KC DOG BLOG

Two more Ohio towns repeal breed-specific-laws, and more good news in Toledo

So, last week about the communities of Shreve and Bay Village, OH repealing their breed-specifc laws.

Well. The good news continues and we're adding two more to the list.

Last week, Strongville, OH added themselves to the list of Ohio cities that has repealed their breed-specific law. Like many Ohio communities, their local law mirrored the state law and while the change in the state law would allow them to keep their restrictions on specific breeds, they opted to go with a breed neuteral one.  The law is expected to be approved later this month.

Similarly, Geneva on the Lake, OH also repealed their breed-specific law. Village Administrator Jim Hockaday noted that breed indentification was a point of contention for a breed-specific law and  that the council believed "that there are less confoluted and effective means of achieving the same end."

Meanwhile, in Lucas County (Toledo area), for the first time in decades the county animal shelter has begun adopting out pit bull type dogs that pass their behavior evaluations. For decades, all 'pit bulls' that were not reclaimed were killed in the city shelter. A couple years ago, the shelter began allowing rescue groups to pull pit bulls, but now, they're adopting them out themselves. This shelter has come a long way from the days when the Dog Warden actually had a financial incentive to kill 'pit bulls'.

Congrats to these communities for stepping up for what is right and repealing their breed-targeting laws. And congrats to the advocates in these communities who are helping make it happen.  More good news to come, I'm sure.

Two year old dies in apparent dog bite fatality in South Carolina

On Sunday, two year old Ja'Marr Tiller was apparently attacked by one, or two dogs outside his family home.

The family put the young boy to bed for the night, and while 3 adults and an older sibling were awake in the house, the young boy climbed down a flight of stairs and went out into the back yard. The boy's mother, who was out running an errand, returned home to find her young son tragically dead in the back yard.

The boy is believed to have been attacked by 1, or both, of two dogs that lived near the family's back yard. It's hard to make out the exact story on the dogs, but as best I can tell from the media reports, they were unowned "yard dogs" that roamed freely in the area although the victim's uncle had been feeding for years.

The two dogs are longer-haired black mongrel dogs -- described by local authorities as "Lab-Shepherd mixes". It seems clear that the dogs were not well socialized, or even possibly owned dogs, but likely living more like wild animals in this family's back yard.

The story has been picked up by about a dozen media outlets.

It's worth noting that attacks like this are very rare, but does highlight a) the need to call in stray dogs that can be a threat to the public and b) the need to supervise toddlers at all times as there is no shortage of trouble a 2 year old can find in short proximety to their home.

My heart goes out to the family in this case.

 

Two more Ohio cities repeal their breed-specific laws

This week, two more Ohio towns repealed their breed-specific law. In both cases the communities had laws that mirrored the state law and now, with the state law being changed, they changed their city laws too.

Shreve, OH repealed their law on Monday.

And Bay Village, OH repealed theirs on Tuesday.

It's worth noting that either city COULD have kept their breed-specific law, but opted not to, because they realized it was not an effective way of controlling dog bites in their communities.

Congrats to everyone in Ohio for helping these cities see the light and for these cities in listening to the experts in their own communities.

Identifying mixed breed dogs is easy

Or not.

So, animal welfare experts out there, I encourage you go and take this survey. It's a survey done in partnership with Maddies Fund and the University of Florida. Basically, the survey asks you a few questions about your experience in labeling the breeds of mixed-breed dogs and then shows you two pictures (front and side view) of 20 different dogs with their height & weight listed. And then, you get to pick what the dog's predominent breed is from a selection of 180 dog breeds. The whole thing should take you 10-15 minutes, depending on how much you toil over your selections.

The results are then going to be matched with their DNA results to see how accurate people (and people with animal welfare experience) are at matching dog breeds to what DNA tests show.

The results are going to be posted in July and I'm eager to see how I did. On the flip side, I'm thinking I did miserably. I'm guessing you will too.

What is amazing is the number of these dogs that look very similar to dogs we have in our shelter -- and we never have any idea what their breed really is. In a lot of shelters, many of these dogs simply get labeled as "Lab-mix", "Shepherd mix", "Chow mix", "pit bull mix" or "terrier mix". 

It's also going to highligh just how ridiculous it is that we try to make assumptions about dog behavior based on how it LOOKS vs, I don't know, how it actually ACTS.

So take the test. Let me know how you think you did.

 

Weekly Roundup - Week ending 5/20/12

We're coming up on dog bite prevention week. Fortunately there are a lot of good organizations and people that are trying to increase knowledge during this week. Unfortunately there are others who would rather try to spread hysteria and fear. Please keep your eyes peeled for the hysterics and try to create some logic in the matter. Now, onto the roundup.

Cities and laws

Kingsford, MI is now looking at a potential repeal of their 25-year old pit bull ban.

It seems that everyone realizes that Ontario's breed ban is ineffective -- except for the Liberal Government.

Donnellson, IA decides against breed-specific legislation after discussing the topic for about 6 months.

The media

A story from KMBC her in Kansas City that highlights a dog bite incident in Kansas City. It's worth noting that on this particular day, there were 17 dogs on bite hold at the Kansas City, MO shelter, but guess which one made the news?

Miscellaneous

New biomarker test predicts arthritis at a much earlier stage and was developed by analyzing joints of dogs -- because of the controlled breeding of dogs, and because relatively few genetic markers were used to create the many different breeds that now exist, they provide a lot of interesting insight into human genetics and diseases, including ailments like arthritis.

Monsters, or just misunderstood? Pit Bulls strike fear but owners say training is key -- a really good story from Longmont, CO that notes that pit bulls really aren't responsible for a disproportionate number of dog bites or animal control calls and that training for them, just like all dogs, is key. This isn't suprising as Longmont has one of the more progressive shelter programs in the country with a great base of knowledge for the community.

Brain scans can help us figure out what dogs are thinking -- some new technology allows us to get a better understanding of what dogs are thinking.  If it means I find out my dog thinks I'm anything other than the best person ever then I don't want to know.

Infographic on 10 ways to lower your lifespan -- #10 -- don't own a pet. Owning a pet can add 2 years to your life. You should also not smoke, floss your teeth, get married, not drink and be female.

If you haven't seen this story yet you MUST read it -- but in Shirley, Mass, a pit bull pulled an unconscious woman from the train tracks that she passed out on. Unfortunately, the dog was hit by the train as the woman was pulled to safety, severing the dog's foot and fracturing her pelvis. The dog is back home and healing safely after undergoing surgeries and 10s of thousands of dollars in donations to help with vet bills.

One community takes your dog poop and turns it into free wi-fi.

What does your dog see?  A look at the world as our dogs see them from The Poodle and Dog Blog.

A good understanding of dog behavior is key to preventing dog bites -- bravo on this educational piece from the Tahoe Tribune.

Portsmouth, OH passed a local law that establishes pit bulls as "vicious" under their city law in reaction to the state undoing such a designation.

No Kill News

Indianapolis makes improvements in limiting shelter killing  -- although they still have a ways to go. Plans include ramping up low cost spay/neuter services and low cast vaccination clinics targeting 10 key zip codes based on income in hopes of decreasing the number of animals that make it into the shelter.

The Weatherford/Parker County Animal Shelter (TX) has changed their rule about not adopting out 'pit bulls' and has now begun allowing these types of dogs to leave the shelter.

An article from Ft. Wayne, IN discussing many shelters in their surrounding area and the high kill rates that they have.

In 2011, San Angelo, TX decreased shelter euthanasia by 15% and are working to decrease the killing any more by focusing on spaying/neutering, getting more community support, working more with rescue groups and increasing foster homes.

An article in the Ventura (CA) Star notes the economic impact No Kill would have on their community. I have no idea how they figured these numbers, but it's an interesting approach to gaining support for No Kill.

To Kill, or Not to Kill - a fairly balanced article about No Kill via Scripps Howard News Service.

Some positive movement at decreased killing in Danville, VA - where a year ago, 85% of dogs and 90% of cats were killed last year.

The Humane Society of Southeast Missouri is asking for local communities it serves to increase their funding for their services as rising costs and lower donations have made getting by a little mor difficult. The shelter impounded about 4,000 animals last year and had a budget of $360,00.

Blogs

I'm a little behind on blog reading right now, but here are a few recent ones:

What No Kill means to me -- by YesBiscuit!

Breed Specific Legislation - It's in the mind, not the math

Goodbye, Delilah - Lucky Dog Rescue says goodbye to a very loved dog in an emotional post that puts words to the feelings that most rescue people and dog owners can identify with.

The dramatic rescue of Taz the dog by Kansas Firefighters -- LOVE this story of saving a dog from The Poodle and Dog Blog

When is the right time to have Fido fixed -- from Paw Prints the Magazine.

The needless fear of Pit Bull breeds -- from No Kill Allegany

3 day old infant dies in dog bite incident

I'm going to start with noting that all dog bite fatalities are tragic. But they are exceedingly rare -- with only about 25-30 happening each year in spite of there being over 78 million owned dogs in this country. However, they can and do happen, andwhen they do, it is usually a tragic set of circumstances that led up to the incident.

This case is no different.

In Beaverdam, OH, a 3 day old infant, Makayla Darnell, was tragically bitten by the family dog. The child was left in a swing while the parents were in another room.  The dog was left alone with the infant, and apparently bit the child in the head. The child died of injuries 5 hours later.  The dog is said to "look like a pit bull mix".

While some are taking this as some type of vicious attack, it certainly doesn't seem like one. A 3 day old toddler would be very fragile and the fact that the child lived for several hours sure sounds more like a tragic "bite" than an "attack" -- and such a bite could have even come with the dog trying to pick the toddler up. There would be no wonder that the dog would be interested in the infant as the child had only been in the home for less than 2 days -- and this new smelling, living thing would be of interest to any dog. Unfortunately, this dog's interest ended up causing a fatal wound on the young child.

All of this is why it is imperative for new parents with young children to a) get some support even before birth for them and their dog prior to the child being born to help learn easy tips to acclimate the dog with the child -- I always recommend Family Paws as an outstanding resource for this and b) to always, ALWAYS supervise a dog and child's interactions for the first 5-6 years of life to have adult supervision to be sure nothing bad happens. If a parent cannot be there to watch the child and dog, then they should use baby gates, crates and doors to separate the two. I always wish the news media, and commenters, would focus more on this type of education when reporting stories instead of acting as if the dog's breed had anything to do with it.

It's a tragic incident -- but easily preventable and one that was done by a dog that likely wasn't even really aggressive.

My heart goes out to this family as they deal with this horrible time.

This story was picked up by over 250 media outlets from across the nation.

No Kill is a Journey, Not a destination -- and what we can learn from Austin's news this week

In 2011, Austin, TX became the largest city in the country to achieve no kill status. Over the course of several years, the community went from killing about 40-50% of the animals in their shelter to killing less than 10%. 

And quickly, Austin became a role model that other communities sought to follow as a No Kill Community.

Earlier this week, Austin news outlets began covering word that the shelter was beyond full. While the shelter has taken in 140 more animals this year vs last, the shelter has also done 139 fewer adoptions.  The combination of 279 more pets in the shelter over 4.5 months was enough to create crowding problems at the shelter.

So the shelter did what good shelters do in such a situation -- they reached out to the media, and the public, for help. They extended their adoption hours and waived adoption fees for all dogs and for cats one or older.

One of the tenets of the No Kill equation is that instead of blaming the public for your situation, you must EMBRACE the public -- beause the majority of the public loves animals and they are the ones that are going to help you save the lives of animals:  either by adopting, volunteering, or donating to your shelter.

This is exactly what Austin did.

And the public did, what the public does when you embrace them, they showed up in droves and more than 100 animals made their way out of the shelter before the day's end.

I applaud Austin for reaching out -- although, doing so didn't come without criticism.

There are, sadly, some out there that were almost excited to see animals' lives at risk because they are opposed to No Kill.

And even some who are advocates of No Kill seemed very quick to point out their mistakes and point to where things went wrong.

Now, I'm not going to claim to be intimately familiar with Austin's situation or how they got into a bind. I do know quite a few of the key players down there, but haven't spoken to any of them in awhile. But I do think their situation highlights for me some key learnings that we can all take-away to improve situations in our own communities:

1) No Kill is a Journey, not a destination -- just because you achieve no kill success doesn't mean you will necessarily sustain it. Sure, it's easier once the programs such as a a foster program, off-site adoptions, etc are in place, but if you are an open adoption shelter, success today does not guarantee success tomorrow -- and every day needs to be treated as if the shelter is above capacity -- because you're one big intake day away from it being true.

2) Reaching out to the public is important - -and when you do, they will step up to help and adopt. The same was true for us last week. If you embrace the public, they will embrace you and help.

3) Reaching out, and doing the right thing, will invite criticism. There are always going to be people who want to see you fail and would rather see you fail than actually be a part of the solution.  You have to do the right thing, even if it invites criticism.

Good luck to Austin as they move forward. May their no kill journey continue....

Cincinnati Repeals Breed Ban

Today, the Cincinnati  (OH) City  Council voted 8-1 to officially repeal th city's breed ban.  The current ban has been on the books since 2003, and has caused a multitude of problems, including spending thousands of dollars on prosecuting ban violators and having to use valuable police officer presence to enforce the ban.

Cincinnati has joined the entire state of Ohio, and become the 3rd of the 4 largest cities (Cleveland and Toledo were the others) in the state that repealed their breed bans within the past 2 years.

This is yet another step that shows how cities and communities continue to listen to the experts in animal handling in their communities in forming their animal welfare policies - -and these experts nearly unanimously oppose breed-specific laws.

Congrats to the great folks in Cincinnati for making this happen and for the wisdom of the council for moving forward without the breed ban.

Good news. And a good sign that public opinion is really changing and focusing on proper dog ownership, and animal behavior, and not a dog's looks, as a means for determining dangerous dogs. Hooray.

Last week's fatal attack in New Mexico

Last week, 16 month old Jazilyn Mesa was tragically killed by the family's dog.  According to Dr. Beth Vesco-Mock, Director or animal services, the dog and child were apparently left alone in the back at the victim's granparent''s house.

Apparently the child's grandmother heard the ruckus and went out to help the toddler and a neighbor ended up shooting the grandmother in the leg while trying to shoot the attacking dog. The grandmother will recover from her injuries.

The dog is being described as a "pit bull".

Local authorities seem to get that circumstances are what lead to attacks -- according to Vesco-Mock "It's not a dog issue. It's not a pit bull issue. It's a responsibility issue. When you get these dogs, you must train them and supervise them, especially when they're around children."

Indeed.  And this is true of any dog.

This is really a tragic case that was easily avoided with adult supervision over the toddler and the dog's interactions.  My heart goes out to the family in this case.

An influx of animals, an adoption promotion, and a village of support

On Wednesday of this week, the KC Pet Project took in 109 animals. We're an open intake facility, so some days you're at the mercy of what animal control delivers that day. But man, did they deliver.

To put this in perspect, our small-ish shelter has a capacity for about 250 or so animals comfortably. Beyond that, it gets pretty crazy. We impount about 550 a month, on a busy month, so 109 is about what we get in a week, not a day.

On Thursday, we were able to ship out 65 (ish) cats to other area shelters. The other area shelters really helped us out in our time of need (and our cat rescue coordinator is amazing).  Dogs were still a problem though, as everyone in the city is full on dogs. So, what do you do?

Well, you send out a plea to your media. 109 animals in a day is a lot. 200+ in a week is a lot. That's newsworthy. So, the media was contacted, and because the media in this town has been mostly supportive of animal welfare in this community of late, they came, and ran some great stories.

We coupled this a "Mother's Day Adoption Special" -- because the public loves to help when you give them a reason to.  And so, yesterday, was a pretty good adoption day, but hopefully today and tomorrow will be amazing adoption days with last night's news coverage.

I've often said that it takes a village to make a No Kill Community. It takes the help of other shelters and rescues, the support of the community to adopt, and the media to cover, and a team of dedicated people at the shelter working to make it all happen.  And it can. But I'm super-duper proud of our team at the shelter this week who has done amazing work in saving lives and I'm thankful for our rescue partners. And I'm thankful to the community that continues to come out and adopt when we need it most. 

It takes a village -- but we've got a really good village.