Apparently an OH state rep is trying to ban pit bulls... WTF???

[SallyMander]

Sorry to start a pit bull thread in teh Lounge, I know that's so cliche... ;)

But seriously, this blew my mind. Just got this email from a distribution list I'm on. In short, an OH state rep proposed a bill that would require ALL pit bull owners to surrender their dogs within 90 days -- even if it's a 15-year-old dog that's never hurt a fly! -- to be euthanized.

Additionally, police would have the ability to get a warrant, search your house, take your dog and kill it -- again, even if the dog has NEVER HURT ANYONE. :grr:

Forget war, poverty, guns, drugs, rape... this is the real menace to society:





~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If the links below dont work cut and paste them into your browser.

Update May 24, 2008: Click here to sign a petition to oppose an Ohio
pit bull ban and support a repeal of state law defining vicious dog to
include pit bulls.
http://www.petitiononline.com/10121985/petition.html

Also, H.B. 568, the proposal to ban pit bulls from Ohio, has been
assigned to the State Government and Elections Committee. Click here
to find committee members. Please write or call and urge them to vote
NO on H.B. 568. Contact information for Governor Ted Strickland and
other Ohio representatives is at the end of the original report below.

Original report: Ohio State Representative Tyrone Yates has proposed a
bill today that would prohibit the ownership of pit bulls in the state
of Ohio. The bill requires all owners to surrender their "pit bulls"
within 90 days of the effective date of the proposed law. The bill is
unequivocal that the dog warden "shall" euthanize all pit bulls within
10 days of their surrender.

Also under this proposal a dog warden or other officer who has
probable cause to believe that a dog is a pit bull dog, may apply for
a search warrant. With the search warrant the officer will have the
authority to seize the pit bull dog and surrender it to the dog warden
to be killed.

Under current Ohio law a vicious dog is defined to include pit bulls
regardless of their temperament or behavior, but there is no statewide
prohibition on owning and keeping these dogs. The Ohio Supreme Court
has upheld Ohio's current law. Click here for more on that. A bill
pending in the Ohio legislature, H.B. 366, would repeal the state law
that defines vicious dog to include pit bulls. Click here for more on
that bill.

Click here for a copy of the bill, H.B. 568, that would ban all pit
bulls from the state of Ohio.

If you live in Ohio, click here to find your representative and call
or write and urge him or her to vote NO on H.B. 568, a proposed ban on
pit bulls in the state.

Click here to find all Ohio representatives.
http://www.house.state.oh.us/jsps/SearchbyName.jsp

Click here to contact Governor Ted Strickland.
http://governor.ohio.gov/Default.aspx?tabid=448

Talking Points

Dogs don't bite because of their breed and communities are not safer
unless responsible leaders address the real reasons dogs bite:

1. Pass an effective potentially dangerous dog ordinance:

Assign dogs a level of potential danger, with restrictions and
penalties for each level.

Require spay/neuter, education and training to encourage owners to
take responsibility before a serious injury or death occurs.

Dogs and owners can earn lower levels and dogs can even be declared no
longer potentially dangerous.

2. Encourage spay/neuter and support funding for free or low cost
spay/neuter.

90% of fatal dog attacks are by dogs that have not been
spayed/neutered: There is not a single case of a fatal dog attack by
a spayed/neutered pit bull type dog (National Canine Research
Council);

81% of dogs involved in bite incidents were not spayed/neutered (Texas
2002 Severe Animal Attack and Bite Surveillance Summary)

3. Mandate spay/neuter for:

Dogs adopted from shelters or rescues or sold by pet stores or online

Dogs impounded more than once after being found at-large or off-leash

Dogs declared potentially dangerous or dangerous

Dogs owned by felons

4. Ban tethering or chaining dogs (also a popular technique by dog
fighters to make the dogs more aggressive; the CDC has found tethered
or chained dogs are 2.8 times more likely to bite)

Lawrence County, Kansas, adopted an anti-tethering ordinance. From
2005 to 2006, the number of calls concerning cruelty and dog fighting
dropped from 800 to 260. Officials attribute the decline in large part
to the anti-tethering law.

The USDA and even the AVMA has said tethering dogs is inhumane.

5. Pass and enforce strong at large or leash laws or enforce such
laws and encourage micro chipping

82% of dog bites occur as a result of dogs that are running loose
(JAVMA, September 15, 2000)

After passing a leash law, the city of Portsmouth, New Hampshire,
reported a 35% drop in dog bites.

6. Address through strong laws and education the problem of animal
cruelty

Well over half (61%) of fatal dog attacks are by dogs who were not
humanely controlled, or who had in some way been abused or neglected
(Delise, Fatal Dog Attacks: The Stories Behind the Statistics))

7. Offer free or low cost training and education about the
importance of socializing dogs early and making them part of the family.

81% of dogs involved in fatal dog attacks were isolated and not part
of the family (Delise, Fatal Dog Attacks: The Stories Behind the
Statistics))

8. Pass and enforce strong dog fighting laws that make all aspects
of dog fighting illegal and include bonding and forfeiture provisions;
organize a dog fighting task force

9. Require dog breeders to register or obtain licenses, limit
breeding by age and numbers, ban breeding for aggression and fighting,
ban the sale of dogs in pet stores and along roadsides, street corners
or sidewalks; require inspections of breeders' facilities and track
sales of dogs by breeders.

10. Stop the cultural glorification of violence especially involving
pit bull type dogs.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[nomorenomore08]

1. Some of the friendliest dogs I've ever met have been pit bulls.

Yes, due to genetics they're very well-muscled and rather fierce-looking, but if raised correctly they're virtually harmless.

[SallyMander]

4. Yup - I have some friends with a Katrina rescue pit bull

He looks *rough* -- he is HUGE, and was chained outside most of his life, so he has many scars, etc. But he is just the sweetest most mellow dog ever.

[nomorenomore08]

9. Interestingly enough, purebred pit bulls tend not to be that big, maybe 40-50 pounds.

If they're massively bigger than that, then their bloodlines have probably been crossed with a larger breed like a rottweiler or akita. Someone I know has a pit bull/akita mix that's probably 80-90 pounds, with a head the size of a bear's.

[SallyMander]

11. I bet this guy is 60-70 lbs

That's just a guess though -- but he is SOLID! Such a sweet dog though.

[RebelOne]

21. I had a purebred pit that was 93 pounds.

He had no characteristics of any other breed. He looked like pure pit bull.

[nomorenomore08]

22. Yeah, not all purebreds are "standard" weight for their breed. I was just speaking generally.

nt

[sammythecat]

16. That's good to hear.

If he's with your friends, then he's safe and secure I'm sure. Much better off than with the previous owners. There's just way too many irresponsible people in charge of animals and children, and it's sad.

In my utopia there'd be a panel of preternaturally wise people in charge of granting licenses to people who wanted to have children or pets. If the applicants failed to be licensed, they could try again after completing courses of instruction and counseling.

[SallyMander]

27. Haha... that sounds good

Yup, I would say this pooch is a million times better off now! His new family just dotes on him, and he gets walks to the dog park every day. The hilarious thing is, he's scared of the smaller dogs! :rofl:

[LeftyMom]

2. That's a great summary of the real issues behind dog bites.

Oh, and :popcorn:

[SallyMander]

5. I thought so too

Especially the points about tethering, and the dog not being part of the family -- i'm a dorky evolutionary biologist, so it REALLY ticks me off when people fail to remember that dogs are pack animals. Their behaviors all make sense in that context.

Oh, and don't forget the :beer: to go with your :popcorn:

:rofl:

[LeftyMom]

8. I'm just bringing the popcorn.

When flvegan shows up I'll steal his beer. :D

[SallyMander]

12. LOL - I hope he brings something good

I'm thirsty! :D

[TZ]

3. VERY heavy handed

I think maybe people should concentrate on cracking down on the puppy mills, breaking up and prosecuting people who deal in dog fighting (even the spectators) AND making sure leash laws are obeyed.
I fail to see how this is at all legal.

[SallyMander]

6. I totally agree

This is just a bunch of BS that doesn't target the real problem. People will still keep -- and fight -- pit bulls, they'll just be in even worse conditions than they currently are. :(

[Oeditpus Rex]

7. I thought this had to be some kind of joke

so I googled "Ohio H.B. 568."

http://www.legislature.state.oh.us/bills.cfm?ID=127_HB_568



I'm no fan of pit bulls, but this is severely fucked up.

[SallyMander]

10. Thanks for the link

I should have included that -- i did the same thing when i first read this, because it seemed so crazy!!!

[guitar man]

13. well, after all, it's for the children

I mean, any children allowed to be in close proximity with pit bulls are in danger....MORTAL DANGER I TELL YOU !!11!1!1!!



:rofl:

[SallyMander]

14. I love that pic!

What a great expression -- "Dad, this ride is BROKEN!" :rofl:

[guitar man]

15. thanks :)

It's one of my favorites too. I remember that day well. That dog played and played with that baby for hours and finally she just wore out and had to have a nap. Baby girl was still going strong though :D

[flvegan]

17. Another brainless, feeble attempt at legislation

Morons.

Screams "unconstitutional" to me.

[guitar man]

18. yep, I agree

let's all have a knee-jerk reaction to a loosely defined "breed" of dog because they look scary and the press says they're bad....good grief :eyes:

[XemaSab]

19. That's stupid

There isn't even such a breed as a "pit bull."

Pippi is a cattle dog, and bull terrier is one of the breeds that went into making the cattle dog breed, in addition to dalmation, dingo, and about 5 other things. :shrug:

[flvegan]

20. Yup, might as well say "ban all Molosser descendants"

And good luck with that.

[SallyMander]

25. I had never heard the term Molosser

Wiki says it includes boxers too -- good luck getting rid of those around here! For some reason Columbus is crazy with boxers!

:hi:

[SallyMander]

26. Seriously...

I think the OH reps need a good biology lesson...


:hi:

[uppityperson]

53. Short haired big headed dog.

Preferably white, but grey will work, sometimes black. Big head a necessity, and short hair. Stupid people, stupid law, good summary about dogs.

[mikeytherat]

23. "Pit Bull? Never heard of that. This is an American Staffordshire Terrier."

"Now please go fuck yourself, officer."

mikey_the_rat

[SallyMander]

24. LOL

:thumbsup:

[CreekDog]

28. Our new congressperson, Jackie Speier tried to pass restrictions on Pit Bulls

while in the CA legislature.

[SallyMander]

29. There are certain things i could understand

Like, i think here in OH people have to carry some extra insurance. This just seems WAY over the top, though!

:hi:

[Iris]

52. I know what you mean.

I'm not a fan of pit bulls at all. I can't walk my own dog because I live in a metro area where people who don't need them have them. I think a good solution is a larger license fee and extra insurance. Surely people who truly love pit bulls would understand this is a way to protect the dogs from a bad situation.

[lizerdbits]

30. I think they did this in Prince George's County in MD

Showed up, took the dogs and killed them. If someone tried to take my pet (barring me mistreating or endangering said pet) let's just say you might hear about it on the news.

[SallyMander]

34. Seriously!

I was thinking about this -- I think if they passed this, and i had pits, i would send them off to my mom in Massachusetts or something. No WAY would anyone come in here and take my pooches!!! :grr:

I can't believe this really happened somewhere else... i will have to look into that.

[TZ]

36. I don't think they actually took dogs away

But they did ban ownership of them..so if you had one okay but I believe you had to register the ones already around.

[dark blue]

31. pit bulls

how does it feel to live in nazi amerika? if we, the people don't stand up and say enough is enough, whose to say the "gestapo" won't be coming for your kids, next! a pit bull is a dog....and any dog can be turned into a biter, so soon they'll be going after all dogs and probably cats too. they scratch!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

33. Welcome to DU, my dear dark blue!

Enjoy yourself in our crazy, very addictive little village!

:hi:

[SallyMander]

41. Word! LOL

And hey, welcome to DU! :hi:

[MrScorpio]

32. So basically, he wants to violate the Fifth and Sixth Amendments

Don't tell me, he's a Republican, right?

[johnnie]

43. Unfortunately, no

http://www.house.state.oh.us/jsps/MemberDetails.jsp?DISTRICT=33

[SallyMander]

44. Yeah... bummer

:(

[DarkTirade]

35. What teh eff?

:wtf:

[SallyMander]

47. Seriesly

My thoughts exactly!

:hi:

[Ptah]

37. Is there any support for this among his colleagues?

That does sound like a very bad idea.

[SallyMander]

45. I don't know...

I'm going to look into it more tomorrow... I'll post an update if i find anything!

:hi:

[Captain Hilts]

38. They're used to protect drug labs. nt

[SallyMander]

48. Well... maybe some of them

But others are really good dogs and beloved family pets. :shrug:

[Marrah_G]

60. This is true

My former spouse is in law enforcement and when the children were young they were never allowed to approach strange dogs, but the warning was especially so for pit bulls, and even more so if my ex was in uniform. The gangs here had taught the pits to go after the uniform.

However we also know some incredibly gentle and loving pits owned by friends.

It all comes down to who the owner with and if they have a clue about raising one of these breeds.

[Mutley]

39. Kill all teh pit bullz!!1

They iz terrists!!

[SallyMander]

46. Do they wear scarves like Rachel Ray?

:silly:

[Mutley]

67. Yes! Five of them.

One on their heads and one on each leg. :o

[yellowdogintexas]

40. well, hope it doesn't pass. I had some good links about this sort of thing

but it is too late for me to hunt them down tonight. When I come back on tomorrow maybe I will have them
along with some new photos of my daughter's bully breed dog.

Mr Clown himself.

[SallyMander]

42. Dog pics!

Now you have to post 'em!

I'll be interested to see the links too. :hi:

[yellowdogintexas]

51. I will scan them in tomorrow, since they are prints from film.

and hunt down the links. One of them is a quiz, to guess which dog IS the pitbull.

I am very fond of my daughter's dog. However I am glad he no longer lives in my house, mostly because my cats hated him. I really like dogs but don't like living with them.

[DBoon]

49. They want to make my pit bull away

they'll have to tear the chewy toy out of her mouth first!

[astonamous]

50. We could solve a lot of problems by banning stupid people and bad dog owners...

http://www.pryorsplanet.com/0/786990/0/1101

[JCMach1]

54. The most evil dogs I have ever met were pit bulls

This was when I was a kid. They always seemed to have a particular compulsion to try to eat little boys. I have been chased and nearly bitten on many occasions.

Thank God most of the time I was a little kid I was protected by my loyal German Shepherd.

[TZ]

56. The most evil dog I knew as a child was a German Shepard

Terrorized the neighborhood chased and BIT children. I remember huddling on the roof of a car as that dog circled growling at me and a friend.
Its not breed thats the problem..its individual dogs/owners.

[JCMach1]

61. This is a circular argument, but the owners in question were 'good' owners

This breed and other potentially agressives are outlawed here. Monetary liability is also enforced for those owners who don't keep their animals in check. Literally, their passports will be held until they pay the damages after a court ruling for dog bite. That system works much better as it puts the blame FIRMLY on the negligent owner.

[AngryOldDem]

55. Should ban the owners of these animals.

They're the ones (obviously) who are creating the problems.

We've had a lot of problems here with pit bull fighting, breeding, and attacks on children and others. It's the assholes who own these dogs, and not the dogs themselves, who are to blame.

[Marrah_G]

59. Its not even just the fighting dogs.. I'll expand on your post

It is clueless people who choose breeds they know nothing about, simply for status or looks, with no training on how to deal with a large breed that can be deadly. They baby these animals, let the animal think they are in charge, and then the possibility of disaster increased greatly.

[BarenakedLady]

57. That's horrible.

:mad:

[Marrah_G]

58. I think anyone wishing to own a large breeds that are known to be dangerous should...

... have to take a course first. They should be licensed to own these dogs and taught how to properly care for and train these animals.

In most cases the animal is not the problem, the owner is. These owners get these dogs, allow them to think they are the Alpha, baby them and give them no discipline, or abuse them.

My guy just adopted a very unruly 8 month old Golden Retriever. He then proceed to train ME....so that I wouldn't do things to make the dog think he was higher in the pecking order then I was.

Dogs are domesticated predators that can easily revert back to their wild state under the right circumstances. Humans need to understand that if they own an animal that can be lethal then they damn well better get trained to raise that animal properly.

(its early... still working on the first coffee...my post might be a bit rambling)

[SallyMander]

62. Wish i could K&R your post

Two :thumbsup: :thumbsup:


I said this upthread, but it drives me NUTS when people get dogs without understanding (1) the basic evolutionary history of dogs as pack animals, and (2) the artificial selection that has gone on for breeds. So many of their behaviors (and behavioral problems!) can be explained in the context of pack hierarchy. As for breeds, there are so many people here with tiny apartments who get weimaraners because they "look cool." Argh! That breed was designed to be running with hunters (on HORSEBACK) all day! Unless they have a *very* active owner, they are soon going to be acting up and driving anyone crazy.

Anyway, I also apologize for the ramble. :D :rant:

[RebelOne]

63. I own a Rottweiler, classified as a dangerous dog.

She is the second Rottie I have owned. And I have had no problem caring for and training them. My present Rottie knows I am the Alpha and so did my deceased Rottweiler. And you couldn't ask for any sweeter dogs. I received a Chihauhau for Mother's Day from my son. Now that dog is going to be a problem. She is a wild child. But she is only 8 weeks old.

[dark blue]

64. thanks for the welcome!

i think i'm going to like it just fine here, being an escapee from a dim one! LOL!

[Marrah_G]

66. Sounds like you did great and really knew your dogs

I love big dogs. Can't stand the little ones. My gripe is that far to many people get them without any understanding of the nature of the breed or how to correctly interact with them so they do not end up dangerous. They think " oooo that dog looks cool" and in the end either the dog or a person pays. If you do this with a chihauhau someone might get nipped, but I feel pretty safe in saying most people could win a fight against one.

My guy raised his Malamutes ( they are all gone now, sadly). Gorgeous breed....but with extremely strong personalities. They have to know who is boss or they can be dangerous. I loved those dogs but I was always well aware of what they could do and that I needed to be above them in the pack.

He has a Golden retriever puppy now....8 months...like a toddler with ADD. Crazy thing needs constant attention and stimulation and with Fetch (retrieve) for hours, even multiple items at once. Hopefully the pool will tire him out this summer.

[B3Nut]

65. Oh for cryin' outside...

not Yates again...IIRC he's tried to pull this stunt before. Round 'em all up and kill 'em...yeah, that'll solve all our problems...sure it won't. My god he's an idiot...

My pit bulls fart in his general direction!