KC DOG BLOG

Top 10 Animal Welfare Stories for Kansas City for 2009

 Tomorrow, I will cover the top stories for the year throughout the US, but today we're going to focus on the top animal welfare stories of the year in the Kansas City metro. Because of a lot of the great work by a lot of great groups we are making progress toward eliminating the senseless killing of animals in our city --- but it hasn't been without its struggles. So today are the best and the worst of what was animal welfare news in the Kansas City metro in 2009.

1) Saving lives in Kansas City, KS

After years and years of consistent killing in the Kansas City, KS shelter, the Humane Society of Greater Kansas City worked a deal with the shelter that would allow them to pull animals from the shelter for adoption. For the first 8 months of the year, KCK's euthanasia rate went from 56% to less than 4%.  In 2008 the KCK shelter killed nearly 1500 stray pets -- through September of this year they had euthanized only 66 -- all of which they say showed "extreme aggression".  I still have concerns that with the city's current laws -- including MSN, BSL and very restrictive pet limits - that this is sustainable long term, but the early success by HSGKC and their "Ray of Light" program earns the top spot for news item of the year.

2) Kansas City, MO shelter privatizes

In February of this year, Kansas City, MO voted to privatize the shelter operations and allow a local organization, Half Way Home Animal Shelter, to run the shelter operations for the city. Nearly instantly, the number of animals adopted from Half Way Home went up from about 75-100 animals getting adopted out per month to over 300. In 2008, the Kansas City animal shelter, under public control, euthanized 64% of the animals that it impounded.  Things will be better for 2009 -- and will come at a savings of $175,000 to the city. While the new situation hasn't been without its struggles, the step in the right direction makes this the year's #2 story.

3) Greenwood Missouri Repeals BSL

Greenwood, MO became the third local community to repeal a long-standing ban on "pit bulls" -- and replaced the breed specific legislation with a behavior-based ordinance.. The community had worked hard to re-work their animal control contract to be handled by nearby Lee's Summit, which allowed them more options with the change in their dog ordinance.  An article in the Greenwood Dispatch noted that Greedwood was on the "leading small communities in the area with regard to dog legislation." KC Dog Advocates members worked with the city for more than a year to assist them with the repeal.

4) KCMO Adopts New "Performance Standards" for Animal Control

One of the struggles that has affected the success of the new privatized Animal Shelter, is an increase in impound numbers from KCMO Animal Control. With more ACOs on the streets, more animals are coming in, making the shelter workers at Half Way Home's job more difficult. In August, KCMO AC instituted a new quota system, er, "Performance Standards" that is setting minimums for the number of animals being brought in by animal control officers. Instead of incenting mediation and working to keep animals in homes, the animal control is incenting officers to bring more dogs into the shelter.Unfortunately, they based their minimum quota number off of their summer numbers - that if met during winter months, would dramatically increase the intake rate at the shelter.

5) Spay/Neuter Kansas City Opens up new facility

With the help of some city and county dollars, Kansas City's largest low cost/no cost spay/neuter facility opened up a new facility at 59th and Troost in Kansas City (Pictured).  In 2008, SNKC altered 5600 dogs and cats, and with the new facility, is expecting that number to go up to around 8,000 in 2009, and more in 2010. SNKC really does a great job serving the needs of the low-income population of Kansas City and the new location -- both in size and better location for them -- will continue their great work.  SNKC also runs a great outreach program as well.

6) Animal Haven Opens up Mall Adoption Center for the Holidays

Animal Haven, an animal shelter that handles all animal control intake for 11 communities in the Kansas City metro (all in Johnson County, KS) opened up a satellite adoption center at Oak Park Mall for the holiday season. With still a week left in their 5 week lease, Animal Haven had adopted out 159 animals from the mall location.

7) Kansas City Dog Park Chaos

After two years of study, a Citizen's Task Force made recommendations on park locations that would be suitable for possible dog parks in the city. However, after a month of review, the Kansas City Missouri Parks Board scrapped the recommendation and decided to institute awhole set of arbitrary rules for the dog parks -- virtually insuring that about 90% of the parks in the city -- and all of the ones in urban neighborhoods -- can never have a dog park.  The decision left a black eye on the political process in the city, and is poor for urban neighborhoods and dog owners in the city.

8) Kansas Citians step up for good causes

In late August, the Humane Society of Greater Kansas City sent out a plea for help. The Ray of Light Program (See #1) had been saving the lives of hundreds of animals in Kansas City, KS, but the additional cost to HSGKC was running at about $10,000 a month. Because of the high expense, the program was in jeopardy of running out of money, so they sent out a plea for financial help. Within the week, the program had received just under $100,000 in donations. Even local rescue group The Pet Connection helped in the fundraising efforts. The support for the program was an amazing testiment to the willlingness of the public to help out organizations and programs that are doing it right -- but it also speaks to the need to make some improvements in the KCK laws to make the progress sustainable.  HSGKC is doing great work, but needs municiple support. 

Kansas Citians also stepped up for The Pet Connection earlier this year after thousands of dollars in kennels and fencing were stolen from their facility. They sent out a plea for help and thousands of dollars more than needed were raised in a short amount of time. Kansas Citians will support good animal welfare organizations.

9) Animal Haven Announces Plans for New Shelter

Animal Haven had a public conference that showed plans for a proposed new shelter in Lenexa that would more than triple the current amount of space for their shelter. Animal Haven operates as a no-kill shelter for all animals impounded in 11 metro cities, but a new facility would greatly enhance their operation and ability to grow with the communities they serve. Animal Haven is currently raising money for this new facility.

10) Revised Animal Legislation -- some good, most bad - around the metro

Back in early November, Prairie Village, KS passed a law that would allow police and animal control officers to enter fenced back yards to impound barking dogs. While officials say they will only enforce the law as a last resort -- preferring instead to go through the old proceedure and contacting the pet owner and getting them to comply with noise restrictions. I'm no fan of consistently barking dogs -- especially when they interrupt my sleep, however, it seems allowing dogs to be confiscated just for barking is a recipe for increasing shelter intakes which seldom ends well for the dogs -- and may very well be unconstitutional. The PV law is just another example of municiple code that is making it harder for our local rescues and shelters.

Also this year, Independence, MO passed a law that gave more flexibility in their pet limit -- allowing four dogs or cats vs just two dogs and two cats. However, in March, Independence refused to pass new legislation that would protect feral cats and allow for TNR for feral cats in their community.

Overland Park, KS adjusted its polciy that requires 10-day holds at the shelter for animals that commit minor bites if the animal has proof of rabies vaccination. The new policy instead allows for the pets to be on 10-day quarantine in their own homes. The new policy will take pressure off of the shelter to make space for the animals while they are on hold.

As you can see, we have a lot of really great things going on in the KC metro. However, we are in dire need of the municipalities to work WITH rescue groups and shelters to make Kansas City a better city for pets and pet owners (and eventually, a no-kill metro). There are still way too many laws such as breed bans, mandatory spay/neuter, overly restrictive pet limit laws - and policies such as quotas -- that are dramatically inreasing intake numbers throughout the metro putting undue pressure on the rescue community and costing animals their lives. We MUST get municiple support to advance our cause.  And that support will ONLY come from the citizens in their communities DEMANDING it - -and voting in dog-friendly candidates.

New "Puppy Mill" Initiative in Missouri

So yesterday, I metioned a new ballot initiative in Missouri called the "Puppy Mill Cruelty and Prevention Act". The initiative has been approved to go out to get signatures, and needs 100,000 signatures to get put on the November 2010 ballot -- and if passed, would update the current Animal Care Facilities Act from 1992.  The initiative is being driven by an alliance of HSUS, the Humane Society of Missouri, the ASPCA and the Missouri Alliance for Animal Legislation.

I confess that I have not read the entire ballot initiative as I can't find a copy of it in its entirety. But here is the gist of what the bill includes:

1) Limit the number of dogs a licensed breeder could breed to 50.

2) Requires "Appropriate, nutritious food" -- defined that the dogs must be fed at least once a day, and have potable water that is not forzen and is free of debris, feces, algae and other contaminants.

3) Requires at least one annual examination by a licensed veterinarian, prompt treatment of illness or injury, and "where needed" humane euthanasia by a licensed veterinarian.

4) Requires "constant and unfettered access to an indoor enclosure that has a solid floor" and protects dogs from the "elements" -- this provision includes that cages cannot be stacked on top of each other.

5) Facilities would need to be cleaned of waste daily.

6) Temperature in the facility could not fall below 45 degrees Fahrenheit or rise above 85 degrees.

7) Each cage would need to be large enough so the dog could turn in a "complete circle", lie down and fully extend his arms or limbs "freely without touching the side of an enclosure or another dog".

8) Cages would have to give at least one foot of headroom above the head of the talled dog in the enclosure.

9) Dogs would have "constant and unfettered access to an outdoor exercise area that is at least twice the size of their indoor living space.

10) Female dogs could have no more than two litters every 18 months.

You can read more at the Animal Law Coalition and at the MAAL website.

First off, let me say that of all of these provisions (and again, there may be fine print in the actual written bill), the only one that seems at all problematic is the limit on the number of breeding animals. I'm not a fan of arbitrary numbers restrictions -- if the breeder is able to staff and maintain larger numbers of animals humanely, so be it. But the vast majority of the other regulations should be hard to dispute given that virtually all of them would fall under some type of cruelty. Let's face it, if any individual dog owner were to not feed/water their dog, not provide vet care, and keep their dog 24/7 in a tiny, under-sized kennel that was left uncleaned from feces, they would violate state animal cruelty laws.

My biggest problem with the law is that it doesn't appear as if it addresses the single biggest problem with Missouri's current problem with commercial breeding operations -- enforcement.

It is almost indisputable that because of lax enforcement, Missouri has made itself a haven for commercial breeding operations.  In 2008, Missouri had 1,525 licensed commercial pet breeders -- more than any state. Oklahoma, the state with the 2nd largest number of commercial breeders, has 575 licensed breeders, just over 1/3 of the number Missouri has. A large number of these operations exist in the south-central part of the state where the Ozark Mountains create very remote locations. 

Because of the large number of commercial breeding operations -- mostly in remote locations -- enforcing even the current laws is virtually impossible.  And this doesn't include the large number of non-licensed breeders that are out there -- estimated to be over several hundred, and potentially as many as 2,000 unlicensed operations.

In a 2008 audit of the State Department of Agriculture showed the state is not nearly staffed enough for proper enforcement.  According to their report (all of the good stuff begins on page 18), the department has continued to add licensed breeders at a much faster rate than they are adding staff. Even though each kennel in the state is required to be inspected once each year, in 2004, the state department of agriculture inspected only 30% of of the licensed facilities. In 2006, this number was up to 60%. So still, 40% of the state's LICENSED facilities are going uninspected.

Over the past few years, the number of violations written by the inspectors has steadily wrisen from 1,652 in 2004, to 3,156 in 2007.  While the growing number of violations is in part because of the larger number of inspections, they also note that a large number of the violations come from unlicensed sites. The state is admitting that they are spending very little time on licensed rescues and city shelters because they are focusing on the high-volume breeders and the places that are generating the most complaints.

So even with the new restrictions that would be included in this law (assuming it gets on the ballot and passes), it does not seem to allow for the biggest problem -- there isn't enough staff to even inspect all of the current licensed shelters, there is no time for follow-ups and no time for the large number of unlicensed kennels.  So while we're focusing on new laws, we're still not approaching the true problem.

So here is my proposal.

1) The current licensing fees in Missouri for commercial breeders were set in 1992 -- and come in at a minimum of $100, and a maximum of $500. These fees need to be raised to bring more $$ into the department. Currently only 78% of the costs for Animal Care Facility Inspections comes from revenues. Licensed breeders should welcome this as it would allow more inspectors to really crack down on the unlicensed breeders who are offering up unfair competition by skirting regulation.

2) Raise fines for breeding facilities that are found and are not licensed. If they are not licensed, shut them down, fine them severely, and put the money into the fund to afford inspection and enforcement officers.  Cracking down on unlicensed facilities (which are the biggest part of the problem) should be the top priority.

3) Use the incremental funds from higher licensing fees and higher  fines to staff the inspections officers with enough officers to ensure that all licensed shelters are inspected -- with ample time to do follow-ups on violations.

4) Instead of using the money and time resources to get this measure on the ballot, these organizations should focus on citizen education and increasing use of the new puppy mill tip line at 877-Mill-Tip.  It is through citizen and advocate eyes and ears that we can crack down on these unlicensed operators. They can focus their efforts on key counties in the state with the most operations.

5) All rescue organization need to work on education to drive down demand for puppies that come from commercial breeders and push people toward responsible, small, hobby breeders or to rescues. Rescues need to re-think blanket non-adoption policies such as fencing requirements, yard requirements or no small children. These arbitrary requirements leave many potential adoptors with no other choice but to buy a pet.

For the breeders out there who read this blog, public perception is changing rapidly.  Without some movement by the commercial breeding population to allow for proper regulations and care of animals within their community, the public will take more action and determine what these regulations will be.  The opportunity to "do nothing" and "regulate nothing" is very rapidly becoming no longer an option. 

Are we barking up the wrong tree with more laws and regulations when current ones aren't enforced?

Some recent current events have me thinking about how we are currently handling legislation and policy-making in this country right now, and maybe we're going about all of this all wrong.

On Christmas Day, 23 year old Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab attempted to set off a bomb onboard a Northwest Airlines plane. Following the attempted terrorist act, the US has instituted a variety of new rules on flying that has wreaked havoc and confusion at US Airports.

And while I am all for security at airports, I can't help but wonder if the "new" regulations were necessary. It's been widely reported at this point that Abdulmutallab was on the terrorist watch list -- with known ties to Al Qaeda.  It just seems to me that instead of increasing security so we pat down innocent people at the airports, this terrorist attempt would have been avoided if someone with known terrorist ties had been kept off of the plane or, at the very least, giving maximum security checks.  But he wasn't. And it was almost very costly.

I mention this because I think it shows an overall attitude we have in this country when it comes to rules and regulations. It seems that we make laws or policies, but then, when we don't enforce them (or they are, by their nature, unenforceable), and an incident happens, instead of demanding better enforcement of the policies, we end up making more laws.  And this shows itself in many other areas outside of international terrorism, but even on smaller issues, closer to home -- including laws regarding our pets.

Last week, Putnam County, WV, listened to residents discuss safety issues surround a group of dogs that were allowed to consistently roam free in their community and were a significant safety concern. Instead of insisting that the county enforce the existing leash law, the residents and council voted to pass MORE regulations and passed restrictions on 'pit bulls'.  The new law would have been completely unnecessary if the existing law had been enforced.

And I can't help but think that the same thing is happening here in Missouri as well.  There is another piece of legislation in Jefferson City that is being discussed that would put more legislation on commercial breeding operations in Missouri. Among the restrictions would be that dog-breeders could only have 50 breeding dogs, they must feed the animals daily, provide annual vet care and not breed animals more than twice every 18 months.  There would also be rules on the size of the dogs' living space, the animals would have to be housed indoors and have unfettered access to an outside exercise yard.

I'm going to talk more specifically about this bill in a separate post that is upcoming, but I still can't help but wonder if this law is completely necessary. First off, with our current laws, the state and animal welfare groups have shut down dozens of 'puppy mills'. In fact, in just the first 2 months of 2009, 22 operations were shut down in Missouri due to inhumane treatment of animals.  In April, the Humane Society of Missouri, with the help of law enforcement, rescued 68 dogs from an unlicensed puppy mill in Phelps County, and 102 animals from an operation in Daviess County.  The biggest problem in Missouri when it comes to substandard (and unlicensed) commercial breeding operations isn't the laws we have, it is the willingness/ability of law enforcement officials to enforce the existing laws.

I'll talk more about the proposed law soon -- and this isn't a criticism, per se, of the law itself.  But I can't help but look at this and say that the lack of good laws is not the current problem. The problem is enforcement of the existing laws. And until we demand enforcement of existing laws, we continue to just create more legislation across the board without addressing the biggest problem -- proper enforcement. 

Sad news about Fay

In some tragic news, Fay, one of the most badly abused dogs confiscated from last summer's major dog fighting bust, passed away.

Fay became very popular earlier this month when HSUS sent out an email solicitation asking for donations to their "Aninal Survivor's Fund" to help "dogs like Faye" even though they were not caring for Fay. After much negative publicity, HSUS bucked up $5,000 for Fay's first surgery.

After about 3 rounds of surgery, Fay seemed to being much better under the care of the fin folks at Mutts & Stuff, but sadly passed away. No specifics on a cause of death -- although no doubt, years of abuse and a month of complex surgeries took its toll on Fay.

While I'm sure those that cared for Fay in her final months are devastated and heartbroken, at least Fay, who had known nothing in her life except abuse, spent the last few months of her life knowing what it was like to be loved.  Godspeed.

Update: Thoughts from Gina over at the Pet Connection

Update: A Sad Day -- from the Mutts Blog.

Update: Rest in Peace Sweet Fay -- via Our Pack

Follow up article from the Cape Coral Daily Breeze

Just a few days after the tragic death of two year old Liam Perk, the Cape Coral Daily Breeze has a really good follow up story.

First of all, it sounds like the community is rallying around the boy's family -- setting up a bank account for donations. Great job by the community.

Secondly, the article does a great job of *gasp* trying to educate people on child/dog interactions to help prevent other tragedies.  Even though the specifics behind why the Weimaraner attacked the young boy aren't known, the newspaper's willingness to interview local canine experts and dog trainers in their community for information is more than welcome.

Here's the advice:

From Patrick Logue, an advanced dog behavioral therapist and trainer:

"Dogs use body language and vocal tones to communicate," he said. "You want to make sure kids don't play too rough with a dog, even if they're having a good time. "A dog might nip at a child even if it's playing because that's how a dog communicates."

From Alice Roberts, a member of the Dog Obedience Club of Lee County:

"I think one of the main tips with very small children is they should always be under supervision when there is a dog around," she said. "It's a tragic thing that happened this past week, even gentle dogs should be attended to when there are small children around."

Logue also advised against allowing a young child to discipline a dog and said that children should not pull on a dog's collar, ears or tail. Young children shouls also not be allowed to feed or walk  a dog without adult supervision, nor should they pet a stranger's dog without first asking permission.

All of this is great advice. My hope is that more and more newspapers will take this approach to covering major dog attacks so that we can continue to educate parents/dog owners on ways to prevent future attacks -- even when other breeds of dogs are involved.

More Statistics on the UK Dangerous Dogs Act

TheUK released some more dog bite statistics.  Latest figures show that in the past year, 5,221 people were treated in hospitals last year due to dog bites -- a 66% increase over the 3,137 that were admitted 10 years ago.

Meanwhile,the article also notes that more resources are being used in enforcing the country's Dangerous Dogs Act -- with 777 people found guilty of owning breeds deemed illegal by the Act -- this is up from 237 dog owners found guilty in 1997.

The Dangerous Dogs Act was inacted in 1991 and bans 'pit bulls', Japanese Tosa, Dogo Argentino and Fila Brasileiro.  Obviously not only have they found the ban to be unenforceable, but the ban has also done nothing to improve public safety from dog bites there -- in fact, things are much, much worse.

The numbers have caused most organizations to step up and call for changes to the Dangerous Dogs Act.

Andy Robbins of the RSPCA:

'We would like to see the law target the minority owners who are using their dog for the wrong means. Typically, lads mixed up in gangs are using stereotypically muscular, macho breeds of dog to make themselves look tough and boost their own ego rather than have the company of a pet."

LibDem Health Spokesman Norman Lamb:

"We need to tackle the culture of some individuals using dogs as a badge of honour or fashion accessory."

And Jane Kennedy, Labour MP for LIverpool Wavertree:

'If it appears that the administrative burdens of the Dangerous Dogs Act contributed in any way, however small, to the tragic death of four-year-old John-Paul Massey will you agree to review it?'

And in a separate article, Ryan O'Meara, publisher of K9 magazine calls the act a shambles:

"We need to have a new law that compels every single person who owns a dog to have compulsory education — that is the only way we are going to reverse these problems."

Clarissa Baldwin, the Chief Executive of the Dogs Trust:

"By banning certain breeds of dog rather than focusing on tackling anti-social behaviour it has not prevented a large number of dog attacks or reduced the number of pit bull terrier-type dogs in the UK. Since that act was introduced. the number of hospitalisations is reported as having doubled."

And Alison Gree, the head of DDA Watch, says the act is not working:

"As has been proven in the most horrible way in Liverpool. There have been deatsh and an amnesty, bu tit has not been effective. It has not made one jot of difference in dangerous dogs."

The UK Dangerous Dogs Act continues to show that it is ill-conceived legislation to target breeds of dogs vs focusing on irresponsible dog ownership.

Hat tip on the second article to Stop BSL.

Merry Christmas

Christmas is a special time of year....and even if you are one who celebrates the holiday, I hope the time off from work gives you the opportunity to spend time with your loved ones. Most of the country seems to have gotten quite a bit of snow and ice this week -- so if you're traveling, please do so safely. Meanwhile, enjoy this cute little Christmas video and enjoy the day. Hope all your Christmas wishes come true.  We'll be back tomorrow.

Hat tip on the video to Fred.

Pet Outreach in Kansas City Neighborhoods

As Kansas City braces for its first major winter storm of the year (this one is looking ugly), Spay/Neuter Kansas City's outreach program got some great news coverage yesterday.  SNKC's outreach program is designed to go into poor, urban neighborhoods in Kansas City and helping pet owners to take better care of their pets in harsh winter conditions. They help provide good dog houses, straw, food, blankets, etc for people who may not be able to afford it.

Obviously, they try to get as many of the animals as possible indoors -- but for many who rent houses, bringing the dog indoors may not be an option. In the end, their goal is to make things as comfortable for the dogs as possible -- and help low-income pet owners.  By helping keep these animals in their homes, it helps prevent more animals from coming into the shelter -- and eventually being replaced.

I can't say enough good things about this program. I think it is an awesome way to not only help animals, but to build trust in neighborhoods that are often targeted by enforcement officials. Instead of going into the neighborhoods to punish people for "not caring for their dogs", they are going in and helping people. It's a completely different mindset than many have - -and a way better end result.  Nice program for SNKC -- and great news coverage by KSHB.

Hector, one of Mike Vick's rehabilitated dogs, teaches 3rd Grade Class

Earlier this week, Hector, one of 51 dogs rescued from Mike Vick's Bad Newz Kennels, visited a 3rd grade class in St. Paul. Hector is a registered therapy dog, and one of his owners, Clare Yori, was with Hector and teaching the kids about careing for animals and not abusing them. The students' teacher said she hopes the lessons they learned from Hector help the students to treat animals -- and people -- more compassionately.

The video is well worth watching. Teaching kids how to care for animals is important if we are to solve, long term, the problem with abuse. Meanwhile, children also don't carry with them the same stereotypes and prejudices that adults do -- and teaching them about 'pit bulls' is also valuable.

Weekly Roundup - Week Ending 12/20/09

 Needless to say, I got really behind for a stretch. So here are the top stories from the last couple of weeks.  I may skip a few here and there in the essence of time, but hopefully there will be some stuff here that you may have missed otherwise.  There are a lot of good blog postings and stories out there that I'm going to cover off on in separate headers over the next week or so.  Enjoy.

Cities and Laws

Putnam County, WV passed a law that, among other things, declares all 'pit bulls' to be "vicious." When you read the article, you'll note that everyone's concerns centers around loose and off-leash dogs -- but instead of just passing a (or enforcing their current) leash law, they decided to go with the breed-specific route.  Two of the three commisioners voted in favor of the ordinance -- even though it sounds like they all admitted they didn't know enough about breeds to make this breed-specific.

Uhrichsville, OH is considering a ban on 'pit bulls'. Uhrichsville is under Ohio's statewide pit bull restrictions, and also has even harsher restrictions of their own, but is now considering a full-fledged ban. Instead of realizing that the reason their dog laws are not working is BECAUSE they are breed-specific, they are insistant on "fixing" the problem with more of the same mindset.

Leeds, AL passed a very good ordinance that targets aggressive dogs regardless of their breed based on their behavior. Well done by Leeds.

Ft. Collins, CO is looking at updating their codes on Dangerous dogs -- with what looks like a solid ordinance. The ordinance provides designations between vicious and dangerous dogs, as well as provides restrictions on tethering.

Orient, IA passed a new ordinance that is specifically targeting irresponsible animal owners.

An article about a woman from Miami, FL who fled her home because of Miami's law banning 'pit bulls'.   These are the types of people that are affected...it's not the drug dealers that are suffering from it like some city leaders would like you to believe.

Some background on the Ohio law that declared 'pit bulls' vicious state-wide.  I wasn't aware of the entire history of the bill, but it turns out that like many of these laws, was passed through quickly and without a lot of consideration -- and it's been way harder to get the bad law repealed, than to pass a bad one in the first place.

Dog Bites and Attacks 

Just as a reminder, I include these stories not to make people think that dogs are dangerous -- they're not, they are very safe -- but to let people see and understand that dogs of all breeds bite and/or attack -- and the reasons for these bites are very consistent regardless of the breed of dog involved. It's also interesting to see how many of these bites came in from places that target particular breeds but still has not improved public safety.

A Miami postal worker was injured after a Labrador Retriever and a Boxer both got loose and atacked the worker.  Authorities were not sure how the dogs got loose as they were behind a 10 foot tall fence prior to the attack. Miami has breed specific legislation.

In Toledo,a 71 year old woman was attacked by a German Shepherd when she went to take out the trash. Toledo also has BSL.  Reports note that the woman may stay in the hospital for several days following her surgery. 

A Georgetown, Ohio woman was airlifted to the hospital following being attacked by her own dog this week. Just two years ago, the family adopted an 85 lbs Mastiff -- however, at some point the dog began to attack a young child in the household -- it remains unclear if the Mastiff attacked a smaller dog in the household first, and then turned on the child, or whether the dog attacked the child over a chew toy first. Either way, the mother tried to grad the dog and ended up getting the worst of the attack. This whole story shows how important it is to socialize dogs with the entire family -- and take it slowly with the dogs -- and not to have children introducing chew toys, especially early on in the socialization process.  This article shows a picture of the dog.

An Australian man was attacked when he tried to separate his Staghound/American Bulldog mix from a female dog in heat that wandered into his yard. I can't even begin to talk about the ignorance that took place in this event.

An 83 year old Independence, MO woman was bitten by one of three dogs that surrounded her.  The dogs were described as being a Bassett Hound, a Bassett Hound mix and a Welsch Corgi/German Shepherd mix.  The dogs were roaming at-large. Independence has BSL.

A teenager in Essex Junction, VT was knocked down and bitten by a Rottweiler that was running at large.  The dog may have been simply abandoned as the dog is being described as very skinny .

A Philadelphia area doctor's Rhodesian Ridgeback attacked a young girl and ripped her ear completely off. This is apparently the 3rd time the doctor's dogs have been involved in aggressive incidents.

It should also be noted tha the breed of dog in each of these stories was not mentioned in the headline of the article.

A mother killed a 'pit bull' that was apparently attacking her young daughter.  The woman used a brick and a knife to kill the dog.  The girl is going to be fine.

A 70 year old New Jersey woman was attacked by two 'pit bulls' that escaped their back yard. Later, the dog ended up also attacking a shelter worker where the dog was being held. Obviously the owner here has majorly failed her dogs...

In what is a bit of a confusing story, in Spanish Springs, NV, a family is upset because two 'pit bulls' attacked and killed their two dogs. The odd part here, from the story, is that apparently it was the dead dogs that broke through the fence and into the yard with the 'pit bulls'.  Not that attacking and killing other dogs is ever ok, but it seems like the dogs breaking out of their own yard and into the attacking dogs' yard should be a bigger part of the story here.

A Montgomery, AL toddler was bitten by a 'pit bull' when the toddler jumped on the dog while it was sleeping and the dog struck out at the child. It is very important to teach children to be cautious around dogs and that they are not stuffed animals.

Interestingly, every single article that I saw about a 'pit bull' bite in the past 3 weeks has had 'pit bull' in the headline, where all of the ones involving non-pit bull dogs did not have the breed listed in the headline.

The UK Dangerous Dogs Act

In 1991, the UK passed a law that banned 4 different breeds of dogs including American Pit bull Terriers,  but the results have been disasterous.

A six year old girl was in critical condition this week after a major attack by a Weimeraner. The girl was put in a medical-induced coma with the hope that that would help save her life.

A Weisbech woman was attacked by what is being described as a Westie-type dog.

In Northern Ireland, after over 800 dog attacks this year, a minister is wanting to change licensing requirements and require all dogs be microchipped in order to try to get a handle on dog attacks. Again, BSL has appeared to not even have come close to solving their problem.

Abuse Cases

A Sioux City man who killed his 'pit bull' by punching it more than 30 times in the face went to trial last week.

Two Baltimore boys plead not guilty this week for animal cruelty charges involving a 'pit bull' that was set on fire back in May and later died.

100 Starving Sled dogs were rescued from animal cruelty about 70 miles southwest of Denver - -including 30 starving dogs and 6 that were already dead.

Eight of 10 'pit bulls' seized from a dog fighting raid in New London, CT will be given a fair chance at rehabilitation -- another strong sign for dogs that 2 years ago would have been instantly euthanized.

Shelter news

Danville, VA is looking at building a no-kill shelter in their community....although according to most close to this situation, it is an attitude of most of the shelter workers that is leading to the killing of the animals, not the actual shelter. While having adequate shelter facilities HELPS with becoming no-kill, nothing is a replacement for the dedication of staff to end the killing. That said, I hope they succeed.

Blogs worth reading

A great article by "For the Pits" on the use of the term "Bait dogs" to describe most any 'pit bull' that comes into a shelter with a few scars on its face.

Can too much socialization ruin a puppy?  Possibly.

Positive Press

A Kansas City Area family was saved by their pet "pit bull' when the dog woke them up alerting them of a very quick-moving fire in their home. Everyone in the family survived, unfortunately, the dog became fearful and wouldn't go outside and died in the fire.

A good editorial in the Flint Journal -- Journal's sudded dog law could be more dangerous than targeted breeds.

A touching story about a woman who's life may have been saved when her 'pit bull' woke her up while she had toxemia while pregnant -- and had the dog not woken her up so she could realize she wasn't feeling well and called 911, she may have died.

A shelter worker in Chicago praises 'pit bulls' as great pets.