KC DOG BLOG

Dog bites girl, Man beats dog

A 26 year old Ontario man is in custody after one of the more disturbing articles I've read in awhile.

Apparently, a small chained up Jack Russell Terrier bit a 1-1/2 year old girl. In response to the dog biting the girl, the girl's father came outside with a baseball bat and bludgeoned the chained dog -- that belonged to his neighbor - to death.

There were apparently several witnesses to the killing of the dog including several children.

Apparently a 12 year old boy whose family owned the dog cradled the dead dog in his arms and said "I love you Teddy."

This obviously a horrible story. At this point there doesn't appear to be any information as to why/how an 18 month old girl was in the neighbor's yard with the dog or why the man felt it was appropriate to bludgeon a small dog on a chain or why onlookers didn't try to stop the attack when they saw it happening (although, in fairness, an obviously berzerk man weilding a baseball bat is probably a bit tough to approach).

 We just HAVE to do a better job of educating people on how children interact with dogs, about dog behavior, and about appropriate responses to what is probably somewhat typical dog behavior. It can save a kid a trip to the hospital, and a 12 year old boy from having to cuddle his dog that was beaten to death. 

The 26 year old man is in custody for animal abuse.

Editor's Note: I didn't do a very good job of explaining that second-to last paragraph -- but I can only think that what if over the past 6 years Ontario had been focused on educating people on how to prevent dog bites (one tip would be to watch your 18 month old when wandering up to a chained up dog) instead of creating hysteria around certain types of dogs this whole thing could easily have been avoided.

And right on queue....

1,000 roosters were euthanized this week in Ventura, CA after a cockfighting bust.

The roosters lasted only a couple of days after being "saved" before they were killed.

I confess that I have no idea what one does with 1,000 roosters....but it's as if they didn't even try.

On working dogs, culling and stepping up to the plate

This is a bit of a difficult blog for me to write. The story is so tragic that words kind of escape me-- and there is always the danger when that happens of what I want to say coming out all wrong.  Because 100 dogs are dead -- brutally dead -- and there were so many opportunities to have made it right.  And everyone involved failed miserably.

Unless you've been living in an internet void, you've at least caught the headline of the story. But, as the story goes, a man in British Columbia brutally shot and killed 100 sled dogs that were owned by his employer (and I say brutally because this is even worse than a typical shooting with some graphic details  in the article and apparently the man isn't a good aim). The man worked for a tour operator in Whistler -- which is the area that hosted the 2010 Winter Olympics. They built themselves up a large base of sled dogs in order to capitalize on the tourism from the Olympics and giving dog-sled tours to tourists.

However, after the Olympics passed, tourism slowed, and the the company found themselves with a lot more dogs than they had work for them to do.

So the tour company owner had one of his employees take care of the problem. So the employee reportedly did what would be expected and tried to contact his local SPCA....who denied him.  Twice.   Apparently, the tour operator also called a veterinarian to humanely kill the dogs, but the veterinarian also denied the request to kill 100 healthy dogs.

So the man shot the dogs.  This event happened back in April of 2010.

The entire story only became public 10 months later because the man who pulled the trigger went in seeking treatment for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder because of the stress of the situation he was involved in.  It is unlikely that had the man done this with a clear conscience that we would ever have found out about the tragedy.

Most people are obviously outraged at the story.  And they should be.  But how we aim that venom could very well lead to a lot of decisions that could dramatically change how we view dogs on this continent.

This story represents, on so many levels, where we as humans have failed dogs in this society. 

While some have pointed to dog sledding and other types of working as the problem, in my opinion, that is somewhat misplaced. I confess, up front, that I am a fan of working dogs.  For the most part I think dogs enjoy having a job to do, and being trained to do it, and doing it well. I have met so many happy dogs that spend their days working, whether it be doing hearding work, 'helping' on the farm, racing, catching frisbees, searching for drugs, police work or basic agility.  I have no doubts that this translates well to sled dogs (although confess that I am not around it much in Kansas City).

As Christie over at the Pet Connection Notes:

"I think dogs who are doing the work for which they’re bred are among the happiest dogs in the world, certainly happier than far too many bored, overweight, under-challenged couch pups."

No, I really don't think it is the act of working the dogs that is the problem -- but, as Fred summed up yesterday, the Cull Culture that too often surrounds these working situations:

In Canada, most of us grow up with a respect for dogs, albeit to varying degrees. The idea of using them as a source of income doesn't always sit well with a lot of people especially if the business results in dogs suffering. But the public itself is conflicted in this....

Dog sled tourism and, similarly, competitive dog sledding, also sit on that edge between what is publicly acceptable and what is not. I have to admit that the idea of being pulled around by a team of huskies has more than once crossed my mind as something I'd like to try doing some day. But while we, the public, are shown pictures of outdoor adventure and excitement with a fun loving pack of dogs, we are not usually privy to the lives, and deaths, of the dogs after they are taken out of the public eye.

While I, myself, am not as concerned about whether someone makes money off of a dog or not, certainly if the dogs are mistreated, or in this case, culled, I begin to change my mind on the matter very quickly. This has often been my problem with greyhound racing. While I don't see the act of sending a greyhound around the track chasing a fake rabbit as abuse (and the dogs sure seem to find it fun), it is the idea that so many around racing treat the dogs as disposable once their work is done that is problematic. 

And as a society, we need to find the balance between dogs being useful in a working environment and the idea that those who are no longer "useful" at that task being seen as disposable.  They're not.

Again, back to Christie:

"All our activities on this planet need to be sustainable, and if we bring sled dogs, or any other animals, into this world, they're our responsibility.  Our business plans, our economic models, can't be based on an exit strategy drenched in animal blood, that becomes the stuff of human nightmares."

And this sums up where a lot of dog "industries" have failed -- whether those industries be greyhound racing, dog sledding, or breeding operations.

But our failure of the animals, as a society, goes much deeper than even this.

Meanwhile, as shelters, we have continued to fail in our core mission of helping animals that are in need and need to be protected when such an "exit strategy" has to take place. How is turning our back on a group of dogs that is running low on options (and a shelter should be a safe haven as a last resort), living up to our jobs as a shelters?  As YesBiscuit! so eloquently puts it:

"Violence against pets – including the needless killing of healthy/treatable pets in shelters – is a societal issue which we have failed to adequately address for far too long.  While individual acts of cruelty represent a tiny fraction of the pet owning public, needless shelter killing represents a systemic attitude excusing and whitewashing violence against pets.  If we as a humane society fail to embrace the concept of no kill in our animal shelters, how can we expect our justice system to live up to our expectations when prosecuting individual cases of animal cruelty?  And how do we expect our children, who are often provided so-called humane education by the same public shelter staff responsible for the needless killing of millions of pets each year, to cultivate compassion toward pets?"

Yes, we should be outraged. Because as a society we continue to be much more of a failure toward the dogs than they have ever been toward us.  Shelters have to get themselves in a situation where they can actually help animals who need the help.  And people who use dogs for working purposes need to be responsible about it -- lest their entire industries be understandably shut down (which is becoming close to a reality when it comes to greyhound racing).

Yes, it is a tragedy.  But how we react to the tragedy could have long-term implications to the welfare of animals for years to come...including the role of some dog-related industries (and how those industries react), to how we handle culling and sheltering.  Because across the board these dogs were failed by the humans in the equation...and placing the blame on in one area, or misplacing the blame, will only ensure that we don't really solve the problems that need to be solved.  

For more:

The most updated info from the Vancouver Sun.

Great commentary from Fred at Pound Dogs.

Outrage growing over sled dog slaughter - The Pet Connection

Shelter twice refused to help sled dogs - The Pet Connection

Animal Cruelty Cases in the News - YesBiscuit!

Weekly Roundup - Week Ending 1/30/11

It's been a really busy week with Prop B hearings going on in Jefferson City, Kansas City's primary elections are less than a month away, and overall, just a lot of dog news going on.

So with that, let's dive right into the best of the week that was.

Cities/States and Laws

A couple of weeks ago I noted that a new law that would repeal the UK's Dangerous Dogs Act was headed to committee, unfortunately, the bill has stalled. So in spite of an overwhelming amount of opposition to the current law, the government seems content to let it fail. This comes at a time where many politicians are pleading for immediate action in creating a better law to help them deal with dangerous dogs in the community.

Ogden, UT has passed a new Dangerous Dog Ordinance that targets aggressive dogs based on their behavior, not their breed.  Ogden, like many cities, started out talking about breed-specific regulations, but after careful study, came back with a breed-neutral ordinance.

There is a new bill in Wyoming that is targeting hoarders and puppy mills. I haven't had a chance to read this bill or the current law in Wyoming to know if this is any good or not -- and would welcome someone's thoughts who is closer to the situation.

The city of Cypress, in Orange County, CA, will not order all 'pit bulls' to be spayed or neutered. The city wisely looked at other case studies on such an ordinance, and listened to experts in their area, too get a good opinion on what should be done.

Aberdeen, SD appears to be looking at a potential ban on 'pit bulls' in the community after the number of bites in the community by pit bulls went from 2 to 8. Bites from other types of dogs went up by a similar number. Many of the council members seem well-informed on the issue so hopefully this will not go very far.

Vienna, WV is looking at REPEALING its dangerous dog law.

Dog Bites and Attacks

A German Shepherd in Canada was left alone outside a convenience store bit 3 different people just minutes apart while his owner was inside.

A Palmyra, IN woman had to undergo several reconstructive surgeries after being attacked by a French Mastiff that was "accidentally" left oustide by a child.

A two year old boy is recovering after being bitten in the face while he was playing with the family's pet Akita in what is being called a "freak incident". The incident happened in the UK where four different breeds of dogs are banned.

Also in the UK, a 3 year old girl was bitten in the face by a Doberman that nearly severed the little girl's nose.

A 7 year old boy in the Charlotte area was bitten in the face by a 'pit bull mix". There has been a fair amount of chatter about banning 'pit bulls' after a tragedy in the area a few weeks ago...and it's amazing how stories like this just happen to come out of the woodwork to add fuel to the fire.

A 10 year old Tennessee girl says she still has nightmares after being attacked by two mixed breed dogs in the community. The owner of the dogs was never charged in the attack.

Miscellaneous

There is a great story that has been picked up by the Associated Press that is talking about the recovery of Mike Vick's former dogs and their steady climb becoming healthy stable dogs again. It's been great to see the press this has received - - including being run nationally on Fox News.

An editorial from the Columbia Tribune that wonders how people who profes to caring about dogs can still defend Prop B in spite of how vague and ill-written the law is.

Pit Bulls: Buddy or Bully? -- a good editorial from Utica, NY that shows the positive side of 'pit bulls'.

No Kill Louisville opened up a food bank this week to help people struggling to pay for food for their pet to be able to get pet food. Pet retention is a very important part of the No Kill Equation and congrats to No Kill Louisville on a great program.

In a report from Green Bay, WI (Go Pack!) the Wisconsin State Farm Service Agency is warning farmers in the state to check for the ID of state "inspectors" after some people (assumed to be animal rights activists) were posing as state officers to get access to farms. Animal Welfare people do not have police powers. Even if you are well-intentioned, PLEASE go through local authorities in order to get information for arrests.  Posing as state officials is illegal and the info you gain will be thrown out in court.

The Week news magazine has a solid editorial on whether owning a 'pit bull' should be a crime. The story originated based on the bill in Texas that would impose a statewide ban on 'pit bulls' -- and never in my life have I seen a statewide bill without even one legislative sponsor get so much media attention.

A writer in California writes into the newspaper defending ferrets. While I tend to agree with him that governments seem to have a knee-jerk reaction to ferrets, he's not doing much to get on my good side with the comment "300 people die annually from dog bites" -- which is true only if you divide by 10 first. Listen here Mr. Ferret guy, I'm all on board with supporting your cause, but don't try to throw dogs under the bus in the process with your misinformation.  Thanks.

Abuse Cases

Authorities in Oakland rescued 33 pit bulls from 'horrific' conditions in an East Oakland home -- where the dogs were stacked in kennels 3 high that were all caked in excrement. Several of the dogs were in such bad shape that they had to be euthanized, but others would be allowed the opportunity to find homes. Authorities were alerted to the situation when neighbors complained about the smell coming from the home. Oakland recently added an officer completely dedicated to animal cruelty -- which, along with their recent course in helping police officers learn canine behavior to help prevent unnecessary dog shootings, makes them pretty progressive in many areas related to animal cruelty.

Some startling footage of the animal shelter in Miami Dade using a "Heart Stick" to kill kittens in the shelter. The 'technique" essentially uses a needle that is painfully jabbed into the heart of a kitten with a barbituate injected straight into the heart of the cat.  Obviously there is (and should be) a lot of public criticism over this.

Authorities in Lansing, MI have found several horrible abuse cases in the area in the past few weeks -- all involving "pit bull' type dogs - and involve dogs found beaten, tied up, and frozen.  If we want to end bite cases, we can start by ending abuse cases. Authorities are working on the cases.

A South Carolina woman is being charged with animal cruelty after she hanged and burned a 1 year old 'pit bull' for chewing on her Bible (I'm sure God would be proud of her for her actions).

Blogs you should read

The Dots -- in what easily my favority blog posting of the week, The Wisconsin Watchdog writes an excellent story about "the dots" and gives the great advice to ignore the red dots. Haters will hate. Ignore them. We don't need them to move forward. Cultivate the yellow and green dots and you will be rewarded.

Some sombering stats from "I Love Charts" showing that there were more military officers that committed suicide lst year than died in actual combat. This number is sombering on a lot of fronts not even remotely related to this blog, but also a signal that there are some real issues facing our soldiers -- especially in dealing with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.  While many have been turned onto service dogs to help them cope, it becomes even more angering when cities like Denver, Aurora, CO and Lakewood, OH decide that the dogs owned by these soliders are not allowed to live in those communities.

In light of a couple of statewide initiatives passing in the November election, one Missouri State Senator has proposed a new constitutional amendment to "make it harder for wealthy individuals and organizations to buy a law in this state."  The bill would still allow for citizen's initiatives but would require signatures from all congressional districts to appear on the ballot, not just 2/3 of the districts. There were two Propositions in the state that were passed in November that were problematic, including Prop B, which were very heavily funded by private entities (including HSUS). I've spoken to this Senator about this, and has good motives for this and is not vindictive in her proposal of this amendment.

American Journalism is in trouble -- Dan Rather comments about the state of the industry.

PETA's "Better off dead" philosophy  -- Best Friends' Greg Castle has a great commentary on PETA and their "killing is kindness" mantra. It's not.

On Breed Bans and Emotion - OhMyDog! has some commentary about how intelligent conversation can get lost when the idea of banning breeds comes up.

What happened to May Ling? - Save Shelter Pets has a look at another dog that "fell through the cracks" at a kill shelter and ended up dead instead of back home where she belonged.

Great Reviews from LAAS Employees, Volunteers and Rescuers - LA Animal Watch reports that most parties in Los Angeles are happy with their new shelter directer Brenda Barnette.

The meaning of "Euthanasia" -- Animal Ark has a great post acknowledging that No Kill does not mean "no euthanasia" -- but believes in euthanasia by the true meaning of the word. The shelter had to say goodbye to a canine friend this week when he had to be euthanized.

Can we find homes for 2.4 Billion Animals a Year?  - Winograd takes aim at a person from American Humane Association who apparently has no grasp on the pet population of this country even though she claims there is pet over-population.

Weekly Roundup - week ending 11/7/10

It's been quite a week. Most of my attention has been focused on Missouri's Proposition B....and I have one more post I am planning this week on the broader topic of puppy mills and commercial breeders (not necessarily synonymous terms) and then I plan to move onto my more traditional topic bases.

Because of all my focus on Prop B -- a lot of other stories have fallen through the cracks.  I'm going to try to pick up some of those today in the roundup.

Cities/states and laws

Douglassville, GA is still discussing a new dangerous dog law for the city - and while the intent is not for it to be breed-specific, there is certainly support for breed specific laws there, so please stay on top of that situation.

Greenwood, AR is discussing the potential for breed-specific regulations in the city.  "Pit Bulls" have accounted for 4 of the city's 20 dog bites over the past 2 years.  Local residents seem to be speaking out against the prospective law.

A resident in Van, TX is pushing for a ban on pit bulls and Rottweilers in the community. Breed-specific legislation is against the law under TX law.

An interesting article from the Dayton Daily News - highlighting that under Ohio law, it is very difficult for people to get justice if they are attacked by any breed of dog other than a 'pit bull'. Under Ohio state law, the only one in the nation that is breed specific, there are heavy penalties for people attacked by 'pit bulls' - -however, there is little to help them out when other dogs attack.  This is yet another reason why breed-specific legislation is not preferred, as good breed-neutral presentation will protect citizens regardless of what type of dog bites them. In Dayton, 83% of all dog bites involve non pit bull type dogs.

Pointe Coupee, LA is looking at breed-specific legislation that would include 10 breeds of dogs including several 'pit bull' breeds, German Shepherds, Chows, Doberman Pinscher, Boxer and Akita.  The Parish is looking at this ordinance after a child was killed by three loose Boxers in the community a year ago.  The family and friends of the boy, Michael Blaise Landry, have recently started a website in the boy's memory and hope to educate people on how to prevent dog attacks on children.

The idea of a breed ban in Kirksville, MO seems to be losing traction after residents filled city council chambers opposed to the proposed ordinance.

Dog Bites and attacks

A two year old boy in Carthage, MO was attacked by a 'pit bull'.  The boy and his family were visiting the dog owner and the dog was kept outside. The man told the boy not to go into the back yard, but apparently, while unsupervised, the 2 year old boy did wander into the back yard where the dog attacked him. I don't know if the many knew his dog would be aggressive to the 2 year old, or whether he was just, in general, trying to protect the boy (since a 2 year old shouldn't be unsupervised around a dog ever) -- but the media and authorities down there are sure willing to blame the dog instead of all of the adults around that failed to supervise the child.  "Pit Bulls" are already banned in Carthage.

Two Indianapolis people were attacked by a Belgian Malinois that was a retired police dog. The dog escaped from his handler and attacked the two people.

The folks in Luther, OK are concerned after a pack of more than 2o stray dogs killed a family's two small dogs.

A four year old Massachussetts boy was badly injured when he was attacked by a Anatolian Shepherd that was tied up on a leash inside the home.

The Sioux City Journal has a couple of reports of significant dog attacks in the community -- one involving a "husky-ish" dog that attacked an 18 month old boy, allegedly leaving him with a punctured lung, bruiesed kidney, a bleeding pancreas and tears in his stomach and groin.  The boy was injured when he wandered into his neighbor's yard unattended.  The second incident involves a German Shepherd killing a Shih tzu puppy.  Two years ago Sioux City passed breed-specific legislation thinking that was the answer to their dog-bite problems, but, well, not so much.

A Halifax (UK) boy was attacked this week by a German Shepherd.  In a separate incident, a four year old girl was attacked by a neighbor's Japanes Akita. The UK has had a breed ban for 20 years and during that time dog bites have continued to increase.  A mother who's daughter will have permanent facial scarring after being bitten by a Springer Spaniel is demanding the law be changed because authorities tell her nothing can be done about the dog that bit her daughter because it is not a "dangerous breed".

Miscellaneous

The Dog Whisperer, Cesar Millan, presented to a crowd of over 7,000 people in Ontario last week -- however, he was without his trusty sidekick Junior. Junior, a 'pit bull' type dog, is banned from Ontario and the state government denied Millan's special request to allow Junior to enter the provence. Situations like this are another prime example of why breed-specific regulations fail because the state is at all worried about Millan's dogs (who clearly are not going to be a safety threat in the provence. Tim Hudak, Ontario's Conservative Party Leader, called the situation "pretty embarrassing. More on this story from Brindle Stick and again here.

Fifty two animals were rescued from an Odessa, KS home after being abandoned by the owner when the property was forclosed on.

A Washington Greyhound trainer is facing charges of animal cruelty after authorities found 33 dead dogs, and 4 near death, that had duct tape around their necks that was cutting off airflow.

Miami-Dade Animal Services is taking full responsibility for  a Husky that was taken into the shelter and allowed to die while in their "care" because it was clearly sick and dehydrated but received no medical attention.

A good featur story on a volunteer at the KCMO shelter that has been working like crazy to help save the lives of dogs at the shelter.

Chris Rock lost a movie role when he "jokingly" defended Mike Vick - -the role was for an upcoming movie about Richard Pryor and Pryor's wife, Jennifer, found the 'jokes' not amusing...and thus requested someone else play the role of her husband.

Pics from the Orange County Register on a recent pit bull awareness day event.

Blog posts you must read

Choice -- by YesBiscuit! -- on how the wording change from a shelter "being forced" to kill animals and "choosing" to kill animals bring along very different connotations.

Tribute to Ginger - Brindle Stick takes a look at one dog that was negatively impacted by Ontario's breed ban. Frogdog Blog has additional info on the case which has gone back to court as an owner has spent 4 years trying to save his dog.  This is yet another example of the law wasting countless resources on a dog (and owner) that are not, and never would have been, a problem in the community.

Boulder shelter kills dog while owners on vacation  -- For the Pit Bulls has a story about a family that went on vacation and left their dog with a friend. The dog got loose and ended up at the shelter, and even though it was wearing multiple tags, the shelter killed the dog 5 days later when they were unable to reach the vacation family.

Proposition B Passes....what happens now? - -From PetDocsOnCall

National Animal Shelters Reform Week -- from Nathan Winograd

The True Story of Michael Vick's Lost Dogs - Kerri Fivecoat-Campbell has an interview with Jim Gorant -- author of the Lost Dogs.

Animal righs vs Animal Welfare -- and never, ever get the two confused -- Wisconsin Watchdog covers what is a topic that mysteriously eludes most politicians and media outlets.

I live, I breath, I vote -- Wisconsin Watchdog on the importance of being politically active

Jon Stewart, Pit Bulls and Media Hysteria - -a great blog posting from Change.org's Ledy Van Kavage

Pit Bulls: America's Dogs Help Wounded Warriors -- Change.org's Ledy Van Kavage talks about two pit bull therapy dogs that bring joy to wounded veterans at Veterans Administration Hospital in Topeka.

Failure is not our only option - Saving Pets talks about a shelter in Australia where the culture is not one of hope and potential, but conviction that failure is the only option.

Mad Men's Training Advice -- Bark magazine has an interesting story using a situation from the TV show Mad Men to show how positive reinforcement can help in training (dogs or people)

The Litmus Test - Wisconsin Watchdog looks at a recent rescue of 200 pit bulls from an Ohio hoarding incident and HSUS's role in the rescue -- and notes that "There are no permanent friends and no permanent enemies".

Helter Shelter - "Pet Overpopulation", the no kill conundrum and the animal welfare controversy -- Fully Vetted takes on the controversy over No Kill and how ridiculous the notion that no kill = hoarding is.

Weekly Roundup - Abbreviated for Week of 8/29/10

I'm not going to have time to get to a complete Weekly Roundup this week. I'll get most of the stories up in next week's roundup, but there are a couple of stories I think are really important from this week that I want to make some comments on. 

CA SB 250 Fails

Last week, SB 250 -- a bill that would mandate the spay/neuter of all dogs and cats in the state of California - thankfully failed in the Senate.  This is great news given that the law is not based on what is good for animals when the state's largest city has tried the law and has failed miserably with it. The final vote was way closer than it should be -- 34 for, 40 against, 4 not voting. If you live in California, contact your Senator. If they voted against the bill, thank them for making a wise decision. If they voted for the bill, contact them and tell them to look at the failure of the law elsewhere and pursuade them to not repeat the mistakes of others.

The law could be resurrected at any time, so please keep and eye on this and work to educate your senator so they realize that even the majority of animal welfare groups oppose this law -- because it doesn't work.

More on the laws in a great blog post from the Pet Connection.

More on the Jerry Lee Southern Conviction

I posted the news about Southern's plea deal on Wednesday, but Donna has a follow  up that is better, and more detailed than mine (which makes sense, she was there after all).  It turns out that the DA accepted Southern's plea deal to a sentence of 90 days because the judge that was hearing the case has a track record of not giving harsh sentences -- and in fact, deferring sentences a lot -- and the DA thought it was worth getting SOME jail time vs no time at all (which sounds like a real possible option).

We must continue to push judges into realizing that harsh sentences are deserved for  severe cruelty cases like this so that abusers like Southern, who was a repeat offender with no remorse, should not be allowed to get free passes for their actions.

Sioux City BSL Continues to fail

Back in 2008, Sioux City, IA passed a ban on 'pit bull' type dogs. The ban has been nothing but headaches for them  since it's passing, including multiple lawsuits, and other problems.

Turns out dog bites are up too.

Last week, a 19 month old boy suffered severe puncture wounds, collapsed lungs, a bruised kidney, a bleeding spleen and stomach and pancreas damage after being attacked by a Husky-type dog that was chained up in the neighbor's yard.   This of course follows a year in which the city focused on breeds of dogs being responsible for attacks, not aggressive dogs regardless of breed, chaining dogs, and unsupervised toddlers wandering up to those dogs.  This story was actually on the front page of the Sioux City Journal on Thursday morning.

Bites are up in Sioux City this year.  The city is already at the same number of dog bites as they recorded in all of last year.  Here are the dog bites over the past several years:

2006 - 88

2007  - 115

2008 - 94

2009 - 81

2010 - 81 (pace 122)

So outside of a very crazy 2007 -- the city averaged 88 dog bites per year- and was on a downward trend. The 2009 numbers (about 2/3 of which had the BSL ordinance) numbers were pretty good -- but 2010 is shaping up to be a complete disaster in terms of dog bites -- in large part because of the ordinance. And as you can see, the severity of the injuries has not decreased.

When cities focus on the wrong things -- like breeds -- instead of the right things like promoting responsible dog ownership, bad things happen. Sioux City is continuing to show their failures with their breed ban - -even though they are stubbornly holding onto the ordinance. 

Denver re-evaluating their breed ban

Last month, the Department of Justice released an official statement about the Americans with Disabilities Act and how all service dogs are protected under the ADA - -and that cities with bans on particular breeds do not trump the ADA. Service dogs are to be welcomed under the ADA regardless of breed (and regardless of what the city thinks of that breed).

So, now  the city of Denver is re-evaluating their breed ban. Well, they have to. At the very least they're going to have to adjust the law to allow for service dogs in the city -- particularly since Denver is currently facing three lawsuits for harrassing people protected under the ADA with 'pit bull' type service dogs under the city's breed ban.

The city is looking for a quick end to the situation given in order to squash the lawsuits and stop the mounting legal fees in a time when the city is facing a major budget deficit.

The city will likely get rid of the breed bans for service dogs (they have to) -- but it is already causing some to ask the question  that if the Department of Justice suggests that breed bans for service dogs are overly broad, why not for all dogs?

At this point, I highly doubt that Denver will really consider a full-on repeal. There doesn't appear to be much support for a full-on repeal at city hall or in the city attorney's office (where the assistant city attorney build his career on the ban and refuses to acknowledge the ban's failure in spite of the numbers and in spite of the reality that the law is causing the city a huge amount of wasted funds).  But I think eventually the ridiculousness of banning dogs that are capable of being service dogs, the huge difficulty of enforcing the ban with the ADA guidelines now impacting Denver, and, well, the fact that the whole law is ignorant an ineffective, will lead to the law being repealed. But it may take some more time. Or not. But the law is crumbling....

Jerry Lee Southern gets 90 days in jail

Yesterday, in a Kay County, OK courtroom, Jerry Lee Southern plead guilty to 5 counts of cruelty to animals.

In December, 2008, more than 100 dogs were found on his property, chained up in an open field with only water bowls and a barrel for shelter (pics are available here). Several were found dead on the property. Southern told officials he was giving the dogs "a handful" of food a day.

Southern was originally charged with 70 counts of animal cruelty (after being arrested on 96 counts) - but plead guilty to only 5. For his plea, Southern was sentenced to 90 days in jail, and has to now pay $10,000 to three rescue organizations that took in many of the dogs from his hoarding operation. 

What makes the light sentencing even worse is that Southern isn't a first-time offender. Five years ago the state of Kansas forbid him from ever owning dogs in the state again as part of his conviction for a similar incident.

While it is very common for many of the national animal welfare organizations to push for more state laws regarding animal cruelty, I don't think more laws are the answer. Under Oklahoma state law, Southern could have received up to 5 years in prison FOR EACH ANIMAL -- but instead, after awaiting a sentencing for 20 months following his arrest, he receive only 3 months total. Laws aren't the problem....but getting judges to prosecute cruelty cases -- particularly for repeat offenders -- is essential if we are to make a dent in animal cruelty and the many problems that come with it.

The good news is that many of the dogs were fortunate enough to be rescued and are living happily in homes. Our (former) foster dog Boomer (pictured) continues to do great with his forever family, and many others are doing great as well.

For more back story on Boomer and the other Kay County Dogs:

Slideshow of the Kay County Dogs - Bad Rap

The Anatomy of a rescue - Bad Rap

Dogs Rescued from Newkirk, OK - KC Dog Blog

Nameless! - KC Dog Blog

Let me officially introduce Boomer - KC Dog Blog

Boomer Update - KC Dog Blog

Boomer's Former Owner Goes to Court - KC Dog Blog

Boom-Dog finds forever home - KC Dog Blog

 

For more -- check out the commentary over at Bad Rap.

Callous

On Sunday, as a part of the weekly roundup, I posted the online video footage of police officers in LaGrange, MO shooting a dog in their city.

The video is a 7 minute video that was edited from about 60 minutes of footage show police officers chasing a chained dog trying to catch it.  The dog was called a 'pit bull mix' (which is debatable from the footage) which apparently need to be licensed and muzzled in LaGrange.

After chasing the fearful dog (the dog actually spends the entire video trying to avoid the officers, not attack them) for around 60 minutes, officers finally secured the dog on a catch pole. The dog resisted the catch pole (which is common) for a bit, and then finally settled down. Upon the dog settling down, the officer drew his weapon and shot the dog twice - -killing it.

Upon the release of the footage, the mayor of LaGrange, Ronnie Powers, along with the rest of the city council, released this statement in reaction -- defending the officer's actions. Neither officer involved has been disciplined.

Here's a snippet (emphasis added):

"During the course of over 1 hour in which the officers were on scene, the dog refused to cooperate with the officers to allow for the safe transportation of the dog to the city dog pound for proper housing until the owner could be located. During this period of time, the dog continued to display aggressive and vicious propensities toward the police officers, and eventually broke the chain leash holding the animal. Following these incidents and numerous unsuccessful attempts to control the dog, the officers concern for the safety of the nearby residents, as well as themselves, became paramount and the officers were compelled to destroy the dog."

The dog had been controlled by the officer by the time it was shot.

The animal was fearful, not aggressive, and any fool who watches the video can see that.

The dog "not cooperating" with the officer with the catchpole would be a laughable statement if the ending wasn't so tragic.

It is impossible for me to even think that the mayor and the city council even watched the same video. The officer's actions were indefensible. And the mayor and council's defending it is even worse.

 

Rethinking our approach to animal abusers

There has been a lot of chatter on the internets this week (already) about animal cruelty -- and the people who participate in it -- and the need to increase the punishment on animal abusers.

And while I think most of the talk is good....the more we talk about solutions to dealing with abusers, the sooner we can end the problem. 

Some of the conversation involves a proposed law in California that would create a registery for convicted animal abusers.  The law is essentially designed to mirror the laws for sex offenders and allow people to know if people in their neighborhoods have a known track record of abuse. The idea would be to track these people because they often move to other juristictions where people are not aware of their past problems.

This certainly seems like a valid idea...and one that I'm not opposed to.  In just one recent case, a Kansas man was charged (he's awaiting trial) on 70 counts of animal cruelty relating to a hoarding bust in Kay County, Oklahoma. The man had a track-record of abuse in the state of Kansas, and had been forbidden from owning dogs in Kansas, but the track record did not follow him to Oklahoma...where more than 100 dogs were found on his property. Two of his former dogs died this past week due to illnesses even under the expert care of the folks at Bad Rap.

Even though the bill seems unlikely to pass because the funding mechanism for the registry is supposed to come from an increased tax on pet food...which too many people oppose, the idea for the bill seems sound -- because certainly habitual abusers cannot be tolerated.

While some have looked at this new bill as an opportunity to talk about the need to strengthen animal cruelty laws, I'm not sure that is the answer either. Animal cruelty is already a felony in every state.

The problem appears to be that judges around the country are not issuing particularly strong sentences for major, purposeful abuse cases....and the number of instances of people getting off for pretty major offenses seems to be growing.

Last week, the Pet Connection folks noted that Fabian Henderson, the man convicted of throwing Oreo off the top of a 6 story building, leading to a couple of broken legs, a broken rib and a dog that was broken enough that it led to her eventual death, got 6 months of probation and a treatment program that will help him to find a job.

Meanwhile, also last week, Bobby Loggins got 30 days in jail in Iowa  for punching his 5 month old puppy in the face 30 times -- killing it. Thirty days? For punching a dog in the face?!  The judge ruled that because the dog was his own, and not a fancy show dog, that he got off on a light sentence.  The particulars of the abuse are pretty gruesome, you can follow the link -- but the case brings Loggins' track record to 26 cases of driving violations, drugs, and now animal torture.

*Strangely, the head of Sioux City Animal Control Cindy Rarrat said that the judge did an "excellent job". Even more ironic, is that according to Sioux City law, someone could get the same penalty as Loggins got for merely owning a 'pit bull' and treating it well.

It seems that maybe more important than pushing for better laws, would be putting pressure on judges to apply harsher sentences to people who are violent and cruely abuse offenders.  It is one thing for someone to get put up for abuse because they cannot afford food and a dog is a little malnourished, it is quite another to throw a dog off a 6 story building or literally punch its face in.

It seems its past time to put some pressure on our judges to be sure that violent abusers are punished with more than a slap on the wrist.

Boomer's Former Owner Goes to Court

Jerry Lee Southern, the man who has been charged with 70 counts of animal cruelty in connection with a group of dogs that he hoarded in Northern Oklahoma a year ago, went to court last week. Under the law, if convicted, Southern could get up to 5 years in prison for each incident of animal cruelty.

You can read more about the case here and here.

Boomer is one of the dogs from the bust. My wife and I fostered Boomer for about 6 months - -and a combination of factors  -- many including his growth -  has led Boomer to go to a new foster home for the time being. We hope to get the little guy back sometime after the first of the year. However, as you can see  from the pics of his new foster home, he is doing great, making new friends, living a life of luxury and making a good recovery as he learns how to be a dog.

You can see older pics of Boomer from when he was with us, you can check them out here, here and here.

I've seen first hand the emotional damage Southern's abuse put on at least one dog. I hope the judge judges harshly in favor of the dogs in this case.