Indiana Woman Pushes Rules to Reduce Dog Attacks

September 23, 2014

  • September 23, 2014 at 12:33 pm
    Thomas McCartney says:
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    In a discussion of the Denver ban, Assistant City Attorney Kory Nelson recently told the San Francisco Chronicle that:

    “Since 1989, when that city instituted a pit bull ban, ‘we haven’t had one serious pit bull attack,’ said Kory Nelson, a Denver assistant city attorney. His city’s assertion that ‘pit bulls are more dangerous than other breeds of dog’ has withstood legal challenges, he said.

    ‘We were able to prove there’s a difference between pit bulls and other breeds of dogs that make pit bulls more dangerous,’ he said.”

    Sources: Denver Post
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    Toronto:

    In a November 2011, public health statistics published by Global Toronto showed that pit bull bites dropped dramatically after Ontario adopted the Dog Owners Liability Act in 2005, an act that banned pit bulls:

    The number of dog bites reported in Toronto has fallen since a ban on pit bulls took effect in 2005, public health statistics show.

    A total of 486 bites were recorded in 2005. That number fell generally in the six years following, to 379 in 2010.

    Provincial laws that banned ‘pit bulls,’ defined as pit bulls, Staffordshire terriers, American Staffordshire terriers, American pit bull terriers and dogs resembling them took effect in August 2005. Existing dogs were required to be sterilized, and leashed and muzzled in public.

    Bites in Toronto blamed on the four affected breeds fell sharply, from 71 in 2005 to only six in 2010. This accounts for most of the reduction in total bites.
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    Salina, KS

    Rose Base, director of the Salina Animal Shelter who lobbied for the ordinance, told the Salina Journal:

    The ordinance has made a difference, she said. Records at the Salina Animal Shelter indicate there were 24 reported pit bull bites in 2003 and 2004, and only five since — none from 2009 to present.

    Salina has 62 registered pit bulls, Base said. Before the ordinance she guessed there were “close to 300.” Since the first of this year three of the registered pit bulls have died of old age.

    “We definitely haven’t had the severity of bites that we had in the past,” Base said. “Our community has been somewhat safer because of the law that was passed
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    Prince George’s County, MD
    Prince George’s County passed a pit bull ban in 1996. In August 2009, Rodney Taylor, associate director of the county’s Animal Management Group, said that the number of pit bull biting incidents has fallen:

    “Taylor said that during the first five to seven years of the ban, animal control officials would encounter an average of 1,200 pit bulls a year but that in recent years that figure has dropped by about half. According to county statistics, 36 pit bull bites, out of 619 total dog bites, were recorded in 2008, down from 95 pit bull bites, out of a total of 853, in 1996.”
    ***************************************************
    Salina KS (a second article)

    Note that they admit that the pit bull ban did not reduce the number of bites, but it did reduce the severity of bites reported by all breeds. Proof that when pit bull deniers find a jurisdiction that banned pit bulls, but reported no decrease in overall bites, is a moot point. Its death and dismemberment we are focusing on, not bite counts.

    In the monthly city newsletter, In Touch, published in September 2006, the City of Salina reported that the pit bull ban adopted in 2005 significantly reduced pit bull biting incidents in just a 12 month period.

    The number of pit bull bites depicted in the “Salina Pit Bull Bites Reported” graph shows 2002 with 13 pit bull bites, 2003 with 11 pit bull bites, 2004 with 15 pit bull bites and 2005 with only one bite. The newsletter notes that “animal bites reported have remained constant, but the severity of bites have decreased dramatically” since the enactment of the pit bull ban

  • September 23, 2014 at 12:41 pm
    Thomas McCartney says:
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    Springfield, MO

    In April 2008, the Springfield-Greene County Health Department released data to a local TV station – following the City of Springfield’s adoption of a 2006 pit bull ban:

    “The Springfield-Greene County Health Department reports that dog bites and vicious dog complaints are declining since the implementation of the Pit Bull Ordinance in the City of Springfield two years ago. In 2005 the health department fielded 18 vicious dog complaints, but only eight in 2007. Bites were down from 102 in 2005 to 87 in 2007.”

    “The ordinance, which requires pit bull owners to register their dogs annually, has also resulted in fewer pit bull dogs being impounded at the Springfield Animal Shelter.

    In 2005 there were 502 pit bull and pit bull mixes impounded, compared to only 252 in 2007.

    According to statistics taken from the Springfield-Greene County Health Department, as reported in the News-Leader March 12, for the three-year period beginning in 2004, there were 42 “vicious” animal attacks recorded in the jurisdiction covered.

    After passing the local ordinance banning or strictly controlling the ownership of pit bull or pit bull types, the number of attacks has dropped dramatically.

    For the five-year period from 2007-2011, there was a total of 14.

    “Because we are impounding fewer pit bulls, we’ve also seen overcrowding in our shelter subside,” says assistant director Clay Goddard. “It is the natural tendency of pit bulls to fight, so our animal control staff are forced to segregate them in individual pens.

    When we have several pit bulls in the shelter simultaneously, this severely limits space for other dogs.”
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    Washington

    In 2008, the City of Wapato passed an ordinance that bans new pit bulls, rottweilers and mastiffs. Nine months after its adoption, in March 2009, Wapato Police Chief Richard Sanchez reported successful results:

    “Nine months into the ban and police calls about vicious dogs have been cut in half. The Wapato Police tell Action News they’ve gone from 18 reports in January, February and March of last year to seven so far in ’09. “Seven calls in three months… that’s nothing,” says Chief Richard Sanchez, Wapato Police Department.

    Chief Sanchez credits local cooperation for the decline of dangerous dogs.”
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    Rhode Island

    When the City of Woonsocket was debating a pit bull ordinance in June 2009, the animal control supervisor in Pawtucket, John Holmes, spoke about the enormous success of Pawtucket’s 2003 pit bull ban:

    “Holmes says he predicted that it would take two years for Pawtucket to experience the full benefit of the law after it was passed, but the results were actually apparent in half the time.

    “It’s working absolutely fantastic,” said Holmes. “We have not had a pit bull maiming in the city since December of 2004.”

    Holmes says the law also capped the number of legal pit bulls in Pawtucket to about 70 animals.”

    In July 2013, Pawtucket Mayor Donald Grebien and City Council President David Moran sent a joint letter to Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee asking that he reject a statewide anti-BSL measure before him.

    While they agree that some pit bulls can make good pets, said Moran and Grebien, “the number and severity of pit bull attacks against people and other animals in the early 2000s required us to take the action we did.”

    Prior to the 2004 city ordinance, Pawtucket Animal Control officers responded to many calls about serious pit bull attacks against people and animals, according to the letter. Two of the worst cases involved a nine-month pregnant woman and a child.

    While proponents of the bill argue that breed-specific bans don’t work, said Grebien and Moran, “the results in Pawtucket dramatically prove that they do work.”

    In 2003, the year before the local ban on pit bulls went into effect, 135 pit bulls, all from Pawtucket, were taken in at the Pawtucket Animal Control Shelter for a variety of health and safety reasons, with 48 of those dogs needing to be put down.

    In 2012, 72 pit bulls were taken in, only 41 from Pawtucket, with only six needing to be euthanized, according to the two officials.
    “That’s a tremendous improvement,” they state in their letter.
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    Per section 8-55 of Denvers pit bull ban:

    A pit bull, is defined as any dog that is an APBT, Am Staf Terrier, Staff Bull Terrier, or any dog displaying the majority of physical traits of anyone (1) or more of the above breeds, or any dog exhibiting those distinguishing characteristics which substantially conform to the standards set by the AKC or UKC for any of the above breed.

    Over the course of 22 years, the Denver ban has withstood numerous battles in state and federal courts. It has been used as a model for over 600 USA cities that legislate pit bulls, as well as US Navy, Air Force, Marine and Army bases ( so much for Sgt Stubby).

    without it, we’d see just what we see in Miss E’s lame replies. Every pit owner would claim their land shark was anything but a pit bull.

    Miami Dade county voted 66% to keep their pit bull ban, just as it is worded, last year.

  • September 23, 2014 at 12:43 pm
    B-Ben says:
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    Good luck trying to force owners of “vicious” breeds to have liability insurance. There is a reason why those particular breeds are excluded from the majority of policies. In-town dog ownership should require a license with an easily identifiable tag. If you are someone who has a history of your dogs attacking people, your license can be revoked.

  • September 23, 2014 at 12:44 pm
    Thomas McCartney says:
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    My Legislation Proposal to be enacted by all states,
    cities and counties in the US & Canada.

    All dogs must be:
    Or all dangerous dogs must be:
    Or all dangerous molosser breeds, including pit bulls (American Staffordshire Terrier, Staffordshire bull terriers, American pit bull terriers, American Bulldog, Bull mastiffs, dogo argentinos, fila brasieros, presa canarios, Japanese Tosa, cane corsos and their mixes and any dog generally recognized as a pit bull or pit bull terrier and includes a dog of mixed breed with predominant pit bull or pit bull terrier characteristics), rottweilers, chow chows, Doberman pinschers, German shepherds, must be:

    * Licensed
    * All Pit bull type dogs Micro-chipped with any bite history in database for reference.
    * Insured: All dogs must be covered by mandatory liability insurance of $100,000 min. generic and $500,000 after a skin breaking bite with insurance companies based on actuarial statistic’s determining said rate.
    * Spayed/neutered (except for limited approved show dog breeders)
    * All breeds involved in any bite incident must be kenneled in a locked five-sided enclosure with concrete bottom.

    For all other dog owners language can be written that enclosure such as fences must be capable of containing your dog period, such generic language puts the onus on the owner, have the fines be so onerous that said owner will ensure this they make this so.

    1,000 the first time, double the second time and permanent confiscation the third time with a ban on said person from owning any dog within city limits, this will create an effective outcome directly or indirectly.
    * All dogs must be on leashes outside of home enclosure
    * All molosser breeds must also be muzzled outside of home enclosure

    * No transport of declared dangerous dogs for the purpose of re-homing. (Dangerous dogs must be dealt with where their history is known.)
    * All of the rules listed above also apply to rescues: rescued dogs must be licensed and subject to inspection.

    $1,000 fine for noncompliance
    Elimination of the one-bite rule in all of the 50 U.S. states
    Manslaughter charges for owner of dog that kills a human
    Felony charge for owner of dog that mauls human, dog, or other domestic animal.

  • September 23, 2014 at 12:45 pm
    Thomas McCartney says:
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    List of pit bull attacks inside Petsmart and PetCo
    Pit bulls have attacked children and attacked and killed pets in Petsmarts and Petco.s across the nation. Why they continue play host to this carnage is beyond comprehension.

    2014 GA A pit bull attacked a westie and wouldn’t let go, so the owner of the westie stabbed the pit bull to get it to stop. The pit bull was euthanized because its lung was punctured. The westie had to be transferred to an emergency vet overnight.

    2013 An Austin police officer kills pit bull that was mauling a Maltese in a Petco.

    2013 – A pit bull lunged at and mauled young child in PetSmart. Bitten to the bone, the child lost color and went into shock. A good samaritan tried to block owner from leaving before police came, but the pit bull owner pointed gun at the man as he raced away in a truck.

    2012 – A Petsmart employee attempted to train a pit bull, but he lost control of it and it attacked a customer’s dog in the store.

    2010 FL A pit bull attacked 4 month old Jack Russell terrier in a Petsmart.. Petsmart’s chain vet clinic tries to bill the owner for the emergency care they gave the puppy.

    2009 CO A yorkie was mauled to death by the Petsmart grooming manager’s own pit bull which she had in a city with a pit bull ban, so she lied and called it an american bulldog/mastiff mix. She also lied and told the owner of the yorkie that another dog killed her dog.

    2008 MD A friendly beagle/collie mix approached an American Bulldog in a Petsmart and both greeted each other in a friendly way. Then the Ambull killed the beagle/collie mix.

    2008 CO An American bulldog mauls 4 year old child in Petsmart. The mother is appalled that the Ambull owner did not put the Ambull down because she, like decent people, would have put the dog down without being asked.

    2006 A pit bull mix in a Petco that had been acting aggressively attacked a little dog and attacked people who were trying to save it. The witness said it looked as if the little dog was mortally wounded.

  • September 23, 2014 at 12:46 pm
    Thomas McCartney says:
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    Pit-bull bans controversial, but they work
    July 19, 2014

    WAUSAU – The city of Antigo has been pit-bull-free for almost 20 years.

    In 1995, the city hired an attorney who suggested that the city adopt an ordinance prohibiting the oft-maligned dogs from the city, said Kaye Matucheski, city clerk-treasurer for Antigo. The ordinance largely was a preventative measure; Antigo hadn’t had any vicious dog attacks, but pit bulls were being blamed for maulings all over the United States, so the city acted before an attack happened rather than waiting to react afterward.

    The ordinance the city adopted prohibits pit bulls and mixes of the breed, as well as any other vicious or dangerous animals, from being in the city. In the almost 20 years since it was adopted, Antigo has had no attacks, no maulings, and no dogs killed by pit bulls or other dogs.

    Contrast that with Wausau, where in June, a woman was attacked by a pit bull that charged from its home and killed the Chihuahua the woman was walking. That dog remains in quarantine at the Humane Society of Marathon County as a court case seeking to have it euthanized moves forward.

    Meanwhile, the owner of the dog was cited June 19 for allowing a dog to run loose, keeping a vicious dog, failing to license the animal and failure to have it vaccinated for rabies, according to Wausau Police Lt. Mike Juedes. And the woman who was attacked, Cindy Ryder, has called on the city to ban pit bulls as Antigo and other cities have.

    Municipal leaders where such bans have been adopted say the rules are simple and they work. They ensure that pit bulls are kept under control to protect the safety of residents and other animals. Critics of the laws, though, say they punish good owners for the actions of bad owners.

    The village of Stratford and the city of Greenwood both have similar bans on pit bulls and dangerous animals. Lonna Klinke, Greenwood’s clerk-treasurer, said her city’s experience is much like Antigo’s: no specific incidents inspired the ban, and since it was adopted, the city has had no attacks and issued no citations.

    Greenwood, she said, has no pit bull problem.

    How the bans work

    The June attack in Wausau was the latest in a series of maulings that has seen 10 dogs declared vicious by the city over the last six months, and police are called almost every week to a report of a problem animal running loose or threatening people.

    Marathon County spends about $68,000 a year sheltering stray, surrendered and impounded dogs, and last year, about half of the dogs in the Humane Society of Marathon County’s shelter were pit bulls awaiting adoption or euthanasia.

    In contrast, Antigo is pit-bull free, and authorities spend almost no resources chasing the problem dogs, Matucheski, the clerk-treasurer, said.

    “If there is an incident where we’re informed that a resident has a pit bull, they are visited by the police department and asked to remove the pit bull,” Matucheski said.

    Pit bulls that are found in the city are impounded, Matucheski said, and are kept at the humane society, where they can be adopted by people who live outside city limits.

    When Antigo adopted its ban, pit bulls already in the city were allowed to stay, but owners had to register them with the city and follow strict guidelines, including muzzling their animals and keeping them on short leashes when they are outdoors — a procedure similar to those in other municipalities that have adopted bans.

    According to national dog attack statistics from http://www.dogsbite dot org, pit bulls and pit bull mixes represent about 6 percent of all dogs in the United States but are responsible for the overwhelming majority of all maulings.

    Between 1982 and 2013, pit bulls were responsible for 275 deaths and 1,779 maimings, according to the organization, which tracks dog attacks.

    Over the same time period, Rottweilers caused 81 deaths and 294 maimings; German shepherds caused 15 deaths and 63 maimings; and Dobermans caused seven deaths and 10 maimings.

    About the bans:
    Many pit bull bans share stipulations:

    Bans on dogs known as “pit bulldogs,” including the Staffordshire bull terrier, the American pit bull terrier, the American Staffordshire terrier breeds, and any dog that has the appearance or characteristics of any of these breeds

    Pit bulls that were registered with the city before a ban was implemented are allowed to remain, provided the owner uses a muzzle on the pit bull and that it is kept on a leash no more than four feet long

    Owners who have been allowed to keep their pit bulls must have a minimum of $50,000 in single-incident insurance

    Owners must post Beware of Dog signs that can be easily seen by the public

    Any puppies born to a registered pit bull must be removed from the city within six weeks of their birth

  • September 23, 2014 at 12:46 pm
    Thomas McCartney says:
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    Council Bluffs, Iowa.
    Pit bulls are not only problematic in large cities; they threaten mid-sized cities and small towns as well. Located in the heartland, Council Bluffs, Iowa has about 60,000 citizens.
    After a series of devastating attacks, beginning in 2003, Council Bluffs joined over 600 U.S. cities and began regulating pit bulls.

    The results of the Council Bluffs pit bull ban, which began January 1, 2005, show the positive effects such legislation can have on public safety in just a few years time:1.
    Council Bluffs: Pit Bull Bite Statistics.

    Year Pit Bull Bites % of All Bites.
    2004 29 23%.
    2005 12 10% (year ban enacted).
    2006 6 4%.
    2007 2 2%.
    2008 0 0%.
    2009 0 0%.
    2010 1 1%.
    2011 0 0%.
    *******************************************************************
    From the CDC (1998 report, page 4):
    “Despite these limitations and concerns
    (about identifying the exact ‘breed’ of pit bull type dog responsible for a
    killing), the data indicate that Rottweilers and pit bull-type dogs accounted
    for 67% of human DBRF in the United States between 1997 and 1998.
    It is extremely unlikely that they accounted for anywhere near 60% of dogs in the
    United States during that same period and, thus, there appears to be a
    breed-specific problem with fatalities.”
    ****************************************************************
    In June 2013, after a Bay Area child was killed by a family pit bull, San Francisco Animal Care and Control cited the decrease in pit bull bites and euthanasia since the adoption of a 2005 pit bull law.

    After 12-year-old Nicholas Faibish was fatally mauled by his family’s pit bulls, the city adopted a mandatory spay-neuter law for the breed. The reasoning was that fixed dogs tend to be calmer and better socialized.

    Since then, San Francisco has impounded 14 percent fewer pit bulls and euthanized 29 percent fewer – which is a “significant decrease,” said Rebecca Katz, director of the city’s Animal Care and Control department.

    Another significant indicator, she said, is that there have been 28 pit bull bites reported in the past three years – and 1,229 bites by other breeds during the same period. In the three-year period before that, there were 45 pit bull bites and 907 incidents involving other breeds.

    Results of mandatory breed-specific S/N in SF: success in San Francisco, where in just eight years there was a 49% decline in the number of pit-bulls impounded, a 23% decline in the number of pit-bulls euthanized, and an 81% decline in the number of pit-bulls involved in fatal and disfiguring attacks.
    When the City of Auburn debated enacting a pit bull law in January 2010, Sgt. Bill Herndon of the San Francisco Police Department weighed in about the success of San Francisco’s 2005 pit bull law:

    “Since requiring all pit bulls to be neutered, they say they are finding fewer pit bulls involved in biting incidents.

    Sgt. Bill Herndon, of the San Francisco Police Department’s vicious dog unit, said the numbers and severity of pit bull attacks are down since San Francisco enacted an ordinance in 2005 after the mauling death of 12-year-old Nicholas Faibish.

    “The number of complaints of mean pit bulls has dropped dramatically,” Herndon said.
    San Francisco’s animal control department reports more than 30 percent fewer pit bulls at the shelter or being euthanized.”
    ****************************************************************
    Ed Boks, Executive director, Yavapai Humane Society (responsible Jan 2004 as director City Center for Animal Care & Control in NYC for trying to rename pit bulls New Yorkies; is pb owner)

    Pit bull type dogs represent 3000% the actuarial risk compared to other types of dogs.
    Insurance companies will have calculated the risks the other listed breeds represent based on what they’ve had to pay out through the years.

    This isn’t ‘prejudice’, this is cold statistical reality. Actuarial realities don’t yield to sentiment or a feeling of entitlement — they just are what they are
    ************************************************************************************************
    Doctors at University Hospital Respond
    In 2011, the Annals of Surgery published a critical peer-reviewed scientific study pertaining to severe and fatal pit bull injuries (Mortality, Mauling and Maiming by Vicious Dogs, by John K. Bini, et al.), authored by doctors at San Antonio University Hospital.
    In the landmark 2012 Tracey v. Solesky decision, which declared pit bulls “inherently dangerous,” the highest court in Maryland cited the entire abstract of this study. The conclusions by the University Hospital doctors:

    pit bull Conclusions: Attacks by pit bulls are associated with higher morbidity rates, higher hospital charges, and a higher risk of death than are attacks by other breeds of dogs. Strict regulation of pit bulls may substantially reduce the US mortality rates related to dog bites.

    The majority of the San Antonio Express-News article pertains to this study and a rehearsed rehashing of the 30-year old pit bull debate.
    One of the primary authors of the study, Dr. Stephen Cohn, is interviewed in the article. “We’ve had people that have almost lost their legs just going out for a run,”
    said Dr. Stephen Cohn, a professor of surgery at the Health Science Center.
    “This is a complete hazard for all of us.”

    http://blog.dogsbite.org/2014/04/2014-dog-bite-fatality-comal-county-woman-killed-by-two-pit-bulls.html

  • September 23, 2014 at 12:47 pm
    Thomas McCartney says:
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    Save Mickey the gator!!!
    An alligator named Mickey killed a pit bull in FL and now he is being unfairly hunted. Eyewitnesses said the pit bull tried taking Mickey’s bone. Where were the parents? This is not Mickey’s fault!

    He was just doing what alligators do.
    Blame the hater, not the gator!!!
    I’m so tired of ignorant people saying bad things about certain reptiles based on the way they look.

    I bet you don’t even own one, because if you did you would see they are the sweetest things. My gator protects my children and my pit bull!
    I’ve had alligators for years! The children climb on them and the alligators slurp them lovingly.

    One even lets my 2 year old brush it’s teeth!!
    We found our newest baby gator at a “kiss the alligator” event.
    There are so many misunderstud alligators out there – all they need is love, people!! Just last week, my oldest gator saved my grand kids from bees! You people are all haters, get yourselfs a REEL pet and stop spreading lies!!
    A children’s book I’m working on – “Want Me to Wash Your Back?” Hoping to dispel some of the unfair gator myths.

    Gators are a great source of fun in the bathtub.
    Some go on to become service gators, helping the elderly and disabled to bathe when they cannot care for themselves.
    It’s clearly reptileism, Poor Ripples
    It’s all in how you raise them.

    Cecil my Gator would just lick you to death.
    My Cecil is a Certified Serpent Good Citizen.
    All the man eating gators were culled.

    Our other gator “Huggy” with our daughter Modeen.
    He is a rescue gator. When the kids were small, they used Huggy as a trampoline.
    He is so mellow, he never even flinched… he wouldn’t hurt anyone.

    Once they accidentally set him on fire with a flame thrower. and he didn’t even bite them very much at all.
    Huggy our gator on vacation with us in the grand canyon in 1996. He loves getting dressed up and having his nails painted to match his wardrobe.

    We took him everywhere with us until he accidentally ate an usher at the movie theater. (It wasn’t his fault, he was startled by that MGM lion roaring at the beginning of the picture.)

    This kind of thing ticks me off.
    Very sad BUT the kid was obviously taunting the gator with bait on a stick before this happened. If the parents had taught this kid some manners, this might not have happened.

    Daily Mirror: Crocodile eats 11-year-old boy alive as he fishes with his parents
    Gator isn’t even a bread.

    https://www.facebook.com/pages/Save-Mickey-The-Gator/1463815607228212

  • September 23, 2014 at 12:48 pm
    Thomas McCartney says:
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    In Calgary, by Bill Bruce’s own admission and documentation, pit bulls lead the serious bite count with 13% of the city’s serious bites attributable to pit bulls, yet pit bulls account for less than 1% of the city’s dogs.

    In fact, pit bulls are responsible for nearly as many serious bites (13%) as the ENTIRE sporting breeding category (15%), which includes all of the most popular breeds (Labs, Goldens, Poodles, Spaniels, etc) and houses 70% of Calgary’s dogs.

    Why aren’t these breeds attacking in the face of irresponsible ownership?
    An example of why leashing and licensing laws don’t work to solve the breed-specific problem of pit bulls:

    Pitbull supporters always point to Calgary Model as the perfect solution when dealing with dangerous dogs. The city introduced its responsible pet ownership bylaw in 2006.
    Calgary’s bylaw department emphasizes responsible pet ownership through intensive licensing, hefty fines and owner education.

    In Calgary, the largest city in Alberta, “confirmed aggressive dog incidents” and related criminal charges tripled in 2013, and in mid-2014 were up 15% more.

    Has their model worked? The statistics from the past four years would indicate a resounding “NO”. For the past four years dog bites have risen steadily every year, and over 350% in the past 4 years, from 58 in 2009 to 203 in 2012.

    And In 2010 Pit bulls led the ‘bite’ count. Meanwhile in Toronto, four years after implementing Breed Bans, dog bites were down 32%, from 486 to 329.

    Bites in Toronto blamed on the four banned breeds fell sharply, from 71 in 2005 to only six in 2010.
    Considering these breeds regularly inflict the most serious damage, this is an undeniable win for the citizens of Toronto.

  • September 23, 2014 at 12:48 pm
    Thomas McCartney says:
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    18 months ago today, the well-funded, huge lobbyist, pro-pit bull organizations, backed with millions of dollars, killed my son.

    18 months ago today, the Best Friends Animal Society that claims pit bulls are “just like any other dogs,” killed my son.

    18 months ago today, the National Canine Research Council, Animal Farm Foundation, BADRAP, and Pit Bulletin Legal News Network, among others, killed my son.

    18 months ago today, the American SPCA, which admits the dog-aggressive heritage of the breed, but holds to the false claim that pit bulls were once “nursemaid” dogs, killed my son.

    18 months ago today, television shows such as “Pit Bosses”, “Pit Bulls & Parolees,” and “The Dog Whisperer” that keep pushing the lie “It’s not the breed, it’s how you raise them,” killed my son.

    18 months ago today, the people at the Humane Society of the U.S. who tell us that, “Responsible ownership is all it takes,” killed my son.

    18 months ago today, the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, which dropped the issue in 1998, made my son the 211th American killed by a pit bull and the 358th in recorded history.

    18 months ago today, the American Veterinary Medical Association message that “The owner’s behavior is the underlying causal factor,” killed my son.

    18 months ago today, the “nanny dog” myth killed my son.

    18 months ago today, “All dogs bite” killed my son.

    18 months ago today, parents who post photos of their pit bulls and children on Facebook killed my son.

    18 months ago today, my son was killed by the truth not being told to the American public.

    18 months ago today, we were by the myths, misinformation and lie that took the life of 14-month-old Daxton James Borchardt.

    All of the people and organizations that I just mentioned are just as responsible for the death of my son as the pit bulls who turned “dead game” on March 6th, 2013, holding and shaking Dax in a sustained 15-minute attack that ripped his face off and crushed his skull.

    The truth not being told is what killed my son 18 months ago today.

    ––Jeff Borchardt

    East Troy, Wisconsin



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