Avalanche

In addition to sending out action alerts to our 7,000 members in Maryland to instruct them on how to best support HB 78/SB 160, Best Friends also has a contract lobbyist in Maryland, Mike Gisriel, who has sent testimony to the Maryland House Judiciary Committee.
    --Best Friends Animal Society

* * * * *

Mr Gisriel served a single term in the Maryland House of Delegates, after which he chose to reap the benefits of his public service by becoming a lobbyist. In 2009, after a five year investigation, Mr Gisriel was disbarred from practicing law.

* * * * *

For nearly a year the Maryland General Assembly has been seeking a palatable way to abrogate the Court of Appeals finding of April 2012, when the court ruled that pit bulls are inherently dangerous. On Thursday, February 21, the Maryland House of Delegates voted unanimously to pass HB 78, which abrogates the finding and places strict limitations on the victims of pit bull attacks.

On the following day, as if to add an exclamation point to the vote. a Baltimore County woman was attacked by one (or perhaps both) of her two pit bulls. She was taken to John Hopkins Bayview Hospital, where she remains in serious condition. The victim's boyfriend fears that she may not regain the full use of an arm. The Senate has yet to act on the bill, so hope remains that the Court's finding will stand.

Best Friends has sent instructions to their 7,000 members in Maryland. 7,000! These advocates are directed to a spam-generating web page which suffocates the legislators' email. The HSUS has a similar spam-generating page, further overwhelming the legislators. Dozens or hundreds of other advocacy groups are adding their voices to the clamor. Even more pressure comes from the expensive suits hired by the insurance companies and property developers. The resources poured into overturning the Court's decision are incalculable. [See below for partial list]

Advocates of fighting breeds refer to Breed Specific Legislation (BSL) as a knee-jerk reaction,or as panic policy-making. The Court's ruling was neither knee-jerk nor panicky. However, nothing could be more desperate or panicky than this avalanche of advocacy in response.

State legislatures and city councils are often overwhelmed by similar pressures from pit bull advocates. The experience in Maryland illustrates why legislatures are unable to resolve the pit bull problem, and why we now look to the Courts to offer the solution of last resort.

Will the Maryland State Senate vote with the special interests to abrogate that solution? Or will they stiffen their resolve and allow the Court's finding to stand?

* * * * *

Special MD Pit Bull Lobbying Pages:

Ending the mayhem in Maryland,
   (Best Friends Animal Society)
Action Alert Page which sends spam to legislators
   (Best Friends Animal Society)
Humane Society Urges Corrective Pit Bull Law
   (HSUS Press Release)
On-line form which encourages spam to legislators
   (HSUS)
Protect Maryland Dogs
   (HSUS)
HSUS Urges Legislation to pass bill
   (HSUS)
Special Projects: Maryland
   (Animal Farm Foundation)

* * * * *

Notes:
This post is one of a series on the Maryland pit bull conundrum. To view the index of all Maryland posts click here.

Statistics are from Dog attack deaths and maimings, U.S. & Canada, published by Animal People. To view or download the current PDF click here.

News:
Woman injured by pit bull in her home
   (ABC2News, Feb 25 2013)
Dundalk woman hospitalized after pit bull attack
   (Washington Post, Feb 23 2013)
House Approves Bill That Reverses Court Ruling,
    (CBS Baltimore, Feb 21, 2013)
Md. House unanimously approves dog bite legislation,
    (Washington Post, Feb 21, 2013)
House passes pit bull bill,
    (Baltimore Sun, Feb 21, 2013)
Maryland legislators reach compromise,
    (Washington Post, Jan 17, 2013)

Resources:
Maryland Senate bill SB 160 2013
MD Court of Appeals establishes new liability rule in pit bull attack cases
Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics: The Manipulation of
   Public Opinion in America, by Michael Wheeler

Google News: Today's pit bull attacks

Lies, Damned Lies*

. . . . the common law of liability relating to attacks by dogs against humans that existed on April 1, 2012, is retained . . .

Maryland SB 160 2013

* * * * *

Revised: Mar 5, 2013: 15:42 GMT

The news following the Feb 21st vote in the MD House of Delegates has been contradictory and confusing. For example:

The measure would make it easier to hold all dog owners liable for injuries caused by their pets but also gives owners the opportunity to defend their pet in court.
(Washington Post)

. . . allows owners to prove there was no prior evidence of violent behavior and allows for defense of the animal’s behavior.
(CBS Baltimore)

A compromise forged in both chambers would lay responsibility on owners to prove their dog isn't dangerous if it bites someone unprovoked.
(Baltimore Sun)

How could the news be other than confusing? -- the bill itself says next to nothing about these matters the journalists discuss. The information we are reading in these columns today was given to the journalists yesterday by the lobbyists and spinners. The legislators who wrote SB 160 were necessarily vague on the details, in order to get a workable bill. We are left to imagine what will happen to victims, and the spinmeisters are working overtime to fill the gaps.

But some things are certain. Despite assurances (from Tami Santelli of the Humane Society of the US, among others) that SB 160 will provide a remedy for victims of dog bites, the opposite is true. Eminent dog bite law essayists (see The BSL Cliff) note that under Maryland Common Law, which will once again be in effect should the Senate pass the bill, it is difficult for Maryland victims of dog attacks to find a remedy.

There is little mention in the news of the "breed-neutral" provisions of SB 160. In the last thirty years pit bulls have killed 241 humans and disfigured another 1,302 (that we're aware of). Fully half of these casualties, 126 of the fatalities and 640 of the disfigurements, have occurred in the last five years. That amounts to an average of 25 pit bull canine homicides of humans a year, or a death every two weeks. (see below)

Are we to pretend that pit bulls are no more dangerous than a Yorkshire Terrier? Are we to close our eyes to these facts? To deny Maryland's future victims of pit bull attacks the right to refer to the breed of the attacking dog would be to impose a draconian gag rule, one which would deny the victims a legal remedy.


* * * * *

Notes:
This post is one of a series on the Maryland pit bull conundrum. To view the index of all Maryland posts click here.

Statistics are from Dog attack deaths and maimings, U.S. & Canada, published by Animal People. To view or download the current PDF click here.

News:
House Approves Bill That Reverses Court Ruling,
    (CBS Baltimore, Feb 21, 2013)
Md. House unanimously approves dog bite legislation,
    (Washington Post, Feb 21, 2013)
House passes pit bull bill,
    (Baltimore Sun, Feb 21, 2013)
Maryland legislators reach compromise,
    (Washington Post, Jan 17, 2013)

Resources:
Maryland Senate bill SB 160 2013
MD Court of Appeals establishes new liability rule in pit bull attack cases
* Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics:
  The Manipulation of Public Opinion in America,
     by Michael Wheeler

Google News: Today's pit bull attacks

Responsible Advocacy: III

This post has been removed.

Our apologies for the inconvenience.

* * * * *

This is the third in a series of posts on the University of Illinois and fighting breeds. To see the index of all posts on this subject click here.

* * * * *

Mint Hill Update

The horse, Joker, died after the dogs attacked. Authorities are not sure if the death was directly due to the attack, as the horse was more than 30 years old.

* * * * *

Nearly two years ago to the day, we launched SRUV with a post about an attack on Joker by two pit bulls. On February 6th of this year Joker was attacked again and died as a result of the attack. The attack which ended Joker's life was the fourth pit bull attack on the Appaloosa mare. These attacks, and others in the area, make the Mint Hill, NC area a Bermuda Triangle of pit bull attacks.

The attack on Joker is one of numerous recent attacks on horses and ponies, including attacks in  Sandoval County NM, Durham County NC, and DeSoto County MS. In St Mary Parish, LA, a pit bull attacked a horse, then attacked the teenage rider after he fell off. SRUV recently posted Spud and Misty, about two recent attacks on horses. In the UK the British Horse Society has recorded 347 attacks on horses in the last two years; the problem is so serious that police have lobbied for stronger legislation (see below).

One of the more noteworthy recent attacks in the US was the attack on a Park Police horse at Crissy Field near San Francisco. The pit bull (an American Staffordshire Terrier in this case) attacked the horse's stomach, then chased her for over a mile, attacking her the entire distance. In the ensuing media circus the owner gamed the social networks, bringing so much pressure to bear on the Federal Courts that he saved his dog.

The circumstances surrounding the 2011 attack on Joker were so bazaar that we've reprinted our original post below. The 2013 attack on Joker has eerie echoes of the 2011 attack; it's now known that the owner of the two pit bulls in the 2013 attack is the same man who owned the the pit bulls -- two different pit bulls -- that attacked Joker in 2011. When asked to comment the owner said he "didn't care" that his dogs had killed Joker.

* * * * *

Saturday, February 12, 2011
Hall of Shame

Revised: Dec 25, 2012; 16:16 GMT

SRUV nominates Tim Long, Editor of the Mint Hill Times, to the Hall of Shame for the month of January 2011.

Mr Long published the remarkable story Are Pit Bulls Mean Dogs? We Ask the President of a Pit Bull Association. The story consists of four softball questions lobbed to Michael Davis, the President of the National American Pit Bull Terrier Association.

Dozens of similar advocacy stories are regularly published but Mr Long's is exceptional for the following reason. Not far from Mint Hill is the town of Waxhaw, NC, where five year old Makayla Woodward was killed by two pit bulls not two weeks before Mr Long wrote his story. His ghastly defense of pit bulls on the heels of this horrific attack demonstrates a callous disregard.

The day after Mr Long's story appeared a horse was attacked by a pit bull in Mint Hill, the second time in ten days that Joker had been attacked by the same dogs. The owner of the horse, Bill Williamson, suffered a heart attack during the attack on Joker but was revived by a defibrillator when police serendipitously drove along the rural road. These attacks followed the earlier attack (December 22) on a 6 year old child and her grandmother, Muriel Price, also from Mint Hill.

* * * * *
News:
Mint Hill police seek pit bulls that attacked horse
   The Charlotte Observer,  Feb 7, 2013

UK News:
Concern over rising number of dog attacks
   (Horse & Hound, Jan 20, 2012)
British Horse Society influencing legislation
   (Horse & Hound, Nov 15, 2012)

Sources:
Pit bull attacks on horses and ponies
Fatal Pit Bull Attacks

Statistics:
Statistics quoted on SRUV are from the 30+ year, continuously updated Dog attack deaths and maimings, U.S. & Canada, published by Animal People. To view or download the current PDF click here. This page may also include information from Dogsbite and Fatal Pit Bull Attacks.

Information on euthanasia rates is from Pit bulls and Political Recklessness, by Merritt Clifton. Shelter intake and euthanasia rates are published annually in the July/August edition of Animal People.

Google News: Today's pit bull attacks

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U of IL & Pit Bulls: II

[This post is archived and is no longer supported. 07/06/15]

* * * * *

San Jose Police Department raided two homes owned by Hell’s Angels motorcycle-club members and killed three dogs.
The Problem of Dog-Related Incidents and Encounters [p.12]

* * * * *

A lie of omission is an intentional failure to tell the truth in a situation requiring disclosure.

US Legal Definitions

Also known as a Continuing Misrepresentation, a lie by omission occurs when an important fact is left out in order to foster a misconception. 

Wikipedia

* * * * *

Revised: Feb 20, 2013; 19:29 GMT

The Problem of Dog-Related Incidents and Encounters [PDRIE], as mentioned in the previous post,  is funded by NCRC, authored by five advocates of fighting breeds, published by the University of Illinois,  and is widely used as a training manual for police.

On page eleven of the book the authors refer to a 2006 NYC case in which police officers fired 26 shots at a dog, ultimately killing it. On page twelve the authors refer to a precedent-setting case in which the city of San Jose and several surrounding communities raided two houses belonging to members of Hell's Angels in support of a murder investigation. In this case three dogs were killed.

Both cases are used to illustrate the excessive and inappropriate use of force by police. But in both cases the authors neglect to reveal information which is essential to understanding the officers' actions. It is necessary to visit the news archives from 2006 to learn about the NYC incident, in which a pit bull had "locked its jaws around [an] officer’s leg." In the San Jose case we must look at the court records to learn that the dogs were all essentially junkyard dogs, were described as "Bullmastiff" types, and were in the act of attacking when they were shot.

The authors have established a pattern of omitting relevant information when it is unflattering to pit bulls and fighting breeds, or when it explains the officers' use of force. This pattern of deceit by omission permeates the book and is a disservice to the police officers who read it for guidance.

* * * * *

A cursory glance at current news of dog attacks illustrates why officers often resort to lethal force when confronted with a pit bull. In a recent incident in Salisbury, PA (see below) two residents were cut up in a 'Cujo-like' attack. The pit bull then attacked Oreo, a 25-pound cockapoo owned by Tammie Jesperger.

For 40 minutes, Jesperger [and her 73-year old father Bill Tittel] wrestled with the pit bull. At one point, Jesperger pulled a plastic stake from the front-yard solar lights and stuck the stake in the pit bull's mouth, momentarily freeing the cockapoo. Jesperger ran for the house, but the pit bull chased her down.

"He had my dog by the throat and wouldn't let him go. I poked his eyes. He didn't even budge. He just wanted to kill my dog."

"The dog was shot five times, three times with a .22 [rifle] and twice with a shotgun," Jesperger said. "He went after the cop and the cop shot it five times because it just wouldn't die. It was like a Cujo."

"The pit bull ripped my dog's throat open. I thought I was in a bloody nightmare."

Stories similar to this, which demonstrate the necessity of lethal force by officers of the law when confronting fighting breeds, are all too plentiful on the web. In one attack (see below) a single dog "savaged" five responding officers; some of the injuries were described as life-altering. Yet, the authors of PDRIE are insistent in their demand that pit bulls are not to be considered different from other breeds.

* * * * *

Is a section titled "Assessing the Risk" the authors write the following:

Most dogs happily greet a new human. Some will be so enthusiastic about greeting that they will do this at a full run and then launch themselves at the officer. Absent any of the warning signals described below, an approaching dog is almost always friendly.
PDRIE, p.21

Full run? Launch? This is crazy talk when considering pit bulls. It is common knowledge that fighting breeds do not signal their attack by offering the "warning signals" the authors refer to in the excerpt above.

In this passage and elsewhere in PDRIE the authors would have us believe that the use of lethal force against pit bulls by police is unwarranted and is the result of inadequate training. In our opinion, officers who want to have a long, healthy, productive career, or who have families that need them, would be prudent to ignore the teachings of these five advocates of fighting breeds.

And the University of Illinois and the Police Training Institute must reconsider their connection to this manual and its authors, at least one of whom is an instructor on the PTI staff.

* * * * *
This is the second in a series of four posts on the University of Illinois and fighting breeds. To see the index of all posts on this subject click here.

* * * * *
Sources:
The Problem of Dog-Related Incidents and Encounters (View or download here)
The Myths of Multicaninism (Barbara Kay. National Post; Oct 24, 2012)
Hells Angels get $990,000 for dead dogs (Overlawyered)
Officer kills pit bull after attack (Morning Call, Feb 5, 2013)
4 Officers Hurt as Police Fire 26 Shots to kill dog (NY Times, July 24, 2006)
Pit bull owner jailed after five officers savaged  (BBC, Jan 21, 2013)

Acronyms:
IGPA (Institute of Government & Public Affairs)
CPSJ (Center for Public Safety and Justice)
RICP (Regional Institute for Community Policing)
PTI (Police Training Institute)
COPS (Community Oriented Policing Services)

Statistics:
Statistics quoted on SRUV are from the nation's authoritative source for current dog attack statistics, the 30+ year, continuously updated Dog attack deaths and maimings, U.S. & Canada.
View or download the current PDF

2014 Year-end report of dog attacks
   Animals 24-7; January 3, 2015
32 years of logging fatal & disfiguring dog attacks
   Animals 24-7; September 27, 2014
How many other animals did pit bulls kill in 2014?
   Animals 24-7; January 27, 2015

This page may also include information from Dogsbite &Fatal Pit Bull Attacks.

Google News: Today's pit bull attacks

2014 Dog Bite Related Fatalities on Daxton's Friends
Index of canine fatalities on Daxton's Friends

Definitions:
SRUV uses the definition of "pit bull" as found in the Omaha Municipal Code Section 6-163. As pit bulls are increasingly crossed with exotic mastiffs, Catahoula Leopard Dogs and other breeds, the vernacular definition of "pit bull" must be made even more inclusive.

Sources cited by news media sometimes refer to "Animal Advocates" or sometimes "Experts." In many cases these words are used to refer to single-purpose pit bull advocates who have never advocated for any other breeds or species of animals. Media would be more accurate to refer to these pit bull advocates as advocates of fighting breeds.

Similarly, in many cases pit bull advocates refer to themselves as "dog lovers" or "canine advocates" and media often accepts this usage. The majority of these pit bull advocates are single-purpose advocates of fighting breeds.

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Without Prejudice

In April of 2012 the Maryland Appeals Court found that pit bulls are inherently dangerous, thereby  providing victims of pit bull attacks the means to seek redress for attacks by pit bulls. Identical bills are currently pending before the Maryland legislature (Senate Bill 160, House Bill 78) which would strip away those protections. These bills, presented as emergency legislation to protect the health and safety of the public, would do the opposite. The new legislation would rescind the Court's protections and reinstate the old common-law one-bite law.

The one-bite law places an immense burden on the victim of a pit bull attack, who must prove that any dog causing injury or death already has been known to be vicious or dangerous. If no proof of previous harm can be discovered there will be no remedy for the victim and the dog (and his owner) are released without prejudice. By passing this legislation the Maryland legislature would not only remove the Court's protection for victims, but they would openly shield others who should be accountable. The legislation names those who would avoid strict liability, including: 

AN OWNER OF REAL PROPERTY OR OTHER PERSON WHO HAS THE RIGHT TO CONTROL THE PRESENCE OF A DOG ON THE PROPERTY OTHER THAN THE OWNER OF THE DOG, INCLUDING A LANDLORD, CONDOMINIUM COUNCIL OF UNIT OWNERS, COOPERATIVE HOUSING CORPORATION, OR HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION.

The legislation is clearly designed to disallow succor to victims of pit bull attacks by their refusal to recognize that “pit bulls are inherently dangerous” as in the court finding.

Pit bulls are dangerous and there is ample evidence daily to corroborate this fact by attacks and killings by this breed reported from around the world (see news link below). Rather than provide for the health and safety of the public the legislature in passing this law will do exactly the opposite. In so doing they deny victims of these horrific attacks the help that they deserve. The argument made for rebuttable presumption,  that the owner (or other responsible party) of the dog knew or ought to know that the dog is vicious or dangerous, is spurious when it comes to fighting breeds. We all know what these dogs were breed for and we are not immune from media news of the countless attacks on both humans and other animals. The court ruling was based on facts known about pit bulls. The statistical data is incontrovertible.

If the General Assembly passes SB 160 / HB 78  it would refute the known facts and would instead protect those who harbor pit bulls or adopt them out or who allow them to be housed or those who provide insurance. They would remove the public safety guarantees of the court finding, thereby placing the citizens of Maryland at risk and restricting the public's right to redress. If the Assembly passes the legislation, citizens would be denied the right to refer to the breed of a pit bull when seeking redress for an attack.

That the General Assembly would pass such a bill as an emergency measure to protect the health and safety  of the public, as the bill claims, is a sham.


Notes:

Re: Court of Appeals in Tracey v. Solesky, No. 53, September Term 2011.

This post is one of a series on the Maryland pit bull conundrum. To view the index of all Maryland posts click here.

News:
Maryland legislators reach compromise (Washington Post, Jan 17, 2013)
Legislation would ease pressure (Towson Patch, Jan 24, 2013))
Pit bull legislation (Maryland Reporter, Jan 25, 2013)

Resources:
Maryland Senate bill SB 160 2013
MD Court of Appeals establishes new liability rule in pit bull attack cases

Special MD Lobbying Pages:
Humane Society Urges Corrective Pit Bull Law (HSUS Press Release)
On-line form which encourages spam to legislators (HSUS)
Protect Maryland Dogs (HSUS)
HSUS Urges Legislation to pass bill (HSUS)
Special Projects: Maryland (Animal Farm Foundation)

Google News: Today's pit bull attacks

U of IL & Pit Bulls

[This post is archived and is no longer supported. 07/06/15]

* * * * *

Nor does [this guide] directly address public policy issues (such as dog-breed discrimination)
The Problem of Dog-Related Incidents and Encounters [p.5]

* * * * *

The booklet (hereinafter PDRIE) was developed under the auspices of the University of Illinois Center for Public Safety and Justice, Institute of Government and Public Affairs, and made possible by a grant from the National Canine Research Council. The book is available from the Department of Justice Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) and is widely distributed. Following the introductory disclaimer about breed discrimination (above), PDRIE does refer to breed discrimination both explicitly and implicitly.

Four of the five authors of the book are founders or employees of pit bull advocacy groups. Ms Delise founded the NCRC, the single-purpose supplier of pit bull advocacy data. Ms VanKavage was the National Manager of  Pit Bull Terrier Initiatives for Best Friends Animal Society. The protective shield these five authors establish around pit bulls amounts to a form of reverse breed discrimination; a discrimination which favors pit bulls over their victims. The book is suffused with pit bull advocacy.

* * * * *

Dog attack statistics are a particular problem for advocates of pit bulls, so great effort is expended in ignoring and discrediting the available data. Early in Chapter One the authors claim:

There is no national system in the United States for tallying reports of dog bites. [PDRIE p.8]

While there is no federal dog bite registry, there clearly is a national database of dog attack statistics. Dog attack deaths and maimings, U.S. & Canada, is a compilation of the most serious dog attacks over the last thirty years. It is the only ongoing, continuously updated, authoritative statistical report of dog attacks, and thus is a favorite target of pit bull advocates. Another valuable source is Fatal Pit Bull Attacks, a heart-breaking calendar of canine-homicides. [see below for both]. Advocates of fighting breeds steadfastly refuse to acknowledge either; they would be forced to confront some unpleasant facts about pit bulls.

Any guide to policing and dog attacks is incomplete without inclusion of these two sources.

* * * * * 

The dissembling begins early in the book. The first sentence of Chapter 1 makes the following claim:

. . . no particular breed is more likely to be responsible for serious bites [PDRIE p.7] 

Of the 38 canine homicides of humans in the US in 2012, pit bulls, which comprise at most six percent of the dog population, caused 23 (over 60%) of the deaths. That amounts to one pit bull canine homicide every sixteen days. This figure far surpasses the total canine homicides of all other breeds combined [see details below].

According to a recent story in the National Post:

. . . . Pit bulls have represented half the total actuarial risk for injury since 1982. . . . Since 1851, in any given 10-year period, pit bulls alone have accounted for more than half of all fatal dog attacks in the U.S. and Canada, even though for most of that time they represented less than 1% of the dog population. [Kay, see below]

Advocates of pit bulls deny that these dogs are more aggressive than other breeds. Dismissal of the direct evidence can be found everywhere on the web, but is unforgiveable in a book used to train police officers, who often meet these dogs in the line of duty.

PDRIE is ostensibly a training manual for law enforcement officers, but a close reading reveals its real  purpose: to protect dangerous dogs at the expense of the officers and public safety. This book reflects poorly on the University of Illinois.

* * * * *

Sources:
The Problem of Dog-Related Incidents and Encounters (View or download here)
The Myths of Multicaninism (Barbara Kay. National Post; Oct 24, 2012)

Acronyms:
IGPA (Institute of Government & Public Affairs)
CPSJ (Center for Public Safety and Justice)
RICP (Regional Institute for Community Policing)
COPS (Community Oriented Policing Services)

Statistics:
Statistics quoted on SRUV are from the nation's authoritative source for current dog attack statistics, the 30+ year, continuously updated Dog attack deaths and maimings, U.S. & Canada.
View or download the current PDF

2014 Year-end report of dog attacks
   Animals 24-7; January 3, 2015
32 years of logging fatal & disfiguring dog attacks
   Animals 24-7; September 27, 2014
How many other animals did pit bulls kill in 2014?
   Animals 24-7; January 27, 2015

This page may also include information from Dogsbite &Fatal Pit Bull Attacks.

Google News: Today's pit bull attacks

2014 Dog Bite Related Fatalities on Daxton's Friends
Index of canine fatalities on Daxton's Friends

Definitions:
SRUV uses the definition of "pit bull" as found in the Omaha Municipal Code Section 6-163. As pit bulls are increasingly crossed with exotic mastiffs, Catahoula Leopard Dogs and other breeds, the vernacular definition of "pit bull" must be made even more inclusive.

Sources cited by news media sometimes refer to "Animal Advocates" or sometimes "Experts." In many cases these words are used to refer to single-purpose pit bull advocates who have never advocated for any other breeds or species of animals. Media would be more accurate to refer to these pit bull advocates a advocates of fighting breeds.

Similarly, in many cases pit bull advocates refer to themselves as "dog lovers" or "canine advocates" and media often accepts this usage. The majority of these pit bull advocates are single-purpose advocates of fighting breeds.

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Liability

[This post is archived and is no longer supported. 07/06/15]

If you are bashing a person who has done a lot of work to make animal welfare an issue no longer sitting on the back burner for politicians, then you are sending your hate-mail to the wrong person. I have worked with, trained with and highly respect Ledy. Not to mention I too am an advocate for the most exploited and abused animal in the US. The Pit Bull. I am also the proud owner of one.

Do not send me any further hate filled emails.

* * * * *

Revised: Feb 8. 2013; 16:58 GMT

We received the letter above from Chelsea Angelo, the animal control warden for the city of Urbana, Illinois. The hate mail to which she refers is our previous post, Champaign. We are at a loss to find expressions of hate in the post, but Ms Angelo and other pit bull advocates are given to dismissing opponents, those of us who advocate for public safety restrictions on pit bulls, as haters.

Ms Angelo's response is something we would expect to find in the pit bull chat rooms, where irrational, inflammatory language is common. But Ms Angelo's letter raises alarms for more significant reasons; she holds a position of authority for the city of Urbana. This officer instructs the police forces of Champaign and Urbana about dangerous dogs but apparently fails to recognize the most dangerous type of dog. The mentor to whom she refers, Ledy VanKavage, is an instructor at the Police Training Institute in Urbana. Pit bull advocates with extreme views, like Ms Angelo and Ms VanKavage, do not possess the objectivity and judgement necessary to train officers how to handle situations which involve fighting breeds. They do not acknowledge that pit bulls are different from any other dog.

* * * * *

Of the 38 canine homicides of humans in the US in 2012, pit bulls, which comprise roughly five percent of the dog population, caused 23 (over 60%) of the deaths. That amounts to one pit bull canine homicide every sixteen days. This figure far surpasses the total canine homicides of all other breeds combined [see details below]. Every pit bull owner who enjoys a a successful, uneventful life with their dog makes the disastrous mistake of thinking all pit bulls are like their own; they fail to look at the overall picture. And these advocates fail to recognize that it is impossible to predict the idiopathic aggression which pit bulls are subject to.

* * * * *

In our previous post we mentioned the role Ms VanKavage played in rescinding Topeka's Breed Specific Legislation (BSL), which led to the recent tragic death of a two-year-old child. Earlier last fall Ms VanKavage experienced a major setback when the citizens of Miami-Dade County voted overwhelmingly to retain their BSL, despite her efforts to rescind it. Her miscalculation in Florida resulted in an expensive, humiliating defeat for herself and for her employer, BestFriends.

Numerous recent news accounts of pit bull attacks on police K-9s and their handlers, as well as on other officers (see Google news links below) illustrate just how prevalent these attacks have become. Further, these accounts prove that lethal force is often required to stop the attacks. Ms VanKavage would impose unnecessary burdens on officers, making it difficult for them to effectively stop pit bull attacks.



* * * * *
Sources:
Champaign police will train to deal with dogs, (News-Gazette, Feb 3, 2013)
Dog fatally shot by police officer, (News-Gazette, Nov 17, 2012)

Statistics:
Statistics quoted on SRUV are from the nation's authoritative source for current dog attack statistics, the 32+ year, continuously updated Dog attack deaths and maimings, U.S. & Canada.
View or download the current PDF

2014 Year-end report of dog attacks
   Animals 24-7; January 3, 2015
32 years of logging fatal & disfiguring dog attacks
   Animals 24-7; September 27, 2014
How many other animals did pit bulls kill in 2014?
   Animals 24-7; January 27, 2015

This page may also include information from Dogsbite & Fatal Pit Bull Attacks.

Google News: Today's pit bull attacks

2014 Dog Bite Related Fatalities on Daxton's Friends
Index of canine fatalities on Daxton's Friends

Definitions:
SRUV uses the definition of "pit bull" as found in the Omaha Municipal Code Section 6-163. As pit bulls are increasingly crossed with exotic mastiffs, Catahoula Leopard Dogs and other breeds, the vernacular definition of "pit bull" must be made even more inclusive.

Sources cited by news media sometimes refer to "Animal Advocates" or sometimes "Experts." In many cases these words are used to refer to single-purpose pit bull advocates who have never advocated for any other breeds or species of animals. Media would be more accurate to refer to these pit bull advocates as advocates of fighting breeds.

Similarly, in many cases pit bull advocates refer to themselves as "dog lovers" or "canine advocates" and media often accepts this usage. The majority of these pit bull advocates are single-purpose advocates of fighting breeds.

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Champaign

[This post is archived and is no longer supported. 07/06/15]

If you have a pit bull type dog and you don’t know Ledy VanKavage, you need to. She probably saved your dog’s life.
Katie Bray Barnett,  StubbyDog

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To:
Anthony Cobb, Chief of Police, Champaign IL
Rene Dunn, Spokeswoman, Champaign IL
Larry Krause, Risk Manager, Champaign IL
Stephanie Joos, Animal Control Director, Champaign County IL
Michael Schlosser, Police Training Institute, Urbana IL
Chelsea Angelo, ACO, Urbana IL
Champaign City Council
Cynthia Bathurst, SafeHumane, Chicago
  and hundreds others

We are writing in response to the Nov 17 2012 shooting incident at the corner of John and Crescent Streets, in which a dog belonging to the Saathoff family was attacked by a pit bull. In the ensuing melee the Saathoff's 5-year-old chocolate Labrador was shot.

We note that Ledy VanKavage has become involved in the case, but the news coverage is unclear who solicited her involvement, if anyone. Ms VanKavage currently serves as the Senior Legislative Attorney at Best Friends Animal Society, where much of her work is related to helping pit bulls. She also sits on the Board of Directors of Animal Farm Foundation, an organization whose sole purpose is to protect pit bulls, and to encourage their acceptance as family pets.

Ms VanKavage is known for her visits to college campuses for the purpose of enlisting law students to work as pit bull advocates. Some of these young attorneys are now working to rescind public safety laws in their own communities. Ms Vankavage has been so effective that she ranks among the top two or three pit bull advocates in the country, and has earned a cult-like following among other advocates of fighting breeds. At the same time she has added immeasurably to the burdens of police work.

In 2010 Ms VanKavage was instrumental in overturning the Breed Specific Legislation (BSL) in Topeka. Two months ago, two-year old Savannah Mae Edwards of suburban Topeka was mauled to death by a pit bull that had been adopted from a pit bull rescue.

Savannah Mae Edwards

In the month before Savannah's death Miami-Dade County voters overwhelmingly voted to retain their long-standing ban on pit bulls, despite the well-organized, heavily-funded campaign led by Ms VanKavage and other pit bull advocates to rescind it. Ms VanKavage has published dozens (if not hundreds) of articles and papers advocating against the very laws communities have used to protect their citizens from fighting breeds.

In addition, Ms VanKavage has insinuated herself into positions of respect and authority in the American Bar Association and in dozens of communities across America, where much of her work is in the service of pit bulls, the type of dog which last year killed at least 33 people in North America [see link below].

The shooting in Champaign is not an isolated event. Police officers have increasingly found it necessary to discharge their weapons during pit bull attacks. A quick search of Google news for similar events results in thousands of hits [see Google news link below]. Ms VanKavage has demonstrated an intense interest in the police response to disturbances involving pit bulls and has now "offered her services" to the city of Champaign. The thought of Ms VanKavage, who has recklessly encouraged the proliferation of fighting breeds, instructing Champaign's law enforcement officers how to handle attacks by the very dogs she favors, is bizarre.

As a result of the Nov 17th incident the police are considering revising their use-of-force policy, "to specifically state that an aggressive animal must present an imminent threat to a human being before deadly force would be authorized." In cities where similar restrictions are enforced pet owners have been forced to watch helplessly as pit bulls have killed their pets.

Ms VanKavage may try to convince us that inadequate police training is at fault when officers discharge their weapons. What she has failed to acknowledge is that in the majority of recent shootings by police officers, a pit bull has attacked a family pet and is in the act of killing it. At the root of the problem is the large and growing number of pit bulls in society, which Ms VanKavage is in large part responsible for.

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Sources:
Champaign police will train to deal with dogs, (News-Gazette, Feb 3, 2013)
Dog fatally shot by police officer, (News-Gazette, Nov 17, 2012)

Statistics:
Statistics quoted on SRUV are from the nation's authoritative source for current dog attack statistics, the 32+ year, continuously updated Dog attack deaths and maimings, U.S. & Canada.
View or download the current PDF

2014 Year-end report of dog attacks
   Animals 24-7; January 3, 2015
32 years of logging fatal & disfiguring dog attacks
   Animals 24-7; September 27, 2014
How many other animals did pit bulls kill in 2014?
   Animals 24-7; January 27, 2015

This page may also include information from Dogsbite & Fatal Pit Bull Attacks.

Google News: Today's pit bull attacks

2014 Dog Bite Related Fatalities on Daxton's Friends
Index of canine fatalities on Daxton's Friends

Definitions:
SRUV uses the definition of "pit bull" as found in the Omaha Municipal Code Section 6-163. As pit bulls are increasingly crossed with exotic mastiffs, Catahoula Leopard Dogs and other breeds, the vernacular definition of "pit bull" must be made even more inclusive.

Sources cited by news media sometimes refer to "Animal Advocates" or sometimes "Experts." In many cases these words are used to refer to single-purpose pit bull advocates who have never advocated for any other breeds or species of animals. Media would be more accurate to refer to these pit bull advocates as advocates of fighting breeds.

Similarly, in many cases pit bull advocates refer to themselves as "dog lovers" or "canine advocates" and media often accepts this usage. The majority of these pit bull advocates are single-purpose advocates of fighting breeds.

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Rebuttable Presumption

A presumption of fact which can be defeated by persuasive evidence to the contrary.
Duhaime Legal Dictionary

. . . a rebuttable presumption (in Latin, praesumptio iuris tantum) is an assumption . . . that is taken to be true unless someone comes forward to contest it and prove otherwise.
Wikipedia

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Revised: Mar 01, 2013; 20:01 GMT

The Maryland task force on pit bulls has presented legislation which would, if accepted by the General Legislature, abrogate the April 26, 2012 finding of the Maryland Court of Appeals. Senate Bill 160 establishes the rationale for abrogating the Court's ruling in Paragraph A of the proposed legislation:

. . . evidence that the dog caused the personal injury or death creates a rebuttable presumption that the owner knew or should have known that the dog had vicious or dangerous propensities. [SB 160]

In lay terms, the legislation argues that to claim an owner knew or should have known that a dog is dangerous is a presumption which is easily defeated by persuasive evidence (ie, is rebuttable), and is therefore not a sound basis for Maryland common law. The bill goes on to rescind the April 26, 2012 finding of the Maryland Court of Appeals that pit bulls are inherently dangerous.

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In the last thirty years pit bulls have killed 241 humans and disfigured another 1,302 (that we're aware of). Fully half of these casualties, 126 of the fatalities and 640 of the disfigurements, have occurred in the last five years. That amounts to an average of 25 pit bull canine homicides of humans a year, or a death every two weeks.

The number of attacks by pit bulls nearly trebled from 2002 to 2011 and the rate of attacks continues to increase as more pit bulls are adopted into family homes. Nearly a third of all pit bull attacks causing permanent disfigurements during the last three decades have occurred in the last two years. [See below for details.]

There are millions of dog attacks each year, but it is practically unheard of for a previously nonviolent dog to initiate an unprovoked attack causing grievous bodily harm, unless it is a pit bull or pit bull cross. On the other hand, the majority of unprovoked attacks resulting in death or grave injury are initiated by pit bulls and pit bull crosses, many of which are family pets which had previously been considered nonviolent.

It is obvious to all but the most obdurate pit bull advocate that pit bulls have compiled a record of attacks unequaled by any other breed or type of dog. No amount of churning the waters about breed discrimination or breed identity will obscure the facts. The Court of Appeals gave ample evidence to support its finding that pit bulls are inherently dangerous, evidence the legislature would ignore. These facts are not a presumption; they are not rebuttable. In spite of this preponderance of evidence, SB 160 precludes the victim of a pit bull attack the use of this evidence, as the bill disallows reference "to breed or heritage." This language was surely written into SB 160 at the insistence of HSUS or other local pit bull advocacy organizations; its presence is otherwise inexplicable in the context of this legislation.

Thomas Jefferson opened the Declaration of Independence with an appeal to the self-evident truths of Moral Law. The people of Maryland now appeal to their legislature to recognize the validity of the Court's finding. To ignore the available data, and the Court's finding, is to willfully ignore a self-evident truth.


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Notes:

Statistics are from Dog attack deaths and maimings, U.S. & Canada, published by Animal People. To view or download the current PDF click here.

News:
Maryland legislators reach compromise (Washington Post, Jan 17, 2013)
Legislation would ease pressure (Towson Patch, Jan 24, 2013))
Pit bull legislation (Maryland Reporter, Jan 25, 2013)

Resources:
Maryland Senate bill SB 160 2013
MD Court of Appeals establishes new liability rule in pit bull attack cases

Special MD Lobbying Pages:
Humane Society Urges Corrective Pit Bull Law (HSUS Press Release)
On-line form which encourages spam to legislators (HSUS)
Protect Maryland Dogs (HSUS)
HSUS Urges Legislation to pass bill (HSUS)
Special Projects: Maryland (Animal Farm Foundation)

Google News: Today's pit bull attacks

This post is one of a series on the Maryland pit bull conundrum. To view the index of all Maryland posts click here.