March 22nd, 2007 by admin
At the Rolla City Council meeting Monday, the following considerations were discussed, including a possible ban on “pitbulls” and/or breed-specific mandatory spay/neuter: Read the rest of this entry »
March 20th, 2007 by admin
Update: Jose Hernandez was acquitted of criminally negligent homicide on March 22, 2007.
“He should have known better. He ought to have been aware of the unreliable and substantial risk that the dogs posed to their neighbors and their families”…
These are the words of Dan Cervenka, an assistant district attorney for Milam County, Texas. Milam County includes the town of Thorndale where in 2005 an elderly woman named Lillian Stiles was mauled to death by possibly as many as six dogs (five “pitbull” mixes and one Rottweiler mix) owned by Jose Hernandez. Hernandez is now on trial accused of criminally negligent homicide. Read the rest of this entry »
March 19th, 2007 by admin
*Update: The dog reported to be a “pitbull” in the following story was actually discovered to have been a Catahoula/American Bulldog mix. Doesn’t matter. The cops still shot it and it’s still dead.
You know, Texas officials just aren’t even trying to be stealthy anymore about turning every dog attack into a “pitbull” attack (all so they can push through some or all of their highly-restrictive dog-related legislation). The latest attack, which actually resulted in the death of a Friendswood, Texas woman over the weekend, was reported to have involved a retriever, a “pitbull-type dog,” and an Alaskan Collie. First of all, what the heck is an Alaskan Collie? Second, why was the “pitbull” shot and killed by police when it was the collie that had blood all over it? Responding officers said they shot the “pitbull” because it supposedly lunged at them, which is what they always say when they don’t care to be bothered with the dog and would just rather shoot it. Police, in an apparent attempt to outdo their own outlandishness claimed that,
“…only the one dog actually attacked the woman. They say it was the dog that they had to kill.”
It also happened to be the dog they thought was a “pitbull.” And how is it that the police know that the “pitbull” was the one responsible when nobody witnessed the attack and it was the collie that was covered in blood?
March 19th, 2007 by admin
Widdled down from thirteen breeds to three — “pitbulls” (which is not a breed), Rottweilers, and wolf hybrids — McFarland City Council is considering breed-specific legislation of some sort. Worse, the city council arrived at these three “breeds” in particular based on the opinion of a local veterinarian, who according to McFarland City Clerk Effa Winkler said,
“Their jaw structure is where if they bite you they can really rip you apart”…
March 19th, 2007 by admin
If Hillsborough County is successful in their request to overturn the statewide prohibition of breed-specific legislation in Florida the county will seek to ban “pitbull-type dogs,” Rottweilers, Dobermans, German Shepherds, and any mixes of these breeds. Read the rest of this entry »
March 19th, 2007 by admin
Read Maryland Senate Bill 696 here.
March 17th, 2007 by admin
If you feed your dog or cat any of the following pet food brands, stop immediately and call the toll free number listed below for more information!
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Recall Information 1-866-895-2708
1. Americas Choice, Preferred Pets
2. Authority
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4. Best Choice Read the rest of this entry »
March 16th, 2007 by admin
Amory, Mississippi city officials are considering a breed-specific ordinance. According to the proposal,
“Certain dangerous breeds of dogs will…be required to be registered in the city. Some of those breeds include American pit bull terriers, Staffordshire pit terriers, American Staffordshire terriers, mixed breeds from these breeds and some others that will be named specifically in the ordinance when it is adopted within the coming month. No breeds will be banned in the city, however.”
Please e-mail Amory city officials and tell them their proposal is unconstitutional and that the dangerous dog provisions of the ordinance are more than adequate to police dangerous dogs without resorting to a breed-specific measure.
March 16th, 2007 by admin
A breed-specific ban that would prohibit “pitbulls” in Payette County, Idaho was proposed by county coroner Keith Schuller whose daughter was supposedly attacked by Schuller’s own “pitbull.” Schuller said before county commissioners that,
“There is evidence that shows pit bull attacks are more severe and are more likely to cause injury or death,” Schuller said. “They can make gentle pets – but they require special attention. Pit bulls give no warning before they attack and they will not retreat.” Read the rest of this entry »
March 16th, 2007 by admin
“Our officers are not immune to what they see on the news about dogs. They realize (pit bulls) as a threat that can cause a great bit of harm”…
These are the words of Deputy Chief Rich Chiarello of the Round Lake, Illinois Police Department whose officers, while serving drug warrants, shot and killed a “pitbull” that the officers claimed lunged at them. The police chief just admitted that his officers are influenced by what they see on the news about “pitbulls,” (most of which we debunk everyday, by the way). Perhaps it’s more accurate to say that police have a no-tolerance policy for “pitbulls” and that any time officers see them, whether the dog is actually lunging or not, that they are authorized to put a bullet, or several, in the dog’s head. Does it concern anyone else that the police are this eager to discharge their firearms in suburban areas where other people live and work, especially when it has not been shown (other than by false, sensationalistic media coverage) that “pitbulls” are an actual threat??? “Pitbulls” aren’t even a breed, so how can they be a threat??
March 14th, 2007 by admin
Peter Vallone, you will recall, proposed a repeal of New York state’s prohibition of breed-specific legislation (BSL) several months back, which he hinted was motivated by the race of many “pitbull” owners. As a result of Vallone’s failure to repeal New York’s BSL prohibition, Vallone may now attempt to push anti-tethering laws. Read the rest of this entry »
March 14th, 2007 by admin
Please contact the Humane Society of Henderson County Kentucky. Both the director, John Dunaway and ACO Mark Oakley have made public statements that they support BSL, specifically Rottweilers, pit bulls and German Shepherd Dogs. (Read the story here.) Read the rest of this entry »
March 14th, 2007 by admin
The Lonoke, Arkansas City Council has proposed a breed-specific ordinance which you can read about here. Please contact the following city officials and register your opposition to any breed-specific measures that the city council may attempt to pass: Read the rest of this entry »
March 12th, 2007 by admin
Some night when you are having a bad bout of insomnia, be sure to read New Jersey’s Assembly bill 2649…all 56 pages of it. It will put you to sleep in no time. In fact, the bill’s sponsors — Jeff Van Drew, Nelson Albano, Douglas Fisher, and Robert Gordon — are counting on it. That’s why it’s 56 pages of fun-filled animal rights activist-sponsored evil. See, they know you’re not going to read it, or that if by some act of God you do read it, by the time you’ve finished it the bill will have become law already. And then you will have missed all that this bill tries to get away with.
March 8th, 2007 by admin
DeSoto County, Mississippi Supervisor Jessie Medlin said Monday that “pitbulls” “ought to be registered like a sex offender.” And of course now the county is looking into a possible “pitbull” ban and/or registration of the non-breed “pitbull.” Perhaps it’s obvious, but I’ll ask the question for rhetorical purposes: What’s the difference between a sex offender and a dog? Anyone? Anyone? A sex offender is a human of a higher-ordered species that can understand morality and rules of law. A dog does not understand morality or rules of law. It’s up to the dog’s owner to socialize the dog, to teach it proper and improper behavior, and to obey the law by leashing and vaccinating.
March 5th, 2007 by admin
According to K9 Magazine,
“What the victim[s] of [dog attacks] fail…to realise is that, if every dog capable of inflicting a bite on a human was destroyed, we would have no dogs left/Every dog is capable of an attack, but no dog just “turns” or “goes for someone”. Dogs are not capable of unprovoked aggression, there is always a trigger. The problem is that people are not trained to understand the warning signs. Even the most placid, gentle dog can be provoked, by fear, intimidation or other factors into behaving aggressively, but the solution to an incident should not always be to put the dog down.”
It is nice to see such wisdom from our Briton friends across the pond. We were beginning to think the U.K. “authorities” had gone quite mad and were going to cull all domesticated pets (which I’m sure would make the animal rights groups behind the U.K.’s outlawed dog breed “amnesty” quite happy). Read the rest of this entry »
March 5th, 2007 by admin
From Responsible Pet Owners Alliance, the reasonable voice regarding animal issues in Texas. Responsible Pet Owners Alliance is an animal welfare organization, not “animal rights” and, yes, there is a difference. Permission granted to crosspost.
Senate Bill 349 by Ellis has been assigned to the Criminal Justice Committee; “Relating to the regulation of dangerous pets by certain populous counties; providing a criminal penalty.” The lists of dangerous dogs compiled in other cities usually include American Staffordshire Terriers, American Pit Bull Terriers, Staffordshire Bull Terriers, (or anything with the appearance of the above!), and sometimes include: Bull Terriers, Rottweilers, German Shepherds, Dobermans, Malamutes, Chows, Akitas and many other large dog breeds and mixes. Read the rest of this entry »
March 5th, 2007 by admin
From Responsible Pet Owners Alliance (TX-RPOA), the reasonable voice regarding animal issues in Texas. Responsible Pet Owners Alliance is an animal welfare organization, not “animal rights” and, yes, there is a difference. Permission granted to crosspost.
Oppose Senate Bill 405 by Wentworth relating to the regulation of dogs; creating an offense. Bill text may be found at: http://tinyurl.com/ywfz33 . First dog bite on or off your property — and the dog is killed! Please contact the legislators below and oppose this bill as written. Contact your own senator also who can be found (see search box) on the legislature’s website home page www.capitol.state.tx.us . Read the rest of this entry »
March 5th, 2007 by admin
According to the San Francisco Chronicle,
“A federal judge has dismissed most of a lawsuit challenging San Francisco’s ordinance that requires sterilization of pit bulls, but kept alive a claim on behalf of disabled people who need the dogs to help them get around.”
The viable part of the lawsuit that alleged that San Francisco’s mandatory “pitbull” spay/neuter ordinance violated the Americans With Disabilities Act for those who have bully service dogs was later also dismissed.
Read the entire San Francisco Chronicle article here.
March 5th, 2007 by admin
We recently speculated that it wouldn’t be long before a police officer, in his haste to shoot a “pitbull” or some other dog the officer believed to be hostile, would shoot a person. We didn’t think it would happen as quickly as a few days however. An officer in Paterson, New Jersey, in an attempt to shoot a “pitbull” in a house in which a S.W.A.T. team had conducted a drug raid, accidentally shot a fellow officer in the arm when the stray bullet intended for the “pitbull” entered the floor and hit the officer on the floor below. Read the rest of this entry »
March 5th, 2007 by admin
Remember Jake, the abused dog that Inside Edition reported on in September of last year and that we wrote about in this post? We called him “ill-used Jake” because everyone involved in his situation exploited the poor dog, including possibly even his “rescuer,” Tammy Grimes, whose case is still pending in a Pennsylvania court. Grimes is founder of the Pennsylvania-based Dogs Deserve Better (DDB), which many believe is an animal rights group. Grimes’ actions certainly suggest that DDB has animal rights leanings. For those who didn’t follow the case, Jake was a sickly, emaciated senior shepherd mix that was found by a neighbor chained in a backyard outside Altoona, Pennsylvania last year. The neighbor phoned Tammy Grimes and Grimes documented the abuse with a video camera. What Grimes also documented was her illegal trespass onto the dog owner’s property and the resulting theft of the dog. Jake had been held in an undisclosed location until his death on March 3, 2007. Read the rest of this entry »
March 3rd, 2007 by admin
Penn and Teller show us where contributions to PETA really go. Click here to see the video (Contains language and images you may find graphic).
“Our goal is total animal liberation.” — Ingrid Newkirk, President of PETA.
March 1st, 2007 by admin
An assistant dog warden in Seneca County, Ohio pled guilty to “theft in office” for willfully misleading the owner of a “pitbull” so that the assistant dog warden could euthanize the dog. When the owner of the “pitbull” came to the dog warden’s office in March 2006 to see if his dog (who had a collar and tags) had been picked up by the assistant dog warden, he was informed that the dog was not there, even though it was. The dog’s owner was later informed by one of his neighbors that the assistant dog warden had picked up the dog. When the dog’s owner returned to the dog warden’s office he found his dog dead and lying in a compost pile. By Ohio law, dogs are considered personal property and therefore the assistant dog warden was made to pay the dog’s owner $500 in restitution. The Seneca County Prosecutor said,
“‘It’s disturbing because as an assistant dog warden he did not handle it properly…He violated the public trust’.”