Now in Los Angeles: If any dog chases a person it can be declared vicious and destroyed

[The Straight Story]

New Ordinance Changes Definition of 'Dangerous' Dog

LOS ANGELES -- Animal control officers will now have the power to seize and destroy a dog simply for chasing someone, under an ordinance agreed upon Tuesday by the Board of Supervisors.

Under a new amendment to existing dog regulations, animal control officers the right to declare a dog “vicious,” a designation that can potentially lead to the animal being euthanized.

The new measure is more stringent and less tolerant of so-called dangerous dogs and re-defines what is considered an aggressive dog.


http://www.ktla.com/news/landing/ktla-vicious-dog-ordinance,0,4042933.story

[Renew Deal]

1. What happens to people that chase dogs?

:shrug:

[sinkingfeeling]

2. So, I guess kids in LA can't play with their pet dogs any more. Yep, sure is the land of the free.

[MineralMan]

5. Uh, I don't believe that's what they had in mind.

I've been chased by an aggressive dog on more than one occasion. It's not amusing at all. I've also gone out with my baseball bat to rescue a neighbor's kid from a dog who chased her, then cornered her. That dog died. The kid's parents were grateful. The intent of this law is to deal with dogs that chase and menace people. It's a good law. It's not about a kid and his dog at all.

I have absolutely zero patience for aggressive dogs that are loose and able to chase people. Zero.

[emulatorloo]

9. DU is no longer capable of Rational Thought.

[sinkingfeeling]

10. Then they need to write a law that expresses that and not some generic one.

[MineralMan]

16. I didn't see the actual law or ordinance. Did you?

I imagine that it was written to cover a very specific set of circumstances. If you have a link to it, I'd love to go see it.

[MicaelS]

12. Agree 100%

Dogs outside their yard should be on a leash. If they're not, and they chase a human, then it's no one but the dog owners fault for the consequences. No matter if the police kill the dog, a person being threatened by the dog kills the dog, or a neighbor who kills a dog to prevent someone from getting mauled.

[Aerows]

15. Zero patience with aggressive dogs, here, too

I had one attempt to attack me, but luckily, my 100 lbs Doberman was with me. We were walking in the street, and a pit bull charged us for no reason. I shudder to think what could have happened had my own dog not been with me.

[TheManInTheMac]

24. I was a paperboy as a kid.

One of my customers' neighbors had a dog that would jump the chain link fence that separated their lawns and chase me. If I wasn't fast enough, he'd get my ankle. That kept up until I discovered workboots and taught the dog a lesson.

[MineralMan]

28. I was a milkman, back in 1962-3. I delivered milk to people's

homes very early in the morning before school started. Lots and lots of dogs out and not liking the guy in the white clothes. I finally bought a huge bag of dog biscuits and distracted them with those. Eventually, they'd be waiting for their treat instead of waiting to chase me. I never got bit, though.

[Codeine]

26. More like douchebags can't let their aggressive dogs terrorize people.

but parse it in whatever way most satisfyingly fuels your poutrage, dude.

[itsrobert]

3. Shame, shame, shame

n/t

[TwilightGardener]

4. I know a few perfectly friendly dogs who would have been put down, then. Asinine.

[JDPriestly]

21. Probably not. The dog would have to be reported.

Although there is an exception. A few years ago, so many dogs were allowed to roam outside yards in our area of LA that they were starting to form what appeared to be packs. The animal control ended that. And now going for a walk is a pleasure.

We go by certain houses and the dogs come and bark at us. They still have their fun. And so do we -- watching and greeting them. But we feel safe. And they are safe too.

[NeedleCast]

6. Just Gives the Power for a cop to shoot your dog

It's a justifiation for all the law suits police face when they kill an animal that is not bothering them. Does the cop actually have to see the chase, or can they just destory a pet based on someone saying they were chased?

[KamaAina]

13. In Oakland, the procedure is "ready, fire, aim!"

http://articles.sfgate.com/2010-10-01/bay-area/24106224_1_family-dog-police-shooting-officers

Mary Kate Hallock arrived at her Oakland hills home after running errands Tuesday and found a blue note fluttering on her front door.

"Oakland police responded to your residence to investigate a burglar alarm," the handwritten note read. "While circling the rear perimeter, lab advanced on officers in a threatening manner before being shot and killed."

"Lab" was Gloria, an 11-year-old, arthritic yellow Labrador Hallock's family had owned since she was a puppy. Oakland police shot Gloria three times with a 40-caliber Glock handgun in the family's backyard while responding to a false burglar alarm at the property. The dog, police said, growled and barked at them.

"I probably read that note 10 times," Hallock, an Oakland preschool teacher, said Thursday. "I was incredulous. Gloria's never bit anyone. She's just a gentle old dog, a classic Lab, always wagging her tail."

[undeterred]

7. Remind me never to visit there.

[RKP5637]

8. LA =

:puke:

[shraby]

11. As someone who is afraid of dogs, I consider this a good law.

It's terrifying enough to be barked at by a strange dog (large sized) but to be chased by one, I'd probably have a heart attack.
Maybe people will learn to keep their dogs in their yard, or in their house unless on a leash, or tied up. A loose dog is inviting trouble and often someone gets hurt.

[Aerows]

17. If house cats grew to 40 or 60 or even 100lbs

You would see people changing their tune quicker than lightning. My 10 pound cat is nothing to fool with. Neither is a 50 lbs dog. Pit bulls are in a class by themselves when it comes to attacking people, but any dog can be dangerous.

I had an obedience school, highly trained Doberman Pinscher. He was the sweetest dog on the planet towards the family, but if you are a stranger invading the territory he guarded? He was the meanest SOB you'd ever not want to meet.

[JDPriestly]

22. They do. And everyone, dogs included, are safer.

What good is a watch dog if it is roaming the streets?

And how would a dog-owner feel to find his/her dog lying in a busy city street after being run over by a car.

Leash laws in the city are good for pedestrians, car drivers, dog owners and dogs -- for everyone except the next-door-neighbors.

[Champion Jack]

14. What an amazing load of bullshit

[michaz]

18. I have been chased by dogs before when I have been walking my dog.

They wanted to play with my dog. They were not mean and managed to get out of their yard. Just because a dog chases a person does not always mean that the dog is mean. Often they simply like people and come to visit. That is exactly what mine would do if they got loose. They love people. And as far as shooting a dog because it got loose by accident and saying that is what the owners deserved simply because their dog got loose is plain wrong! So the dog should suffer for the owners mistake? I think not! How many of you have ever had one of your children get out of the yard? It happens. And it happens with dogs too.

[Aerows]

19. I've been charged by dogs before

while walking my dog, and it wasn't a friendly situation. You should never assume a charging dog is friendly, just like you should never assume a charging lion is just there to show you how pretty their fur is or how nice their roar sounds.

[JDPriestly]

20. Good. Just a few years ago my husband was bitten by a dog

who just jumped down from a garage, ran up to him and bit him on the leg. The dog did not even bark.

So, nothing against dogs that are under control, say in a yard or on a leash. Love 'em.

But we used to have a plague of dogs off the leash in our neighborhood. Animal control came by a couple of times and now we get an occasional dog that has managed to escape from behind a fence but not the groups of dogs we used to see.

For children and elderly people going for a walk, roaming dogs can be a real problem.

So, in our city this is a good rule.

[get the red out]

23. Some dogs will chase to get petted

That's what my dog does.

[Codeine]

27. And nobody is likely to report a dog seeking affection to the cops.

This allows actions to be taken against aggro dogs before they actually bite someone. It's a good idea.

[damntexdem]

25. If a person chases a dog, can the person be declared vicious and destroyed?

jus askin