The following article, reprinted from the Caledonia Argus newspaper, will fill you in on what's going on:
Now, I don't intend to minimize, in any way, the horror of what happened to Ms. Olson and her beloved miniature pinscher. The truth is: what happened to Ms. Olson and her little dog is a travesty! The dog that attacked and killed that poor little min-pin, while it was innocently (and legally!) walking down the street, should not have been running loose! Why was he running free? Where was his owner? What had happened in that Pit Bull's past to cause it to be so viscous? And WHY was a dog that had been previously designated as "dangerous", because of a previous attack, not under supervision???Council looking to ban any new pit bulls within the city limits
By Charlie Warner
Argus Editor
Spurred on by an attack of a pit bull that resulted in the death of another dog and injuries to its owner, the Caledonia City Council spent considerable time discussing the creation of a dangerous and vicious animal ordinance last week.
According to Caledonia Police Chief Kurt Zehnder, Helen Olson was walking her miniature pinscher along the 800 block of East Grove Street on May 8 around 1 p.m. when a pit bull attacked the small dog, mauled it and ultimately killed it. Olson sustained injuries to her hand as she attempted to pull the pit bull from her dog. Her injuries required medical attention.
The pit bull was taken into custody by City Animal Control Officer Mike Gavin and observed for 10 days. The dog had all its shots. But it was discovered the dog had a micro chip identifying the animal as a potentially dangerous dog. The micro chip was placed in the dog, per state statute, following an attack that occurred when the dog was not living in Caledonia.
The dog has been put down.
“We need to put our foot down on this issue,” Zehnder told the council. “I was there. I saw what happened. It was horrendous. What happened to that small dog made me sick. We were so fortunate that a child wasn’t involved. We could have had a fatality.”
Gavin told the council that the only breed of dog he has had issues with are pit bulls and half-breed pit bulls.
“I believe the background and the breeding of this type of dog makes them quite vicious. This is one breed of dog I really don’t think we want in our community,” Gavin said. “What happened on Grove Street is indescribable.”
Zehnder said there are other cities that do not allow pit bulls. He cited Minneapolis as one major municipality that has zero tolerance for pit bulls. He added that pit bulls are illegal in the state of Colorado.
“People have had many bad experiences with pit bulls,” Zehnder said. “That’s why they have zero tolerances in many places.”
City Clerk/Administrator Jennifer Feely said City Attorney Tim Murphy recommended that a separate ordinance dealing with vicious dogs be prepared and approved by the council.
It was pointed out that pit bulls currently in Caledonia will be grandfathered in. But, like all dogs, they must be licensed, which will help Gavin and the local police department keep better track of them. But no new pit bulls or half-breeds will be allowed within the city limits.
The topic will be revisited at the June 11 council meeting and the new ordinance possibly approved.
Although I can understand the knee jerk reaction of the Caledonia City Council, in it's effort to keep the city safe, the FACT is: Breed Specific Legislation (BSL) DOES NOT WORK! It will not keep the citizens of Caledonia or their canine companions any safer than they were last week. Don't take my word for it. Here's what the National Canine Research Council has to say on the subject, from a video tape posted on their website. It is an interview with Bill Bruce, Calgary's Director of Animal and By-Law Services and he is discussing ineffective dog laws such as breed-specific legislation, pet limit laws, and mandatory spay-neuter, and why these broad based forms of legislation are INEFFECTIVE:
National Canine Research Council Interview with Bill Bruce on Ineffective Dog Laws
The National Canine Research Council, is an organization that is committed to preserving the human-canine bond. They publish, underwrite, and reprint accurate, documented, reliable research to promote a better understanding of our relationship with dogs. The following is their view on "Responsible Pet Ownership Laws".
It is my sincere hope that the City Council members of Caledonia, MN., will not react out of passion caused by a horrific incident but that they will make an informed, educated decision based on what is good for ALL of the residents of Caledonia ~ both human AND canine.As a society, we strive to create safe, humane communities that are good for people and good for pets. Responsible pet ownership laws help us to achieve these goals by requiring the humane care, custody and control of dogs by all dog owners.
Responsible pet ownership laws set acceptable and achievable standards of pet owner behavior, and then hold people to those standards. The standards should be agreed upon by all of the stakeholders in the community. A typical set of acceptable and achievable standards would include:
1. License your pet and provide permanent ID.2. Provide proper care, training and socialization of your pet.3. Spay and neuter your pet if it is not part of a responsible breeding program. A responsible pet ownership community would never mandate spay/neuter but provides education, makes spay/neuter services accessible and affordable to all citizens, and implements reasonable levels of differential licensing.4. Do not allow your pet to become a threat or nuisance in the community.5. Procure your pet in a responsible manner.
These simple rules, along with enforcement of violations, combined with education to help create better pet owners, result in safe, humane communities.
To be continued...
It breaks my heart that an entire breed of dog can be punished for damage done by a few of the breed. I've always believed that pets and children grow up according to the way they were treated. We know that abused children have a high possibility of becoming abusers - why don't we accept that it's the same way with dogs? I've seen an affectionate kitten turned into a monster cat by the way it was treated. It's way past time for neighborhoods, cities and states to be realistic about this and take each case for its own merits, or lack thereof, just as we try to do with humans.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your post!
Nancy in Iowa
I can't stand this BSL bullsh*t. It is horrible what happened to Mrs. Olsen and her dog. The dog in question was vicious, the fact that he was a Pit Bull was secondary, he was not vicious BECAUSE he was a Pit. Some of the sweetest dogs on the planet are....Pit Bulls.
ReplyDeleteBSL needs to be stopped, because next they will be banning Rotties, then Pinschers, then Shepherds. Then YOUR dog. (And I don't mean yours specifically I mean once they banned all the big breeds they will just keep going.)
You have some great facts in this post, the best we can do is educate. One person at a time if necessary.
I am old enough to remember when the "devil dogs" were German Shepards, then Dobermans, then Rotweilers. Perhaps not to the degree that the Bully breeds are being railroaded....but back then there were more folks with more common sense. How difficult is it to understand....it's not the breed its who breeds the bloodlines to be aggressive.
ReplyDeleteThose who have delt with livestock for generations know about breeding for temperment.
I tend to think that it should be the animal owner that should be held accountable first.
Marilyn
Hi Nancy,
ReplyDelete“People have had many bad experiences with pit bulls,” Zehnder said. I think" that quote could be turned around to read, "“Pitbulls have had many bad experiences with people." If ever there was a breed that "attracts" irresponsible owners, it is the Pitbull. Most of the Pitbulls or mixed Pitbulls I've known have been fine dogs with responsible owners, fortunately.
On another topic, hey, it's Rocky's first birthday today--check your e-mail!
Terry