Some parting thoughts about the incident in Sikeston, MO

Last week, I posted a blog in response to a media story (and a couple of other sources confirming the situation) about the authorities in Sikeston, MO rounding up pit bulls registered within the city. The blog received an unprecedented amount of popularity….receiving nearly 100,000 page views in less than 72 hours.  I’ve had popular blog posts, but never anything like that.

The final result of the “roundup” or “audit” (depending on whose words you want to use) did not end up nearly as bad as it initially sounded. Some close to the situation say the city backed off due to the harsh
public outcry, the city says it was never going to round them up and was just performing an “audit”. I do think the shelter director’s actions of sending 30+ dogs to other communities to make room for what he thought would be an influx of pit bulls that day sure signifies that he had reason to believe this would be far worse than it was, and the city is covering their tracks a bit.

I have my theories, but I’ll let you make your own decisions on whether the initial story by the media, and me, was greatly exaggerated or whether you think the city is covering their tracks and backpeddling a bit. I will say this though, if the city was just "driving by to verify that somebody who had a registered pit bull still lives at the address" (as the city manager claims) -- then I highly doubt that more than 10% of the city's registered pit bull population would have ended up at the shelter that day (and at least one other owner being forced to plead to keep her dog when authorities stopped by. I also think that the shelter sending 30 dogs to other communities signifies that they had reason to believe the "audit" would be worse.

That aside, the popularity of the story caught me off guard, not because I don’t think the story deserved the attention, but because, the story itself is unfortunately not terribly unique.

As a writer of this blog, and an advocate for dogs and owners for several years, I regularly get emails from people who are losing their pet due to breed-specific laws.  A few weeks ago I got an email from a woman in Tonganoxie, KS who lost her Rottweiler because of the city’s breed-ban.

Then there’s the story of Nikko – a dog that was adopted from the pound in Kansas City, KS as a shepherd mix puppy, but then months later, was confiscated from the owners because animal control said the dog he adopted from their shelter was an illegal pit bull. After nine months of fighting for their dog, and DNA evidence to prove the dog was not a pit bull, the dog was allowed to return home.

Then there’s Simba, a dog that was banned by the city of Grandview, MO. Simba’s owner went through the process of getting her dog grandfathered in with the city. The dog would have to be licensed, muzzled she was outside, and behind a 6 foot tall fence. Simba’s owner couldn’t afford a fence, but regularly let her dog outside to pee on a pee-pad on her deck – that was set 20 feet above the ground.  The only way for the elderly dog to get down would have been to jump, and she no doubt would have broken several limbs in the landing. Regardless, animal control seized her animal and she needed legal help to get Simba returned to her and her mentally disabled daughter.

These stories are terrible, and separate good owners from their family pets, and they happen across the nation in cities like Denver, CO  with laws that target dogs based on their looks, not behavior.

This is what breed-specific laws do.

And there is no doggie beach resort that these dogs go to when they’re confiscated.  At worst they
end up dead. At best they end up transferred to other communities to take up shelter space needed by dogs in those other communities.  

I guess I was just a little surprised by then the outrage about the situation in Sikeston – because this same thing happens in relative obscurity every day.

But that’s what else I learned about the situation in Sikeston.

First off, the media narrative is changing. I’ve talked about this before, but it used to be solely that any time a pit bull story ran, it was in connection with the dog being aggressive, with a stock photo of a
snarling dog. It’s not necessarily that way any more; with more and more positive stories, and various books being written about the dogs, and often times the dogs being painted as the victims. This is a very good thing.

Also, as people who advocate for dogs and owners, we have the ability to mobilize to help dogs and owners like never before. Facebook and other social media outlets allow us much more access to each other. Within a couple of days of the story breaking, hundreds of thousands of people had heard the news and literally 1000 letters, only from Missouri residents, were sent to the city council via Best Friends’ letter-writer program.  And the pressure was clearly felt by the city.

We have the power to change this, and we are changing this. Public support is swinging in our favor with entire states like Ohio (repealing their state-wide breed-specific law) and Massachusetts (making breed-specific laws illegal) turning the tide in just the past 12 months (along with a host of individual cities).

Let’s make these laws end. The data about the ineffectiveness of the laws is clearly in our favor. The data about the unreasonableness of the laws, is clearly in our favor. Expert opinion is clearly in our favor.  We just need to ensure that politicians are also; with thoughtful, polite communication with these politicians about why breed-targeted laws are wrong, and why behavior-based laws are better.

Because even if only 3 dogs ended up getting seized in Sikeston, that’s three too many. And if you’re the owner of one of those three dogs, then it’s your world that has been rocked by the loss of your family pet and that three might as well be 3,000.

It’s unnecessary, and we do have the power to change it. Go.

Comments

[Selma]

Great post. The nice thing about the Sikeston situation was that it was right out there for all to see.

People forget that BSL targets OWNED family pets based strictly on their physical appearance, not 'breed' or owner/dog behaviour.

Most people are decent and fair-minded. They find this policy deplorable once they understand what's going on.

Fox News did great reporting on this. Public opinion has been firmly against BSL for years but as always, it's a silent majority. It's nice to see media catching up with that and doing some responsible, accurate reporting around "pit bulls" and BSL lately.

[Laura]

The story got a lot of play because even people who don't really realize that BSL is an affront to dog owners civil liberties, they SENSED it in a very big way with this story.

Government officials going door to door? Confiscating dogs (private property)? Without warrants?

Any one can FEEL that is WRONG in our country - even people who still don't really "get" that BSL is punishing people for being "that kind of person who likes that kind of dog".

The city is back pedaling because they realized it is one thing to say "pit bulls are subject to these restrictions" and another to say "we are going to go door to door and confiscate people's dogs today." Even they can FEEL and the public's reaction made them SEE that they crossed a huge line here.

Honestly if more cities and towns would do this, it would be good for eliminating BSL. Because people would see more clearly how BSL violates their civil rights and we'd see a lot more of the "acting out" we need to remove these laws across the country.

Until people "get" that BSL is a violation of the PERSON'S civil rights, we will never completely eliminated it. That is IMO the ONLY way to stop BSL in its tracks: change the conversation from being about the dogs to being about the citizens who own those dogs. Dogs don't have rights (they are private property) - but people DO.

[Samantha Laine]

Terrific post. T h a n k y o u.

[Brie]

I freaked out when I saw your original story about this. It made me sick. I shared it far and wide. Although I was relieved that the city backpeddled (yes, it did) this was still so scary to me as a dog lover. What would I do if they came to my house? Would I break the law? I'm sure I would. As I was watching a documentary about BSL this weekend, it just drove home the senselessness of BSL. I'm just thankful that more and more people are getting educated and speaking about against this insanity. Thanks again, Brent. I know it is only part of your advocacy, but you do more good with your keyboard than you may ever know.

"Complacency and indifference perpetuate the status quo. Change comes only through collective action. Let's get busy."

[Cheryl Huerta]

Great Blog Brent!!!

I totally agree with your assessment not only of the Sikeston situation and why they stopped their 'audit' but also that the news media seems to be turning around in regard to pit bulls and the people who choose to have them. I guess that is what happens when enough dogs and their owners have been victimized by people who would rather believe the news media than what is actually happening in the world around them. Nonetheless the 'climate' does seem to be changing around pit bulls and their responsible owners.

I'd like to add, if I may, that those of us out here who enjoy having our pit bulls and pit mixes without fear of having them banned and then seized due to their appearance can do a LOT to help the public's perception of us and our dogs. It doesn't involved spending money. It doesn't involve writing letters. It doesn't really involve anything more than what we more than likely do as responsible pit bull owners to begin with...we just have to be much more public about it.

What I'm talking about is for us as a pit bull loving community to do whatever it takes, that works best for us and our dogs, to ensure that our own pit bull is an ambassador for pit bull type dogs in every way possible. We MUST take the necessary steps and effort to make sure that our dog is well-socialized with humans and other animals in that our dogs are safe for all other living things. Then we MUST get out there with our dogs and meet the public. People may believe the news media about things but when they are met with a 'personal' experience they will believe that personal experience over the news media every time AND they will tell others about their experience whenever the subject arises.

Here in Portland Oregon we have monthly Bully Walks and I would strongly encourage like-minded pit bull owners to organize some sort of group walk or event where you live in an effort to educate the public, through their personal experience, about who the typical pit bull owner is and what the typical pit bull is like when in the hands of responsible humans. The more we get out there with our well-behaved and perfectly safe pit bulls the less people will request and/or support bans on pit bulls or bans on dogs of any kind because we are showing them that it is the human being that determines how safe or dangerous a dog is NOT what breed of dog it is.

I can't stress the importance of this enough. The pendulum is swinging and together we can help it swing back to where it was for pit bulls when they were American's Dog!

Thanks to everyone who already does this! Please motivate and inspire those around you to do the same...help one another, support one another. After all this is for our dogs who are valued members of our family!

If you are curious about what one of these public events looks like visit our advocacy's Facebook page at The Portland Pit Bull Parade.

[EmilyS]

Here's some more CYA:
http://www.kfvs12.com/story/20291371/sikeston-city-manager-reports-of-pit-bull-roundups-are-false

[Karen Batchelor]

There is nothing 'parting' about this shot Brent, and Chris Hayes (Fox2) hasn't finished with it either.
Cheryl, Laura, Brent and all of you others who keep fighting the good fight, you are the reason these jack-booted bullies have to back off and we have to keep backing you and helping you to stand up to them.
My Pit Bull today, your Lab tomorrow otherwise. Dogs deserve their place in the world and we have to fight for it for them.

[5pitbulls]

Agreed completely, Cheryl. It isn't enough to love our dogs. We need to be sure they are the very best breed ambassadors they can be and that we give them all the public exposure we can. I am sure I'm not the only one who meets people daily who "know" pit bulls are evil demons and are then shocked that the dog they just pet and complimented for nice manners is one of those "evil demon dogs". Too many people only "know" pit bulls based on media hype and rabid ignorance like that spouted by dogsbite.org and literally do not know a pit bull when one licks them.
Responsible ownership and educating the public is the solution.

[EmilyS]

http://fox2now.com/2012/12/11/pit-bull-round-up-may-continue-despite-denials/

[Brent]

Yip Emily -- am getting it posted now.