray "pit bull" got loose and "caused concern" for a woman walking. And yes, the police officer called to the scene did discharge his weapon. Another non-dog-bite story that made its way into multiple media sources.
Sandusky Ohio votes in favor of breed neutral dangerous dog ordinance
The city had a pit bull ban several years ago and then repealed it during the Toledo vs Tellings court case for fear that their law was unconstitutional. However, the county as a whole saw their number of dog bites decline significantly after they repealed the BSL, so the council wisely did not reinstitute the ineffective ordinance.
London, Ontario toddler bitten by 'pit bull'
The 2 year old toddler was left alone with the dog like she had been "100 times before", however, this time she was left alone with the dog while it had a bone. The mom said it looks like the child tried to grab the dog's bone and the dog got angry and bit her face. Now the family blames the pit bull for being dangerous instead of realizing that they put both the toddler and the dog in a position that was very likely to fail.
Tacoma Washington Passes Breed Neutral Dangerous Dog Ordinance
They have expanded their definition of dangerous and potentiall dangerous to include: Unprovoked attack that inflicts severe injury or kills a person, an unprovoked attack that kills or injures a domestic animal badly enough that it's euthanized and keeping the dog for the purpose of fighing
The ordinance also creates a designation for "problem pet owner" for any person who commits three or more animal control violations in a 24 month period could be declared a problem pet owner and force to surrender their animals.
I'm a huge fan of the 3 strikes and your out types of ordinances that punish habitually problem owners.
Parachute Colorado decides against Breed Specific Language
This overall was worth a decent chuckle to me this week as it appeared the the fine folks of Parachute weren't aware that their proposed BSL was against Colorado state law that prevents breed specific language. They never really admitted to that in their discussions, but twice a breed specific law was proposed but died after other council members refused to second it. One of the mostions added several breeds of dogs such as Dobermans and Rottweilers to the ban.
In the end, mayor Roy McClung spoke to the reason why they voted against it. "I have enforcement concerns about this. I think it will be a real financial burden and we don't even have a shelter in this end of the county. So we'd have to build our own, man it and maintain it. And probably have to train a police officer to handle these situations."
Here's the origninal story about their consideration of the legislation.
Elderly man critical after family dog attacks
The man went outside to feed the family Bull Mastiff and the dog attacked him. During the attack, the man apparently went into cardiac arrest. I do think it's pretty amazing that the man is in the hospital in critical condition, and yet at least one news source referred to the attack as a "bite".
Dog bites two people in Blackfoot, Idaho
Tough week in the world's potato capital (strangely, I've been to the Idaho Potato Expo in Blackfoot, you're jealous, I know) as a German Shepherd that was a stray bit a couple of people that tried to help bring it in from the cold. The dog had been released from the shelter the day before following a separate attack.
Sioux City inches closer to BSL
In spite of reports saying that every person testifying at the meeting, from dog owners, to trainers, to folks from the Sioux Valley Kennel Club testifying that BSL in ineffective, they seem to be moving toward BSL. Instead, council members turned to myths and irrational fear to aid in their decision making. Said Councilwoman Sandra Ehrich:
"I can't think of any other dog that when it locks with somebody, it's there for the kill. Pit bulls scare me....Pit bulls, when they've got you, they want to kill you. And that's the prejudice I have. I can't help it. Their jaws lock. They're not going to let go....I'm still not convinced that that's not the case."
Councilman Al Bengtson added:
"I'll make a mistake on this ordinance before I'll let that happen in my community again".
It's so unbelievably frustrating when council people DON"T LISTEN TO THE EXPERTS IN THEIR OWN COMMUNITIES when it comes to making these types of laws. These experts don't have a hidden agenda. They're just right.
Atlanta Officer Attacked by Pit Bull
Of course this is the headline. The officer was on a foot chase and followed the suspect over a fence into someone's backyard where a one of three chained pit bulls broke free and bit the officer in the leg.
Knox County, TN looking at new Dangerous Dog Laws
This follows the death of 21 year old Jennifer Lowe last month. One of the recommendations would have allowed officers to take the dogs from the owner after it had been declared dangerous (which in Knox County requires the dog to be in a caged enclosure or on leash) and officers returned later and found the dogs running at large. They're also looking at requiring a dog be spayed and neutered the second time the animal is caught running at large. It does look like some form of BSL will be looked at and discussed.
Wow. Just wow. While I understand that there certainly are some drug dealers and gang bangers that get dogs for protection, that certainly isn't a majority of dog owners, or even pit bull owners. It may however be the majority of cases that the POLICE go to (because, let's see, do they show up at law-abiding citizen's places?). The writer of this is an idiot that pretty much glamourized one small segment of the population and tried to make it apply to all dog owners.
UK Kennel Worker gets one arm amputated, may lose another
This is a horrific story and the worst nightmare of anyone who has ever done shelter or kennel work. Mandy Penado was working with a Rottweiler in the UK that had a very rough background (including its owner not being allowed to keep dogs for the next 10 years). The dog began tugging at her coat (editor's note, my absolute guess on this is that there were treats in the coat pocket) and she tugged away and ended up getting pulled to the ground by the dog. In her defense, she used her arms to block her neck and throat. She's going to live because of her actions, but had to have one arm amputated because of it.
Have I noted before that the UK Dangerous Dogs act is NOT WORKING!
this story from the UK, the two year old boy wandered on to a neighboring property's dam and fell in the water. Two dogs, a Rottweiler and a Staffordshire Bull Terrier dragged the boy back to safety and were founding sitting by the boy's side when help arrived. The boy is in great shape and didn't need CPR, he only has a couple of small scratches on his arms from the dogs that drug him to safety.
Have a great week.
Did you see the related story to the boy's almost drowning?
http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,22923076-5001021,00.html
11 drownings in TWO weeks in this area!?! I think "inattentive parenting" is how a lot of these fatalities should really be logged...
Posted by: MichelleD | December 18, 2007 at 02:23 PM
[quote]Robert Kowalski, the dog's owner and the boy's uncle, says his dog does tend to "snap" when its tail is pulled.[/quote]
This tells me that this wasn`t a first time tail pulling.
Otherwise how would the owner know that the dog tends to snap when it`s tail is pulled.I guess the dog just connected this time.
Posted by: MAC`s GANG | December 18, 2007 at 03:44 PM