One of the most serious problems with some of the existing "dangerous dog laws" is that the dog may face destruction or
lengthy impoundment, while the owner receives little or no punishment. Irresponsible owners are chronic repeat offenders of
animal control laws. Thus, the dog suffers the consequences of its owners irresponsibility.
Do the current laws address each of the problem areas with dogs?
Are they being enforced?
Is there a problem with repeat offenders?
Problems stem from inadequate budget or manpower to enforce the laws, inadequate training to effectively deal with the
problem dogs in a humane way, and low priority of animal control issues. Poor community education of existing animal control
laws and lack of judicial support in upholding effective penalties also create serious problems. Strong laws that penalize the
owners, regardless of the breed, are what is needed.
These types of laws are valid, have merit, are not vague or capricious. Non-breed specific laws are what is needed. ACF
supports laws that hold owners accountable for their dogs behavior. Laws need to declare a dog potentially dangerous when it
menaces a human, dogs need to be declared potentially dangerous when they bite a human or domestic animal, owners need
to be cited and placed under restrictions. A second offense should automatically declare the dog dangerous and call for a
misdemeanor charge against the owner.
Dogs that have been declared dangerous because they caused severe injury should be required to be kept confined, muzzled
and have insurance coverage of 150 thousand dollars or more, if a second incident happens with a dog declared dangerous, if
the dog causes injury the owner should be charged with a felony, if the dog kills a human there should be a charge of negligent
homicide and the owner should be prohibited from owning dogs. If a dog has been declared potentially dangerous and kills a
human, the owner should be charged with negligent homicide, under Washingtons RCW its a serious felony, ACF is lobbying for
negligent homicide charges for owners of dogs that kill people.
Breed bans do nothing to stop dog attacks, they do nothing to stop illegal activity, they do nothing to protect the public from
irresponsible dog owners and punish responsible dog owners, causing court litigation, wasted tax money and impoundment of
innocent dogs while criminalizing U.S. Citizens.
Non-breed specific laws are valid under the Constitution, and are for the protection of the public welfare and safety with the
degree of precision that characterizes effective legislation.
The only justice for the irresponsible owner are strong penalties such as the state of Washington RCW16.08.100 penalties for
owners of dogs allowed to cause damage, bite, or perpetrate unprovoked attacks on other animals and humans. On August 25th
2003 the Governor of Illinois signed the Ryan Armstrong Law which prohibits breed specific legislation in Illinois and hold dog
owners accountable for their dogs behavior. On April 21, 2004 a bill HB1279 sponsored by Colorado State Representative
Debbie Stafford was signed by Governor Owens, it prohibits breed bans in Colorado and stopped Denvers breed ban after 16
years. Denvers breed ban was a failed attempt at protecting the public from dangerous dogs.
The American Canine Foundation does not support breed specific legislation and has drafts of laws available for control of
dangerous dogs.
AMERICAN CANINE FOUNDATION
360-277-DOGS
http://ncrf2004.tripod.com
Dr M.L. Nitschke PhD Psychology
"Variability in behavior has a wider range within a breed than between breeds. Within the discipline of Psychobiology and Animal
Behavior there is no data from empirically supported studies, published in refereed scientific literature, to support the idea that
one breed of dog is "vicious". The adult behavior of a domestic dog is determined overwhelmingly by its experiential history,
environmental management and training".
Marci Grebing BS Micro Biology
My name is Marci Grebing. I have a Bachelors of Science in Microbiology from Montana State University and have been a
professional K9 trainer for 10 years. I have trained and owned American Pit Bull Terriers for 10 years.
At this point in time, there is no scientific proof that any breed of dog is inherently more aggressive or vicious than any other
breed. I believe that socialization and training are the most important factors in producing the final temperament of an individual
dog. Many people misunderstand canine behavioral cues, which can lead to bites and attacks by dogs. This is especially true
with children, and no child should ever be left alone with a dog. If a child is attacked it is almost always due to a lack of
supervision or dog training on part of the parents. Proper training and socialization require a large commitment of time from dog
owners. If this is not accomplished effectively a dog may bite or attack; this is not the fault of the breed or subpopulation of a
breed. If it were, it would be eliminated in a few generations by genetic drift or negative selection because aggression is not a
desirable characteristic in companion animals and therefore is not selected for by pet dog breeders.
Assigning an individual dog to a certain breed is not possible using current scientific knowledge or techniques. Factors that may
influence the specific danger of dog bite/attack imposed by an individual dog include
(1) the theoretical danger associated with keeping an animal and
(2) the particular danger associated with an individual animal, the latter being the result of individual characteristics including
temperament, body characteristics of a dog, the individual personality of the dog owner, the accident situation, and the
personality of the victim. Neither experimental investigation of temperament differences among breeds, which are extremely
difficult to perform, nor studies investigating which breeds are more dangerous than others, can prove, using current scientific
knowledge, the existence of a particular threat of certain breeds based on body characteristics (e.g. size, strength, pain threshold
etc.).
The individual personality of the dog owner, the accident situation, and the personality of the victim are independent of the dog
breed involved in the bite incident, and hence do not justify discrimination against certain breeds.
Dogs that have a history of (1) inappropriate bite (i.e. not in self defense), (2) chasing and taking down livestock or game, or (3)
aggressively jumping up on people are to be considered particularly dangerous when compared to dogs with no such history.
This applies to ALL breeds.
Marci Grebing B.S. Microbiology
