Weekly Roundup - Week ending 9/27/09

It was a more active media week this week.  Because I have quite  afew other things gong on I'm going to cruise through the headlines pretty quickly today.  I have one post in the hopper for tomorrow about a fairly controversial subject, and then, I think (please don't hold me to this), on Tuesday or Wednesday I'm going to begin a pretty signifcant series of posts that I'm really looking forward to.  I hope the series will create some good dialogue on some pretty important topics.  For now, let's look at the week's top stories:

Cities and Laws

A woman in Horn Lake, MS is seeking a ban on all 'pit bulls' because she is having some problems with here neighbor's dogs. From what I hear, it doesn't sound like the city has a lot of interest in pursuing this, but if you are in the area of Horn Lake, it might be good to keep your ears open.  I could go on a huge rant about the ridiculousness of the situation.  If the neighbor's dogs are truly a problem, then it seems ridiculous that animal control cannot take care of the situation. However, casting a wide net across an entire breed of dogs because of one house is an equally ridiculous solution.

The residents of Jacksonville, TX are continuing to circulate petitions to try to overturn the state law  that forbids breed specific laws following a fatal attack that struck the community earlier this year.

The community of Senath, MO met to discuss the possibility of a ban on pit bulls in their community. The city says they want to do something about aggressive dogs in their town -- and would be well advised to look at some type of breed neutral ordinance that would target aggressive dogs based on behavior -- not breed.

A ban on multiple breeds of dogs in NY City Housing has been leading to the mass killing of these dogs as owners have nowhere else to go with the dogs. So far, 113 pets have been turned into officials and 49 have been killed because of the law.

Royal Oak, MI is looking at revising their dangerous dog laws. While some talks have been had about making it breed-specific, the city attorney is working on a report that he thinks will show that the city would be better served if it focused on all vicious animals rather than applying it solely to specific breeds.

Three dogs in Sarnia, ON were set free this week. The dogs were confiscated because officials thought they looked like 'pit bulls' but their "experts" disagreed.  The amount of time, effort and energy dedicated to enforcing breed bans on dogs that are not aggressive (and not even 'pit bulls') is astounding -- and yet another reason why residents are safer WITHOUT breed specific laws so these energies can be focused on dogs that pose an actual threat to communities.

Elgin, IL is going to renew conversations about a potential breed ban in the community.

Ft. Dodge, IA is reviewing their dangerous dog ordinance -- at least one city councilmember says he is opposed to banning specific breeds from the city and wants the ordinance to focus on owners - not breeds.

Dog Bites

An 8 year old Bluetick Coonhound has been banned from Nantucket after it was found to be responsible for biting four different people.

A 3 year old boy in Worcester, MA needed 100 stitches after being 'attacked' by a "Pit bull" that was less than a year old. There is no word on whether the child was actually bitten -- it sounds like, and appears from the would like, the dog may have just been an overly excited puppy that jumped up on the boy and scratched him with its toenails. 

A six year old boy in lle A La Crosse Saskatchewan was attacked by a free roaming pack of dogs.In response, the community has hired a part time dog catcher to round up the stray dogs in the community.

A Yuma, AZ woman was attacked by two dogs that were roaming at-large.  The dogs are being described as either mastiffs or Rottweilers.

An 8 year old Willowick, OH girl was bitten by a neighbor's 'pit bull'. The girl apparently jumped the fence to get into the neighbor's yard to play with the dog.

An Omaha woman was seriously bitten by a 'pit bull' in Omaha last weekend. The dog was apparently chasing a little boy, and the woman went out to intervene.  Last year, Omaha passed major restrictions on owners of 'pit bulls' and several other 'bully' type breeds -- which created a lot of loop holes for responsible owners to jump through but never dealt with the reality that it is a small number of irresponsible owners that are causing the problems who weren't going to abide by the law anyway. Omaha's law focused on entirely the wrong things and the city is worse off because of it.  Incidentally, there was a separate incident in Omaha this week as well.

Afive year old Mount Airy (NC) boy was attacked this week by up to five Rottweilers at a relatives house. Apparently, animal control officials have been to the home before where there were "in excess" of 20 dogs at the home -- many of which were kept chained in the back yard.  Authorities don't suspect it was a breeding operation, or that illegal activity was going on.

Miscellanious

A Mississippi man says he owes his life to his loyal 'pit bull' who saved his life by snagging a copperhead that was about to bite the man.

A newspaper editorial talks about how meeting a 'pit bull' and bringing it into her home changed her entire opinion about pit bulls. 

Best buylaws target owners, not breeds.

Have a great week everyone.

Comments

[Julie Perry]

I am in Horn Lake MS.
I will keep my eyes on this, but let me tell you what Mrs.Barbara personally said to me in our conversation.
She told me that she is very dissapointed with 24 news because they edited her story and put their own spin on it.
She told me that she made herself very clear to the reporter that she didnt want any breed banned, she just wants ALL dog owners regardless of their breed, to be more responsible and not let their pets roam. Barbara will hold a meeting with the alderman, and I will be right there to back her up, if she is pushing for ALL dog owners to be more responsible. I will also speak out if she is asking for bsl.
Our alderman are dog lovers, and I do not think it would pass through them.

[doug]

Brent,

You comment on NYC housing Breed Banning was a little off.

If you have a law that states any dog over 25 pounds is not allowed, is that not fair for everyone?

Your not targeting certain types of animals only ones larger than 25 pounds....seems fair to me.

Case in point the 28 pound poodle which needs to go.

[Brent Toellner]

The NYC public housing policy applies to both specific breeds AND dogs over 25 lbs...which is a bit redundant. While all dogs over 25 lbs is not breed specific -- true - it certainly seems like a pretty dramatic overarching law don't you think?

[PAMM - People Against Moronic Men]

I really hate to resort to name calling/feeding the trolls but Doug is an idiot to a level I can't bite my tongue. That is about the single most idiotic post he's written...a 28 lb poodle gets the needle and you think that's FAIR!? Or do you think all these dogs that can't find home get their own govt assisted doggie housing complex?

[Lindsay]

Thank you for the link to the editorial about Tess the pitbull who changed one writer's opinion about the breed. Sounds like she was a very sweet dog. Makes me want to go rescue one right now. Maybe some day.