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http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091106/NEWS16/911060345/0/SPORTS01

Dog advocate says ‘pit bulls’ are unfairly demonized

Canine profiling cited as ineffective approach

By CARL RYAN
BLADE STAFF WRITER
Article published November 06, 2009

In dealing with dangerous dogs, Ohio and Lucas County are all wrong, a lawyer-lobbyist for an animal-welfare organization told a group at Government Center yesterday.

Ledy VanKavage, a specialist in animal law, said Ohio and Lucas County are behind the times in adopting laws and practicing policies that target a particular breed.

“Ohio is the only state that discriminates against ‘pit bulls’,” she said. “Twelve states, including Illinois, prohibit breed discrimination. Breed-discrimination laws are ineffective. Profiling doesn’t protect the public.”

Ms. VanKavage is senior legislative analyst for Best Friends Animal Society, the group that rescued disgraced NFL player Michael Vick’s approximately 50 “pit bulls,” which have been rehabilitated and adopted out.

She said she is on the American Bar Association’s animal-law committee, which has published A Lawyer’s Guide to Dangerous Dog Issues, a book that “shows that canine profiling is not effective. Studies show that breed discrimination doesn’t work.”

Ohio law specifically defines vicious dogs to include “pit bulls,” regardless of their temperament. House Bill 79 sponsored by State Rep. Barbara Sears (R., Sylvania), who attended the presentation, would remove the breed reference and define a dangerous dog according to its behavior. Ms. VanKavage said she supported the bill and would like to testify on its behalf in the legislature.

In fact, the term “pit bull” is used loosely. The name comes from the cruel and sadistic 19th century British sport of putting dogs in a pit with rats to see which dog could kill the most. A pit was used to keep the rats from escaping. “Pit bull” describes several breeds of dogs, including the American pit bull terrier, the American Staffordshire terrier, the Staffordshire bull terrier, and many mongrels.

Ms. VanKavage was in Toledo at the invitation of Jean Keating and her organization, the Ohio Coalition of Dog Advocates, which has been agitating for the firing of Lucas County Dog Warden Tom Skeldon on the claim that he euthanizes too many dogs and places too little emphasis on adoption. Last year, 2,483 dogs were killed at the Lucas County dog pound, 80 percent of the dogs taken in.

“What I’m amazed at is the level of rhetoric making these dogs demons. It’s insane,” Ms. VanKavage said. “It has basically become a witch hunt.”

Mr. Skeldon, who has warned of the dangers of “pit bulls” for years, said he met Ms. VanKavage and was familiar with her views. “She’s a nice, intelligent lady, but she’s on the opposite side of this issue from me,” he said last night.

Based on state law that automatically labels “pit bulls” vicious dogs, including dogs and puppies that have not bitten anyone, Mr. Skeldon said it is his policy that he won’t let people adopt “pit bulls” impounded at his facility or hand them over to dog rescue groups, resulting in the killing of hundreds of “pit bulls” each year held at the dog pound.

Last year, Mr. Skeldon’s operation killed 1,281 “pit bulls” at the county dog pound, out of 2,483 dogs and puppies euthanized by the dog warden. The dogs are killed by injection, placed in freezers, and disposed of in either Toledo’s Hoffman Road landfill or the Evergreen landfill in Northwood.

Owners of “pit bulls” picked up by the dog warden may reclaim their dogs if they don’t have criminal records involving dog fighting and drugs, have no complaints on file involving dogs, agree to have their dogs spayed or neutered, and pay any fines associated with their dogs’ impoundment.

Ms. VanKavage said countries and communities that have banned breeds perceived as dangerous have seen no reduction in dog attacks. She said she owns three “pit bulls.” Cook County, Ill., which includes Chicago, has a cadaver dog that’s part “pit bull,” she said.

“Dogs are individuals, just like people, and they should be judged as individuals,” she said.

Ms. VanKavage said visual identification of “pit bulls” is wrong most of the time and only DNA testing, which costs $120 per dog, is truly accurate.

Lucas County Commissioner Ben Konop, who has been pushing for change in the dog warden’s operation, asked if there were DNA grants Lucas County might apply for. She said she thought funding was available.

Rob Ludeman, a member of the commissioners’ dog warden advisory committee who was elected to City Council Tuesday, said he heard some good ideas that he would approach council with next year.

He said he wanted to explore forbidding felons from owning unsterilized dogs that can be used for fighting, as other communities have done.

“This could cut down on dog fighting,” he said.

Contact Carl Ryan at: carlryan@theblade.com or 419-724-6050.

BSL is still under consideration in Fremont.A third public meeting will take place at 6:30 p.m. Nov. 19.

Previous alerts on Fremont, OH: http://stopbsl.com/?s=fremont%2C+oh

Fremont Law Director Bob Hart, who is pushing for the ban: 419-334-2908

City Councilmembers’ Contact Info:
Mike Koebel, 419-334-4231 home, 419-332-5300 work
Jim Melle, jmelle@fremontohio.org
Larry Jackson, ljackson@fremontohio.org
O. Duane Simmons, odsimmons@fremontohio.org
Rick Root, rroot@fremontohio.org
Jim Weaver, jweaver@fremontohio.org
Karen Wagner, pwags43@yahoo.com
Don Nalley, nalley1stward@aol.com

http://www.thenews-messenger.com/article/20091106/NEWS01/911060305

Council hears about other dog laws

BY LESLIE BIXLER • Staff writer • November 6, 2009

FREMONT — City hall was once again packed Thursday night as residents came to hear more about what other states and municipalities are doing about vicious dogs. City officials want to gather information to decide whether to enact a dog policy here.

Ledy VanKavage, an attorney with the Best Friends Animal Society out of Illinois, spoke to council Thursday about different laws.

At the Oct. 15 public meeting at city hall, Fremont police Chief Tim Wiersma, Ohio Coalition of Dog Advocates’ Jean Keating and Sandusky County’s deputy dog warden Gina Halbisen debated pit bulls.

“Any dog can bite and we need to focus on the individuals (who own them),” VanKavage said in her presentation.

In 2006, 84 percent of fatal dog attacks involved reckless owners, according to a statistic in her presentation.

No one knows how many German shepherds, pit bulls or other types of dogs there are in communities, and people go through cycles deciding which dogs are dangerous, she said. She said she once had a German shepherd, and as she was walking the dog, someone told her to be careful because it could turn on her.

VanKavage discussed canine profiling laws and how the U.K. banned pit bulls in 1991. However, there has not been a published U.S. study on the laws. She also said the breed ban in Denver is not working. According to her presentation, breed-specific legislation is not as effective as more strict dangerous-dog laws, which hold owners responsible.

Texas prohibits dogs being tied up between certain hours of the day, within 500 feet of a school and during certain temperatures because dogs that are chained can be more aggressive.

She also stressed the importance of dogs being spayed or neutered and microchipped, as some states require.

Lucas County has more than 800 dog bites a year, which is a lot for a county that size, she said. There, people can have only one pit bull, but the bites have increased, she said.

VanKavage said identification is also a problem because people tend to misidentify a dog as a pit bull when it might be a mixed breed.

City Law Director Bob Hart said, “I want to do what is best for Fremont. I’m starting to buy this owner’s responsibility. But I’m still troubled. … I can’t deny what I’ve seen when someone was attacked by a pit bull.”

Councilman Mike Koebel asked, “Is it true that pit bulls jaws lock?”

VanKavage said that their jaws do not lock when they bite, they are just muscular.

A third public meeting will take place at 6:30 p.m. Nov. 19.

Hays City Commission meets to discuss the proposed ordinance (below) tonight, 11/5, at 6:30 PM.

Previous alerts for Hays City: http://stopbsl.com/?s=hays+city

City Manager’s Office, P.O. Box 490, Hays, KS 67601
Phone: (785) 628-7320
Fax: (785) 628-7323

Ron Mellick, Mayor of Hays
rdcc@swbell.net

Christopher Channell, Vice Mayor
cchannell@media-net.net

Barbara K. Wasinger
barbwasinger@ruraltel.net

Troy Hickman
troy.hickman@hotmail.com

Henry Schwaller IV
hschwaller4@yahoo.com

http://www.hdnews.net/Story/city110409

Commission going to the dogs

By KALEY CONNER
kconner@dailynews.net

Pit bulls still might be allowed within city limits, but owners soon could face stricter restrictions for keeping the particular breed.

When the Hays City Commission meets for a work session at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, it will consider an amended dog ordinance that automatically classifies pit bulls as “dangerous.”

“It’s not a ban,” City Manager Toby Dougherty said. “The commission was reluctant to enact a ban the last time they discussed it, but they did recognize that there was a need for possibly some further regulations other than what we have right now.”

This distinction would require pit bull owners to take additional precautions, such as providing the dog with an identification microchip, keeping the animals in secure confinement areas, and strict leash and muzzle requirements. Owners would be required to obtain public liability insurance in a single incident amount of at least $100,000.

If these guidelines are not adhered to, the dog could be subject to immediate seizure and impoundment. The owner could be fined or lose the license required to keep the pet in town.

Currently, dogs can be deemed “dangerous” only in court, usually following a biting incident or behavior issue. Dogs with a known propensity to attack or those trained for dog fighting also fall into this category.

This standard still would apply, but pit bulls would be the first breed automatically deemed dangerous. The ordinance lists several breeds of dogs commonly identified as a pit bull.

Another amendment would impose stricter penalties for pet owners who fail to register their animals annually by March 1. The delinquency fine would increase from $1 to $10 per month, with a maximum $50 fine.

The issue of regulating pit bulls in city limits surfaced in April after a pit bull attacked and killed a smaller dog, which was on a walk with its 10-year-old owner.

The proposed ordinance: http://assets.mediaspanonline.com/prod/3506971/pitbullrdinance.pdf

Dangerous dog means:

5) Any “Pit Bull Dog” which is defined as any and all of the following dogs:

a) The Staffordshire Bull Terrier breed of dog;

b) The American Staffordshire Terrier breed of dog;

c) The American Pit Bull Terrier breed of dog;

d) Any other breed commonly known as Pit Bull, Pit Bull Dog, or Pit Bull Terrier;

e) Dogs which have the appearance and characteristics of being predominantly of the breed of dogs known as Staffordshire Bull Terrier, American Pit Bull Terrier or American Staffordshire Terrier.