Deadly dogs

How awful for the pet owner. Can't even imagine how terrible to experience this. A Yorkshire terrier (adorable, fluff balls) being walked by his owner on a leash, was attacked and killed by two pit bulls off leash in the Columbus Polaris area (heard on radio, don't have link). The pit bulls have been put down. I know those of you who have pit bulls love them and claim they are gentle, but they have been bred to attack and kill if they perceive a prey or a threat. All dogs will bite, but some have the strength and jaws to be lethal.

When I tried to find a link, I was horrified by the number of stories about Yorkies being killed by pit bulls that came up for different states and years.

New magazine, Cesar's Way

Today I bought a copy of Cesar’s Way, a first issue journal, for my collection. It promotes the Dog Whisperer, Cesar Millan, a program I’ve watched a few times on cable. Until I glanced through it, I didn’t realize he had such a love affair with pit pulls. They are everywhere in this magazine. The photo that really disturbed me was on p. 19: Halle Berry in Miami Beach playing with a neighbor’s dog--a pit bull. The toddler in the photo appears to be her daughter, but children shouldn’t be encouraged to play with strange dogs. ALL DOGS WILL BITE--they especially will bite children whose actions they don’t understand or which appear threatening to them. If Cesar has pit bulls and trusts them, fine, but this magazine encourages their selection as pets for families, and that's dangerous for your neighborhood.

According to the Examiner.com, only Ohio has a breed specific dog law singling out pit bulls, and it is considering legislation (H.B. 79) that would keep them from being labeled inherently vicious. But in Lucas County (Toledo) where Ohio State Representative Barbara Sears, who is from suburban Toledo, introduced the bill, over 1350 pit bulls were picked up in 2007.

According to DVM360.com, other states are considering breed specific bills. In Montana, House Bill 191 seeks to prohibit the ownership, harboring, or keeping of dogs described as pit bulls. The legislation considers pit bulls to include Staffordshire Bull Terriers, American Staffordshire Terriers and "any dog that has the physical characteristics of a pit bull.

In Oregon, H.B. 2852, introduced in March, would require pit bull owners to have $1 million in insurance to cover any economic or non-economic damages that result from physical injury or any damage their dog causes to personal or real property. Of course, what insurance company would do that?

Hawaii Senate Bill 79 would prohibit the ownership, possession or sale of pit bulls in the state.

A New Mexico bill introduced in February would have automatically labeled pit bulls and Rottweilers as dangerous. Under current law there, any owner of a dog deemed to be dangerous must be spayed or neutered, microchipped and registered each year.

Many dog shelters are overrun with pit bulls. Nice pit bulls exist, says Sharon Harmon, Oregon Humane Society executive director, but "you can't escape the fact that it's a dog bred to kill."