Busy week again this week, highlighted by the at least temporary reprieve of enforcing the breed specific legislation in Toledo.
But there were quite a few other stories that are important, in case you missed them:
Cities and Laws
In St. George, UT, they are looking at their city laws after two dogs were shot and killed this week and most people believe the city laws are protecting the people who are unnecessarily killing the dogs.
A city in suburban Detroit is looking at a new dangerous dog ordinance that is not breed specific.
Zurich, Switzerland banned four breeds of dogs this week, including American Pit Bull Terriers, American Staffordshire Terreirs, Staffordshire Bull Terriers and Bull Terriers -- apparently not learning from the struggles the rest of Europe has had with breed specific legislation.
San Francisco spent the week targeting homeless people who cared for dogs for not having their dogs licensed.
Silver Lake, OH is looking at changes to its dangerous dog ordinance following an incident involving a Husky that police say attacked other dogs on more than one occassion. Officials called the current ordinance "very limited and breed specific". Yet anohter city is finding that focusing on breeds is limiting instead of behavior-based ordinances.
Rome Township, OH has decided to ban 'pit bulls' from the township -- but it turns out enforcement could be a major issue because the county doesn't have enough resources to enforce the law. "We told them we would work with them," Click said. "But they have to enforce this resolution. The cost is on them. I don't have hte manpower to do everything I need to do now. They need to hire a constable to enforce this."
Bristol (I believe the Tennesse one) appears to be close to passing a new dog law that is not going to be breed specific, but instead, wisely, a behavior-based ordinance.
Dog Bites & Attacks
A small child was bitten on the face by a dog on a playground in Bakersfield, CA. The dog was roaming at large and most likely a stray. It is interesting that even though the law enforcement officer thought the dog was "more of the mastiff family" that they still talk about it possibly being a 'pit bull'. There's the picture of a dog there, and that sure isn't a 'pit bull'.
In Springfield, MO, a two year old boy was bitten by a "Labrador-Blue Heeler mix" at his daycare. The boy was taken to the hospital for treatment. Springfield passed breed specific legislation 4 years ago but they did nothing to educate people in the city about what really causes dog bites.
An Orange Park, FL woman was attacked by two Boxers that had actually been involved in a similar attack only four weeks ago.
Two dogs in Pierce County, WA are being sought after they attacked a couple of pet goats and sheep. The dogs are described as an Australia Shepherd mix and a Newfoundland mix.
An officer in Moses Lake, WA shot a Labrador Retriever that attacked his drug-sniffing dog. It's interesting because not long ago Moses Lake passed a breed ban on several different breeds of dogs and are still having issues. Say with me folks -- owners are the problem, not breeds of dogs.
UK Dangerous Dogs Act
A 3 year old boy was attacked by a Rottweiler this week in the UK.
News of another aggressive incident involving a Rottweiler in the UK. The breed ban in the UK has done absolutely nothing to improve public safety there, as bite numbers continue to increase.
The Vet Association in the UK has taken a firm stand against Breed Descriminatory Laws.
Abuse cases
The state of Kansas finally shut down a breeding facility that has failed numerous inspections -- the breeder has agreed to turn over 111 dogs of 19 different breeds to officials. Since July 1, 2009, Kansas has taken 900 animals form 17 different facilities in Kansas that were not up to codes inspections. It is also interesting to note that in Kansas, they inspect each breeding facility twice a year - -in Missouri, they inpected only 70% of the licensed facilities at the time of the last audit.
In Pittsburgh, PA, a reward is being offered for information about a 'pit bull' that was apparently injured in a dog fight and then had its throat slit and was left to die along the side of the road.
A Davenport, IA man was charged with animal neglect after killing the family's 2 month old 'pit bull' by throwing it against a wall.
Miscellanious
A University of Kansas Law School student formed a new chapter of the Animal Legal Defense Fund at the University. More and more universities are forming animal law programs to help future lawyers understand the probelms with irresponsible animal legislation.
A new website pushing against breed specific legislation in Ontario.
The shelter Veterinarian in Raytown, MO refused to treat a broken leg on a stray puppy saying it was illegal for him to treat the dog until after a 10 day holding period -- even though there were private citizens that stepped up and offered to pay for the surgery.
Dog with broken heart needs a new home -- a feel good story about a 'pit bull' in Salt Lake City that is looking to be adopted even though he has a heart condition that causes him to pass out when he gets excited.
Great Blog Postings this Week
Laws about animals: UR doin it wrong -- from the Pet Connection, focusing on the goings on in Toledo and a shelter in Chicago requiring volunteers to get finger-printed and background checked in order to volunteer at the shelter.
The History of No Kill Through Cartoons -- Winograd. A great idea.
Stray Dogs in Puerto Rico -- from YesBiscuit!
Graduation day for Pit Bull Training Team -- this from HSUS. This is a great program that HSUS now sponsors in inner-city Chicago that helps urban youth there learn to train their 'pit bulls' and take pride in their well-trained dogs -- vs taking pride in their dogs being 'tough'. It really is a great program -- with a good video attached to this story.
You're Welcome -- From One Bark at a Time -- About a letter from the Toronto Humane Society that criticized him for using photos from their website on his blog -- saying he didn't have the rights to use the photos. Never mind that the point of the photos was to create awareness of the dogs that needed adopting and that spreading them to others so people can see this dogs will dramatically help the animals get adopted.
Shelter dogs almost always misidentified; How to avoid breed bungles - From Saving Pets (Australia). I love the final line: The future will see a lot more emphasis on ‘who this dog will suit’ rather than ‘what they are’. And the benefits to shelter dog kind and adoptive families will be enormous.
A good Q/A in the newspaper about a woman in Toronto who's dog has bitten multiple people (interestingly Toronto has BSL) and a behavior expert's opinion on how to handle the situation....it's a pretty interesting response that sort of calls out both opposite sides of the dog training spectrum and calls for "balanced" training methods.
A fairly new video on youtube -- Remember When -- touching. It is sad that a type of dog with such a rich history in this country has seen so many people turn their backs on them when they need our help to overcome the massive abuse they face in this country -- from both criminal thugs and from particular city leaders.
Breedism -- an older article written by legendary dog behaviorist Ian Dunbar that was posted this week on Dog Star Daily.
New South Wales Dog Attacks -- a great breakdown of the numbers from New South Wales Austrailia by For the Pit Bulls that shows that in spite of the dramatic article about dog attacks in the provence, only about .02% of people in the provence were bitten by dogs and of those, 75% of the "attacks" resulted in no injury or only very minor injuries.
Do animals need laws protecting from Shelters? -- from Pet Connection's Christie Keith on Oreo's Law in New York. The answer is yes by the way.
What's Stopping Us? -- Yes Biscuit! Lamenting why people don't make changes TODAY that could dramatically lead to a decline in shelter killing almost instantly.
Bans on Breeds Are Booming! -- a column in PetMD by Dr. Patty Khuly. I don't love the headline, because I don't think it's true, but the article itself is great with a good final sentence: "I guess it’ll always be sexier to ban something than to actually work hard to deliver intelligent laws — or to enforce them. What’s it going to take for our lawmakers to "get it" when it comes to really making our municipalities safer?"
The Toronto Humane Society fracas has heated up with the decision of Mr. Justice David M. Brown of the Ontario Superior Court. There are some pretty damning comments by His Honour concerning Toronto Humane's submissions, as well as the appointment of a financial monitor.
There is also the City of Brampton in Ontario seizing and threatening to kill a senior citizen's dog, among others. Did the dog do anything wrong? Nope. Just be born a politically incorrect shape. The Backwater of Brampton strikes again.
http://canlii.org/en/on/onsc/doc/2010/2010onsc608/2010onsc608.html
http://www.bramptonguardian.com/news/article/85585
Posted by: Social Mange | January 31, 2010 at 02:10 PM
Brent, I really love the video you posted, 'Remember When?' Just wondering if there is music to it -- I saw the film w/o music and having problems viewing the other videos along side it.
I'm fighting a nasty virus (all weekend long....) and so that is possibly the reason.
Posted by: Becky | January 31, 2010 at 08:06 PM
H$U$ threw some money at the dog training program so they could put their name on it.
Posted by: MichelleD | January 31, 2010 at 09:23 PM
Hey Brent, that mixed-breed left to die on the road was in Dunbar PA, over an hour from Pittsburgh.
Dunbar is ... well, Dunbar.
We've had quite a number of "lost" person searches there, a couple of them for the same guy (who it turns out, we do not really want to find), and it's on my very short list of places where I'm really not willing to return for a mission.
That list starts with Dunbar, and ends with (I bet you know already) ... Dunbar.
The amazing thing in that story is that someone stopped for the dog. Out-of-towner.
Posted by: H Houlahan | January 31, 2010 at 09:32 PM
Social Mange -- Thanks, yes, I caught the story, and plan to write about it under a separate header this week.
Becky -- yes, there's music. Definitely watch with the music -- much more powerful that way (and, I might add, one of my favorite songs).
Michelle -- yes, it was a great program well before HSUS took credit for it...but just because HSUS has taken credit for it doesn't make it a bad program (Just a bit annoying is all).
H -- Dunbar sounds like a, um, great place. Yikes.
Posted by: Brent | January 31, 2010 at 10:52 PM