Pit bulls and the people who love them are breathing easier tonight now that the Elgin town council dumped the section of the new animal care and control ordinance that targeted the breed type. They will instead institute a licensing law, according to Steve Dale’s blog. The section of the ordinance dealing with dangerous dogs outlines stringent penalties, but does not include breed specific language.
Here’s the video report by Nancy Pender of Fox News. Look how well-attended that meeting was:
Pit Bulls are the topic and Elgin’s town council votes tonight. Tomorrow it could be your pit bull, german shepherd, doberman, or any dog those in power decide could be dangerous. Breed Specific Legislation (BSL) is a pox that is running through the fabric of cities and suburbs across the nation (and in other forms internationally). It has not served its purpose anywhere, not even in Denver which has had this medieval law on the books for decades to no effect – except to kill innocent dogs, dragging them from their homes leaving families broken-hearted. And no, these were not dogs that attacked anyone or had any bite record.
This article from the Daily Herald was brought to my attention by twitter pal @doggysmama, a resident of Elgin, who suggested a much bigger problem: Elgin can’t seem to deal with the “gangs of illegals” that have moved in to that city and are targeting the dogs is an attempt to quiet angry residents. Conjecture? Maybe. Maybe not.
The inequity is as clear as the onerous requirements laid at the feet of any person who owns a pit bull “type” dog. Whatever that is supposed to mean. No insurance company will insure a “dangerous dog” once it has been labeled as such, unless of course it’s an impossibly high premium to meet with a long list of restrictions on where and how the dog must be handled outside your four walls.
The other point I have to mention is the fact that, according to Steve Dale’s article linked at the beginning of this post, there’s someone visiting from Denver advising the town council on his experience in handling objections to this BSL travesty. There was a lawyer in that Denver panel who was actively soliciting cities and towns proclaiming that he could show them how to jam this through and get the law established. For a price, no doubt. And above the objections of the citizens. Isn’t that quite the recommendation? If anyone knows the Denver advisor’s name, please give me a shout?
Dale has a series of posts on Elgin and their BSL efforts against pit bulls–all great, factual and with other expert’s input if you’d like to gather some facts for your files…just in case your town is next.
How about you? Do you have any stories to relate on this issue?
News from the FDA this afternoon on this recall in its entirety. The original recall was February 11.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — Lincoln, NE, March 8, 2010 – Nature’s Variety has expanded its voluntary recall of Chicken Formula Raw Frozen Diets for dogs and cats to include the “Best If Used By” dates of 10/29/10 and 11/9/10 because these products may be contaminated with Salmonella. Salmonella can affect animals and there is risk to humans from handling contaminated pet products. People handling pet food can become infected with Salmonella, especially if they have not thoroughly washed their hands after having contact with the product or any surfaces exposed to these products.
Healthy people infected with Salmonella should monitor themselves for some or all of the following symptoms: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, abdominal cramping and fever. Rarely, Salmonella can result in more serious ailments, including arterial infections, endocarditis, arthritis, muscle pain, eye irritation, and urinary tract symptoms. Consumers exhibiting these signs after having contact with this product should contact their healthcare providers.
Pets with Salmonella infections may become lethargic and have diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, fever, or vomiting. Some pets may experience only a decreased appetite, fever, or abdominal pain. If your pet has consumed any of the affected products and is experiencing any of these symptoms, please contact your veterinarian.
The recall includes the following products with a “Best If Used By” date of 10/29/10 or 11/9/10:
Reporting over the weekend, the Chicago Tribune said activists are after commercial breeders as well as puppy mills. No surprise here, given that Chloe’s Law, written in Jan 2009 to deal with this problem, was gutted in the last quarter of the year due to pressure largely from a lobbying alliance between the AKC and NRA. Defining puppy mills will not be as easy as it should be. Commercialbreeders somehow believe they are not part of the problem.
Not long ago, a Chicago pet shop prosecuted protesters who allegedly became a little strident in their attempt to educate the public about the source of pet shop animals. Protesters accused the place of buying their dogs from puppy mills.
The owner took great exception to being portrayed as a seller of puppy mill puppies, proclaiming their shop bought from a USDA approved facility…as if that granted him a clean bill of health, especially in Illinois. There has been no activity in either suspended or revoked breeders licenses for the last five years; funds are not assigned for proper oversight. Continued…
Dog blogs, best of the week is a roundup of posts I’ve read and want to share with you, to be enjoyed during a moment of weekend leisure, or whenever you can steal a few minutes. Some are funny, some serious, but all are worth a look! If you see a post you feel is share-worthy, just send me the link in the comments and I’ll try to include it.
Amelia Glynnat SFGate’s pet blog Tails of the City posted her piece on the Pawscars, and there are plenty of movies sanctioned by American Humane designated no animals harmed, among them Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince as best newcomer, referring to the Neopolitan Mastiff who came from an abusive home only to blossom with all the kindness and attention received on set. The choice forbest chase scene was that from Hotel for Dogs when the most dogs ever in an American Humane approved film ran through the streets of the set. It took a couple of weeks of rehearsing–how about those smart rescue dog actors! Continued…
Here’s a fun video from the Rachel Maddow Show asking why dogs howl to certain music, using the Law and Order theme song as a prime example. It seems many dogs just can’t resist a good howl with this music in particular. Did those Law and Order theme song writers do this on purpose? While Maddow has some fun with this topic at the start of the video, she did call in canine behavior expert Robert Brandau who offered some interesting information about how dogs communicate and what howling is used for in wolf packs.
I don’t watch Law and Order, but now that I know so many dogs have this reaction to the music, I’ll have to tune in to see if Tashi is compelled to let out a primal woo-wooo howl or two ;)
Does your dog have a consistent howling reaction to anything in particular? Maddow is asking that you send along a video to rachel@msnbc.com and she’ll publish it. Continued…
Recently Stella & Chewy’s added a new flavor to their dehydrated line of freeze-dried raw food dog treats, and my dog got a taste of the Wild Alaskan Salmon Carnivore Kisses. Since I left the now sealed dog treats on the coffee table, and he watches where all his things go, Continued…
Dancing Dog Blog strives to keep you on the front edge of what’s happening in the world of Pets by constantly scouring old and new media for the most up to date reviews and news and putting it all together with insightful opinion and useful facts.
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Dog blogs, best of the week is a roundup of posts I’ve read and want to share with you, to be enjoyed during a moment of weekend leisure, or whenever you can steal a few minutes. Some are funny, some serious, but all are worth a look! If you see a post you feel is share-worthy, just send me the link in the comments and I’ll try to include it.![4397448206_e52aacc2e0_m[1]DancingDogBlog](http://www.dancingdogblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/4397448206_e52aacc2e0_m11.JPG "4397448206_e52aacc2e0_m[1]DancingDogBlog")
somewhat squeamish about raw food, even dog treats, given the perceived dangers. I had written briefly about Stella & Chewy’s brand when 
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