It's been both a good and a horrible week. Several cities and one state walked away from the idea of banning dogs based on their breed which is great, but on the flip side, two young children are dead due to preventable dog attacks. Our country also inaugerated a new President who has been greeted with great excitement. I really wanted to write up something on that, amd maybe I will some day, but it got burried in the busy week we saw this week. With all the goings on, there are quite a few stories I didn't get to this week. So here are the top stories I missed.
Dog Bites
A 3-year-old Alaska boy is recovering after being bitten by the family's Rottweiler/Labrador mix. The boy pulled on the tail and leaned on the hips of the dog, that was already suffering from painful arthritis. The pain of it, caused the dog to turn and bite the young boy in the face.
An Ohio man was was attacked this week by a Boxer that was roaming off-leash.
A Lakeland, FL girl was airlifted to the hospital after she was attacked by a Bull Mastiff that pulled her off the swing set.
A Wilmington, DE boy was bitten by two 'pit bulls' that were running at large. The boy tried unsuccessfully to run from the dogs.
Criminal charges are not likely in the fatal mauling in Beaver County, PA. This is a pretty decent follow-up story about the case.
A 2-yearold Farmington, NM boy received 150 stitches after being bitten after he startled an Akita while he was playing with a toy by the animal.
A clinically depressed Maltese mauled former French President Jacques Chirac this week causing the former French President to have to be rushed to the hospital.
A New Jersey judge will decide whether a Rhodesian Ridgeback owned by a Camden Surgeon will still be declared "dangeorus" after it bit another docter and a 14 year old girl.
Why does anyone talk about "breed" when it comes to dog bites and attacks?
Cities/States and Laws
A Washington DC councilman has proposed a bill that would ban 'pit bulls' from the city. Apparently, Jim Graham has introduced the bill at every session since he's been elected and it has been voted down.
American Falls, ID is working on a dangerous dog ordinance ths would be breed neutral and would punish owners of aggressive and stray dogs regardless of their breed.
The Ridgeland (MS) city council is drafting a proposal that will likely include a ban on 'pit bulls' and "Other so-called dangerous dogs". The city attorney is being very secretive about the actual ordinance (which is NEVER the best sign of open government).
A Nebraska lawmaker is looking to impose harsher penalties on owners of dogs that seriously injure other people.
Wichita, KS is going to re-evaluate its '07 dangerous dog law to see if they need to keep the status quo, or pass new breed-specific legislation. Wichita considered banning pit bulls 2 years ago, but there was no public support for it so they went with their current breed-neutral ordinance.
Lawsuites against cities
A Loudon County (VA) judge has set a trial date for May 5-7 to hear a lawsuit that the city shelter's policy that bars adopting pit bulls to the public violates the state law that forbids laws and policies to be made against specific breeds of dogs.
Citizens in Sioux City, IA have filed a complaint with the state of Iowa about the city's ban on 'pit bulls.
Reading PA, was denied it's appeal that their dog law that was aimed at restricting particular breeds based on bite numbers violated state law. Thus, the Reading law is no longer valid.
From Pet-Law, a bill has been submitted in Florida to try to mandate spay/neuter in the entire state. The bill is similar to the bill in California that was voted down last year.
Abuse cases - because humans are more dangerous to dogs than dogs to humans
An Atlantic City man is being charged for his role in allowing a 'pit bull" to freeze to death and then dumping the dog into the bay.
A six month old 'pit bull' was found frozen to death outside of a Wilmington, DE home this week. The dog had been tethered to a fence and froze to death.
A 'pit bull' was found emaciated and frozen to death in Gary, IN. The dog was about 25 lbs underweight and was left outside during the night that was 16 below zero. Folks, it's cold out there across most of the nation, PLEASE look after the dogs that are just left outside without a proper enclosure.
Suspects in Steele, MO are being held for potentially running a dog fighting ring in the area. Police seized five pit bulls, some cash and drug paraphenalia.
More than 100 feral dogs and cats were euthanized this week when authorities found them among the remains of 318 dead animals that had been dumped in trash bags at a man's rented property in Temecula, CA. The animals were described as completely feral that appeared to have never been touched by humans.
This week with Tom Skeldon
WTOL-TV in Toledo does a "news" report about Tom Skeldon and the fact that 'pit bull' seizures declined this year for the first time in quite a while. The article talks about Skeldon's "success" in picking up pit bulls, in a law that he supported against 'pit bulls' in the city. What the article fails to mention is that in spite of all of Skeldon's efforts against pit bulls, and likely because of these efforts, the number of dog bites in Toledo went up 23% in 2008 vs 2007...meaning citizens were less safe vs more safe because of these efforts.
Miscellanious
Here's a great column from the Shreveport Times entitled "Dogs don't just turn on people". One statement: ""An outright nip or bite never comes out of the blue without a clue or two behaviorally, long before the bite incident. Now you may have been "out in the blue" (ie: not observant enough to notice that your dog was showing signs of aggression)...
Well said. It is amazing at how well dogs pick up on human needs and emotions, but humans are terrible at noticing them in our canines.
Best Friends Animal Society is offering to help Wilkes County (NC) evaluate and assess more than 127 'pit bulls' that were confiscated from Ed Faron on suspiciou of dog fighting. Best Friends and Ledy Van Kavage (who was then at the ASPCA, but now with Best Friends) were involved in helping officials evaluate the dogs confiscated from Mike Vick's Bad Newz Kennels that led to 47 of the 51 Vick dogs to be rehabbed with most of them leading normal lives in homes.
A good letter to the Great Falls Tribune (MT) -- Banning pit bulls is unwise, discriminatory.
A Boston Terrier saved his owner when it fought off a man that tried to rape the woman who owned the dog.
Gunther, a deaf 'pit bull' that was adopted from the Humane Society of South Mississippi, was the winner of the ASPCA's Adopt-A-Bull contest sponsored by Animal Farm Foundation. Gunther was adopted throught he ASPCA's Meet your match program and is doing really well with his new family.
Have a great week.
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