Kansas City Kansas' struggles with BSL continue

 A couple of weeks ago, Kansas City, KS confiscated yet another dog -- this one named Brutus, from his home.

Brutus was confiscated because animal control insisted that he was a pit bull. Fortunately for Brutus' owners, they actually KNOW what type of dog Brutus is.  The owners of Brutus' parents, a Boxer and a Rottweiler, came to his trial to free him from his captivity.

After 2 weeks in the KCK dog prison, Brutus was released back to his owners. All of the family's fines were dropped and Brutus is a free dog.  You may note that this is becoming quite the recurring theme for KCK.  You may note, that earlier this Spring, KCK confiscated Nikko, who spent 9 months in jail while his parents worked to set him free. DNA testing showed him to not be predominently 'pit bull' and he was set free.  You may also note the story about Roscoe, where the dog was confiscated for 2 months while the parents worked to get him free. You may also note the story about Fleas, who was spared death after veterinarians testified that the dog was indeed, not a pit bull -- even though 19 puppies on the property were killed for being "pit bulls" (they weren't 'pit bulls' either. 

Anyone else notice a trend? And a lot of resources being used up trying to determine whether or not a whole bunch of non-aggressive dogs should be banned?

However, Brutus' story isn't finished. In just 2 weeks at the KCK dog prison, Brutus came home 10 pounds lighter. He had a staph infection, kennel cough, swollen joints, and the pads on his feet were badly swollen.  He had fluid in both of his elbows and 1 chipped tooth.

The pitcture on the top is Brutus' before picture, the pic to the left are all of Brutus' ribs 13 days later.

Seriously.

This is a dog that just LOOKED like it might be a 'pit bull'. It wasn't running loose. It wasn't aggressive. It was just a dog. And because of KCK's pit bull ban, not only was the dog taken in, it was completely neglected for two weeks while the people went through the court hearings (including providing pictures of the dog's parents).  In just two weeks, Brutus was in terrible shape.

For fun, I am posting Brutus' parents' pictures for your enjoyment.

Folks, we MUST put an end to the neglect and abuse of power that is going on in KCK. No one is safe from getting their dog confiscated. And no dog appears to be safe in their shelter. If you are interested in helping, please contact us at [email protected]  We cannot allow this to continue nor should any taxpayer in that city deem this as a good use of tax dollars.  Their law continues to be a complete failure and a complete waste of taxpayer dollars.

Comments

[Selma]

I hope someone sues them for animal cruelty.

How could anyone think that dog has any APBT/AmStaff/Stafford in him? I'm not familiar with KCK's bylaw, but like the rest of them, it's absolutely useless in every way.

How could anyone treat a helpless dog like that, unless they were sick?

Sue their asses.

[Anon]

Sue them.
Who is the dog in the bottom picture "mauling" that vicious looking bear?

Glad they got their dog back though.
Hope he recovers well.

[EmilyS]

Since this happens in all the BSL cities (not always with this more-or-less happy ending), I wonder if there's a key here for us to use.

Even with wacky court rulings upholding the laws that say "any dog ACO says is a pit bull IS a pit bull even if it's not", surely the public would be disturbed at resources wasted to arrest whole innocent "dogs that are absolutely not pit bulls".

Maybe we need to push more on the "there's no such thing as a "pit bull anyway" theme (though I would then fear for the true purebred APBT/AST/SBT).

Brent, do you have a sense whether there is ANY public outrage in KCK about these incidents?

Maybe it's time to "gin up" some outrage, in addition to the owners suing for actual damages for poor Brutus' recovery costs

"Here's where your money goes while KCKians suffer from real problems"

[EmilyS]

newspaper ad:

"While law enforcement agents raided the home of X and seized this innocent dog [photo of dog, preferably with his family/kids,

x people were murdered/assaulted
x homes were robbed
[list of other major crimes]

How do you want YOUR tax dollars spent to protect our citizens?

Contact us and join the fight to stop this madness!"

[Anon]

Never mind.
I see the dog in bottom photo is Brutus` sire.
Crazy to say the least.

[Ricky]

Hi Brent- You need to send your post to some of the dog-lovers in the media. My favorite is Lara Moritz of KMBC. She has several dogs of her own and has covered dog stories for years. You can email her at:
[email protected]

[MichelleD]

They won't cover the story..they've already done "too much dog stuff". We need more people demanding answers - if you have a contact Ricky please get in touch with them.

Where is Doug on this one? Its such a great example of how well breed descrimination works I can't believe he hasn't chimed in yet!

[Selma]

Doug is trying to stay "unbiased" so he has to stay away from this bad blog LOL!

[KC KS Kills Dogs]

We need to have a SPEND NO MONEY IN KANSAS CITY, KANSAS campaign!! Mayor Reardon is always making speeches on his city/county being the new tourist destination of the Midwest. After all they have a Nascar track, new hotels and shopping district, a soon to be built major waterpark and a casino coming.

It's time to get this insane city to quit using the excuse they need a pit bull ban to get into the drug houses and protect it's citizens. What a crock of hooey!!!

[Adam]

Brutus' parents should sue!

[Brent]

Emily,

I do get the sense that there is rising unrest in KCK regarding this situation. Certainly as this happens to more and more people (and people are finding out that they aren't alone in this) there is becoming more outrage. We may not be to critical mass yet -- in large part because there seems to be a lot of apathy in the area. However, interestingly, the city beginning to enforce its ban on carports (yes, carports, in a city/county that is very largely blue collar and still has many rural areas to it) really got a lot of people motivated to take action...and they are beginning to see the city injustices in more and more areas.

We'll see, but we are clearing building more momentum in the direction of people willing to fight.

[Karen Bales]

I want to thank everyone for their support. Brutus is making some progress, but he still is not the same dog he was before they starved and beat him. His kennel cough is still an issue. He is due back at the vet's Friday.
To say the least, I don't know if he will ever be the same. My husband, Larry, lodged a complaint with Police Internal Affairs. He has already recieved a letter back stating there wasn't enough evidense to reprimand Office Swartz or Capt Smith at AC. That is a bunch of hooey. So we are back to square one. Judge Ryan and Prosecutor Megan Schultz are our next hope. Larry has spoke to a Doug at KHSB 41, who is suppose to be getting back with him.
I have contacted a few lawyeers but no one seems interested in sueing AC. So if anyone out there knows of a lwayer interested in Animal Rights and is against animal abuse please contact me here. Hope all have a happy holiday.

[Brent]

Karen,

You should try contacting the KS Department of Agriculture. In Missouri, I know the department of ag is responsible for inspecting all animal shelters....might be worth putting this on their radar. The KCK shelter has been sanctioned by the department of ag on previous occassions for killing animals prior to the 3 day wait period being over -- so I do think they would take this pretty seriously.

There's a little information on it in this article toward the bottom:

http://www.kctv5.com/investigations/14605864/detail.html

[MichelleD]

Also lodge a complaint with the KS Vet Board on Dr. Swanson. He ID'd Brutus as a pit bull when he clearly wasn't and should be sanctioned for it.

I'd also like to start a campaign against him personally. He's getting paid off by AC to ID dogs as pit bulls and getting his pockets lined for killing them as well.

[Selma]

Maybe try Nathan Winograd?

[Karen Bales]

Here is an update on Brutus. He is doing better. He has gained most of his weight back. He is still very jumpy, for the most part he is back to his old self.

When we picked him up from AC Capt Smith and Officer Swartz agreed to pay his vet bills. Well, that was another lie. We received a call and a bill from Welborne Animal Hosp. stating AC was not going to pay for his bills. The bills we would not have had, had they not imprisoned him in their Nazi dog prison. We have tried to contact Capt Smith, he refuses to speak to us about our dog. (go figure).

The most important is Brutus is doing better, Kennell cough is still an issue but he is on Prednisone and Doxycyline. The Vet at Welborne says it will improve with time.
I again, would like to thank everyone for their support and prayers will he was imprisoned and so sick.

[Sherry]

Wow. I am so sad to see this actually happens to animals. I have seen it in movies, and you read about it, but wow.

You mentioned in one of your stories about how we need to stop and think who our preditors are....and they are not dogs!!!!
This is very true, if you treat the dog with respect and give love like you would your own child, there wouldnt be any problems, its the idiots out there that think they are Thugs and want to be cool and have their dogs killing or hurting people who are the ones that need to be put in jail......NOT ANIMALS!!!!