Some interesting stories this week -- let's dive right in.
Cities/States and Laws
Sioux City, IA has updated their dangerous dog ordinance. They have kept the breed ban art of the ordinance, but have added some clarification to how biting dogs will be treated in the community. Pit bulls are still not allowed in the city, but dogs with actual bite histories are now welcome. The city's dangerous dog law has been a constant source of hardship for the city since its passing 2 years ago. The new changes are actually better than what it was, but they will still have troubles with enforcement until they get rid of the breed specific restrictions.
A resident of Ottumwa, IA is trying to get the city to repeal its 7 year old breed ban. There is no evidence that the council really wants to repeal the ban, but at least they are listening. Vets, rescues and other experts in the community should really come forward to help get rid of the ordinance.
The UK bill that would remove all breed bans from the country has passed onto the 2nd stage in the House of Lords. Much more on the details of the law here.
The police chief in Laureldale, PA says there is no reason for breed bans in his community after a resident asked the council to consider such legislation. Laureldale averages one bite per year in the community.
Lynn, MA approved its new ordinance that requires 'pit bulls' to be muzzled -- in spite of appeals by rescue groups, shelters and veterinarians to not pass the law.
Joplin, MO recently passed a new law that will prohibit the use of chains as a way to restrain your dog. I'm not a fan of tethering dogs as a primary form of containment, but do understand that there may be times when it is a preferred method of containment (particularly for elderly people who may just do a short tie out for fido to do his business). I also am concerned that it may lead to more impounds in Joplin, a shelter that already has huge impound numbers and very high euthanasia.
The Winter Park Observer is promoting possibly new legislation to ban tethering in their community following a fatal attack in which a young boy was killed by a dog that was chained up in that community this spring.
A new dangerous dog ordinance that would remove breed-specific restrictions went before the Toledo City Council this week.
Point Pleasant, WV is looking at a potential ban on several breeds of dogs - the current law that's being voted on contains no "grandfather" clause.
Crawford County, AR is still looking at their dangerous dog ordinance, but it is now no longer expected to be breed-specifc.
Dog Bites and Attacks
A dog owner in Foxboro has received 23 complaints and 12 citations in the past 2 years pertaining to her German Shepherds that are constantly running loose. Most animal control departments spend a disporportionate amount of time dealing with a small percentage of the population -- which is why reckless owner laws are a good idea for most cities. Foxboro doesn't have one and is considering just banishing the woman's dogs -- without preventing the woman from owning other dogs.
A 76 year old Cleveland woman was bitten multiple times by 2 "American Bulldogs". The dogs were apparently bought by the owner of the apartment complex for security purposes and the dogs were apparently startled by the woman in the wheel chair attacked her. Dogs bought almost solely for security purposes are often involved in incidents like this because it is difficult for them to discern "good" people from "bad" ones.
In Lewiston, ME, there have been two dog bite incidents in the past 3 weeks -- one involving a Mastiff/Rottweiler mix that was running at large and apparently attacked a smaller dog. Also, two weeks ago a pair of huskies attacked and killed a dog that was being walked by a young girl.
Authorities in Ontario are looking for two dogs that were roaming at-large that bit a nine year old boy -- the two dogs are being described as a Border Collie/Labrador Retriever mix and a Labrador Retriever. Ontario has a ban on 'pit bull' type dogs.
A teenager in the UK was attacked by an American Bulldog. The UK bans muliple breeds of dogs but not American Bulldogs -- and is yet another example of the problems the nation's breed ban has caused.
A six year old girl in Colorado Springs was taken to the hospital after being bitten in the face by a 'pit bull' in that community.
Because strangely, not everyone wants to save animals
In New Jersey, the entire board of directors of the Liberty Humane Society (Jersey City and Hoboken) resigned this week because all of them wanted to save money by dramatically reducing the number of animals that were cared for at the shelter while the management at the shelter was pushing to become No Kill.
Mediots
"Woman 'hospitalized' after pit bull attack -- that's the headline from the Seattle Post Intelligencer -- the woman was inded bitten by a dog, in the calf, but was standing up waiting for the authorities to arrive. She received medical treatment for two bites to here leg -- which is certainly different than the word "hospitalized" would imply.
Kansas City area news
Spay/Neuter Kansas City received a grant from the Missouri Department of Agriculture for their efforts in providing low cost spay/neuter services to low income families.
A new startup prison dog program is proving to be great both for the prisoners and for the dogs.
More information on Topeka, KS working to change their pet laws -- changes would include getting rid of their breed-specific law, allow a free ride home for licensed pets on the first time they get free and beginning to promote TNR programs -- all three are excellent ideas.
Abuse Cases
Because humans are the more dangerous species:
In Toledo, Lawrence Mick is one of two men who is accused of shooting his German Shepherd 6 times while it was in his kennel -- using a gun that he was no longer allowed to use due to preveious convictions. Sadly, even though numberous people and rescue groups from around the country have stepped up to help Sarge (who appears to be recovering well from his physical wounds), the Lucas County dog warden may not allow Sarge to be adopted because Sarge has a bite history -- having previously bitten his owner (yes, the same one who shot him 6 times -- me thinks he may have deserved it).
In New Orleans,rescuers are trying to help a young 'pit bull' that is recovering from 2nd and 3rd degree burns from an owner putting some type of hot liquid on the animal....
Four years ago, four dogs were accidentally killed at the Chicago Animal Care and Control facility and 8 workers are now possibly going to be fired or disciplined for not only killing the dogs, but for then falsifying paperwork to avoid getting into trouble.
In Fargo, a man with a blood-alchohol content 3 times over the legal limit is accused of punching a young pit bull puppy twice in the face -- all while being observed by a young 5 year old child.
There is a ton of interest in adopting a young 'pit bull' puppy whose owner tried to set on fire. The dog seems to be recovering nicely and the shelter said they have received over 200 calls and emails from people wanting to adopt the young dog. Sounds like good stories are enough to get a lot of people excited about adopting dogs...
A story from "For Love of the Dog Blog" about a couple that stole a neighbor's dog, took it away and shot it multiple times and then returned the dog to the neighbor's back yard -- all caught on the next door neighbor's survellience video.
Miscellaneous
Two groups in Bangor Maine are joining together to give a free, one-hour seminar to discus the misconceptions about 'pit bulls' in a hope to encourage more adopters for these types of dogs.
Atlanta Pit Bull Parents are working to promote owner responsibility when it comes to preventing dog bites.
After reports of Fox 11 in Los Angeles deciding to no longer allow several breeds of dogs on its Adopt-a-pet segment show, hundreds of letters and emails poured in and Good Day LA reversed it's decision and will now, once again, allow dogs of all breeds to be a part of the program.
Breed bans may affect your dog: It's not just about pit bulls and Rottweilers -- noting that breed bans have affected dozens of breeds of dogs in various parts of the country.
An interesting article about the St. Louis city animal shelter -- apparently the small cages make one feel more like it's a 'puppy mill' than an actualy shelter. Because of this, the new Health Department director is transferring more and more animals to rescue groups in order to get them into a more adoption- friendly environment. Transfers are up about 35% this year.
Yikes -- The Jefferson Parrish (LA) animal shelter admits that they have about an 11% adoption rate, 8% of animals are reclaimed by owners. That leaves about 81% of the animals being killed at the shelter.
NFL player Ernie Sims is a true animal lover -- and is trying to work with the rescue community to improve the reputation of 'pit bulls' and encouraging people to treat the animals better. Hopefully Sims' effort can draw half as much attention as his teammate's....
Mary Tyler Moore has a 'pit bull' type dog that senses when her blood suger gets low....which helps her with her diabetis.
Blog Postings you should read
Broward County Shelter Strikes Again -- YesBiscuit has an outstanding post about the failure of the Broward County shelter to save a dog's life even after the dog's owner contacted them about trying to get their lost dog home.
Does free adoptions equal bad homes? - Great information from the Houston Pets Examiner - and the article also addresses the "bait dog" concern.
Reality bites: Why rubbing noses into shelter euthanasia doesn't work - Dr. Patty Khuly at Fully Vetted discusses the decision by the shelter in Miami Dade to kill a puppy while the TV cameras rolled to show people what their irresponsibility caused.
On Oreo's Law: Why the "hoarding" argument is a Red Herring -- by Animal Ark writer Mike Fry.
We take from the poor and give to the rich - The Wisconsin Watch Dog takes a look at the success of animal control in Calgary, Alberta -- looking at how they have astonishingly high licensing rates and thus, very high return-to-owner rates -- because they've treated animal control as a service instead of as a police force set to punish people.
For the Pit Bulls has the story of 21 pit bulls in Providence, RI that are slated to be killed by Providence Animal Control in what is supposedly an effort to contain Parvo at the shelter.
Taking Liberties with Service Animals -- Pet Docs on Call talks about the supposed legal loopholes in Miami.
Dog we rescued actually saved us - -the joys of adoption from the Buffalo News.
Should dogs be bred? - The Future of Dogs looks at breeding dogs and the future of owned canines.
"Pit bulls are still not allowed in the city, but dogs with actual bite histories are now welcome." WTF????
Posted by: EmilyS | July 19, 2010 at 11:18 AM
I know, right? I don't even necessarily disagree with the 2nd chance given to biting dogs -- as most bites shouldn't necessarily lead to immediate euthanasia. But it is laughable that dogs with bite histories are allowed to live in town, but pit bulls without bite histories are not.
Posted by: Brent | July 19, 2010 at 11:21 AM
Ugh! Unfortunately, in the news today here in Colorado Springs is a story about a yorkie that was killed by a roaming "pit bull." A week ago, this probably wouldn't have even made the news but it feels like the media frenzy has just started. Of course, there's an outcry in the comments that "pit bulls" should be banned.
However, in 2009, the County Commission slashed the Humane Society's budget drastically and therefore, they don't have the manpower or resources to address issues in the community until they become big problems. (http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4191/is_20081213/ai_n31207947/) Why don't people "get" it? Why would they rather believe that it's better to ban a certain breed than provide enough money to enforce the laws already on the books?
Posted by: Amber | July 19, 2010 at 01:38 PM
Also in Colorado Springs around the same time, a woman's pit bull chased away an intruder who came into her house while she was sleeping. But do the headlines read, "Woman's pit bull chases away intruder!"? Nope.
http://www.krdo.com/news/24323005/detail.html
Posted by: Amber | July 21, 2010 at 05:53 PM