KC DOG BLOG

At some point, you can no longer claim to be about public safety, & it becomes just about spite

The city of Brampton Ontario cannot be detered. 

Last month, two dog owners had their dogs confiscated from them by the provence's Dog Owner Liability Act with public officials saying the dogs were 'pit bulls'.

The dogs remain on death row in the city, in spite of many reasons why they shouldn't be:

1) The owners that the dogs are not 'pit bulls', but indeed, Boxer mixes

2) Anyone who has spent more than 10 minutes studying dog breeds knows that at least one of the littermates looks like a Boxer.

3) And despite a protest at the city shelter last weekend

In spite of all the evidence against them, the city not only is holding the dogs in captivity, on death row,they are also refusing to allow the owners of the dogs to even come visit them...or to have the dogs seen by a veterinarian.

The dogs have now been in near-solitary confinement for nearly a month, without socialization and without seeing their family while the city fights for its right to KILL THE DOGS.

Keep in mind, the Brampton Shelter is open to the public 6 days a week -- but for these dogs, and for these dog owners, the shelter is not open. They are not allowed to visit. And the dogs just sit there. Undersocialized, understimulated, and under cared-for.

Even if you were to assume that the animal control officers in Brampton were just trying to do their job, and they really just can't tell the difference between a Boxer and a 'pit bull', there still would be no rational explanation for not allowing the pet owners to even go visit their dogs while the legal process is taking shape. None. It would have no impact on public safety (if that's truly the umbrella they're hiding under for enforcing the law), it would just be about compassion -- compassion for a couple of dogs who were yanked out of their homes and thrown into a shelter for no reason -- and compassion for two dog owners, one an elderly woman, who just misses her dog.

It's not about 'public safety' at all. It's about spite, a desire to punish dog owners, and a desire to exercise their power over people they have power over.  And it's wll past time for the governing body in Ontario, in Brampton, and the people who vote for them, to quit embarrassing themselves step up and do what is clearly right.

Don't Forget, Prison Dog Program Thursday Night in KCMO

Don't forget. Our group, KC Dog Advocates is hosting a meeting with Mike Kenna. Mike is leading the rollout of a prison dog program in several state prisons in 2010 and he's going to educate us on the program, answer questions you may have, and tell us how the rescue community can help him and his program (and likely, how his program can help rescues).

Come join us. Thursday night, February 11th.

6pm at the Waldo Branch of the Kansas City, MO public Library

201 E. 75th Street, KCMO 64114

816-701-3486

You can show up the day of the event, or RSVP at info@kcdogadvocates.org

For more info on prison dog programs, go here.

 

Killing Animals with Homes - New York City Style

Last week, I wrote an article about city policies that promote the killing of animals that actually have homes (as opposed to just the 'homeless' variety found in shelters).

Seems that New York City has embarqed on their own version of removing animals from homes.

Last fall, the New York City Housing Authority reduced the weight limit of dogs allowed in public housing from 40 lbs to 25 lbs, restricted several breeds of dogs from living in public housing, and made it so that no on in public housing can have more than 1 dog and 1 cat.

Following the passing of the new rules, more than 170 dogs (and countless cats) have been surrendered to city shelters.  Of those, about 24 have been returned to homes, 21 have been adopted, and 64 transferred to other rescue groups. Unfortunately, nearly 60 of the dogs, mostly 'pit bulls', have been killed. Dogs with homes, forced to be removed from their homes, and ended up dead in the shelter.

Here's more from the NY Daily News. We must end the use of public policies that are unnecessarily removing happy, healthy, non-aggressive pets from homes on the whims of public officials.

Weeekly Roundup - Week Ending 2/7/10

 It's been an odd/interesting week in the canine legislation world this week. The top story of the week is one out of Brampton, Ontario -- where two dogs were confiscated from homes under Ontario's Dog Owner Liability Act because they were declared to be banned 'pit bulls' - -however, the dogs appear to be nothing resembling 'pit bulls'.  I'll have some follow-ups on this story in the weekly roundup -- as well as some of the other stories you may have missed.

Cities and Laws

Exeter, CA is considering a proposal that would regulate particular breeds of dogs, including 'pit bulls', chows, Rottweilers, Akitas, Anatolian Shepherds, Doberman Pinschers and Wolf Hybrids. I believe it would be illegal for Exeter to pass such a law under the California state law, but citizens in Exeter need to be sure their voices are heard and educate commissioners that breeds aren't problems, negligent dog owners are.

Another story about the city of Dallas trying to confiscate 17 well cared for and homed pets from a family because they were over the pet limit.

Jones County, GA is looking to revamp their animal control ordinances. All of the language appears to be behavior-based, which is great, but if you live in or around Jones County, it would be wise to keep an eye on things there.

A new plan in Austin that would mandate that the shelter make necessary steps in order to achieve no kill status.

Dog owners in Glendale, AL our outraged over the city's decision to ban 'pit bulls' in the city.

The debate goes on in one New York neighborhood on what to do with the large number of Feral Cats in the neighborhood.

Sturgeon Bay, WI appears to be looking at potential breed restrictions in the community even though pretty much everyone in the community admits that 'pit bulls', the target of the law, haven't ever been a problem there.

Liberty County, GA is looking at a possible law that would mandate that all pets be altered in the community.

Dog Bites and Attacks

A 'pit bull' in Hoboken, NJ bit several people in an apartment builidng this week. Apparently, one of the victims had been bitten by the same 'pit bull' a week ago and had attacked another dog in a dog park a few weeks ago. Major bites and attacks are almost never a dog's first sign of aggression...and it is up to owners to properly train and deal with aggression issues when they are minor, vs waiting for a major attack to happen.

An 11 year old Port Angeles boy was hospitalized after being attacked by his father's Labrador.

Two sisters in Hagerstown, MD were bitten by two loose 'pit bulls' that were usuually chained. The girls sustained only minor injuries and will be fine.

In Suburban Cleveland, a black lab approached a couple who were walking their dogs and attacked their dogs and the couple.

An 11 month old child in the Town of Norway, WI, was viciously attacked by the family's Labrador Retriever.  Apparently the dog had a history of food aggression having "aggressively bitten" other dogs in the past while it was eating. The grandfather put food in the dog's dish shortly before the incident and then left the toddler alone with the dog. Even though no one saw the incident, the child apparently got too close to the dog's food and was attacked. Repeat after me, dog owners are responsible for curbing their dog's aggression issues and should never leave a young toddler alone with a dog.

A Jack Russell Terrier mix that bit a two year old boy in the face has been declared dangerous by the Kitchener, IA animal control.

A two year old boy in San Antonio was hospitalized after the child was riding his tricycle through the house and ran it into the back door -- pushing the door open, and allowing the family's two mixed-breed dogs to attack the child. The dogs had a history of aggression...

No Kill News

A great Q&A with Bonney Brown of the Nevada Humane Society (Reno) about the success they've had in Reno in saving animal lives without burnout, bitterness or bankruptcy. Reno has been No Kill for three years.

Follow Up from Brampton

Citizens in Brampton organized a protest outside of the Brampton Animal Shelter yesterday -- Someone caught the event and posted on Youtube. Ontario PM Cheri DiNovo, who has proposed a bill that would end breed discrimination in Ontario was also on hand for the event.

One Bark at a Time has follow-up on Brampton -- including a great quote from DiNovo: "This is what happens when you unleash badly written abusive legislation onto a public and then put it into the hands of bureaucrats who make it their own and use it to terrorize people."

A letter from Rambo's owner to her dog that is being held in captivity. Heartbreaking.

Three Fatalities in other countries this week

You'll notice that some of the major root causes of major attacks can be found in these incidents...and all were done by different breeds.

In Vienna, Austria, two Rottweilers attacked and killed a 78 year old woman.  The dogs were used as guard dogs for the family business.  A dog's function is often associated with its aggression.

In Slovenia, a dog owner was attacked and killed by his three Bull Mastiffs. At least one of the dogs had been in trouble for attacking someone back in 2006.

A 10 year old Saskatoon, Saskatchewan boy was killed by a pack of four or five stray dogs. The boy's father is blaming the government for the attack because residents had complained about the dogs before, but the city officials did not address the problem.

And the most popular story of the week came from San Bernadino County, when a family was attacked by 5 dogs, leaving a five year old girl in critical condition. The evolution of the story has been interesting to watch, as originally all five dogs were reported to be 'pit bulls'. Then, it was said that they were a Mastiff and four "pit bull mixes' -- with the Mastiff causing the most damage. And has since evolved to being a Mastiff, a 'pit bull' and three 'mixed breed' dogs. Not that breed of dog has anything to do with why the dogs attacked (clearly there is some bad ownership going on here), but it has been interesting to see the transition. The child remains in serious condition and I wish the best for her recovery. For the Pit Bulls has a great blog post on this "The Tragedy of Inaction".

Abuse Cases

A Hoosick Falls, NY animal control officer plead guilty this week to shooting and killing dogs that he picked up -- and then burying them in a manure pile on his farm.

Three ex-employees of the Memphis Animal Shelter were indicted on animal cruelty charges. The shelter was raided late last fall after reports of healthy animals being starved to death in the actual shelter - and when the shelter was raided, more cruelty incidents were discovered.

A grisly discovery in Madison, County Indiana where eight beheaded dogs, likely greyhounds, were found in a creek.

Speaking of Memphis, after the raid, the city put video cameras up in the shelter so animal welfare activists could monitor the situation at the city shelter...which this week showed dogs just running around loose in the shelter and one giving birth on the video.

Blog Postings for the week

One Bark at a Time has some awesome puppy pics -- Cuteness. Overload.

Killing, What THEY Do Best -- from PJ Boosinger, about animals that were confiscated from a suspected cruelty case to be killed only hours later.

The Good Cop. The Bad Cop. And those Between Them...A look at Maddie's Fund Director Richard Avanzino and No Kill Advocacy Center's Nathan Winograd and how they approach the message of No Kill Differently.  But together, they are making a difference in how animal welfare advocates speak about solving the problem of homeless pets in this country.

Most pet owners dramatically underestimate the number of homeless pets in this country.

A good idea for a fundraiser by the Sula Foundation (New Orleans)-- getting people to pledge money for every Saints Touchdown, ever Saints field goal and an extra $10 for a Saints win on Super Bowl Sunday.

Solving the Pit Bull Problem - by Maddies Fund. I'll be writing more about this in the very near future.

A Modest Proposal: PETA should 'euthanize' only animatronic dogs and cats -- a clever idea from an Examiner writer in response to fringe animal rights group PETA's proposal that Punxsatawney Phil be replaced with a robotic groundhog -- because somehow having an actual ground hog pop its head out of the hole in front of the audience is some form of animal cruelty. The writer's suggestion: That PETA start merely "euthanizing" robotic animals which would save the lives of thousand of REAL animals that they are systematically killing.

And some great conversation about Debarking this week - -two good overviews and discussions are at Dolittler and YesBiscuit!

Have a great week everyone.

KC Dog Blog's January Top 5 Posts

I'm going to try something new this month...and I'd love to get any positive or negative feedback on the idea.

 But since I seldom post on Saturdays, I was thinking about doing a montly Top 5 for the previous month on the first Saturday of the following month. The Top 5 will feature the 5 most popular posts on the KC Dog Blog for the previous month based on Google Analytics information.  My hope is that this will give people a chance to read popular blog posts for the month they may have missed.  I'm also going to post one additional post that wasn't among my top posts, but I wish more people would have read.

So, without further ado, here are the 5 most popular posts from January:

1) 2009 Dog Bite Fatalities Final Report

2) Has 'paranoia of dogs' gone too far?

3) Los Angeles Mandatory Spay/Neuter -- Year 2

4) Improving Customer Service Imperative to Increasing Adoptions

5) 2009 - a Year in Review. Have we finally reached a Tipping Point?

5 (Tied) Dog Bites vs Dog Attacks -- What determines the difference?

And the post that I wish more people had read:

The False Solace of Vilification

Killing animals with homes

In animal welfare, we talk an awful lot about how we can end the problem of having homeless pets in the US. There is often talk of things like "pet overpopulation", "shelter overcrowding" and that type of thing. Even one of the largest animal welfare organizations, Best Friends, hosts the No More Homeless Pets conference.

But maybe a more disturbing trend is the seemingly growing trend toward killing HOMED pets.

These are happy, healthy pets, that have loving, caring owners -- that for various reasons, we have decided to bring into our overcrowding shelters where they will likely be killed. These are animals, that have homes, that because of laws that we've created, we have decided to make homeless.

Recently, a Dallas couple, Mark and Lynn Gideon, found themselves in trouble with the Dallas law. Three years ago, Dallas passed a law limiting the number of pets people could have in their homes. The Gideons obtained a special permit to grandfather all of their existing pets -- 7 dogs (mostly Dachshund mixes) and 10 cats. In August, an animal control officer came to their home and wrote them two citations -- one for pet waste and one for odor of pet waste (it should be noted here that all of the neighbors have denied complaining about any odor problems stemming from the house).

By all accounts, the animals were all healthy, all were altered, licensed and up to date on their vaccinations. Because the Gideon's received two citations within a 12 month time period, authorities are saying that all of their pets must be removed from their home.  Seventeen animals, all with a home and all seemingly well cared for, being asked to be removed and to join the ranks of the homeless animals in Dallas.

Earlier this week,news hit about two Boxer mixes in Brampton, Ontario that were confiscated from their owners and are on death row at the Brampton Animal Shelter. The dogs are believed by city authorities to resemble 'pit bulls' -- which are banned in Ontario under the Dog Owner Liability Act. By all accounts, the dogs are healthy, happy, well-socialized, not aggressive and are loved by their owners. Both are now "homeless" and could be killed in the shelter.

In 2006, Kansas City, MO passed a law that mandated that all 'pit bulls' had to be spayed or neutered. In 2009, four years after the ordinance passed, 270 dogs were confiscated from Kansas City area homes because they were unaltered pit bulls (more to come on KCMO in the next couple of weeks). The vast majority of these dogs were by animal control officer accounts happy, healthy dogs -- but because they were unaltered, they ended up at the city shelter.  More than half of these dogs ended up dead in the shelter.  Again, they were happy, healthy dogs, with homes, that the city made to be homeless, and then, dead.

In the book Redemption, Nathan Winograd talks a lot about the Dark Side of Mandatory Laws, and how even though they are often pushed by members of the animal welfare community, most end up leading to increased killing in city shelters.

"Legislation may be worded so that the result of non-compliance is the impoundment and death of the animal. Many jurisdictions have seen their impound rates increase following the passage of laws which give government agencies carte blanche to round up and kill animals. If a shelter has high rates of shelter killing, it makes no sense to support the passage of laws that give them greater power and more reasons to impound--and subsequently kill -- even more animals"  -- Winograd in 'Redemption'

If we are to end the problem of homeless pets in this country, it is extremely important that we not only find homes for pets in our shelters, but it is also important that we makes ever effort necessary to keep happy, healthy, non-aggressive animals that have homes IN THEIR HOMES. This means not passing arbitrary pet limit laws, not passing breed specific laws that remove pets from homes based on how they look, not based on behavior, and not pass mandatory spay/neuter laws that pull animals out of homes for not being altered so they end up in the the shelter.

Ending the problem with homeless pets in this country begins with not creating homeless pets unnecessarily.  It is one thing to struggle with killing homeless animals because of shelter overcrowding, it is quite another to kill ones that actually have homes, for no reason at all.

Kansas City Area Educational Event on Prison Dog Programs

 On Thursday, February 11th, Kansas City Dog Advocates is hosting an educational event about a new prison dog program in the state of Missouri.

Over the past decade, progressive correctional facilities in the US have been working with area rescue groups and humane societies where they use dogs from these rescues and inmates train the dogs to become service dogs, bomb sniffing dogs, or just better trained so they are more adoptable.

These programs become a win/win. The dogs are often given a second chance they may not have gotten in a shelter, and the inmates often learn responsibility, compassion and love from the dogs -- as well as marketable dog-training skills after they leave prison.

Over the past few years, the state of Missouri has been running a pilot program in the Vandalia, MO correctional facility -- and after a lot of success, is planning to expand the program to eight new facilities in 2010. Mike Kemna, from Jefferson City, is coming to Kansas City to discuss the expanding of the prison dog program and how rescues can help out.

The meeting is on Thursday, February 11th at 6pm at the Waldo Branch of the KCMO Public Library.

201 E. 75th Street, KCMO, 64114 -- 816-701-3486.  You can RSVP by emailing info@kcdogadvocates.org

Please join us, and crosspost to people in your Kansas City area organization. The program is free, with no obilgation to do anything on your part. Just come and listen, learn and ask questions.

For more information on prison dog programs:

An interview on NPR about a similar program

An article from Corrections.com

More on the CHAMP program in Vandalia, MO

And the following video -- about 3 minutes long -- is from the National Geographic Channel program Lockdown that shows a similar program in action -- it's a great segment.

Groundhog's Day in Toledo

You've probably seen the Bill Murray movie Groundhog Day-- or at least know the premise -  where a TV weatherman finds himself waking up and reliving the same day over and over again.

So one must feel like it was with some form of irony that on actual Ground Hog's Day, the city of Toledo announced that they plan to appeal last month's court ruling that the city's breed specific regulations are unconstitutional.  They've lived through this story before.

To be fair, it sounds like they are less concerned about the dog law at this point than the perceived hit on their Home Rule powers based on the decision.

"We are appealing it, not necessarily on the basis of the dog law itself," said Deputy Mayor of Operations Steve Herwat. "It's more of a larger concern than any time our home-rule power is challenged, we believe we need to stand up for the city's rights to appeal."

That seems to be an honest enough statement. Tonight, the city council will meet to discuss the option of forming a Dog Warden Advisory committee that can recommend making changes to the city's breed specific law.

"What I personally want to see is a dangerous dog ordinance that deals with all dangerous dogs and how they need to be kept when off someone's property, and what are the penalties against owners whose dogs either bite another dog, person or damage property," said committee chairman Steve Serchuk.

Serchuk joins Council President Joe McNamara who also would like the breed specific law changed.

Residents in and around Toledo need to go tonight and encourage the city to form this task group. At a time when the city is facing a $44 million budget deficit, the city, and its citizens, can ill afford the groundhog's day of continually going to court and challenging, and appealing, the city's dog law.

The Problems with BSL - Brampton, Ontario Edition

 Brampton, Ontario has been added to the latest edition of the trying to kill some dogs for no reason club.

 Officials in Brampton seized two dogs, Rambo (Left) and Brittany (below left - both pictures) from their homes say thing ""rambo had been confirmed to be a pit bull by his parentage as well as the characteristics as defined in the city of Brampton Dog By-law..."

Uh, ok. But Rambo looks to me to be purebred Boxer -- and Brittany, well, a mixed breed dog of some type. They are siblings, so likely Brittany is at least half Boxer.  Both dogs were licenced by the city, and ID'd at the vet, as Boxer/American Bulldog mixes.

Now they reside on death row at the city shelter under Ontario's Breed ban that bans 'pit bulls'.

Neither dog did anything wrong -- neither escaped. Neither has acted aggressively. Neither even had a complaint filed against them. But now, two dogs that were part of families are tearing up these families.

Now, 75 year old Maria Gaspar, Rambo's owner, is in tears every time she talks about her dog.

"Now I no have dog, I no have money, I no have nothing...it's not fair."  (Editor's note: English is not Gaspar's first language, so forgive her sentence structure).

Brampton's situation is just another in a long list of problems Ontario's Breed Ban has caused.  London, Ontario continues to get calls about people who are fearful of 'pit bull'...however, officials say they've really not had any problems with 'pit bulls', only people who fear them and are calling in complaints about other types of dogs being 'pit bulls'.  Pit bull complaints make up about 20% of the calls animal control there responds too...even though most of the cases end up being mistaken breed ID. Ottawa's second largest city, Ottawa, has long since decided to quit enforcing the ban in the provence because of problems with breed identification.

The case in Brampton represents basically everything that is wrong with breed specific ordinances:

1) Breed identification is not easy -- particularly for mixed breed dogs - (coupled with the reality that many animal control officers lack the basic training to even tell a pure-bred Boxer from a 'pit bull'.

2) Most of the people affected by breed specific laws are not criminals and gang-bangers -- most are good people, good members of society, often senior citizens, who are having a family member ripped from their home.

3) BSL is such a huge waste of taxpayer money by spending animal control resources, kenneling spaces, and legal services time defending the law by focusing so many resource on dogs that WERE NOT A PROBLEM. No bites. No aggressive activity. No complaints. No running at large.  And yet a huge amount of city resources are being used on these dogs instead of actually focusing on dogs that are a legitimate problem.

4) Why would taxpayers WANT to fund this type of activity in their government?

For more info on the Brampton Case:

Social Mange - the Backwater of Brampton Strikes Again

One Bark At A Time - Brampton Animal Control Wants to Kill Senior's Dog

Brindle Stick - Brampton Situation Tidbits and Brampton Animal Control is At It Again.

To sign the petition to save the dogs, go here.

And by all means, if you live in Ontario, please support Cheri DiNovo's proposed bill that would eradicate BSL from Ontario.

Weekly Roundup - Week Ending 1/31/10

Busy week again this week, highlighted by the at least temporary reprieve of enforcing the breed specific legislation in Toledo. 

But there were quite a few other stories that are important, in case you missed them:

Cities and Laws

In St. George, UT, they are looking at their city laws after two dogs were shot and killed this week and most people believe the city laws are protecting the people who are unnecessarily killing the dogs.

A city in suburban Detroit is looking at a new dangerous dog ordinance that is not breed specific.

Zurich, Switzerland banned four breeds of dogs this week, including American Pit Bull Terriers, American Staffordshire Terreirs, Staffordshire Bull Terriers and Bull Terriers -- apparently not learning from the struggles the rest of Europe has had with breed specific legislation.

San Francisco spent the week targeting homeless people who cared for dogs for not having their dogs licensed.

Silver Lake, OH is looking at changes to its dangerous dog ordinance following an incident involving a Husky that police say attacked other dogs on more than one occassion. Officials called the current ordinance "very limited and breed specific".  Yet anohter city is finding that focusing on breeds is limiting instead of behavior-based ordinances.

Rome Township, OH has decided to ban 'pit bulls' from the township -- but it turns out enforcement could be a major issue because the county doesn't have enough resources to enforce the law. "We told them we would work with them," Click said. "But they have to enforce this resolution. The cost is on them. I don't have hte manpower to do everything I need to do now. They need to hire a constable to enforce this."

Bristol (I believe the Tennesse one) appears to be close to passing a new dog law that is not going to be breed specific, but instead, wisely, a behavior-based ordinance.

Dog Bites & Attacks

A small child was bitten on the face by a dog on a playground in Bakersfield, CA. The dog was roaming at large and most likely a stray. It is interesting that even though the law enforcement officer thought the dog was "more of the mastiff family" that they still talk about it possibly being a 'pit bull'. There's the picture of a dog there, and that sure isn't a 'pit bull'.

In Springfield, MO, a two year old boy was bitten by a "Labrador-Blue Heeler mix" at his daycare. The boy was taken to the hospital for treatment. Springfield passed breed specific legislation 4 years ago but they did nothing to educate people in the city about what really causes dog bites.

An Orange Park, FL woman was attacked by two Boxers that had actually been involved in a similar attack only four weeks ago.

Two dogs in Pierce County, WA are being sought after they attacked a couple of pet goats and sheep. The dogs are described as an Australia Shepherd mix and a Newfoundland mix.

An officer in Moses Lake, WA shot a Labrador Retriever that attacked his drug-sniffing dog. It's interesting because not long ago Moses Lake passed a breed ban on several different breeds of dogs and are still having issues. Say with me folks -- owners are the problem, not breeds of dogs.

UK Dangerous Dogs Act

A 3 year old boy was attacked by a Rottweiler this week in the UK.

News of another aggressive incident involving a Rottweiler in the UK. The breed ban in the UK has done absolutely nothing to improve public safety there, as bite numbers continue to increase.

The Vet Association in the UK has taken a firm stand against Breed Descriminatory Laws.

Abuse cases

The state of Kansas finally shut down a breeding facility that has failed numerous inspections -- the breeder has agreed to turn over 111 dogs of 19 different breeds to officials. Since July 1, 2009, Kansas has taken 900 animals form 17 different facilities in Kansas that were not up to codes inspections.  It is also interesting to note that in Kansas, they inspect each breeding facility twice a year - -in Missouri, they inpected only 70% of the licensed facilities at the time of the last audit.

In Pittsburgh, PA, a reward is being offered for information about a 'pit bull' that was apparently injured in a dog fight and then had its throat slit and was left to die along the side of the road.

A Davenport, IA man was charged with animal neglect after killing the family's 2 month old 'pit bull' by throwing it against a wall.

Miscellanious

A University of Kansas Law School student formed a new chapter of the Animal Legal Defense Fund at the University.  More and more universities are forming animal law programs to help future lawyers understand the probelms with irresponsible animal legislation.

A new website pushing against breed specific legislation in Ontario.

The shelter Veterinarian in Raytown, MO refused to treat a broken leg on a stray puppy saying it was illegal for him to treat the dog until after a 10 day holding period -- even though there were private citizens that stepped up and offered to pay for the surgery.

Dog with broken heart needs a new home -- a feel good story about a 'pit bull' in Salt Lake City that is looking to be adopted even though he has a heart condition that causes him to pass out when he gets excited.

Great Blog Postings this Week

Laws about animals: UR doin it wrong -- from the Pet Connection, focusing on the goings on in Toledo and a shelter in Chicago requiring volunteers to get finger-printed and background checked in order to volunteer at the shelter.

The History of No Kill Through Cartoons -- Winograd. A great idea.

Stray Dogs in Puerto Rico -- from YesBiscuit!

Graduation day for Pit Bull Training Team -- this from HSUS. This is a great program that HSUS now sponsors in inner-city Chicago that helps urban youth there learn to train their 'pit bulls' and take pride in their well-trained dogs -- vs taking pride in their dogs being 'tough'. It really is a great program -- with a good video attached to this story.

You're Welcome -- From One Bark at a Time -- About a letter from the Toronto Humane Society that criticized him for using photos from their website on his blog -- saying he didn't have the rights to use the photos. Never mind that the point of the photos was to create awareness of the dogs that needed adopting and that spreading them to others so people can see this dogs will dramatically help the animals get adopted.

Shelter dogs almost always misidentified; How to avoid breed bungles - From Saving Pets (Australia).  I love the final line: The future will see a lot more emphasis on ‘who this dog will suit’ rather than ‘what they are’. And the benefits to shelter dog kind and adoptive families will be enormous.

A good Q/A in the newspaper about a woman in Toronto who's dog has bitten multiple people (interestingly Toronto has BSL) and a behavior expert's opinion on how to handle the situation....it's a pretty interesting response that sort of calls out both opposite sides of the dog training spectrum and calls for "balanced" training methods.

A fairly new video on youtube -- Remember When -- touching.  It is sad that a type of dog with such a rich history in this country has seen so many people turn their backs on them when they need our help to overcome the massive abuse they face in this country -- from both criminal thugs and from particular city leaders.

Breedism -- an older article written by legendary dog behaviorist Ian Dunbar that was posted this week on Dog Star Daily.

New South Wales Dog Attacks -- a great breakdown of the numbers from New South Wales Austrailia by For the Pit Bulls that shows that in spite of the dramatic article about dog attacks in the provence, only about .02% of people in the provence were bitten by dogs and of those, 75% of the "attacks" resulted in no injury or only very minor injuries.

Do animals need laws protecting from Shelters? -- from Pet Connection's Christie Keith on Oreo's Law in New York. The answer is yes by the way.

What's Stopping Us? -- Yes Biscuit! Lamenting why people don't make changes TODAY that could dramatically lead to a decline in shelter killing almost instantly.

Bans on Breeds Are Booming! -- a column in PetMD by Dr. Patty Khuly.  I don't love the headline, because I don't think it's true, but the article itself is great with a good final sentence: "I guess it’ll always be sexier to ban something than to actually work hard to deliver intelligent laws — or to enforce them. What’s it going to take for our lawmakers to "get it" when it comes to really making our municipalities safer?"