Californian Trip Researching Pit Bulls part 3

Trip Mission Statement:

TO RESEARCH AND DISCUSS THE ROLE OF PIT BULLS TERRIERS AS A LEGAL BREED IN THE LOS ANGELES AREA, AND TO DRAW COMPARISONS WITH THE POINT OF SEEKING SOLUTIONS TO THE ISSUE OF DANGEROUS DOGS IN MODERN DAY BRITAIN.

Monday 25th February

I find this gorgeous beast on the beach! He is very playful and bouncy. The owner has to hold him because when I first held up my camera to take a photo, the dog ran at me for joy and headbutted the camera into my face haha! The owner is very proud. This dog is apparently a Pit Bull / Pointer mix. How gorgeous!!! 

Tues 26^th February

Fonda and I went to Hooters in Long Beach, and at the merchandise table they are selling t-shirts raising money for animal rescues. The lady at the stall says she has a pit bull puppy which she got from her boyfriend's friend who had an accidental litter. She is very cool and positive about the puppy, says he's very intelligent and is doing well with socialisation. She says she is aware of the stigma but simply isn't bothered by it, her dog is a good dog.

Californian Trip Researching Pit Bulls part 2

Trip Mission Statement:

TO RESEARCH AND DISCUSS THE ROLE OF PIT BULLS TERRIERS AS A LEGAL BREED IN THE LOS ANGELES AREA, AND TO DRAW COMPARISONS WITH THE POINT OF SEEKING SOLUTIONS TO THE ISSUE OF DANGEROUS DOGS IN MODERN DAY BRITAIN.

Friday 22^nd Feb 2013

Fonda takes me to a Sea Lion Sanctuary in Laguna Canyon, which is next door to a Rescue Shelter for dogs, cats and small pets. We decide to pop in and speak to them about pit bulls.

In the foyer is a poster of adoptable dogs. They are ALL 'cute' type dogs, spaniels and toy dogs, maybe a collie or labrador. This confuses me a little.

I speak to a lady at the desk. I introduce myself, and ask her about the lack of bullie breeds and specifically pit bulls on the board. She says, “we don't adopt out pit bulls.” I ask why and she says they don't rehome dangerous dogs. She says they only have adoptable dogs at that shelter. I ask her, “so what happens, if someone brings you a pit bull? Do you turn them away, or-” the lady says (writing from my memory here) “All dogs that come into the shelter undergo a temperament test. But pit bulls never pass so we don't bother for them.” I am blunt and ask “So, you deem them automatically dangerous and put them to sleep without a chance for rehoming?” she says something along the lines of pit bulls being dangerous dogs, she doesn't want to take the risk of the dog “breaking out and killing all the other dogs” that they're not worth the hassle, can never be rehomed and essentially, thought they were bad dogs. I ask her, “have you never known of a well behaved pit bull? Ever?” and she says “I've worked here for thirty years and we've never seen a good pit bull.”

I bite my tongue and don't ask her how she knows that if they don't even test the dog's temperament before killing them...

She goes all wise and says “Oh yes, in the early days, I was keen to see good in them but they're no good, they're dangerous, vicious animals.”

There is a girl who works there, standing behind her and she says “I have a pit bull.” I am quite shocked, as this institution was so hostile towards them, and the older lady looks a bit stumped too. I ask her how the dog is, she replies, “She's fine. No problems, I really love her. She's a great dog.”

I am a little intimidated in this situation and don't want to cause an argument so resist asking the older lady if she would happily kill her colleagues dog, and if not, why kill others...

The older lady says “You can try some other shelters. They might take pit bulls.” And hands me a leaflet with a list of Orange County animal shelters. We leave quite promptly. Not a great start.  

Californian Trip Researching Pit Bulls part 1

Trip Mission Statement:

TO RESEARCH AND DISCUSS THE ROLE OF PIT BULLS TERRIERS AS A LEGAL BREED IN THE LOS ANGELES AREA, AND TO DRAW COMPARISONS WITH THE POINT OF SEEKING SOLUTIONS TO THE ISSUE OF DANGEROUS DOGS IN MODERN DAY BRITAIN. 

Wednesday 20th Feb 2013

Fonda took me into Laguna Beach town today for shopping. Pretty much all of the dogs we saw were small, cute toy dogs. 

We went into a bric-a-brac and gift shop, and as I was browsing, I heard the sound of a beefy motor car. I look out of the shop and there is a car being parked outside. It is a red open top sports car. It's being driven by a smartly dressed young man, maybe late twenties- early thirties, darkish skin and gelled hair. In the passenger seat is a massive white bull breed dog with cropped ears, with no collar. He is a very stocky dog. He is complete. 

The man gets out of the car and goes to the passenger side. The dog is looking anxious to get out but resists jumping out, although he easily could. The man lets the dog out of the car before putting on a collar or lead. The dog sniffs around a lot and comes into the shop, approaching Smoke (Fonda's Yorkie/Maltese). They have a brief nose touch and the dog is called back. 

I invite the man for conversation by stating how gorgeous the dog is- and he is- and the man tells the dog to 'go say hello', but the dog ignores him, still sniffing around. I decide not to hassle the dog, I'm not the type to approach dogs if they are not all that interested in me. 

I ask the man “Did you cut his ears?” and the man explains, “the dog came from a litter bred by a vet who cut the ears off all the puppies himself. I didn't really want one with its ears cut off but he did it anyway, and I've come to really like it now” and he fondles the ears stumps of the dog. I compliment him on the dog again- who is still not collared and leashed- and thank him for talking to me. He takes the dog off to the beach. 

A bit later, he drives past Fonda and I and gives a friendly wave, which I return. 

Current discussions on DDA

From Parliament.uk

"Dangerous dogs

MPs endorse the Government’s proposed amendment to the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 making attacks on private land the same as attacks on public land. However, the Committee warns that police and prosecutors must distinguish between intruders and those lawfully on a person’s property when enforcing the law.

“The Government’s assurances on this are too vague; clear guidance is needed to avoid unintended consequences,” says Anne McIntosh.

MPs stress that an attack on an assistance animal, such as a guide dog, has severe impacts on the owner’s mobility and daily life. They call on Ministers to amend legislation so that a dog attack on an assistance animal is treated as an aggravated attack, in the same manner as an attack on a person. The police must also become more consistent in prosecuting the owners of dogs that attack livestock.

The Committee is also concerned about the provision under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 that currently bans certain types of dog, regardless of temperament, but excludes other aggressive breeds.

MPs call for changes in the legislation to give the Secretary of State powers to extend the banned list to include other dogs with particularly aggressive characteristics. At the same time, MPs want the Government to give those tasked to enforce legislation the discretion to neuter rather than destroy a banned animal where there is clear evidence that a particular dog poses no threat.

Dog breeding and welfare

The Committee criticises Government for doing too little to tackle poor breeding practices. Reliance on voluntary action has not delivered sufficient reform and the Advisory Council on Welfare Issues of Dog Breeding should be given a formal regulatory role to enforce standards.

MPs are especially concerned about poor welfare of puppies and dogs due to common breeding practices amongst ‘puppy farmers’ and some pedigree breeders.

The report calls for any breeder producing more than two litters per year to be licensed and subject to welfare checks.

Committee Chair Anne McIntosh adds:

“Although the dog breeding community has taken steps to improve the health and welfare of pedigree dogs, progress has been too slow. Many dogs continue to suffer ill-health due to inbreeding and breeding for exaggerated characteristics.

"The Kennel Club exerts great influence over the pedigree dog community. It should stop registering puppies from breeders not compliant with its own Assured Breeder Scheme. It should also commission an independent annual review of Breed Standards led by vets to eliminate health problems linked to breeding for exaggerated characteristics.”

Lastly, MPs call on websites advertising pets to develop a voluntary Code of Practice under which they check sellers’ credentials, do more to educate potential buyers and give buyers of unhealthy puppies the chance of redress."

Seattle Met article "Consider the Pitbull"

Snippets from a recent article discussing Pitbull legislations in Seattle.

"The attack on Huong Le more than four years ago (September 8, 2008) could have happened yesterday—or the day before that, or tomorrow—argue anti–pit bull activists, because neither King County nor Seattle has comprehensive laws that target the dogs. The mauling helped spark a countywide pit bull debate, the reverberations of which can still be felt today. Weeks after Le was released from Harborview, her family issued a statement to the media, calling for a ban on pit bulls in Washington. In Seattle earlier that year a speech and acting coach named Ellen Taft proposed legislation to the city council that would, if not outright ban the dogs, make it nearly impossible to legally maintain them within city limits. Another woman, Colleen Lynn, a freelance web designer, launched a victims’ advocacy site, inspired in part by an attack she sustained while jogging in Beacon Hill.

Pit bull owners, meanwhile, insist their pets are among the sweetest, safest dogs a person can own, that savage attacks like the one on Huong Le are an anomaly, exceptions rather than the rule. The real enemies, many pit bull supporters insist, are careless owners and, worse, those trying to kill the city’s pit bull party. "

...

"Astute pet lovers in the city, however, know better than to underestimate Ellen Taft. Just ask dog owners who used to let their dogs play in the now-nonexistent designated dog area in Volunteer Park; or go ahead and try to find an owner out in public with his pooch off leash—just to name a couple Taft triumphs. “This is Seattle, and most people are followers,” she says, “and they don’t like to be labeled uncool and antidog, so they don’t say it; but I think there’d be a lot of people out there who’d like to see some restrictions on pit bulls.”

Pit bulls, she insists, are a public danger on par with assault weapons. “Because they were specifically bred to fight other dogs, the damage that they inflict is much greater than any other dog.”"

... 

"Dr. James Ha, an animal behaviorist at the University of Washington who has testified in the courtroom for numerous animal attack cases, agrees with Van Helvoort[pro pit bull and pit bull guardian]. Despite the splashy headlines and even the dog-bite death rates, there is nothing about pit bull–type dogs, as breeds, that makes them any more dangerous than many other dogs, Ha says. “We have to make a big distinction between a genetic breed predisposition, and how the animals are handled or trained. Many years ago German shepherds were the ‘bad’ dogs, because people kept them for protection, and criminals held them for protecting property. Then it was Dobermans, then Rottweilers, now pit bulls. All of these breeds have equally high aggression drives and can be trained, or mistreated, into becoming dangerous animals.” And while it’s true that due to breeding that took place a century ago, the dogs, with their superior neck and upper-body strength, are capable physically of doing deadly damage to humans and other animals, “pit bulls have no different threshold for aggression than those other breeds.”"

Please read the full article here.

Oklahoma State Senator Abandons Breed Ban Law

"On Wednesday, the office for Oklahoma State Senator Patrick Anderson from Enid has abandoned his proposal a new state law that would allow municipalities to pass ordinances banning certain breeds of dogs.

“Under current law, it is illegal for communities to pass ordinances that would prohibit the ownership of certain breeds of dogs within their community,” Senator Patrick Anderson, a Republican, told FOX23 about Senate Bill 32 earlier this month.

Senator Anderson's bill would have changed that by letting any city, town, or incorporated area ban whatever dog breeds they want, although some breeds are more likely to get the boot than others.

“(This bill) doesn't specifically target pit bulls, but it says a community can choose to ban a specific breed if they choose to do so. Most of the discussions I have ever had about the topic center around pit bulls,” Senator Anderson said.

The Manager of Tulsa Animal Welfare, Jean Letcher, had some strong feelings on the proposal.

“My personal opinion is it's a step backwards for us. You're going basically on appearance (when you ban the breeds),” Letcher told FOX23.

Another reason the staff members at the Tulsa Animal Shelter didn't like the proposal, they work hard to find homes for pit bulls and pit bull mixes.

“Irresponsible dog ownership is the biggest reason for dog bites, dog maulings, and other problems,” Letcher said.

Letcher says this bill doesn't address that, and she thinks what it does won't do Oklahomans any favors.

“We cannot determine the behavior of any individual animal based on its appearance, and trying to pass laws saying we can, I think provides a false sense of security,” Letcher said.

A week and a half ago, Senator Anderson was not budging. 

“(This is about) public safety. I think that's the bottom line, we need to make sure we are protecting our citizens,” Anderson said.

FOX23 found two newlyweds in Tulsa who own a two-and-a-half-year-old pit bull who say the bill was a bad idea.

“I think it's devastating, I think it's pretty tell-tale in ignoring the obvious, which would be the human factor,” Scott McDaniel said.

His wife Meaghan agreed and said dog owners need to do their homework instead of the state letting cities ban certain breeds.

“(Pit bulls) can be raised to be the best dogs if they're raised properly and have good responsible owners,” she said.

Both agreed that had SB32 passed and become law, they would have moved if their town outlawed their dog.

SB32 was an Emergency Bill which means is it is approved by the legislature, it becomes law as soon as it is signed by Governor Fallin. "

via Fox23 with accompanying video

Maryland Pitbull laws in the balance

In Maryland, USA, the laws are currently in the balance concerning Pitbulls.

via Stubbydog.org

"Last April, the Maryland Court of Appeals deemed all pit bulls “inherently dangerous”. They also enacted strict liability for landlords. This all stems from a dog bite inflicted on a child, by a dog who lived his life on a chain and was not adequately socialized."

...

"On to the fallout. Landlords everywhere are banning pit bulls from their property. Insurance companies are refusing to insure households with pit bulls. Shelters are filling up and having a lot more difficulty adopting out pit bulls."

Read the full article here.