I don't have a ton of time today, so I'm going to just dive right in on the week's top stories:
Cities and laws
The city of Tea, SD is once again talking about their dog ordinance -- and is still considering repealing the city's ban on 'pit bulls' in favor of an ordinance that would allow people to keep certain breeds of dogs, but with insurance, signage and muzzling requirement. Jennifer was there and has the whole scoop.
Badin (NC)'s city council is looking at making adjustments to their dog ordinances that would have an impact on how dogs are confined in the city.
Residents in Chincoteague, VA have asked their city council to look at their vicious dog ordinance following an attack in their community.
Lexington, KY is considering making tethering dogs outside illegal. Generally, such laws are really good for dogs and do improve public safety, as long as they are not enforced in a way that encourages animal control officers to just confiscate dogs and kill them in the shelter.
Dixon, MO is considering looking at a ban on 'pit bulls', after a pit bull was found running at large. Again, what is it with cities thinking a breed ban is going to solve the issue of dogs running at-large?
Jodi has a complete rundown of the urgent BSL cases over at the Bless the Bullies blog.
Bites and Attacks
In Omaha, a 2year old girl required more than 60 stitches and will need recontructive surgery following an incident where she was bitten by a neighbor's Husky. The children were apparently in the yard playing with the dog when the dog bit the girl in the face. No one was there to witness the attack, so the exact cause is unknown --apparently the 2 year old left her family's yard without any adult supervision. Last year, Omaha passed an ill-advised ordinance focusing on specific breeds of dogs but failed to realize that it is situations that cause attacks (like a 2 year old girl playing with a dog unattendend), not dog breeds.
A four year old Utah girl was bitten by a 'pit bull' as was another woman who went to help her. The dog, which was said to be 90 lbs (which would be extremely large for a 'pit bull'), apparently dug at the fence separating the two yards and somehow got through.
A Virginia beach, VA woman was attacked by an Akita that leaped from a vehicle in the parking lot of a gas station. The woman remains in the hospital with serious injuries.
In Indianapolis,a woman was severely attacked by three 'pit bulls' that were running at large after escaping through ann open window in the neighborhood. Apparently the house the dogs came from also had 3 other dogs inside, and was filled with feces with huge signs of neglect with "unfit" living conditions according to police. While councilman Mike Speedy is usinng this as another platform for his breed specific ordinance, the reality is that the city needs to do a better job of finding and dealing with neglect cases in their community.
I covered this story last week in the weekly roundup, but a man in Firestone, CO, who's mastiff/boxer mix is responsible for attacking a woman, spoke out saying the whole situation could have been avoided if police had acted on a noise violation complaint he made toward the family and had taken the woman's sun to detox. It doesn't take much time with this story to realize why dog bites happen -- and why focusing on the dogs is not the right target of your efforts.
A Lincoln, NE boy was knocked off his bike and bitten by a 'pit bull' that was running at large. While the media there is chatting about "pit bull' bans, but animal control there doesn't want any part of it. "Pit bulls" make up 13% of the dog bites in Lincoln.
A 19 month old Fargo, ND boy was bitten by the family dog, an American Bulldog.
A Cape Coral, FL toddler was hospitalized and required surgery following a bite that was inflicted by the family's Husky.
In Middleboro, MA, a mailman refuses to deliver mail to a street because of an aggressive Labrador that lives on the street.
The UK Dangerous Dogs Act -- more signs of failure
18 years after passing the Dangerous Dogs Act that banned four breeds of dogs from the island, they continue to struggle with dog bites in their countries because they have yet to deal with dangeorus owners instead of dog breeds. Here's our weekly look at their failure.
Waltham Forest: Dog Bite Figures Soar
A fifteen year old youth was attacked by a Japanese Akita.
A 38 year old woman may lose the use of both of her arms following an attack.
A seven year old boy was hospitalized after being bitten by a Doberman that was tied up outside of a store.
A 65 year old woman spent four days in the hospital and had to euthanize her dog after being attacked by a "rather large brown dog".
Shelter News
A group of concerned citizens in Lincoln County, OR are looking at forming a non-profit group to help keep their animal shelter open following budget cuts by the county government. People in communities DO care about animals, and will step up to help shelters that are attempting to do things the right way.
Shelby County, KY has become the first No Kill animal shelter in the state of Kentucky. It's another sign of the importance of getting the community involved in going No Kill. "When you commit to make it happen, you enroll your entire community, " said Denise Jones, the founder of the Woodstock Animal Foundation. "The businesses in this community are enrolled. The people who own farms help take in some of the feral cats.". Congrats to the fine folks in Shelby County!
The Pennsylvania SPCA has named Sue Cosby its new CEO. I've had the pleasure of meeting Sue on a couple of occassions and think she is a top-notch person who will work her butt off to do the right things and improve the shelter kill rates in that city. Congrats to Sue, and to the Pennsylvania SPCA for getting her.
Independence, MO is partnering with Jackson County, MO to build a new animal shelter that will serve most of Eastern Jackson County.
Baltimore Animal Control officer faces heart wrenching job.
Abuse cases
Phoenix, a pit bull that was found after he was set on fire was euthanized this week -- unable to recover from the severe injuries. Here's a great story too about the woman who tried to save the dog, and the pit bull she owns.
A dog in Raeford, NC is recovering after being attacked by a Mahete.
Miscellanious
In Hayward, CA, a woman was dragged by her dog across some railroad tracks as a high-speed Amtrak train that was going about 70 miles per hour hit the woman and the dog. Both the woman and the dog died from the injuries. It's a tragic story, but one which symbolizes the importance of being sure you train your dog so it will listen to you even in the most dire of circumstances. Apparently the dog was following the man across the tracks but the woman/dog were not able to make it in time.
Christie at the Pet Connection has a great post entitle "There is nothing "progressive" about mandatory spay/neuter," following conversations about state wide MSN in California this week. The bill failed in the Senate.
Here's a good piece from NBC Nightly News on Cease Fire Chicago. This group is going into the inner city of Chicago to try to end violence in the inner city of Chicago by changing the hearts of young men in the community. Part of their mission is to end dog fighting as well in these communities. It's a great piece and worth watching.
This is a great video story on Roo and Wallace from KSTP in Minneapolis -- the team that combine to win the Purina Free Style Frisbee championship 2 years ago. There is a lot of footage of Wallace catching frisbies here -- worth the short watch.
Folks in Kansas City are still clamouring for a recommendation on dog parks 20 months after a task force was assigned to put together recommendations for some new locations in the city. It is my understanding that the proposal may be unveiled in July of this year -- a full 14 months after the original target date.
A solid article on the consolidation of "I'm tired of" and Best Friends joining forces to help fight BSL.
MSN in CA passed in the Senate (the day after it failed) and is now at the state Assembly (final hurdle before it becomes law).
Posted by: YesBiscuit! | June 07, 2009 at 02:00 PM
Well no, it will also have to be signed by our governor. And we have one or two committees to work on getting it killed in before it goes to an assembly vote.
It ain't over till it's over
Posted by: JAL | June 07, 2009 at 06:58 PM
All paws crossed it never makes it to the Governor's desk!
Posted by: YesBiscuit! | June 08, 2009 at 07:55 AM