Help Me, Help Me, Help Me!!!!

[savethebulliedbreeds]

I live in Saskatchewan, Canada. So far there is not a problem with breed banning. Until today!

I opened up the paper to see a letter to the editor from a member of our community wanting breed banning.

I would like to also put a letter in the paper telling everyone what he is saying is wrong. Please help me with suggestions!

Thanks in advance.

This is what he had wrote:

"In the Regina Leader Post of Dec 27, 2006 there is a report from Hamilton, Ont, where two Rottweiler dog viciously attacked a two-year-old boy on Christmas day. It is reported the boy's ears were ripped off and his cheek was gaping open. What a sad story, especially on Christmas day.

In February of 2006, a German Shepherd dog mauled a five-year-old in Calgary. The boy needed 196 stitches to his head, face and neck in order to repair the damage and save his life. Another tragedy.

There are a number of these kinds of attacks reported each year in the papers, radio and T.V., where children are mauled by large dogs of different breeds. Those attacks are devastating and in a few cases, result in death.

Everytime I read about these kinds of tragic incidents, I wonder when goverments, federal, provincial, civic and local authorities are going to take measure to bring forth some form of legislation to ban those types of large vicious dogs in our towns and cities.

I know there are arguments on both sides of the issue, and some will say that it's not the fault of the dog, and then maybe the owners are responsible. When I read these kind of reports, I don't think there needs much debate as to what needs to be done.

For those that may have strong arguements against banning large, vicious dogd, just think what you would do if it happens to your son or daughter who experiencedc such a trauma with all the pain and suffering. What would your answer be then.

There are already a number of governments, cities and towns in Canada and the US that have some form of legislation banning most large vicious dogs regardless of breed.

Let out fathers act now, before such a tragedy his our community.

SUGGESTIONS PLEASE.........OR INFORMATION!!!!!!!!!

 

[bubbatd]

I wish you luck !!!

 

[skyeboxer]

You might find some interesting statistics on this website:http://www.fataldogattacks.com/

And also good info here:http://www.hsus.org/pets/pet_care/dog_care/stay_dog_bite_free/index.html

Combining the two you may have the start of your letter pointing out that breed statistics in fatal dog attacks are flawed, sensationalised and skewed. Even the CDC has gone to great lengths to emphasize that in the majority of cases the fault is of irresponsible owners.

You could go on using information from the second site to propose ways the community can work together to educate owners, parents and children in the training, handling and daily care of dogs to prevent dog attacks.

 

[skyeboxer]

I found you something else. Look at this url:

http://www.staffords.co.uk/sbtbc/bsl.htm

It is inviting anyone who is fighting BSL in their own country to contact their press person for support and material.

 

[Novel_Weims]

I would enlist the help of the many anti-BSL organizations out there. They'll help you get the word out, because it is always easier to prevent legislation than change it once it is enacted.

 

[Bahamutt99]

One of my favorite articles. Hopefully it will help you with talking points: http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/articles/060206fa_fact

 

[BostonBanker]

It was a textbook dog-biting case: unneutered, ill-trained, charged-up dogs, with a history of aggression and an irresponsible owner, somehow get loose, and set upon a small child. The dogs had already passed through the animal bureaucracy of Ottawa, and the city could easily have prevented the second attack with the right kind of generalization—a generalization based not on breed but on the known and meaningful connection between dangerous dogs and negligent owners. But that would have required someone to track down Shridev Café, and check to see whether he had bought muzzles, and someone to send the dogs to be neutered after the first attack, and an animal-control law that insured that those whose dogs attack small children forfeit their right to have a dog. It would have required, that is, a more exacting set of generalizations to be more exactingly applied. It’s always easier just to ban the breed.

I thought that deserved repeating.

 

[savethebulliedbreeds]

Thanks for the help everyone. I wrote something up. I will post it as soon as I get home tonight and you can let me know what you all think. Thanks again.

 

[savethebulliedbreeds]

Here's The Rough Copy

Here is the rough copy. Please let me know what you think. Thank you.

P.S. I found the car bit on a site and thought it was good lol.

Dear Editor,
I am writing this in response to the letter printed in last week regarding breed banning.
First I would like to define what I think the meaning of "vicious dog." To me and most people, it means ANY dog that lunges, bites or attacks a human. If this is the case, how is it that only large breeds, in some peoples eyes are deemed vicious. Is it because a smaller breed usually does less damage? What does that really matter though? A bite is a bite.
Breed banning is, by no means, a reasonable solution to preventing dog attacks. The majority of dogs that bite are owned by irresponsible owners. If you ban the breed they have, isn't it pretty easy for that person to get any other breed and own it irresponsibly also?
Any dog, not properly trained and sociallized can bite a human. I once read an article of a child being attacked by a Border Collie. Should we ban all medium sized dogs? I don't think so. I also read an article of an infant being killed by a Pomeranian, a toy breed. Should we ban all small and toy breed dogs? Of course not. It would not be reaonable. So why is it that banning large breed dogs isn't? The people it would directly affect are the 99.9% of us that are utterly innocent, responsible dog owners. Sure ban certain breeds, but what will it help? There will always be a new breed climb to the top of the, so called, "aggresive dogs" list. Will they be banned next?
Here is something to think about. You are a sheriff in your town. You learn that Toyotas were disproportionatly involved in more accidents than any other car. Would you ban that make of car or would you arrest the irresponsible drivers, that owned the vehicle and caused the accident? If you banned Toyotas and those people who owned Toyotas went out and bought Hondas, would you then ban Hondas? If you now have banned Toyotas and Hondas would you then ban all models ending in "a" such as Kias & Mazdas? If so, how would you deal with the car brands that end in the sound of "a", such as Chevrolet? Or maybe the vehicles causeing the most accidents were red. Would you ban red vehicles?
How would the government obtain the expertise to correctly identify dogs, (purebred or mixed breed) of these breeds? It is difficult to correctly identify a mixed breed dog. Even for people very experienced. Would you ban only purebred, large breed dogs. If so, that would also be nearly impossible, because the majority of these dogs are not registered as purebred and therefore legally are not purebred. The remaining purebreds are usually owned by breeders or responsible owners that show their dogs at competitions or work their dogs. Dogs placed in show rings and agility competitions have training and have been socialized. But any responsible pet owner will train and socialize the dog so the dog behaves as it should. It is not the dog or the breed that is the problem. It is the owners.
Many of the breeds on banning lists are used in certain lines of work. They help people. German Shepherds and Rottweilers are used as police dogs. American Pit Bull Terriers and American Staffordshire Terriers are used as drug detection and therapy dogs. Why is it, these so called, vicious dogs can work with humans all day long and not cause any problems? Because they were properly trained and socialized.
There are many alternatives to breed banning. Make it manditory for people with these breeds to have their pet spayed or neutered. An altered dog is far less likely to become aggresive than an intact one. Have people that own these dogs take a course on properly caring for, raising, sociallizing and training their dog.
I would do these things if it meant being able to have the breed I love in my home.
According to the American Temperment Test Society, American Pit Bull Terriers, American Staffordshire Terriers and German Shepherds scored the same in their temperment tests as the Golden Retriever, with the Rottweiler scoring only .5% under the Golden. Those breeds also scored higher than the Border Collie, Samoyed and Miniature Schnauzer.
I, myself own an American Staffordshire Terrier. A breed that has been banned in many other places. Not once would I think twice about letting him near a child. He was trained as a therapy dog and has been taken to the park many times. Not once has he even looked at another child, adult or dog wrong. How fair is it for me to have the right to own this dog taken away. He has never caused any harm. Just like most other owners.
If you would like more information on breed banning and how it doesn't work or would like to learn more about Bully Breeds, please feel free to visit my website. http://savethebulliedbreeds.tripod.com
Jaclyn Schultz
Swift Current

 

[shadowfacedanes]

I would also site sources for your statements..such as the pom killing the child. Provide the link or web address for that story so that they can see that it is an actual occurence.


Here is a bit of text made by the CDC that may be of some value to you:

When a specific breed of dog has been selected for stringent control, 2 constitutional questions concerning dog owners’ fourteenth amendment rights have been raised: first, because all types of dogs may inflict injury to people and property, ordinances addressing only 1 breed of dog are argued to be underinclusive and, therefore, violate owners’ equal protection rights; and second, because identification of a dog’s breed with the certainty necessary to impose sanctions on the dog’s owner is prohibitively difficult, such ordinances have been argued as unconstitutionally vague, and, therefore, violate due process.

 

[Maxy24]

that's great and i love your website!

 

[RedyreRottweilers]

Most of the time if you can find the stats on other child injury deaths in your area, this is a powerful argument against knee jerk BSL in response to dog bite injury deaths.

You are more likely, statistically, to die in your bathtub than you are to die from a dog bite injury.

MANY more children die from parental abuse every year than EVER do from dog bite injury.

I urge you to join the Pet Law list immediately, they can advise you on what to do and how to carry out a proactive campaign in your area against BSL.

http://www.pet-law.com/

 

[MafiaPrincess]

There's a very good possibility at that length they will chop up your letter. On another site, when bsl was coming into place in Ontario, many people wrote letters. London Ont was classic for the pitty hating attitude of the press.

They chopped up a few people's letters so badly that they went from anti bsl to pro bsl... Not by changing their words but by removing sentences.

You may want to see what the accepted word count is and try really hard to stay within that. You don't want to give an excuse to have them change what you mean.

 

[MissMosaic]

99.9% of us that are utterly innocent, responsible dog owners

I wish that were true... .. But there are in fact more irrisponsable/ignorant dog/pet owners out there then people that are knowlegable..

I really liked your letter to the editor... I think it'll make them second guess their reasons to ban rotties, shepherds, pitties etc...
How about they ban somthing that kills more people everyday then murder, like cigarettes..

 

[savethebulliedbreeds]

Thanks everyone.

RedyreRottweilers: I will try and find some good statistics. Thanks for suggestion.

MafiaPrincess: I am going to be checking with the paper on Monday to see how long it can be. I'm pretty sure it will be just fine considering we live in a small community and there is really never much for them to write about lol.

 

[savethebulliedbreeds]

Im wondering where I could find accurate statistics. I googled it and didn't really have any luck. Remember I'm Canadian.

 

[DryCreek]

http://www.doglegislationcouncilcanada.org/home.html

http://www.goodpooch.com/MediaBriefs/GPcanineprimer.htm

http://0-www.cdc.gov.mill1.sjlibrary.org/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5226a1.htm

http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/publicat/chirpp-schirpt/11jul97/iss11d_e.html

http://www.bdnhumanesociety.com/calgary_solution.htm

http://www.cappdt.ca/public/jpage/1/p/PitBullStatement/content.do

http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/injury-bles/chirpp/injrep-rapbles/dogbit_e.html

http://72.14.203.104/search?q=cache:jO8-47LP4s0J:www.ovma.org/pdf/flawed_leg.pdf+Canadian+dog+bite+statistics&hl=en&gl=ca&ct=clnk&cd=19

 

[Alexa's~Mom]

I'm from Sask too, so you're not alone in this fight!