Weekly Roundup, week ending 11/23/08

It's been a really busy couple of weeks. If you have left me an email, I'm sorry I haven't gotten back to you....I'll get to it shortly. It just really has been one of those weeks.

The Roundup is pretty light this week. It was overall a fairly slow dog news week and I covered an awful lot of stuff that normally makes the roundup earlier this week on Monday and Wednesday. Anyway, let's get on with it:

Cities and Laws

I mentioned this one on Wednesday, but apparently about 30 people showed up at the Perryville, MO city council meeting on Monday, with 16 people speaking out about the city's proposed breed ban. According to the local newspaper report and a couple of people that I have spoken to abou tthe meeting, 15 of the people spoke out against the ordinance, with one being in favor of the ban. A full look at the ordinance can be seen here. The Southeast Missourian newspaper innaccurately said that the speakers were evenly split on the issue -- but have noted the correction in their online edition. City officials did not discuss the ordinance after citizens spoke.

The Ripon, CA shelter has a policy that prohibits the public from adopting pit bulls from the Shelter. However, it is against the state law to make this type of policy for a city shelter. This story accounts for one couple's efforts to save a 'pit bull' from the shelter in spite of that policy.

Avon Lake, OH is apparenlty looking at alternatives to a breed bans in the city. The city council said there may have been some misunderstanding about the city's intent with the law. "Residents have asked questions on whether a revision should be made to the ordinance and residents have addressed their fears to the council," said councilman David Kos. We want to amend or review options and use common sense. Any dog, whether a chihuahua or a bull mastiff, can bite under the right circumstances. I do believe it is a reflection on the owner." Amen to that.

The West Liberty, IA city council is still considering a ban on certain breeds of dogs, and many owners feel like they'll be unfairly targeted. The owners say that targeting people who own and contain their dogs irresponsibly. According to a former animal control officer with Iowa City Animal Care and Control, Andrea Kilkenny, "The problem is always irresponsible owners. It doesn't matter what breed they are if their owners are irresponsible. There are certainly identifiable factors that can result from dog-to-dog issues or dog-to-human issues, but they are not breed specific."

Orange County, NC (Chapel Hill) passed a law this week that forbids tethering for more than 3 hours in any 24 hour period. There is a group out there that is working with cities on passing these types of ordinances. I am going to talk a lot more about tethering ordinances and this group in the near future....but I do think that us looking at how dogs are contained and treated is a good step in the right direction in protecting both animals and the public. These ordinances don't come without concerns, but is a step in the right direction. More to come soon.

Ridgeland, MS is going back and redrafting their dog ordinance with the goal of protecting "responsible dog owners". The city had originally proposed an ordinance that banned various "pit bull" breeds and Rottweilers. However, the potential for litigation on such an ordinance, plus the knowledge that it will affect a lot of responsible owners has given them reason to go back and redraft the ordinance. There appear to be a couple citizens still trying to push a ban, so if you live in the area stay on the city council. A vote is expected after the first of the year.

Dog Bites

An El Dorado Hills, CA girl was bitten while playing soccer by a young black Lab. This isn't really news as it sounds like more of a puppy nip than a bite -- and I have no idea why newspapers think to report this type of stuff.

A 'pit bull' apparently bit a Chihuahua and its owner on Saturday in Utah.. The pit bull was off running loose. The Chihuahua and the owner both received minor injuries - -again, something that isn't really newsworthy.

Two 'pit bulls' in Laredo, TX apparently "attacked" a 55 year old woman. There are a lot of claims about how much worse this attack could have been -- but I can't even tell from the report if the woman was actually bitten. Additionally, I'm not sure at least one of the dogs is even a 'pit bull' as it looks a lot more like a white Boxer mix than one of the 'pit bull' breeds.

On Halloween night, a Lexington Park, MD boy was apparently bitten in the face by a neighbor's Rottweiler. Halloween is really tough on dogs because costumes, and screaming children and a lot of unusual sights and sounds can be difficult to deal with. Please protect your dog on Halloween from being in a scary situation -- and protect the neighborhood children as well.

A 7 year old girl in Oregon City, OR was bitten by a pit bull mix early this week. The girl was playing on a tire swing when the neighbor's dog, who had been at the home for less than a week, apparently bit her. This story ended up running all across the country, including even making it onto CNN.com Thankfully, It sounds like the girl will have a full recovery.

There was apparently a loose dog in Sunny Lake Park in Aurora, CO that led several people to have to leave the park because of its aggressive behavior. Just this week, a judge said that Aurora's ban on 'pit bulls' was legal. The city passed the ban thinking it would improve public safety from dogs, but in fact, total dog bites has gone up by 26% since the ordinance passed.

Animal Cruelty - proving as always that humans are the more dangerous species

A Chicago area man is facing charges of dog abuse for filing down the teeth of a Yorkshire Terrier because he said he had concerns about the dog biting. He then left the dog tied to a tree in someone else's yard with a not to ask them to please take care of the dog without having made previous arrangements.

City workers in Fort Worth, TX found four dead pit bulls , 2 adults and 2 puppies, left in a trash dumpster. There were no obvious signs of abuse on the dead dogs (other than, of course, the being dead part).

Here's another report on Mike Vick, who plead guilty to state dog fighting charges this week. Apparently Vick has admitted that he enjoyed putting family pets in with the fighting pit bulls and and thought it was funny watching them get injured. This is a sick, sick situation, and I really hope they don't lower his prison term for pleading guilty to the state charges.

Apparently a Lake Worth, FL man shot his neighbor's pit bull because it wandered into his yard. All the neighbors report that while the dog's owner had allowed the dog to get loose on a few occassions, the dog was well mannered and it doesn't sound like it was threatening the shooter in any way.

Coatsville, PA officials did a search on a home expecting to find drugs. Not only did they find drugs, but they found a couple of loaded guns and a body bag filled with the remains of several dogs that had been killed and apparently cut up with a chain saw. Yikes! This one courtesy of the Pet Lovers Tips Blog.

In another story from Pet Lovers Tips, it sounds like Springfield, MO police may never find the people who killed and skinned a couple's Great Dane.

A Martinsburg, WV woman was arrested this week for prostitution. Earlier this year, she was charged with abusing a 'pit bull' by leaving it be neglected and malnourished.

Miscellanious

The Bureau of Land Management is wondering what to do with large numbers of wild horses on federal lands and is now considering euthanizing the animals. It does consider euthanasia as a last resort. This story comes less than a year after HSUS passed a law forbidding the slaughter of horses -- because just merely euthanizing them makes more sense?

Following a bust of a group of individuals who were using dogs for fighting in Chicago, the Chicago Tribune did a pretty fair article on dog fighting in the city -- and got another mention for the outreach program started by Tio Hardiman that works to change the attitudes of inner city youth on how they treat their dogs. I'm not usually a fan of articles on people who use dogs for fighting, but this one is actually pretty good.

Which dog will Denver kill next? A group is raising money to produce a billboard in Denver in key downtown locations to highlight the attrocities of the city's breed ban. They are raising money to extend the campaign now. They have also set up a website talking about Denver's breed ban -- denverkillsdogs.com which also includes election information.

Baghdad authorities have announced that they will begin shooting stray dogs in the Iraqi city. Apparently stray dogs with diseases have bitten several people in the city that has led to their eventual death. 13 people died from dog bites in August alone. It looks like dogs have become a major problem in the city in what is a really unusual situation. This could be several blog postings in and of itself...but the one thing I will say is that while this sound terribly inhumane, at least they're being honest about what they're doing to stray dogs in the city...where here, we just call it euthanasia.

A pit bull owner is outraged because Toledo police apparently shot his dog -- in an unneccessary shooting. According to eyewitness accounts, the dog was apparently sitting wagging its tail when the police officers put 5 bullets in the dog. One officer is alleged to have said "Yup, that's the only good pit bull is a dead one". Let's keep in mind that one of the main points of the city of Toledo's defense in the Toledo vs Tellings case was that pit bulls really were more aggressive than other dogs, citing that police officers in Toledo shoot them at a higher rate than other dogs. It looks like it may have nothing to do with the dogs themselves, but only the police's attitudes that shooting them is apparently just fine and dandy.

Last week I mentioned a a woman, Vyvyan Hathaway, who had put together a photo montage of pit bulls as pets that was getting rave reviews in Georgia. Vyvian has a website with some of her photos -- you can check out some of the great photos here. I absolutely LOVE the fourth one across the top.

Here's an article from the Pittsburgh Post Gazette about some 'pit bulls' that are out there proving that they are great family dogs and not inherantly aggressive.

The folks in Tampa had another 'pit bulls pounding the pavement" march this weekend -- and this time were marching with Angel -- a pit bull puppy that was malnourished, and was tossed out the window of a moving vehicle and left to die -- but managed to crawl up to someone's home who saved her life. The dog is doing well now, but it is truly a great story of human negligence, followed by puppy triumph. Photo slideshow is included in this story.

Have a great week everyone.