The future of our dogs....
For people in Santa Clara County, California:
County Supervisor Ken Yeager is trying to get an ordinance passed that Pit Bulls must be spayed and neutered. This will be presented at the County meeting on tomorrow August 10th. If passed, this would apply to unincorporated areas of Santa Clara county. While we believe spaying and neutering is important to keep down the number of homeless pets, this ordinance will make it difficult for low income families to comply to this who can't afford these services. This brings about the potential for people to lose their dogs in addition to the fact that it's breed specific legislation, isolating one breed. Education on socializing/training and low/no cost programs for spay/neuter are far more helpful.
I feel that this was a knee jerk reaction to the Concord incident. Here's why I have a problem with that. Issues in the Concord situation:
1.Dog/child supervison seemed to be lacking.
2. Male dogs not neutered contained in a garage.
3 .Level of socialization was questionable in this case due to the fact that they were in the garage. Well socialized dogs are living in homes with their families...not the garage.
4.The man knew his dog was uncomfortable around kids.
5. In his interview from jail he specifically stated that his lack of knowledge about dog behavior is what caused this. That is apparent.
= not a specific breed's fault.
Another thing that bothers me is that I'm a dog trainer by trade. Just this last month there was a German Shepard that damaged a 17 yr old boy's leg. I'm assuming if he was 2 he would have been killed. This never made the papers and the boy's father was forgiving in this situation.
Another case this month was a Golden Retriever that bit a child in the arm damaging tendons causing disability. I hate to bring these things up but this was also never reported in the papers.
I see cases like these and the situations have similar circumstances such as above in all cases. NONE of the items have anything to do with breed......but species....humans.
Please contact:
Supervisor Don Gage - District 1
408-299-5010
don.gage@bos.sccgov.org
Supervisor George Shirakawa - District 2
408-299-5020
George.Shirakawa@bos.sccgov.org
Supervisor Dave Cortese - District 3
408-299-5030
dave.cortese@bos.sccgov.org
President/Supervisor Yeager - District 4
408-299-5040
ken.yeager@bos.sccgov.org
Supervisor Liz Kniss - District 5
408-299-5050
liz.kniss@bos.sccgov.org
Posts
I faxed my letter to the County Board of Supervisors today; I was assured by the receptionist that it would be read at the board meeting. The fax number for the Clerk of the Board's office is 408-298-8460. Please speak up about this and let the Board know that discriminatory laws such as these do not enhance public safety!
ReplyDeleteI agree except on one point. The point that it will be difficult for low income families to comply. Frankly I feel that if a family cannot afford a dog, they should not have it. If they can't afford to spay/neuter their pets, do you think they will have money to take to the vet regulary?
ReplyDeleteGood point. I think this is why there needs to be more programs in place. I do know that a simple law won't handle it though.
ReplyDelete@Keri - Just an FYI, I was at the Board of Supervisor's meeting and letters were not read at the meeting. They are usually forwarded to the Policy Aid of each Supervisor that does the work on the particular ordinance. Then the Policy Aid will review everything and make recommendations to the Supervisor he or she works with.
ReplyDeleteLetters, faxes and phone calls voicing opposition are desperately needed from Santa Clara residents as there are more effective ways of dealing with public safety issues.
Supervisor Don Gage - District 1
408-299-5010
don.gage@bos.sccgov.org
Supervisor George Shirakawa - District 2
408-299-5020
George.Shirakawa@bos.sccgov.org
Supervisor Dave Cortese - District 3
408-299-5030
dave.cortese@bos.sccgov.org
President/Supervisor Yeager - District 4
408-299-5040
ken.yeager@bos.sccgov.org
Supervisor Liz Kniss - District 5
408-299-5050
liz.kniss@bos.sccgov.org
this incident happened a week after the two year old boy was mauled to death in your area. A little boy was mauled to death in this incident as well BUT You don't see the breed until the last few lines. Also the media barely covered this story.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/jul/31/dog-mauls-toddler-death-tierrasanta/
Thanks for the info., ForPitsSake. I will send another letter directly to the Supervisor who represents my district. The first one I sent was faxed to the Board of Supervisors and I got the following response from Supervisor Yeager:
ReplyDelete"Dear Keri: Thank you for sharing your feedback regarding the referral I brought to the Board of Supervisors yesterday. The Board approved my referral, which is the first step in the process, allowing the county staff to begin research and gather information...in the development of possible policy options..."
We have our work cut out for us.
Recently an older man was killed by a male and female Pit Bull. The dog belonged to someone living on the property and they got out. No one saw it happen so couldn't help him. Our local paper did not splash the headlines with the fact that these were Pit Bulls but when the internet got wind of it they did make sure to headline PIT BULLS. I have not seen any requests for BSL in my area because of it.
ReplyDeleteCIndy