In Salina, KS breed specific legislation (BSL)  was passed in 2005 which bans owning unregistered pit bulls and mixed breeds that are predominantly pit bull. If a pit bull is found it can be removed from the owner and either put down or possibly re-homed outside Salina.

Pit bull is a term commonly used to describe several breeds of dog, many breed-specific laws use the term “pit bull” to refer to the American Pit Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier, and Staffordshire Bull Terrier, and dogs with significant mixes of these breeds.

Recently a dog named Lucey was almost put down due to mistaken identity.  It all began when Angie Cartwright was pet-sitting for her brother and his dog got loose. Animal control officers picked up the dog and when he was returned saw Lucey.

The officers thought she looked like a pit bull and told Cartwright they were taking her in for testing, a DNA test. I found it interesting that they offered that option, as you’ll see in a minute it can be a lifesaving test.

Here are the details from KansasCity.com.

Today, Lucey is home, and Cartwright credits a genetic test kit that helps pet owners identify the heritage of their mixed-breed dogs.

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In Mashpee, MA. a new kind of witch hunt has begun, not for humans, but for pit bull and pit bull mix puppies. Under the guise of a new bylaw claiming to protect children the owner (or keepers) of any “pit bull type dog” who has a litter must bring them to the town kennel for destruction. The bylaw claims certain breeds have “a strong instinct for dominance” and a prey drive that results in “aggressive pursuit of . . . human children.”

I find this disturbing on so many levels, I hardly know where to begin.  When your power of choice is taken away and someone else steps in to make your decisions you no longer live in a free country. This isn’t about protecting you from a dangerous breed,  it’s about the government coming in and telling you what it deems a dangerous breed and therefore making it so.

Are we not capable of making our own decisions anymore?

Here’s a comment from Best Friends Animal Society, eloquently summing up all that is wrong with the proposed bylaw.

Best Friends Animal Society feels compelled to emphasize that the aim of this bylaw is to hunt down all dogs that have the appearance of a certain breed of dog and destroy any offspring.

This bylaw is a representation of misinformed policy-makers and public making panic-induced decisions without consideration of civil liberties and reason. It takes on a school of thought similar to the witch hunts that took place in Massachusetts over three hundred years ago whereby paranoia and panic is taking over logic and reason.

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I received this from one of our Canadian Dogsters,  hopefully posting it brings some public awareness and support their way.

BSL UPDATE
Supreme Court of Canada challenge

Breed-specific legislation (BSL) came to Ontario in the form of Bill 132 and became law in August 2005. The bill established restrictions against owning, breeding, transferring, importing or abandoning “pit bulls” (defined as being Pit Bull Terriers, Staffordshire Bull Terriers, American Staffordshire Terriers, American Pit Bull Terriers or any dog that has an appearance and physical characteristics substantially similar to any of those breeds).

The Dog Legislation Council of Canada (DLCC) and members of Banned Aid took up the fight against BSL and are now headed to the Supreme Court of Canada, but they need your help to get there.

This fight affects all dogs and fanciers because, “All breeds and mixes are now just a bad news story away, one pen stroke away from being wiped out by our government,” states DLCC president LeeAnn O’Reilly.

The DLCC needs to raise $67,000 by the end of January. Thus they launched the Dollars for Dogs campaign and are asking dog lovers to donate a dollar for every dog they own and love.

For more information about the DLCC and their campaign, you can read our blog or visit the DLCC’s site to learn how to donate.

Thank you to everyone who has supported this effort. Dogs in Canada encourages dog lovers to give generously.

Thanks Marg for barking this to me, eh.

* Who’s the Boss?

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“Unconditional love is often not found in our world, but through man’s best friend it is a regular occurrence when a true friend is on both ends of the leash.”

Tony Loiacono, Creator & Executive Producer of “Faithful Friends.”

Pit Bulls are the bully target today, but it wasn’t always so.  Did you know that German Shepherds, Rottweilers, Dobermans and even the St. Bernard are considered aggressive? What happened to turn Pit Bulls into fighters, making them number one on the aggressive breed hit list?

The very qualities that make these dogs outstanding companion dogs — intelligence, loyalty, courage and trainability is how Michael Vick and 20,000-40,000 others abuse their strength and power in the multibillion-dollar dog fighting industry. “There is absolutely no true concept of sport in inflicting pain on those who only know how to love unconditionally,” said Wanda Goldberg, host of “Faithful Friends” on Animal Planet. “Be a voice for those without, abuse stops here, it stops now.”

Saturday, January 17th at 9am “Faithful Friends” on Animal Planet will be covering this topic. Host Wanda Goldberg and Dr. Marty Smith ,of Doctors Foster and Smith Pet Supplies, will expound on why it isn’t the dog’s breeding but the owner that makes the difference.

At the turn of the 20th Century, the American Pit Bull Terrier was the #1 family dog in the United States and Petey, a Pit Bull Terrier, was the de facto “babysitter” of the kids on the “Our Gang” TV show.

Today, they achieve the fourth highest passing rate of all 122 breeds tested with an 82.5% that took a temperament test vs. 77% of all breeds on average. But, it is the owners at the end of the leash that turned a lover into a fighter. In the US, dog-fighting is considered a felony in every state except Wyoming and Idaho.

Human intervention is trying to ban this breed with BSL, which is interesting because that’s exactly what turned these dogs into fighting machines.  Wouldn’t it be better to change the laws that govern dogfighting than creating new ones to eliminate a breed?

Why not focus on rehabilitation rather than extermination of Pit Bulls?  It’s truly amazing what can happen with patience and unconditional love. Out of the 53 dogs removed from Michael Vick 52 have now been adopted into loving homes.

One of them is even a therapy dog providing comfort to people going through chemotherapy. Does that sound like a vicious killer to you?

*Caesar with his true friend.

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Here’s an interesting twist on the normal stories I report on regarding breed specific legislation.  Dog owners have banned together to bring a suit against four cities to question the constitutionality of BSL.

A judge Tuesday set a July 20 jury trial date for a group of dog owners and breeders who are challenging pit-bull bans in Jacksonville, Lonoke, North Little Rock and Beebe.

The trial of a lawsuit brought against the cities by Responsible Owners of Arkansas Dogs will be held before Chief U.S. District Judge Leon Holmes in Little Rock.

The lawsuit claims the breed specific bans and restrictions are unconstitutional.

Definitely want to keep an eye on this case, the outcome could be precedent setting. Thanks to Charli for barking this to me.

* The gorgeous girl above, the four-legged one, is Inky.  She was found tied to a  street pole and is currently being fostered. She  now has her AKC Canine Good Citizen award and is Therapy Dog International certified. SHE IS ADOPTABLE!

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There is a bill to eliminate Pit Bulls in Montana, the entire state. This is a ludicrous bill that goes after innocent animals at the whim of a politician, it must be stopped.

Montana state Rep. Robyn Driscoll, a Democrat who represents the 51st District, has introduced a bizarre bill calling for the elimination of all “pit bulls” from the state. If the bill, H.B. 191, becomes law, owners must surrender their pit bull dogs which must then be euthanized within 10 days.

Those who don’t give up their dogs to be killed? Well, any peace officer is authorized to obtain a search warrant and come and get the dog.

The cost of paying animal control and other law enforcement officers throughout the state to round up family pets and kill them will be substantial. A task force found that a pit bull ban in Prince George’s County, Maryland, just one county, cost $560,000 in one year.

There are exceptions for pit bulls temporarily in the state, passing through, or attending a exhibition, show or competition “sponsored by a dog club, association, or similar organization”. Even for the dog to attend an exhibition, show or competition, the owner must obtain written permission from the county and the sponsor must take steps to “prevent [the pit bull dog] from escaping or injuring the public.” The only other exception is for a pit bull wearing a tag indicating it is a registered pit bull, but the registration and tag must have been obtained before the law’s effective date. Here is a copy of the bill.

The National Canine Research Council reports that between 1965 and 2008, there were 3 fatalities in Montana from dog bites. Yes, 3 in 43 years. In 2005 alone, just one year in Montana, 1,400 people died from smoking and 251 in traffic accidents. (Maybe Driscoll should work to protect Montanans from smoking and second hand cigarette smoke or negligent or drunk drivers; that would at least be something useful.)

The NCRC notes, “All the dogs involved … were …not spayed or neutered….All three cases involved unsupervised children left alone in a yard with unfamiliar dogs (2 cases) or the child wandering off and encountering an unfamiliar, chained dog (1 case).”

The bill, H.B. 191, is now in the House Local Government Committee. Check Animal Law Coalition for updates.

Take Animal Law Coalition’s poll on breed bans on this page!

WHAT YOU CAN DO

Write or call Rep. Robyn Driscoll and urge her to drop this breed ban. Tell her dogs don’t bite because of breed and breed bans don’t make communities safe from dog bites. Instead, they penalize responsible owners and greatly increase animal control costs. Send her the information found here. Be polite.

Robyn Driscoll, (406) 534-4874, rdriscoll@peoplepc.com

Contact the House Local Government Committee by calling Joe Kolman, 406-444-9280

Find Montana legislators and email, fax or call them and urge them to say no to H.B. 191. Here is the fax number for the House: 406-444-4825

This is outrageous and unacceptable to me. A good friend of mine was attacked by a German Shepherd over Labor Day weekend, a totally unprovoked attack.  She was walking on a beach with her Jack Russell when the German Shepherd, who was on a balcony of a house, spotted them. It somehow got out of the house and went after her, severely attacking them both.

To go after a dog who has bitten is one thing, to go after an entire breed on the premise they will someday bite is insane. Why aren’t the laws stricter against the people that run the dogfighting rings?  Not people who are alleged to run them, but those where there is hard evidence. The people that turn these dogs into fighters, who make them vicious, they are the ones that need to be eliminated.

One of the scariest sentences in the bill is…..(e) any dog that has been registered at any time as a pit bull terrier or has the physical characteristics that substantially conform to the standards established for the breeds listed in this subsection (2) by the American kennel club or the united kennel club.

The physical characteristics that substantially conform to the standards established for the breed?  What’s next? What if someone has a mix, when do you determine how much is too much PB?  Where does it stop?

This is outrageous, please get those paws busy and call, fax, or email the appropriate parties above to get this bill dropped.

* The beauty above is courtesy The Animal Law Coalition site.

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There’s a movement of citizens inspired by the presidential campaign who are now submitting ideas for how they think the Obama administration should change America. It’s called “Ideas for Change in America.”

The top 10 ideas are going to be presented on Inauguration Day and will be supported by a national lobbying campaign.

Ban Breed Specific Legislation

It is unfair legislation and stereotypes these breeds as violent and vicious animals. Being an owner of 3 American Pit Bull Terriers, this infuriates me. Any dog can be vicious if the owners aren’t responsible. We should crack down on negligent and cruel owners and try to get to the real root of the problem– the humans, and stop punishing innocent animals who have no voice and the owners that love them.

Whitney Fisher

If you would like to make your voice heard go to Ideas for Changing America to vote.  Over 800 votes are still needed to get this topic into the top 10 which would allow it to be presented in Washington, DC.

There are also other animal welfare issues so take a look around the site while you’re there.

* The adorable pup above is Zeus.

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