Last year, the city of Lakewood, OH enacted a ban on 'pit bulls' in the city -- and the city's police department appears woefully prepared to enforce the ordinance -- and the residents and dog owners are getting pretty upset about the whole thing.
Last month, I did a follow up on a story about a military veteran, Leonard Shelton, who was run out of town by the badgering by animal control and the police about his dog being a 'pit bull'. Shelton had the DNA test done on his dog, which noted that it had no trace amounts of any of the 'pit bull' breeds in it -- but had already moved out of the city so he and his dog Roscoe could live in peace.
Now, police are up a creek again. This time, police used a taser multiple times on a barking dog. Yip, that's right, a barking dog. And in spite of police's insistence, that the dog was acting aggressively and lunging at them, they even supplied the video from the taser itself, which has spurred a fire storm on controversy. What's even "better" about the story, is that the police officer that tased the dog, as well as the spokesman for the police department, are still calling the dog a pit bull. "In our opinion, the dog is a pit bull" said the spokesperson in one video. And in spite of mulitple headlines by the media calling it a pit bull, at least one media outlet has noted that the owner and several experts in the community say the dog is really a white Boxer, in spite of the police officer's insistence. And one quick viewing of the video from anyone who knows anything about dogs will confirm that the dog, indeed, looks very much like a white Boxer.
Which then leads us back to, would the police officer have tased the dog if he believed the dog to be a Boxer instead of a 'pit bull'? Did the police interpret the dog barking at the officers as aggressive because of the breed they perceived it to be?
We'll likely never know -- but we do know that once again the police failed in an effort to identify a 'pit bull' - -and yet another dog and dog owner in this community of 54,000 people have been victims of false breed mis-identification by a clearly untrained group of officers.
And yes, in some cases, police officers need to taser dogs to subdue them. But this pretty clearly wasn't one of them as the dog could have been subdued very easily by someone with even minimal training. And yes, tasers can be dangerous to dogs - as earlier this year, animal control officers in Toledo, OH killed a dog when they used unnecessary force on a 10 lbs dog that was on its front porch. What may be even worse about this, is that the officer admitted in his police report of the incident thatthe reason he didn't draw his gun, was not because it was unnecessary force, but because he feared the bullet might ricochet and injure a bystander.
The best videos are captured at this link, including some good footage of the dog in the shelter so you can see for yourself what breed of dog he is and also a good interview with a dog trainer that is fired up over the police officer's mistreatment of the animal.
BSL doesn't work. In this case, the law was passed and the local officers didn't even get the training in order to enforce the law. This lack of training puts all dog owners and dogs at risk, even if their dog is not one of the affected breeds. And officers using an irrational fear of dogs, a lack of even basic knowledge on handling dogs, and a breed ban as an excuse to use cruel force on a dog should not be tolerated.
Nice job Lakewood...once again, your ban is making your police force look like a group of keystone cops who are tasering dogs unnecessarily and running military veterans out of town. You should be proud.
I am very satisfied that I,and Rosco are no longer in the city of Lakewood. Lakewood has a good name, but underneath the name is nothing but trouble. You can not walk your dog, dogs can not bark, what's next Lakewood?I have a nice home now, and Rosco is once again enjoying being a dog. He is a certified Canine Good Citizen, and remains in training, and plays well with other dogs at dog camps. If you are a dog owner in Lakewood, I am sure some of you are feeing uneasy right now. My advice MOVE OUT! Let people say what they want, they are just words. You and your family pet are more important. Leave and take your money with you. I served 20 years in the Marines and served my time in combat only to be stopped for walking a dog in my own country? my own state? my own city? Was a slap in my face. That was my thanks for serving a greatful Nation. Good job once again Lakewood, having an observation and making a judgment.
Posted by: LEONARD SHELTON | July 28, 2009 at 05:51 PM
The idiocy hurts my brain. Poor dog. :(
Posted by: Rinalia | July 28, 2009 at 10:22 PM
If this dog is a white boxer, it is possible it is deaf and that is why it was barking so much - the owners may not even realize it.
I hope you got lots of publicity in Lakewood, Leonard. Bad enough to treat citizens like that, but a veteran on top of it??
Posted by: Paula Grecco | July 28, 2009 at 11:20 PM
I agree, my first look at the dog, white, boxer and probably deaf. There is absolutely little to no justification for this type of action.
Leonard and Roscoe, wish y'all the best......
As to anyone else that thinks BSL does not affect them since they do not have a "vicious dog".....better think again.
TEH
Posted by: TEH | July 29, 2009 at 09:26 AM
Mr. Shelton, are you comfortable with public speaking? I could really use you and your story in a fight against a proposed ban elsewhere in Ohio. If you might be interested please email me at Lisa@ pittiesplace.com
Posted by: Lisa in OH | July 29, 2009 at 02:03 PM
I urge the residents (AND ex-residents) of Lakewood to start there planning NOW to get these yahoos voted out of office. Hell, run yourself if no one is running! Also, register to vote now if you haven't already!
Posted by: MichelleD | July 29, 2009 at 05:23 PM
just about everyone in lakewood with a dog that has short hair and a big head is at risk of having their dog killed or assaulted by rogue police officers. i wouldn't be suprised at all if the police were to taser my miniature jack russell terrier and call it a "baby pitbull" lol. this town is just as worse than denver.
Posted by: flatlinerz89 | July 30, 2009 at 04:28 PM
Kansas City, Kansas is another horrible place for dog owners to live, just like Lakewood it sounds.
KCK has had a pit bull ban since 1990 and in the last few years has ramped up enforcement of their PB ban.
Their AC officers I am sure get a commission or bonus for every PB they bring in off the streets.
Posted by: KC KS Kills Dogs | July 31, 2009 at 11:52 AM
The entire raw video is available at
http://fortheloveofthedogblog.com/news-updates/did-cops-go-overboard-tasering-family-dog-video
After watching it three times, let me summarize what I see happened: A fearful officer responded to a complaint from a fearful citizen regarding an uncontrolled barking dog. The officer verified via video that the dog was uncontrolled, was barking, and was a clear nuisance to the community. The fearful officer, evidently untrained in the basics of animal behavior and control, was viewed as a threat by the dog, and when the officer stepped back the dog moved forward. The officer then misinterpreted the dog’s reaction to his stepping back as a danger to himself, and by extension, to the community, and decided to take the dog into custody. An equally incompetent animal control officer with his truck was there and concurred, and the police officer then tasered the dog until the animal control officer could capture the dog. When the dog began to recover from the shock the unqualified police officer expressed a desire to shock the dog again, and the unqualified animal control officer concurred, so the dog again was shocked. They then put the dog into the truck and went after the irresponsible owner. What breed the dog was is irrelevant. The owner let his unleashed dog bark uncontrollably at passersby on public and private property, for which he should be cited and prosecuted to the full extent of the law. The animal control officer should have been able to collect the dog without the police officer’s involvement, and thus demonstrated clear incompetence. The police officer, too, demonstrated a clear lack of knowledge of dog handling and dog behavior, but faced with a dog that had charged him and would thus possibly charge others he had no choice but to step up and use non-lethal force to remove the threat he saw to the public. The dog suffered not only from the ignorance of the animal control officer, and obviously from the ignorance of the police officer, but most of all it will suffer the ultimate penalty because of the ignorant self-righteous behavioral neglect on the part of its Owner. Like millions of other dogs in the US, this dog will end up getting killed in a shelter staffed by unqualified behaviorists who in their ineptitude and ignorance decide that it’s the untrained dog’s fault.
Posted by: calmassertiv | July 31, 2009 at 02:39 PM
Most of ALL the irresponsible owner!?!? Good Lord, color every dog owner in the world irresponsible because their dog got loose at some point. Color every car owner in the world irresponsible because they went 51 in a 50 zone. Color every parent irresponsible because at SOME point their kids got hurt at some point. Someone's MISTAKE does not deem them IRRESPONSIBLE. Someone's complete incompetance at their job and Adisregard for sentiant beings does....
Posted by: MichelleD | August 02, 2009 at 09:26 PM
Yes. What I wrote was that its suffering is mostly due to the self-righteous behavioral neglect of its owner, and I stick by that. In violation of an ignorance-based breed-specific prohibition the owner nonetheless adopted a dog that would be killed if the authorities found out about it. He then failed to take the proper care to prevent his illegal dog from being discovered, and even failed to prevent the dog from getting loose. Yes, dogs do get loose sometimes, but his dog had no tags, and was unsocialized to the point that it barked at anyone who approached. The fact that the barking was fear-based makes the case even more sad, because the incompetent animal control officer and the untrained police officer then used their misinterpretation of the dog's behavior to use ridiculous force to restrain it. While animal control should know better, cops do that sort of thing all the time. All the time. The owner set that poor dog up for failure, and that is why I said he's irresponsible. Like Michael Jackson hanging his baby out a window, or Steve Irwin holding his baby up to a crocodile, if sh*t happens, don't whine about gravity or crocodiles.
Posted by: calmassertiv | August 03, 2009 at 09:22 AM
First off, the owner most likely wasn't in violation of the breed specific prohibition. The dog looks almost exactly like a white Boxer -- a dog that is not covered under the city's breed ban. He had every right to believe the dog was legal -- and only the animal control's incompetence when it comes to identifying breeds of dogs changes that.
Yes, the owner did let the dog escape and it was running at large. Certainly this qualifies as an irresponsible act. But get the dog back home and slap the guy with a reasonable fine and move on to actual issues of aggressive dogs and cruelty/neglect cases. Tying this up in the court system because they can't tell the dog is a Boxer is ridiculous....and making a big deal out of how irresponsible the guy is is just as ridiculous. Yes, the dog got loose. Give him a fine, and move one. It really shouldn't be any bigger an issue than that.
Posted by: Brent Toellner | August 03, 2009 at 09:37 AM
Methinks you should watch who you call self-righteous...You apparently missed that this is not a pit bull. My dogs are uber socialized but I'm not sure they wouldn't bark at Barney Fife chasing them around...Jackson and Irwin purposefully committed those acts - this guys dog got loose by accident. Not a fitting analagy.
Posted by: MichelleD | August 03, 2009 at 09:44 AM
my BOXER barks at everyone walking by or even walking by across the street...it is her job!!! when we walk she appears like she is aggresive by barking and hopping on her haltie. she is not, she just wants to lick you...so, that is a reason to decide the dog is aggresive? bad, bad training on the part of the police.
Posted by: pam stacks | August 03, 2009 at 10:02 AM
Like Brent says, give the owner a fine. But while you have his nuts in a vise make the guy cure his dog of fear aggression as well. A simple behavior class would make the dog's life so much happier and would have prevented all this trouble in the first place. And make Pam Stacks take the same class. Inconsiderate self-righteous owners like her who deliberately take what should be a relaxed happy doggie and turn it into a barking paranoid neurotic nuisance are just obnoxious burdens to their human neighbors as well as psychological abusers to their captive animals. People who say their dog's job is to bark make me sick. Shame on her and Otis's owner and all those who twist the little minds of what was supposed to be man's tail-wagging best friend.
Posted by: calmassertiv | August 03, 2009 at 11:29 AM
I guess you make a lot more assumptions than I do in this. We essentially only have a small amount of video to work from, and a far from complete picture. By the time the taser has been drawn (which is where we start our video), what has Barney Fife -- who doesn't know squat about dog behavior and can't tell a pit bull from a boxer -- done to agitate the dog? And I'm not even sure I'd say the dog is fear aggressive -- fearful, yes, but I'm not sure I saw anything other than warning barking in the video...which shows fear, not aggression.
I'll point you to Michelle D's comment above -- it sounds like these dog owners are far from being the most "self righteous" people that are involved in this discussion.
Posted by: Brent Toellner | August 03, 2009 at 12:14 PM
Yes, you should have shock collars on your dogs at all times. Everytime they bark I say zap them...dogs shouldn't show normal dog behavior EVER! When dogs are threatened they should never show fear! When dogs are zapped with tazers - they should quit resisting arrest!
Anyone else catching the irony of "CALMassertiv"'s posts?
Posted by: PAMM - People Against Mistaken Mothers | August 03, 2009 at 01:20 PM
Brent, you should watch the longer version of the video, the link to which is at the top of my initial comment. Barney Fife, as you describe him, watched (and misinterpreted) the unleashed untagged dog bark for quite some time. The audio and the unblocked fragment of video shows the dog moved towards him when he backed away, which Barney sadly misinterpreted as an attack. The dog doesn't know that Barney doesn't speak Dog, so what Otis meant as a warning to stay away, and a pleading for help from his non-present owner, instead got the dog zapped by a 'fraidy-cop and his pathetic animal-control sidekick. A rottweiler or a shepherd or an akita would all have gotten the same treatment from the same cop for the same reason. In my town they zapped a little old lady ranting at the cops and waving nothing more than scissors in the air. Cops subdue perceived threats, be the threats real or not. What breed of dog it was is just not relevant. Like blaming a car for hitting your tire-chasing dog, in the Real world a focus on the ignorant cop is just being in denial. It is the Owner's responsibility to teach and control his dog, and all the blaming of the car's driver won't bring back little fluffy when he gets flattened. Otis's owner Should feel terrible, and hopefully will change his behavior to not endanger future pets by making them so fearful and stranger-aggressive. And when Pam Stacks'
dog gets eaten by another out-of-control dog who viewed her pet's barking as a challenge, hopefully she too will learn.
Until that time I feel sorry for dogs owned by people like her who take pride and joy in her dog's mental anguish. If you think that's self-righteous, I can easily live with that.
Posted by: calmassertiv | August 03, 2009 at 02:22 PM
"What breed of dog it was is just not relevant. " Well, apparently it was as the cops excuse for his behavior was he thought it was a pit bull.
If you dog runs out in front of a car then no, you can't blame the car. But when a car swerves to hit your animal, yes you can.
I don't think anyone is arguing that cowboy cops these days exibit unneccesary force on dogs in general. We had cops in KC pepper spray a chained Lab - which broke loose and "charged" the officer and got shot (nevermind it was protecting itself!). Are there risks with leaving your dog chained out unsupervised - hell yeah! But that does NOT negate the fact the officers in question behaved inappropriately. That does not negate the fact Lakewood is completely out of control and doesn't excuse ineptitude.
I will concede that at this point, no Lakewood dog is safe and that the citizens need to be uber vigilent about containing their pets. They have called for open season on Fido and the Lakewood citizens must demand change.
Posted by: MichelleD | August 03, 2009 at 02:38 PM
The reason the breed of dog is relevant is that if any other breed of dog was involved, other than one Barney thinks is a pit bull (even though it clearly is not), the dog would already be back with his owner and the owner fined. Which is exactly what should have happened.
But because they think it's a pit bull, the dog is still in solitary confinement.
And, because you accused the owner of being irresponsible for owning an illegal dog, which this dog was not.
Posted by: Brent Toellner | August 03, 2009 at 02:39 PM
To you Lakewood locals I wanted to tell you about HB 79. Your own Representative Michael Skindell is one of its supporters. HB 79 main focus is the removal of "pit bull" from the vicious dog description. Down here in Akron we don't have the ban yet. Our pit bulls and pit bull type dogs are only restricted. Please contact your Representative and get this bill moved through. Am organizing here in Akron and hoping that others in surrounding cities will push to get it passed as well.
Here is the link to the bill:
http://www.legislature.state.oh.us/bills.cfm?ID=128_HB_79
Posted by: Megan Parry | May 14, 2010 at 05:24 PM