BSL, or dog slaughter laws (a term I've been using for a number of years now), has been going on for years. There is some level of success fighting these laws by locals, on the local front, when these laws are proposed. Of course a national organization can help. I've been asking for help in Prince George's County, Maryland, for years, and have received no assistance from BF or any of the other national humane organizations in our effort to stop the seizure and slaughter of innocent family members. Please don't take the question the wrong way, but why is Best Friends arriving on the scene so late? How is BF going to help us, now, today, to stop the cruelty of breed specific laws?

---

eunverz, I'm glad you asked why Best Friends is taking on this issue, and why now. I don't speak for Best Friends, but I have volunteered with them for a while and I did attend the Summit, so I'll try to answer your question.

Before Hurricanes Rita and Katrina, Best Friends did not do the kind of national outreach it suddenly seems famous for. The organization was busy caring for the 1,800 animals at its Kanab Sanctuary (including many pit bulls) and was just starting to create regionally-based volunteer networks to help animals throughout the US.

Then the hurricanes happened. Best Friends dispatched many staff members and supplies to the Gulf Coast and built two rescue centers. Volunteers contacted Best Friends in such numbers that the phone system couldn't handle it and staff was overwhelmed with more emails than they could possibly respond to. Volunteers just started showing up at Best Friends' rescue centers in Metairie, LA and Tylertown, MS.

Since then, Best Friends has restructured, with Paul Berry becoming CEO and generally gearing up to be the organization that its supporters are insisting it be. This expansion effort enabled the spay, neuter, and placement of over 1,000 rabbits in Reno, Nevada and the airlift of 300 homeless cats and dogs from Beirut, Lebanon to Utah.

Best Friends is well aware of the horrors of breed bans and dog slaughter. Best Friends created the Dangerous Dogs Summit to help get as many people involved as possible and launch the new Family Dog Protection Campaign.

Best Friends hopes to educate the public with the truth about breed-stereotyping and the threat it presents to all dogs and their families. At the Summit, we learned about creating community support around this issue so we can get organized and get the word out about ways to protect animals. We discussed the importance of creating alliances with community members, humane organizations, civic agencies (including animal control), faith-based groups, and elected officials.

Summit presenters emphasized that it is essential for animal advocates to work together (and stop the in-fighting) so we can stop breed-bans and take other measures to promote a more humane world.

Best Friends freely offers the information generated in this developing campaign to anyone who wants it. Best Friends continues to receive countless calls and emails for help, and does whatever it can to help.

Still, it is up to each of us to mobilize within our own communities and work toward legislation that protects dogs and people, and toward a culture that treats all beings humanely.

---

Denver BSL has been on the law books since 1989 and, I believe, is getting more attention now since the law has been challenged and upheld in the Colorado court system. This is not a new problem and organizations like The American Dog Owner's Association (ADOA) has been fighting it since the 1970's. In addition to supporting organizations that fight BSL, I encourage people to support ADOA and contribute to their Canine Defense Fund. They have a group of lawyers who can advise individuals and communities, and, as funding allows, come into your community to fight. They can be found at www.adoa.org. They also keep up to date information on current breed bans and communities that are considering it or fighting it.

I think that Katrina opened up the eyes of a lot of rescue organizations due to the vast number of Pit Bulls that became homeless due to the hurricane. More and more people are becoming aware of the breed's plight and the racism they experience. I hope that some of the good that will come out of this will be to restore the image of the breed and end the canine racism that has been going on for far too long.

---

The ADOA, unfortunately, has consistently lost constitutional challenges over a decade, which resulted in the cases being used in FAVOR of BSL law! They are not experts in dangerous dog laws.

Dangerous dogs and aggression in dogs requires experts---actual experts who have education and training and a lot of experience. Laypersons are not going to be able to do this. Stopping Breed Specific Legislation (dog slaughter laws, as you have called it) requires scientific evidence to overcome the rational basis that the governments use to keep these laws, unless you can convince them NOT to adopt it in the first place. (As they did in Parker, CO)

Even if one town passes on BSL, another will crop up. Misguided opinions and ignorance fuels the law, and if it isn't BSL, then they will use mandatory spay/neuter instead. It does boil down to ignoring the issue----the victims are usually kids----and the dogs are usually running loose. The focus needs to drop off the dogs, and onto the people who are not good owners, and then on the people that want to protect their kids. (Since the law won't work)

What the community can do is to get animal control's leash law enforced, and get all the kids to have DOG SAFETY training. People act as if there are menacing dogs everywhere---not usually the case. Animal shelters, parents, the schools, everyone can easily teach kids dog safety. If there really are that many dogs running around in the area then your animal control isn't doing its job. Tell them.

Most dogs on leash aren't attacking anyone. Trying to eliminate "aggressive" dogs by focusing on breedings is not the key---most dogs have to diligently be trained to be aggressive from an early age, they have to be unsocial, they have to be fairly isolated from people. Even so, a law aimed at curtailing the breeding of a dangerous dog is fraught with too many variables that would likely be unworkable in terms of proof.

The dog ban in Denver is based on a lot of complicated facts, but the one that is never told to the public is the fact that the court never allowed the 'dangerous dog' expert group (American canine foundation---ACF) to testify as an expert. Instead, the judge ruled without the experts. This is being challenged currently but of course the process is very slow. However ACF is very diligent and never gives up---ACF is also currently pursuing the Tellings case to the Ohio Supreme Court since the city appealed the case. AKC, UKC and others will be filing amicus briefs on behalf of Tellings.

Kory Nelson of Denver has done much damage to dogs---in fact, his personal Yahoo group re dangerous dogs, says that people who are anti-BSL are strawmen for dogfighters, related to dog fighters, are involved in dog fighting, and such nonsense----------see http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DangerousDogLaw/

One of our goals is to get rid of Kory Nelson in due time. His prejudice/bias/discriminatory efforts are very pervasive, and he travels the country preaching about BSL and how great it is. It's a wonder that the city hasn't fired him for conduct unbecoming.

---

Thank you, Sheryl.

For more details about what was learned and discussed at the Summit, please see the Dangerous Dogs Summit Report in the Blogs section of this community. Three attendees, including Sheryl, answered questions about the Summit and BSL.

Doggedly yours,
Celeste Crimi
No More Homeless Pets
Best Friends Animal Society

---

The people who enact these bans on so called dangerous dogs are idiots. They do not know what they are doing half the time. Dogs are made dangerous only by the people who have them. The families of these innocent dogs who have been slaughtered should be compensated or at least issued a public apologhy by the people who did this.
The people who did this should be treated the same way the dogs were. Then they would know how it feels to be mistreated.

---