stop_bsl

Mayor Alberto (Butch) Zaragoza, Mayor@ci.vestaviahills.al.us
Phone: 205-978-0130

David Carrington, Council President, Place 5, dcarrington@racingusa.com
Phone (205) 978-0131

Mary Lee Rice, Council President Pro-Tempore, Place 1, ricemarylee@gmail.com
Phone: (205) 822-5456 (Home)

Jim Sharp, Place 2, sharpcleaners4686@charterinternet.com
Phone: (205) 822-0402 (Home)
Phone: (205) 978-0123 (Office)

Steve Ammons, Place 3, steve@steveammons.com
Phone: (205)789-7492

George B. Pierce, Place 4, gpierce@abc-alabama.org
Home: 205-823-6023
Fax: 205-879-5090
Cell: 205-370-6730

http://www.al.com/news/birminghamnews/south.ssf?/base/community/1247040944304850.xml&coll=2

Pit bull incident in Vestavia Hills sends residents to court
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
WILLIAM C. SINGLETON III, News staff writer

Some Vestavia Hills residents on Cedarwood Road want pit bulls banned from the city after two pit bulls got out of a fence and allegedly attacked a German shepherd being walked by its owners.

Four frightened pit bulls hide in FDNY truck after their apartment catches fire, photos included. Dogs were safely whisked off to the ASPCA where, after he recovers, his owner will hopefully pick them up.

Police fatally shot a 23-year-old man Friday after a woman was beaten with a skateboard and a pit bull that came to her aid was stabbed.

The injured woman, 34-year-old Tara Tanner, was treated at a local hospital, Reagan said. The dog ran off but was found about eight blocks away and was being treated at a veterinary clinic.

From BSL_Updates

The Board of Trustees in Orion Township, Michigan is considering a breed specific ordinance related to pit bulls.

ORION TOWNSHIP, MICHIGAN
Township Supervisor
Matthew Gibb
mgibb@oriontownship.org
Phone: (248) 391-0304 x201
Fax: (248) 393-6858
 
Township Clerk
Penny S. Shults
pshults@oriontownship.org
Phone: (248) 391-0304 x104
Fax: (248)391-9984
 
Township Board Members
Mark Crane
Neal Porter
John Steimel
JoAnn Van Tassel
 
Mayor and Trustee Board Members E-mail Quick List
mgibb@oriontownship.org,mcrane@oriontownship.org,nporter@oriontownship.org,trustee_steimel@hotmail.com,jvantassel@oriontownship.org,

Oelwein, Iowa - affecting pit bull types and rottweilers

City of Oelwein, Iowa
Mayor, Larry G. Murphy
Council at Large, Mike Kerns
Council at Large, Paul Ryan (319)283-2693
Council First Ward, Duane Brandt
Council Second Ward, John Gosse (319)283-1376
Council Third Ward, Nathan Lein
Council Fourth Ward, Rex Ericson

Administrator Steve Kendall
Attorney Ron Vanveldhuizen
Available e-mails for above city officials
llmurphy@fbx.com,kernsy@mchsi.com, brandt111@ftb.com,ericson@us.army.mil,c1ken@cityofoelwein.org

THE Government is barking up the wrong tree by implementing the current Dangerous Dogs Act, a group called the Responsible Dog Owners of Trinidad And Tobago (RODTT) has said.

Spokesman for the group Ganesh Khoon Khoon told the Express last week that while the members had no problem with the idea of legislation to prevent acts of violence by, and to the dogs, this Act sought to wipe out the dogs completely.

"If you look at the Act carefully, you would see that they are trying to get rid of them by spaying and neutering. These dogs have a life span of about ten to 12 years, so basically in the next ten to 12 years, we will not have any pitbulls or tosas and that is not right or fair," he said.

The Act, which was passed in 2000 by the then-UNC administration, but has yet to be proclaimed, prohibits people from importing or breeding dangerous dogs, such as the pitbull terrier or any dog bred from the pitbull terrier and having the dominant characteristics of that dog, the fila brasileiro or any dog bred from the fila brasileiro and having the dominant characteristics of that dog and the Japanese tosa or any dog bred from the Japanese tosa and having the dominant characteristics of that dog.

On Tuesday, May 12, 2009 the Rules and Public Policy Committee was asked to consider the At Risk Dog Proposal. The committee voted unanimously to table the proposal, citing the amount of time that it would take from other very important issues.

The Rules and Public Policy Committee is showing very little support for this proposal and it is unlikely that it will be brought back to the table.

HOORAY!

Lake County in Illinois has a population of 713,000 people.

From January through April, there have been 500 dog bite reports, a 100 more dog bites than during the same time period last year.

Here is what it's interesting about the article - check out the sidebar.

First mention of biters? Pit bulls. Do we get to see the other 'breeds' after Pit Bulls?

No, this is the order of operations for the Lake County News Sun (take that, PEMDAS).

1) First mention Pit Bulls - 72 out of 500 dog bites.
Then mention:
2) Long and short-haired cats - 69 of the non dog bite reports
3) Horses - 1 bite
4) Bats - 33 bites
5) Coyotes - 7 bites
6) Muskrat - 5
7) Raccoon - 5
8) Skunk - 5
9) Rats - 2 wild
10) Rats - 1 domestic
11) Chipmunk - 1
12) Squirrel - 1
THEN MENTION the other dog breeds!
13) German Shepherds - 70 dog bites
14) Labrador Retrievers - 69 dog bites

Sometimes I get mocked for claiming there is a bias in reporting when it comes to dog bites. I don't think there is a grand conspiracy, but I think this points to a general desire to encourage fear-mongering by focusing on particular type of dog...even though the top three breeds involved in biting bet at essentially the same rate.

That is to say, you are just as likely to be bitten by a pit bull as you are by a German Shepherd or Labrador Retriever. What is more important to say is that you aren't likely to be bitten at all. A whopping 0.07012% of Lake County reported they were bitten by a dog. Let's argue that the 500 dog bites are only indicative of 10% of all actual dog bites (the other 90% go unreported) and really 5,000 Lake County'ians were bitten. That's still only a 0.7% of the entire population.

I'll go out on a limb here and say that Pit Bulls, German Shepherds and Labrador Retrievers are the three most popular types of dogs. I'd probably argue that Pit Bulls, as a population, are much larger and more populous than, for sure, German Shepherds. That means that very few Pit Bulls, GSDs and Labs are biting people. Very few.

As I keep reiterating - dog bites are uncommon and when they happen they are generally NOT major.

Yet, if you read this article, you might be left with an impression that a) there IS a dog bite epidemic and b) the most common biter is pit bulls...you have to get through a list of about 10 other species before you learn that German Shepherds and Labs bite at the same rate.

HB 1982 is dead for this session. Good riddance. It may be brought back in 2011.

Good dogs with a bad reputation might soon be getting a second chance in Tonganoxie.

On Monday the Tonganoxie City Council directed city staff to look at reliable and impartial statistics on dog-related attacks to see if it needed to update its ban on specific dog breeds.

This direction came after Casey Allen approached the council to get an exemption from the city’s 16-year-old ordinance banning pit bulls and rottweilers.

Allen recently moved into Tonganoxie with his family, which includes a rottweiler. Allen said he was unaware of the ban when he came to Tonganoxie. Allen was given a 10-day notice to remove the dog from the city limits.

http://www.tonganoxiemirror.com/news/2009/may/08/city-council-look-changing-dog-ordinance/

From BSL_Updates
Mayor and City Council
hschwaller4@yahoo.com
troy.hickman@hotmail.com barbwasinger@ruraltel.net
cchannell@media-net.net,rdcc@swbell.net,
City ManagerToby Dougherty
tdougherty@haysusa.com

P.O. Box 490
1507 Main Street
Hays, KS 67601 Phone: (785) 628-7320Fax:(785) 628-7323
Assistant City ManagerMark Loughry
mloughry@haysusa.com

City ClerkMr. Kim Rupp
krupp@haysusa.comPhone: (785) 628-7300Fax:(785) 621-2005

City discusses dog breed ban

By KALEY LYON

klyon@dailynews.net

Emotions ran high at Thursday's Hays City Commission meeting as commissioners discussed whether to ban pit bulls in city limits.

Loudon County shelter does not adopt pit bulls or their mixes, resulting most likely in the death of the dogs. Today, a case challenging this policy begins.

But contrary to popular belief, pit bulls are not inherently aggressive, as Sheri Cardo of Petaluma discovered. Here's her story:

"In 2000, when I was volunteering at the Petaluma Animal Shelter, an older dog was surrendered by her family. She had dug up their new landscaping when they left her alone in the yard over the Fourth of July weekend.

"This dog, who it turns out was terrified of fireworks, loved being with people. Brigitte was her name and she was as sweet as could be. But she was also 9 years old and a pit bull, and shelter visitors weren't looking at her.

READ MORE

LARGO - Lola is a 4-year-old pit bull who gets a bit excited around other dogs but mostly just whines and wags her tail.

At 10, Stella is a pit bull mix eager for attention. Liberty, a 4-year-old pit bull found wandering Interstate 275 last year, tends to bring on the barking when other dogs get too close.

Sunday, they were at the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals of Tampa Bay's Largo center to prove they were not the snarling, steel-jawed stereotype of their breed.

The dogs were joined by 11 others seeking a certification that says they are social animals with good manners and behavior. Those who passed the test receive a canine good citizen certification issued by the American Kennel Club.

Though there were boxers and Labrador retrievers at the event, too, the project focuses on pit bulls.

LINK

LINK

Michael Osborn, the victim of an attack from a dog in his west-side neighborhood, believes the legislation regarding dangerous and vicious dogs that city council passed Tuesday will make Norwalk a safer place.

Osborn was attacked last June by a German shepherd living seven houses from his Park Ridge Court home. He paid more than $1,000 for medical treatment and court fees in an attempt to get his neighbor to pay the bills, which still hasn’t happened.

With the legislation passed Tuesday, Osborn said his 12-year-old daughter Jomae might be a little safer as she delivers newspapers for the Norwalk Reflector because his neighbor should have to register the animal that attacked as a dangerous dog.

Council passed an amended form of the legislation Tuesday that regulates dangerous and vicious dogs, but does not automatically classify pit bulls as vicious.

Okay, we'll ignore that Lily isn't actually a pit bull (APBT's generally aren't a 100lbs) and she looks more like a mastiff-mix...still, nice, happy dog! :)

NORMAN, Okla. -- The owner of a pit bull said she hopes her dog's help in chasing down a man accused in an armed robbery and carjacking can help improve the public perception of the breed.Lily, a 2-year-old pit bull, sprung into action when the man tried to hide in Kierston Willoby's home last week."He saw the garage light on and he immediately dove to hide underneath the garage, but surprise! A 100-pound pit bull was in there," Willoby said.Willoby said she was home at the time and heard Lily barking hysterically."She never barks that loudly," she said. "She was barking like she was going to attack someone. She's never that way. She's usually very quiet."Willoby said Lily wouldn't stop barking and suddenly ran out of the garage.

LINK

HOLLAND -- A 2-year-old pit bull named Blitz is getting the hero treatment today after he frightened a man dragging his estranged wife across a street in a possible abduction attempt.

The 33-year-old suspect had broken into the Thomas Avenue home where his wife was staying, then began dragging her across nearby South Shore Drive when Blitz bolted into action.

"I didn't think he had it in him, but I guess he did," said the dog's proud owner, also credited for helping the victim escape her attacker.

The 32-year-old pet owner, who didn't want to be named, heard the woman screaming in the street about 11 p.m. Wednesday and came out of her South Shore Drive duplex apartment to help. At the same time, Blitz raced past her and out the door.

The gray pit bull made an aggressive beeline straight for the suspect. As Blitz came near, the man let loose of his wife, enabling her to break away and get inside the dog owner's apartment.

LINK