An interesting and tragic week all in one. We're getting some big wins out there....but we still need to do more to help educate.
Let's dive right in.
Cities/States and Laws
Pointe Coupee, LA is considering a breed ban in their community.
Laurel, MS is expected to discuss the possibility of banning "pit bulls' in their community at their meeting on Tuesday. If you are there, please attend the meeting and educate them on the value of a good behavior-based dog ordinance.
Basehor, KS has formed an animal companion committee to discuss how to make the community a no kill community. Mayor Terry Hill is driving the initiative.
The Governor in Virginia has added an amendment to a new state law that would prevent shelters from automatically euthanizing dogs because of their breed. The amendment goes onto a bill that raises fines for neglect and repeat offenses. The amendment comes only months after Loudon County, VA won a court case that allowed them to continue euthanizing all pit bulls that came into the shelter regardless of health or temperament. The state law in Virginia prevents breed specific laws that prohibit ownership based on breed, but does not prohibit shelters from euthanizing based on it. This law would change that.
Eupora, MS has given final approval to a new animal control ordinance. While the article doesn't have a lot of specifics, the ordinance originally had restrictions or bans on multiple breeds of dogs -- so if you live in or around Eupora, please get in front of the city aldermen there.
A good article form the Sioux City, IA Journal on the costs to the city of enforcing its breed ban. The costs are mounting in the city.
Dog Bites & Attacks
Dog bites come from dogs that are a variety of different types and sizes. The reasons dogs bite has nothing to do with "breed", and everything to do with how the dogs are contained/cared for by their owners.
A 7 year old girl was bitten in the leg by a 'pit bull' that was chained to a clothes line in Norwalk, OH. Or maybe it wasn't a 'pit bull' after all as later reports call it a 'boxer/lab" mix -- even though the dog doesn't really look like either of those breeds either. Rinalia has a great breakdown on this.
In Rosemont, MN, an Akita is accused of attacking and killing a 15 lbs Pekingese that was chained in its front yard.
Two people in Los Angeles were attacked by three "bullmastiffs" -- police shot and killed one of the three dogs involved.
A two year old Alabama boy was attacked by a 'pit bull' that he was playing with while it was chained up in the back yard while unsupervised. A neighbor says the dog has a bite history.
In Lorain, OH, police saw a couple of dogs they believed to be 'pit bulls' and "saved' a young girl from a 'possible attack'. The media initially called the dogs 'pit bulls' -- but they're clearly Boxers when you look at their pictures (and the owner even has the paperwork that they are Boxers) And of course, the dogs really didn't bite anyone either, or act particularly aggressively, but the media sure made a show about it when the dogs were called 'pit bulls." Rinalia has more on this bizarre story.
An 11 year old Grove, OK boy needed more than 100 stitches after being attacked by a Great Dane. The owner of the dog was fined a mere $149 for the attack. The incident happened at a Humane Soceity walk there in the community.
In Crafton, PA, a 5 year old boy was bitten in the face by a "large black and brown dog, which may have been a St. Bernard.".
Meanwhile, I find it VERY interesting that both of the cases in Ohio -- where the biting dog was initially called a 'pit bull' but later determined not to be - BOTH articles ran on the same day they were discussing repealing the state-wide law that declares 'pit bulls' to be vicious. The irony isn't lost on me as a) the media is excellent at trying to create stirs to influence legislation and b) the reasons BSL fails are nicely represented: failed breed identification, innacuracies in bite statistics stemming from it, and the reality that any type of dog could be aggressive and thus, behavior-based ordinances are better than breed-specific ones.
The UK Dangerous Dogs Act -- still failing
An 18 month old girl in the UK was killed in the UK yesterday by a dog. Reports have varied in the attack as to whether the dog was an American Bulldog or a Mastiff -- but either way, authorities have determined that the dog was not a breed banned under the Dangerous Dogs Act. The country continues to have failings with their breed ban -- and a large part of it is because they have tragically misinformed the public into thinking breeds are what cause serious attacks, instead of individual situations that owners must be responsible for.
A three year old girl was also bitten by a Rottweiler this week in the UK.
Dog attacks requiring hospitalization in London have gone up 79% in the past 5 years, 43% Nationally, under the nation's Dangerous Dogs Act that bans 4 breeds of dogs. The breed ban is NOT working -- and only legislation that focuses on responsible pet ownership will.
Abuse Cases
A 23 year old St. Petersburg, FL woman is being charged with animal cruelty after she threw a 2 week old pit bull puppy and killed it during a fight with her live-in boyfriend.
Miscellaneous
Hampton University is hosting a Michael Vick Football camp this summer. The camp is to serve youth 8 years old through HS seniors. Really?
A good feature on Calgary's Bill Bruce - -who runs an excelling, model program in Calgary where they've focued their efforts on creating responsible dog owners in the community. Through his efforts, bites have dropped from 621 bites in 1985 to 145 in 2008 -- during a time when the population of Calgary has doubled. And they're saving the lives of animals too.
The Pet Connection, a no kill shelter in Mission, KS, is closing its doors during the week with only adoptions happening on weekends. The shelter has been targeted by authorities due to a host of anonymous complaints made about the facility and the legal fees have drained money from the shelter. I don't know the specifics of the complaints, but it seems likely that the complaints were levied by a former employee who has decided to let a personal vendetta get in the way of helping animals -- because The Pet Connection served a huge need in the community with rescue, training, low cost spay/neuters and outreach programs. Financial contributions at the Pet Connection are being accepted.
Blog Postings You Should Read
What are mandatory desexing advocates lobbying for really?- From Saving Pets
Create a kid-friendly dog before the new baby arrives - great advice from Dr. Marty Becker at the Pet Connection - -especially timely following a tragedy this week involving a week old infant.
Shelters can adopt their way out of killing - from the Houston Animal Shelters Examiner.
A No Kill New York by 2015? Euthanasia in the shelter hit an all time low of 33%, down from 69% in just 6 years. -- From the Bark. It is common for people to say that major decreases in killing can't happen in large cities, but in our nation's largest, they are making progress.
Sloppy Dog Kisses Key to Cancer Cures? -From the Dancing Dog Blog.
Have a great week everyone.
Here's a particularly horrific cruelty case this week:
http://ocpets.freedomblogging.com/2010/04/16/irvine-vet-tech-arrested-in-case-of-abused-dog/44193
Posted by: H Houlahan | April 18, 2010 at 06:22 PM
I'm sure you will have already seen this ... Brittany and Rambo are free. http://www.bramptonguardian.com/news/article/802381--dogs-freed-ruled-not-pitbulls
Thousands of dollars later and even though the dogs are NOT BEING classified as Pit Bulls, both nonviolent, family pets will have to wear a muzzle in public, and their owners have to post signs they have a dangerous dog. Logic fail.
Posted by: Rinalia | April 20, 2010 at 09:32 AM