A lot of news this week -- I won't be able to get to all of the links because my computer has had a meltdown -- so I'll get to some of the ones I saved up later in the week once I figure out my computer woes. Here are some of the highlights:
Dog Bites
A Spring Hill, FL police officer was bitten when he tried to rescue a small Pomeranian mixed breed dog that was running in traffic.
An 11 year old Monmouth, IL boy was attacked this week by two American Bulldogs that ran through an underground electric fence and attacked the boy.
A Fairfield man and his dog were attacked by two dogs, a Bulldog and a Dachshund, as they were walking last week.
Five "chihuahua mix" dogs (they look more like Jack Russels in the picture) are going to be put down after being declared dangerous following an incident wher ethey got loose and harassed a city worker. The man was bitten in the pants leg, but sustained no bite marks. While the owner appears to be in the wrong for having the dogs on the loose -- and certainly the dogs' behavior is unacceptable -- but euthanasia hardly seems like the appropriate response to such a minor incident.
A Tonawanda, NY infant was attacked on Sunday when a mother left the infant on the floor on a play mat and went to take a shower, and one of the family's dogs, defined in some places as a Staffordshire Terrier, and in others as a Staffordshire Bull Terrier, attacked the infant. Early reports were that the child sustained "life threatening" injuries, but the child was doing well soon after the unfortunate, unsupervised attack.
On Thanksgiving Day, a German Shepherd bit a young boy in Harvyville, KS. The dog was chained up on a cable, with no fence around the dog. The child wandered up to the dog and was bitten. According to several people in the article, the dog has a history of being aggressive -- which is really not surprising as dogs that live their life on a tether tend to not be at all well socialized animals. The city is now looking at possible dog ordinances to help cure this problem in the future.
Seven dogs in Broward County, FL are given new life after their owners fought against a change in their ordinance that most didn't know about that meant their dogs would be put down after only one bite or attack. I don't have a strong opinion on that ordinance itself, but I think the breeds of dogs involved are interesting as the effected dogs include 4 Siberian Huskies, one Staffordshire Terrier, 1 Boxer, and 1 Rottweiler.
Cities and Laws
The city council in Perryville, MO removed any talk of breed specific legislation from their dog ordinance talks and instead will define "vicious dogs" based on behavior.
A councilwoman elect in North Plains, OR is saying that her first action in office will be to try to ban "pit bulls" from the city. There are currently no cities in Oregon that ban 'pit bulls'. I have to wonder how this woman ever got elected when her first order of business after getting elected is to try to pass legislation that has been proven ineffective in every city it's ever been passed in.
The small town of Friscoe, TX has joined a small group of towns in Texas that are looking to lobby the Texas legislature to get rid of it's policies that prohibit breed specific laws in the state. These small towns apparently appear more intent on lobbying state government than doing the actual learning to see that these policies don't work -- which is why the state banned them in the first place.
Avon Lake, OH met again regarding their dangerous dog ordinance. It appears at this point that the city is strongly against breed specific language and really wants to come up with a solution that protects people from potentially aggressive canines, regardless of what breed of dog they are.
A woman in Tea, SD is trying to convince the city council there to repeal its breed ban. The woman moved to the city from Illinois (where breed bans are illegal) and found out her dogs are not welcome in the city, and is working with the city council to try to change that.
Abuse Cases
A Downey woman is facing felony animal cruelty charges after her pit bull jumped out of her truck bed while it was tethered and was dragged behind the vehicle for several blocks. The woman said she was taking the dog to get it euthanized because it had mange -- a completely curable skin condition. Fortunately, it sounds as if the dog is going to have a full recovery.
A Kansas man was found and is charged after police found 100 neglected animals on his farm. The dogs were found tied to metal posts in 3 foot chains in a barn on the property. The Sheriff's office in Newkirk, OK is taking donations to help feed the 96 dogs that are being held there. It sounds as if a few local rescue groups are going to be allowed to take in some of these dogs -- which is great to hear that they are going to be given a second chance.
A Plattsmouth, NE man is being charged after allegedly shooting his neighbor's Rottweiler. The dog was apparently safely in a fenced yard with a closed gate when it was shot.
Miscelanious
A 14 year old "pit bull " is working with students at an elementary school learn to read. The dog was found wandering in an industrial parking lot, and got therapy dog training, and now helps kids with reading difficulties by just being a good listener.
In South Carolina,a pit bull gave up its life for its owner. A man came over to the family's home to apparently collect an $80 loan, and then pulled a knife on the family members. The dog attacked the man but ended up dying from multiple stab wounds.
RE Nuns
Are they barking up the wrong tree?
I`d say so.
[quote]"We are concerned for our children."[/quote]
http://www.nationalcanineresearchcouncil.com/OklahomaStats.asp
[quote]Over the past 43 years (1965 - present) there have been fourteen (14) fatal dog attacks in Oklahoma, or approximately one (1) fatality every 3 years.
At least eight (8) different breeds/types of dogs have been identified in the fatal attacks in Oklahoma....
...Furthermore, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services:
In 2005, 41 children in Oklahoma died as the result of maltreatment (abuse/neglect).
In a SINGLE YEAR, 2005, more than THREE TIMES as many Oklahoma children died from maltreatment (abuse/neglect) than the TOTAL of ALL children killed by dog attacks in Oklahoma over the past 43 years. [/quote]
Looks like their concern is misplaced.
Posted by: anon | December 07, 2008 at 10:40 AM
I would like to point out that in the NY attack the dog, depending on which news stories you read, either broke through a dog gate or through the "wall' of the baby's pen to attack. It wasn't like the woman plopped down her infant right next to the family dog and left.
I'd also say emergency surgery in ICU is generally life-threatening stuff.
I'm mostly glad about the Broward County dogs getting a reprieve. Yes, people should keep their dogs restrained and yes there should be consequences for that (though I rarely think death is the 1st resort). No, people shouldn't have their dogs killed because they kill another animal on their owner's property or kill another loose animal. That's silly.
Posted by: Rinalia | December 07, 2008 at 02:59 PM
Read an interesting stat today,on our planet
there are 1,400,000 fatalities in car accidents reported
per annum,is it not time we BANNED motor vehicles.
Posted by: selwyn marock | December 08, 2008 at 07:06 AM
A Stat I learned yesterday,on the planet there are 1,300,000 reported road deaths per annum,I reckon cars should definitely be banned.Does that not equate to at least
2000 years of dog fatalities,am not very sharp at the moment had 2 beers.
Posted by: selwyn marock | December 09, 2008 at 05:51 AM