Dog bill hits the mark

Last year a Georgia Democrat for Stone Mountain proposed a pit bull ban. Alison’s father voted for that idiot (he can’t stand republicans yet he still lives in Georgia?) but thankfully that law fizzled and since then a republican has sponsored a bill that is likely to pass into law which has nothing to do with banning pit bulls – rather it will protect them.

As the story states it’s pretty damn hard to catch dog fighters as you need to catch themin the act. Alison’s dad had told me that in one bust nearby the National Guard were used to assist as the local Sheriffs were actually participating in protecting the dog fights. I'm not agreeing with ALL the story as it is written but it talks about the new law and that is 100% - a step forward.

http://www.waltontribune.com/story.lasso?ewcd=7882e2e292a77a83
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Dog bill hits the mark
By Brian Arrington
The Walton Tribune

Published February 26, 2006
Kudos to state legislators who are getting rough on the sick and twisted who train dogs to fight each other.

Last week the state Senate passed the Animal Fighting Act 52-4. The measure now goes to the House for consideration.

The bill would make it a felony to train dogs to fight, to advertise or host fights and to bet on the fights themsleves.

Sponsored by state Sen. Chip Rogers, a Republican from Woodstock, the bill was unveiled after he learned a 3-year-old boy in his district was attacked by a trained-to-fightpit bull.

Dogfighting is already illegal in Georgia, but the way the law is written now, dogfighters can only be prosecuted if police catch them fighting dogs in the act.

You may remember my stance last year when I took aim at Earnest “Coach” Williams’ (D-Stone Mountain) legislation that would have required pit bulls and related breeds already in Georgia to be neutered and fully leashed and muzzled in public.

Then I said the Coach should go back to the drawing board because breed-specific legislation is not the way to address the pit bull — or any other breed’s — attacks or bites.

It is not the dog, but the dog owner who is to blame for such attacks.

Sure pit bulls are the canine world’s ultimate fighters. Their stong jaws, muscular frames and tenacious attitudes make them the perfect killing machines.

But somewhere inside any pit is a switch that can only be turned on by a dog owner through training.

In most cases, only when that switch is turned on is a pit bull dangerous to humans and other dogs.

That is why this latest round of legislation hits it right on the mark.

The dog should not be punished for something it is only doing because its human master trained it to do.

It should be the dog owner who is punished.

Rogers’ legislation would increase penalties for violators, who would face fines of $5,000 and up to five years in prison, according to published reports.

In Georgia, where thousands of pit bulls are bred each year for fighting, this legislation can only help deter the senseless and disgusting crime of dogfighting.

So remember, when you see a pit bull has attacked a child on the news, the dog is not to blame.

The only one to blame is the dog owner who allowed — and most likely encouraged — this incident to happen.

There should be more bills like this passed. It's about time someone is blaming the reckless and careless owners instead of the breed.

It sounds as if before writing the law some research was done in regards to dog behaviour . The mention that it is the owner that trains to dog to do whatever he wants it to do actually shows common sense was used.
The law maker actually did his job before creating a "knee-jerk" reaction type of law that is all too common around here .

In my opinion, there should be a dangerous dog act NOT a dangerous BREED act.

I have owned and rescued Pit Bulls for over 13 yrs now. Yes there are dangerous Pit Bulls out there. Just like there are dangerous Goldens. I rescued one once and actually found a home for (probably because she was a golden they were willing to work with her) who aggressively attacked with intent children and other dogs.

But I have to say with all the research I've done on the Breed, I wouldn't have any other breed hands down!

If raised and trained well, they are steady, loyal, and practically "bomb-proof". And by far the best family breed. Pit Bulls for centuries were bred to be dog fighters. Anyone who understands dog behavior knows that dog aggression and human aggression are 2 different things. And if one more dumb-ass says to me..."Yeah, but next it'll be children, they can't tell the difference." I will scream at the top of my lungs to the gods above to smite them because they are to dumb to live!! Yikes! Sorry about that! As you can see I'm a little...umm...passionate? And with my luck it'll probably be my mother in law who says it. :)

I mean "REALLY"!! Come on! Do you remember about 10 yrs ago the talk about how Dobes would all eventually turn on you and attack?? (A breed that I have also had and love) You never hear that kind of crap coming out of peoples mouths anymore because It's been proven as such. Oh and by the way, a breed that WAS bred to be human aggressive, (along with a multitude of others!) And yet we find that they are not a quivering mess of flesh, foaming at the mouth, staining at the end of the leash cause they're hungry and you look good to him, kind of dogs are they now?!?

OK, I'm fine now. Thank you all for letting me get my frustrations out. Usually I'm a pretty cool cucumber. I've seen allot of nastiness through my years of rescue and working at the Humane Society. I've seen some of the most nasty, cruel, excuses for human beings ever. I expect it and I am never shocked. But I guess I'm reaching an age where my tolerance for stupidity is becoming low.

You know why, because it's not the cruel and evil people who are abusing and harming dogs that are the real problem. They are, believe it or not, a real minority. It's the everyday average guy and his unbelievable ignorance, and their unprecedented need to keep his ears shut and his mouth open, passing on garbage as fact. And no amount of reason can stop him. These people are the majority. And it's these uninformed, close minded people, who are out there voting and calling the shots on stuff they have no clue about.

Can you imagine that there was a LAW...a real chargeable offence, passed in the house of commons with NOT 1 EXPERT EVEN INTERVIEWED. No dog trainers, no behaviourists, no specialists in the breed, NOT EVEN ONE VET! Oh...but they did have an article in the paper about some Bozo who works at a gas station who's opinion was asked! I'm sorry but to me this is unfathomable. This is the kind of stuff you hear about in China or Russia.

Now my beautiful, well trained, loving sweet dogs can NEVER go to an off leash park again. I can't even walk them through my neighbourhood without a muzzle and a leash, (OK my dogs are always leashed for their own safety except at off leash parks and then only 1 of them) My dogs really hate the muzzle no matter how much I try to teach them. Now my dogs hate going for walks. And I can't even take them to the off leash parks cause they don't understand why they can't get off leash and go run through the tall grass with big tongue lolling grins. I'm sure you all understand what this means. I mean, our dogs LIVE to go for walks, to go to the park!

John Tory, a conservative MP in Toronto, was in the forefront in the news as opposing this ban. All I can say is, I'd like to see him put his money where his mouth is, now that his party is in office.