PIT NEWS..


4/22/09
--A documentary about pit bulls and BSL.  It should be released this summer.  It includes footage and interviews with people in Cincinnati.
http://www.beyondthemythmovie.com

--A pit bull helps police take down armed robbery suspect. KOCO's Wendell Edwards reports.
-- VICS dogs find new homes! check this out at
http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=4083676

--Indianapolis is campaigning against BSL legislation.  Please forward to any friends in Indy.
--A couple of youtube videos about BSL..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-BVIxS4mVU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqDnk3zGl-4

4/3/09
Last weekend at the Everything Pets Expo, Bark Ark Bully Rescue and BARK (Bullies Are Remarkable K-9's) obtained 325 signatures for our petition. In addition, the most effective thing to do is send in your personal call, email, fax!!! Have everyone you know do the same, this is the second or third time a bill like this has been proposed with minimal to no success.  EVERYONE absolutely has to speak up!! Scroll down to the news update from 3/24/09. There you will find the email addresses, phone and fax numbers you need. It's all right here in front of you, PLEASE make your voice heard!!

3/25/09  7:52 pm
Even more good news, actually great news...
SPCA doesn't want to house the non vicious pit bulls. So the city is a pickle. They do not have a facility to house the non vicious pit bulls which means they cannot enforce the ban!! Heres a link to the article.. http://www.wvxu.org/news/wvxunews_article.asp?ID=6243

3/24/09
I pasted this over from an email I recieved on 3/23/09

All-
1.  Florence City Council in Northern KY rejected any type of breed specific legislation at their March 17 meeting!! Good news!!  Thanks to those who attended the meeting.  Boone County's shelter director and Florence Police Chief do NOT support BSL!!!

2.  Even better news.....House Bill 79.

Steps to do:
a.  Read the bill.  HB 79 would amend § 955.11 of the Ohio Revised Code to remove "pit bulls" from the definition of "vicious dog" in state law.  View bill at

http://www.legislature.state.oh.us/bills.cfm?ID=128_HB_79_

b.  Write, call or fax to the Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee.  Contact info listed below.  I've bundled the email address's to make it quicker to email them all at once.

c.  Write, call or fax your local State Representative.  If you don't know who that is, check the website and enter zip code  
http://www.legislature.state.oh.us/

d.  Scroll down for sample letter from Best Friends website.  Edit, cut & paste portions of the letter or just write one sentence that asks for their support of HB 79.  The importance is that we have hundred's of emails, calls, faxes!!!!

e.  NOTE that there are NO representatives from Hamilton County/Cincinnati on this committee.  The closest Representative is from Butler Co. (53-Timothy Derickson).  Let's NOT FORGET the one State Representative, Tyrone Yates, who wanted to ban pit bulls from the ENTIRE STATE was from Cincinnati.  Speak up Cincinnati!!!


19 Members of the Agriculture and Natural Resource Committee
district95@ohr. state.oh. us
district96@ohr. state.oh. us
district01@ohr. state.oh. us
district91@ohr. state.oh. us
district93@ohr. state.oh. us
district80@ohr. state.oh. us
district99@ohr. state.oh. us
district98@ohr. state.oh. us
district53@ohr. state.oh. us
district58@ohr. state.oh. us
district94@ohr. state.oh. us
district61@ohr. state.oh. us
district97@ohr. state.oh. us
district85@ohr. state.oh. us
district90@ohr. state.oh. us
district27@ohr. state.oh. us
district77@ohr. state.oh. us
district81@ohr. state.oh. us
district79@ohr. state.oh. us

John Domenick
Phone: (614) 466-3735
Fax: (614) 719-6995
Email: district95@ohr. state.oh. us

Alan Sayre
Phone: (614) 466-8035
Fax: (614) 719-6996
Email: district96@ohr. state.oh. us

Linda Bolon
Phone: (614) 466-8022
Fax: (614) 719-6971
Email: district01@ohr. state.oh. us

Dan Dodd
Phone: (614) 466-2500
Fax: (614) 719-6991
Email: district91@ohr. state.oh. us

Jennifer Garrison
Phone: (614) 644-8728
Fax: (614) 719-6993
Email: district93@ohr. state.oh. us

Dennis Murray
Phone: (614) 644-6011
Fax: (614) 719-6980
Email: district80@ohr. state.oh. us

Deborah Newcomb
Phone: (614) 466-1405
Fax: (614) 719-6999
Email: district99@ohr. state.oh. us

Mark Okey
Phone: (614) 466-1464
Fax: (614) 719-3961
Email: district61@ohr. state.oh. us

Raymond Pryor
Phone: (614) 644-7928
Fax: (614) 719-6985
Email: district85@ohr. state.oh. us

W. Carlton Weddington
Phone: (614) 466-5343
Fax: (614) 719-3581
Email: district27@ohr. state.oh. us

Jeff Wagner
Phone: (614) 466-1374
Fax: (614) 719-6981
Email: district81@ohr. state.oh. us

Richard Adams
Phone: (614) 466-8114
Fax: (614) 719-3979
Email: district79@ohr. state.oh. us

Troy Balderson
Phone: (614) 644-6014
Fax: (614) 719-6994
Email: district94@ohr. state.oh. us

Terry Boose
Phone: (614) 466-9628
Fax: (614) 719-3958
Email: district58@ohr. state.oh. us

Timothy Derickson
Phone: (614) 644-5094
Fax: (614) 719-6953
Email: district53@ohr. state.oh. us

Matthew J. Dolan
Phone: (614) 644-5088
Fax: (614) 719-6998
Email: district98@ohr. state.oh. us

Dave Hall
Phone: (614) 466-2994
Fax: (614) 719-6997
Email: district97@ohr. state.oh. us

Margaret Ruhl
Phone: (614) 466-1431
Fax: (614) 719-6990
Email: district90@ohr. state.oh. us

James Zehringer
Phone: (614) 466-6344
Fax: (614) 719-3977
Email: district77@ohr. state.oh. us


Finally, please write to Representative Sears to thank her for sponsoring HB 79 and bringing their very important issue to the floor:

Barbara R. Sears ( R )
Representative
77 S. High St
10th Floor
Columbus, OH
43215-6111
Tel: (614) 466-1731
Fax: (614) 719-6946
Email: district46@ohr. state.oh. us


Here's the link from Best Friends:
http://network.bestfriends.org/stopbsl/news/32971.html

SAMPLE LETTER:

Dear

I am writing to ask that you support H.B. 79, introduced by Rep. Barbara Sears (R., Sylvania).

BSL is based on misinformation and ignorance, and therefore needs to be removed in Ohio. There is no such thing as a dangerous or aggressive dog, only dangerous and aggressive people. Dogs are a reflection of their people, and the way they have been treated and trained… nothing more, nothing less. Ill-intentioned people will continue
to act in this way until you target THEM. That is why you must go after the owners. If you don’t stop the problem at the correct end of the leash, the problem will never go away. Eradicating breeds will not increase the safety of any town or state.

Breed bans do not work and this has been proven in various European countries, as well as in the those parts of the US that have BSL.

Instead of BSL, please implement laws that promote responsible dog ownership and punish those that abuse, neglect, mistreat or who are in any way irresponsible. Implement generic dangerous dog laws that go after all dangerous and neglectful owners and dogs, no matter what the breed. This makes far more sense and is the only truly effective tool, as it will ensure that Ohio is TRULY safe and will not discriminate against innocent dogs and their responsible owners.

Breed specific ordinance does NOT result in a reduced number of dog bites nor effectively manage truly dangerous dogs. Rather than breed-discriminatory restrictions, Ohio should mirror good generic dangerous dog/reckless owner laws that exist elsewhere.

Some of these laws include regulations that:
• Enforce stricter consequences for dog fighting.
• Enforce stricter consequences for all types of dog abuse, neglect, mistreatment .
• Require residents to spay/neuter their pets.
• Effectively identify and manage truly dangerous owners and their dogs.
• Protect innocent dogs and responsible owners.
• Make it illegal to tether, chain or force a dog to live outside.
• Prevent reckless/irresponsible/abusive owners from having dogs.
• Implement laws which require dog owners to take a theoretical & hands-on course and pass an exam before getting a license that will allow them to own a dog.

You may be interested to know that in temperament tests, the three breeds that fall under the term “pit bull” scored an average of 85.7%. This is higher than the Golden Retriever.

AMERICAN PIT BULL TERRIER
85.3%

AMERICAN STAFFORDSHIRE TERRIER
83.9%

STAFFORDSHIRE BULL TERRIER
88.0%

AVERAGE
85.7%

GOLDEN RETRIEVER
84.6%

For more info please see: http://www.atts.org/about.html

• A study conducted by the American Veterinary Medical Association concluded that it is factors separate from a dog's breed that affect a dog's tendency to be aggressive

• In 2006, 97 percent of all dog related human fatalities in the United States involved unsterilized canines (National Canine Research Council).

• In Baltimore, Maryland, taxpayers spent an alarming $750,000 towards BDL in 2001.

• Breed profiling often fails. "Pit bull" is not a specific breed. It is a generic term that describes the American pit bull terrier, American Staffordshire terrier and Staffordshire bull terrier. The physical traits and characteristics of "pit bulls" are shared by approximately twenty-five (25) other breeds.

• Breed discriminatory laws cause unintended hardship to responsible owners of friendly dogs that happen to fall within the regulated breed category.

• Breed-discriminatory laws compromise public safety by requiring officers to enforce regulation on dogs that may or may not be dangerous, instead of investing resources into proven, effective tactics that make the community safer.

• A dog is an individual with its own personality. It should be judged on its temperament and not its appearance.

• Studies of pre and post breed ban dog-bite-rates in the United Kingdom and Spain concluded that their pit bull breed ban had no affect whatsoever on reducing dog bites.

• Consider having Humane Educators or volunteers speak to children and the public about the importance of treating animals kindly.

I urge you to please do the right thing and support H.B. 79 .

I look forward to hearing your response.

Yours sincerely,