Here's all the non-bite related stuff for the week.
Peter Vallone says he wants a ban on pit bulls in New York
Following the vicious dog attack on Henry Piotrowski a couple of weeks ago, Peter Vallone Jr. has once again come out of the woodwork to push for a ban of pit bulls in New York (even though the state law prohibits such an ordinance). Vallone seems to be unaware or unwilling to consider the facts around this case, including the reality that animal control was called NINE times within 30 days of the attack and nothing ever became of it or that the dogs were owned by a convicted felon. He also seems really concerned about one attack, even though the city has had over 1300 bites recorded between January and May of this year -- the equivelant of 9 per day. It's interesting that in spite of there being nine bites per day in New York, that I only have record of two being in the newspaper this year -- guess what breed they were?
This isn't the first time that Vallone has called for a ban -- although the last time, he got some political pressure and then decided to push for a tethering ordinance instead.
Lucas County OH grapples with pit bulls
There may not be a single person on the planet that has spent more time talking about the evils of pit bulls than Tom Skeldon in Toledo. Even with all his laws trying to prevent problems with 'pit bulls', he is still grappling with them. Lucas County has impounded (and killed) more pit bulls than all but one other county in the state of Ohio all at taxpayers expense. All for a type of dog that represents 7.6% of the overall bites in the county. It is also interesting that Skeldon continues to trumpet that "pit bulls" are the number one biting breed in their shelter. While technically true, that pit bulls are #1 at 7.6%, Labs are #2 at 5.4% and Lab mixes are #3 at 4.1%. That's convenient.
Dogs must prove they can be good citizens
Wapato citizens are bracing for the city's breed specific legislation that bans pit bulls, rottweilers and mastiffs in the community of Wapato. Current residents can keep their dogs if they meet certain criteria. Wapato doesn't have an animal control officer to enforce this and it sounds like the police will be working to enforce this. The story is actually pretty good, interviewing the Yakima county Animal Control officer that doesn't support BSL, someone from the AKC, and noting that Yakima, which has had a ban for 21 years is still struggling with the ordinance.
Pit bull found at the bottom of the Cedar River (WA)
A black and white female pit bull was found dead in the Cedar River this week. The dog had a homemade anchor tied around its neck and was sunk to the bottom of the river. A local vet that performed the necropsy said it appears that the dog may have been alive when it was submerged. Again, who is the more violent species here?
10 dogs confiscated from dog fighting operation in Ypsilanti (MI)
The dogs were believed to be part of a dog fighting operation there. The dogs were immediately put down. The cruelty investigator at the scene said they had to be put down because dogs that were trained to fight may become a threat to the community. Apparently she hasn't seen the positive results of some of the dogs confiscated from Bad Newz Kennels.
Independence, MO is still looking at adjusting pet limit law
The city is considering changing the pet limit law that currently says that people can own no more than 2 dogs and 2 cats to extend the law so people can own up to 4 of anything. Some people actually spoke up against the law, which is just odd to me. People are worried about people with a lot of dogs or cats being a nuissance -- yet, there are already nuissance laws on the books to deal with these people. I still like Bill Bruce's comments when we talked about pet limits in Calgary (Calgary has no pet limits at all). He said from his experience was that responsible owners would be responsible for as many animals as they had (and if they knew they couldn't be responsible for more animals they wouldn't get them) and that irresponsible owners would be a problem with one dog or 10. That's what nuissance laws are for.
Carbondale, IL Reviews Dog Laws
The city is looking at reviewing their dog laws following an attack of a young girl by an American Bulldog last week. The city officals have said they are trying to balance the rights of pet owenrs with the safety concerns posed by potentially dangerous animals. Illinois state law prohits BSL, so at least we know that isn't a consideration, which means they at least will have one ineffective ordinance off the table.
Hamilton, OH working on vicious dog ordinance
Because of financial difficulties, the city of Hamilton (population 62,000) has cut its payment to the county for a dog warden to patrol the city and for access to the county's shelter. Because they no longer have a dog warden, they are now working with the police department on how to handle the enforcement of the state's vicious dog law and to deal with dogs running at large. It looks like the Ohio State ordinance is causing some financial hardships on some cities in the state...and now police resources are going to be used up to accomodate the laws.
Sandy (UT) looking at Breed Specific Legislation
Following several dog attacks in the city, the council is considering an ordinance that would prohibit some types of dogs (most of them considered non-domesticated breeds) and some that would be restricted.
Provo, UT Looking at Breed Neutral Policy
After several months of debate, Provo is looking at instituting a breed neutral policy that would allow them to declare a dog "at risk" or "dangerous" based on the individual dog's behavior. Based on their designation, the dogs would have different insurance, photo, microchip and kenneling requirements. I'm a big fan of these types of laws as they are pro-active and help protect people from potentially dangerous dogs, regardless of breed.
Lakewood man held for shooting dog with gun
A Lakewood (CO) man apparently shot and killed a Jack Russell Terrier this week. He initially blamed the dog for shooting itself, but apparently was drinking and shot the animal in the head. The man is being held on $2,000 bond for animal cruelty and reckless endangerment.
Just including this one for the "headline of the week" award from the NY Daily News. The story mentions the attack of Henry Piotrowski and Kamar Reynolds, who's mom's boyfriend released his aggressive dog on the family, but no where actually mentions anything near evidence that actual attacks by pit bulls is actually going up.
Pit bull saves owner from rape
A woman's pet pit bull saved her from an attacker that crawled through a partially gated window and apparently attempted to rape the young woman. The dog attacked the attacker and saved his owner from injury.
Kansas Animal cruelty case dismissed
A man show starved three bulldogs to death and then hid the dogs in his freezer is going to get off because the case wasn't brought to trial quickly enough.
Wichita Officials find Gory signs of dog fighting
Six pit bulls, two treadmills, a sledgehammer and an animal carcase were found in an otherwise abandoned house that was apparently used for a dog fighting house.
Ralston, NE looking at potential BSL
Ralston, NE, a suburb of Omaha, is following Omaha's lead and also considering breed specific legislation. The community has only 6 pit bulls in the city, and none of them have caused any problems, but apparently think that solving a problem they don't have and enacting an ordinance against 6 people is necessary. This is one major reason I support state wide bans on BSL. When small communities think that it is ok to enact legislation against 6 people, it just seems wrong on so many levels...and if the only way to stop it from happening is through a state-wide ban on BSL, it should be done.
Meanwhile, experts in Omaha are saying that they don't favor breed specific laws.
Some good answers about dangerous dogs
Adam Goldfarb from HSUS actually did a pretty good job on this Q&A session on the New York Times Blog.
A two year old Fargo, ND boy was found chasing a pit bull in an allyway behind the man's house. hey're all just so aggressive...
Hyannis, CT man attacked by Lab Mix
The man, Keith Harrison was walking through a parking lot and a truck pulled through the lot and a Labrador mix in the back of the truck bit the man in the face as the truck drove off. The man has pretty major injuries, and was forced to eat his meals through a straw and is now stuck with a lot of medical bills.
Pictures of the two dogs that kille Loriane May two weeks ago in Florida
Florida Today has the pics. The dogs certainly don't look vicious. Just goes to show you there is no "look" that will tell you if a dog is potentially dangerous or not. It's all about the behavior. And if the dog's behavior is bad, get him some training soon -- regardless if he is one of those "aggressive" breeds or not.
$142 Bill sent to couple's dog
News of the weird. Apparently the dog's owners set up a credit card in the dog's name, a name he happened to share with a man on the East Coast. So AFNI online ended up charging the dog for fees.
Re: the Florida case. The dog on the bottom looks old. He also seems to have a skin condition or scars or something.
Great Double Roundup this week!
Posted by: Caveat | July 14, 2008 at 10:36 AM
Thanks, I'm glad someone reads this stuff.
Re: the Florida case, remember, that the woman apparently died when she tried to intervene when her dogs were fighting. Neighbors have reported that the Golden Retriever-ish dog was the more aggressive of the two. My >guess< from looking at the pictures is that the Golden Retriever-ish dog attacked the other one, which is the reason for the scarring/battered look...
Posted by: Brent | July 14, 2008 at 10:45 AM
Severe attacks and violent/criminal owners aside, I'm getting pretty concerned about all the dog stories in the news lately -- and it seems to be escalating.
Only a couple of examples, I find it hard to believe that it is so unusual for a dog groomer to be bitten. I don't understand why that made the news. And since when is a 2 year old chasing a dog a news story, unless it is to highlight negligent parents?
Too many stories are shamefully making mountains out of molehills and it seems we are seeing the media shift its sensationalism from 'pit bull type dogs' to any dog story they can dig up.
Good for the 'pit bull type dogs', but what about ALL our dogs?
Dogs are animals. Dogs bite for many different reasons. They bite each other to say, 'get out of my face' or 'leave me alone', or I'm top dog here, or whatever. Dogs get scared or feel threatened or intimidated or feel protective or defensive, or they're sometimes just plain cranky.
What, are we just gonna kill them all for having instincts and behaving like dogs?
Lots of dogs bite. I don't think anyone can guaruntee their dog will never bite for any reason.
I choose to spend a lot of my 'quality time' w/ my dogs at the dog park -- we faithfully leash walk, but living in an apt, I wish to provide more strenuous exercise and freedom than I can provide at home. We don't just socialize, we hike and we swim.
Every day I realize that I am taking a risk -- a risk I obviously don't believe is very great. I pray that I am never mauled, and unless there is some extreme type of owner irresponsibility I believe that will not happen.
(I did suffer extreme fear the other day when approached by 2 of the biggest, most muscular male Great Danes I have ever seen -- w/ balls, and one w/ clipped ears. They came over to me -- right at face level. Talk about prejudice! YOW! There there, nice puppy, nice puppy....)
However, I realize that I do run the risk of being bitten, for one reason or another becaue it is my choice to spend a lot of time around dogs.
All you rescuers and fosters face the same risks and I'm sure most of you have been bitten.
The crux is: Are we going to choose to continue to share our homes and lives with dogs or not? Most people have had their skin broken by a dog's teeth sometime in their life. And it's not a very pleasant experience and for some it is traumatic. But until we get a whole lot smarter about communicating w/ our dogs and work a lot harder to provide for their needs and a fulfiling life, we're gonna suffer some bites. Are we gonna get rid of all of them because of this??
And I hope and pray that my face does not get bitten off, just because I said this!
Again, serious attacks, serious negligence of common sense and safety, owner abuses and violence are aside in all this.
Posted by: Becky | July 14, 2008 at 10:03 PM
Becky, I never used to be afraid of dogs even though I've been bitten a few times. A stubbed toe hurts worse than an average dog bite. But now, being in this for the last 3 years I find myself afraid of large dogs. I don't think either of us would stand a chance against 2 Great Danes if they meant business so I understand. Plus, I just found out a few years back that Rotties were MEAN!?!? I somehow hadn't gotten the memo - all the ones I'd met were big teddy bears.
I almost got attacked by a chained dog - the dog seemed fine until I approached it and then just went ape-shit. I think I made too much eye contact... I'm OK at reading body language but didn't see it coming.
In my head I know there is no real risk...but when you read the stuff OVER AND OVER - you can understand why the GP would get in a tizzy over all the mediot reports.
Posted by: MichelleD | July 15, 2008 at 10:13 AM