Owners' cruelty creates
canine brutes
By: Mary Sanchez, The Kansas City Star
May 2nd, 2006
Pity the pit bull, not its irresponsible owner.
Nearly half the dogs at the Kansas City shelter are pit bulls. They amount to a large percentage of the 7,000 animals that the city euthanized last year.
What a cruel truth. Kansas City kills more pit bulls than any other breed.
Some might say good riddance, given the dog's reputation. But the dog is not the problem. The dogs didn't ask to be bred to be aggressive toward other dogs.
Pit bulls are not responsible for the people who think it is cool to strut around town with their dogs on massive links of chain.
Responsible pit bull owners know to never let the dog fail. The phrase refers to the fact that the dogs should not be allowed to run loose because genetically they have been bred to attack other dogs.
Responsible pit bull owners do not haphazardly chain their dogs in backyards from which they can escape and roam the city to find breeding partners.
Pit bulls have large litters, often up to 12 puppies. As a result, portions of Kansas City are overpopulated with pit bulls.
Ten ZIP codes produce the most problems. Several are in the Northeast area, and others cluster around the U.S. 71/Prospect Avenue corridor.
These ZIP codes produce a vast majority of the calls for service: dog bites, strays picked up and other violations. On Monday, teams of workers began canvassing the areas, checking for licensing, rabies shots, etc. Where they find violations, owners will receive fines up to about $150. The fines are the last resort.
A consortium of pit bull rescue volunteers, Kansas City animal control, the veterinary school at the University of Missouri-Columbia and area animal shelters also has been working on the problem.
They can barely keep up. In the last three years, more than 10,000 reduced-cost spays and neuters have been performed at monthly clinics. Large-breed dogs, pit bulls in particular, have been the target.
At a clinic Sunday in a midtown warehouse, about 60 dogs underwent surgery. The dogs' owners deserve applause for complying, although it's sad to say the $20 incentive was necessary to lure some of the pit bull owners.
A largely volunteer staff ran the dogs through the surgeries like an assembly line. Rows of pit bulls and other large dogs lay tranquilized, flat on their backs atop metal operating gurneys, ready for the much-needed spaying and neutering.
Sunday was play-nice day. Monday brought the fines.
The number of pit bulls has reached a plateau at the city shelter, but numbers are still too high.
No one is allowed to adopt pit bulls from Kansas City animal control. The city staff can not adequately screen potential owners. The dogs have to be protected from the people who far too often desire them.
Worthy pit bull owners can go through a screening process and obtain pit bulls through Missouri Pit Bull Rescue. The organization turns down about half the people who request pit bulls.
And the organization will euthanize any pit bull found to be aggressive toward humans.
Fines are appropriate for owners who won't comply with licensing. Continued education is needed for spaying and neutering. And funding should be increased for the monthly clinics now run with mostly volunteer help.
Banning pit bulls is not the answer. Some cities in the area, such as Kansas City, Kan., and Grandview, have gone that route. But new breeds will always emerge as the dog of choice for bad owners. Rottweilers suffered this fate about a decade ago.
And the Presa Canario, a beefy and swaggering breed with a massive head, seems to be the new dog of choice for those seeking a little extra manhood from their canine companion.
The city will never be able to stop some people from abusing their animals. But it sure can "fix" a lot of them with fines.
msanchez@kcstar.com
Kansas City Star
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Pit-bull
owner believes stigma misplaced
By: Matt Wagner
- News Leader
July 4th, 2004
Rick Wilson doesn't expect everyone to feel the way he does about pit bulls.
But
when a local veterinarian refused to treat a pit bull
pup Wilson "liberated" from
abusive owners, he knew the breed was in trouble.
"That bothered me," said
Wilson, who is a veterinary technician.
>> more
The
Springfield News Leader
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Abandoned
pupppies
By:
Kim Byrnes, Fox 4 News
MAY 31, 2004
Eleven pit bulls were abandoned in a Lawrence house, nine of the dogs are
puppies. The landlord found the dogs in awful living conditions after their
owners took off. The landlord then enlisted the help of the Lawrence Humane
Society. The nine puppies and their mom didn't have any food, water, or electricity.
The male adult dog did have food and water, but was locked away in a separate
room.
The Lawrence Humane Society says the urine and feces was so bad it burned
off the dog's hair, the pads of their feet were bleeding, and the dogs were
all dehydrated and starving.
Now the Lawrence Humane Society's trying to find the dogs new homes, but
not just anyone can adopt a pit bull. The shelter takes many precautions
before placing a pit bull, including a criminal background check on the potential
owner. If found, the dog's former owners could face charges.
Fox
4 News Kansas City
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| Police:
Men Steal Pit Bull From South KC Home:
AUGUST
5, 2004
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI -
Police are looking for three men who stole a pit Bull from
a Kansas City home on Thursday, KMBC reported.
The robbery happened around 5 p.m. at 85th and
Wornall. Motorist Ian Dunn said he noticed something was
wrong as he happened to drive by the home.
"I saw them running across the street with a dog in
their arms and jump in the truck. I didn't see them go in
anywhere. I saw them running and knew something wasn't right,"
he said.
Dunn said the three men were in a red, four door 2000 Dodge
Durango.
The
Kansas City Channel
Note from MPR: PLEASE see to it that
your pit bull is never left outdoors unattended and is always
secure. Pit bull theft is on the rise across the metro. |
Saved
from the pit - Rescue group finds breed ‘loving, loyal'
By:
Beth Lawton - World-Online
APRIL 5, 2004
LAWRENCE, KANSAS - Venus
is one lucky dog. The black puppy, under three months old
with floppy ears and paws too big for her body, was curled
up with a blanket and Winnie the Pooh toys under a table
at the Lawrence Humane Society...
>>more Lawrence
Journal World Online Website
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Missouri has large network of dogfighters
By:
Jack Tynan - The Sedalia Democrat
OCTOBER 5, 2003
Dog fighting is a big business in the United States with a large network of dog-fighters in Missouri, said Humane Society investigators. It is also a crime that will net jail time -- even for spectators. Curt Ransom, director of the rescue and investigation department of the Humane Society in Missouri, said dog fighting is a large underground gambling network with strict regulations. "Pit bull fighting is very prevalent in Missouri," said Mr. Ransom. "It's a multi-million dollar business in the country, probably a multi-million dollar business in the state." Mr. Ransom, one of five Humane Society investigators in Missouri, said pit bull fighting has been taking place in the state for years. "I would imagine there's a fight every night of the week," he said. "I don't know if it's a growing trend in Missouri or the Sedalia area, but they seem to be more visible or brazen." There has been little police attempt to crack down the sport, he said. Dogs that have been forced to fight are usually scarred around the face and ears and have rings of scars around their legs were other dogs have held on with their teeth, Mr. Ransom said. Marilyn Bogard, animal control officer for the Sedalia Police Department, said dog-fighting has been a regular occurrence in the Sedalia area. "In 1998 was when I first was made aware this was going on," said Mrs. Bogard. "Over the years we've picked up several." Sedalia dogcatchers have picked up five pit bulls with injuries from fights in the city limits in the past month. Most pit bulls impounded are never claimed by their owners because the owners risk being investigated, Mrs. Bogard said. Anyone who owns, keeps or trains dogs for fighting, causes a dog to fight another dog, allows dog fighting on their property or helps organize or host fights can be charged with a class D felony that carries a penalty of up to four years in prison. Anyone who is a willing spectator at a dog fight can be charged with a class A misdemeanor, with a sentence of up to one year in prison. A national network of pit bull rescue groups has been set up to try and find homes for the abused animals. "These dogs may very well be adoptable, but since the pit bull population is so grossly high," rescue groups don't have a place to hold them, said Missouri Pit Bull Rescue vice president Melissa Zarda in an e-mail. "Many of the dogs Missouri Pit Bull Rescue rescues from shelters have visible fighting scars, yet quite a few can still do well with other dogs," Ms. Zarda noted. "It's not guaranteed though, so dog aggression in a pit bull should be expected and never taken for granted." jacktynan@sedaliademocrat.com
The Sedalia Democrat
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Pit Bull Rescued From Dog Fight Doing Well:
Group Says Dog Fighting Happens Unknowingly In Neighborhood
By:
Lara Moritz,KMBC-TV 9 News
April 5, 2006
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A pit bull rescued from a dog fight last year has been adopted and is on the road to recovery. "We think he's about 2-and-a-half or 3 years old. We're not really sure," said Janelle Fanning, who adopted Triumph. KMBC's Lara Moritz reported that before he was adopted, Triumph suffered abuse, neglect and near-death experiences. "We don't necessarily see that viciously attacked or in that poor of shape," said Amy Wicklander, of Missouri Pit Bull Rescue. Wicklander said that dog fighting is an underground sport that happens in many neighborhoods without many people knowing about it. "When dog fights are raided, guns, weapons and drugs are often times found. This is all being brought into people's neighborhoods and people's communities," Wicklander said. Since Fanning adopted Triumph, his physical wounds have healed and he is getting loving attention. "(He's) very sweet. I mean, he just loves attention," Fanning said. "He's a perfect example. Look at what he's been through and look at his attitude and mentality." Moritz reported that if you know of dog fighting taking place in a neighborhood, call the TIPS Hotline at (816) 474-TIPS. On The Internet:
The Kansas City Channel |
Pit
bulls need love, too
Group
seeks homes — and a better image — for
the denigrated dogs
By Lisa Gutierrez, The Kansas City Star
July
23, 2005
Melissa
Zarda and her fellow dog lovers have a problem.
They've rescued dogs, some of them diseased, chewed-up or beaten.
Now they need to find them safe, loving homes. There's Polly
Pocket, a petite blonde with a red nose and hazel eyes. Polly
Pocket needs a “forever family,” as do Donor,
who has metrosexual tendencies and likes to have his chest hair blow-dried, and
Pink, a white-faced goofball.
Here's the problem: They're all pit bulls.
Would you play kissy-face with one? Zarda and about 30 other volunteers of Missouri
Pit Bull Rescue hope that you will and that you'll fall in love with one and
take one home. You're invited to a Petsmart in Olathe on Sunday for free pit
bull kisses.
At one adoption, “there would be some people who would come up and be in love
with the dog. Then we'd tell them, ‘It's a pit bull,' and all of a sudden they're
startled and back up,” Zarda said. “Those are the ones that bum us out the most.
“But then we see a lot of people who come up and tell us ‘These are good dogs.
They get a bum rap.' They don't see a breed. They just see a dog.”
>> more Kansas City Star |
| Pit
Bull Rescued
By:
Hector Contreras, Fox 4 News
MAY 31, 2004
Independence,
MO -- A pit bull is rescued after nearly being mauled to
death. The Missouri Pit Bull Rescue Team believes someone
used the dog as bait to train other pit bulls to fight. Melissa
Zarda is a pit bull fanatic. But she was heartbroken
this weekend when a man and a woman in Kansas City found
the dog barely alive."It was disgusting. He actually stunk
like his flesh was rotting," said Zarda.Missouri
Pit Bull Rescue volunteers rushed
the dog to the vet. The dog's wounds covered his head,
face, and legs. He was named Triumph for surviving. "It
was too late to give him any stitches, we are just
going to have to work on keeping flies away from him
and cleaning his scabs," said Zarda. Zarda
says it will take weeks for Triumph's physical scars
to heal, but it's hard to say when his emotional scars
will heal.
"We are going to keep an eye on him. We evaluate every dog, and so far he's been
a good dog, I just think he fell into the wrong hands," said Zarda. In the
meantime, Triumph has found a temporary home with foster
parent Ashley Eis. "He's a very good dog. He wants to stay very
close to us," said Eis. Both
Eis and Zarda hope profiling Triumph's pain and suffering
will keep people from fighting pit bulls. Dog fighting is not
just a problem for the dogs, it's a problem for the whole
community. Zarda
says there is no way to track down Triumph's owners. And
even if they could, it would be hard for police to do anything.
Zarda says illegal dog fighting laws in missouri don't have
teeth.
Fox 4
News Kansas City |
|
Pit
Bulls seized; drug arrest made
By:
Jay Senter - Journal-World
OCTOBER 9th, 2004
A
Lawrence resident with a criminal
history of animal abuse is in jail on crack-cocaine charges,
and his nine pit bull terriers, apparently being trained
for dog fights, are being cared for by the Humane Society.Police
investigators armed with a search warrant Friday found the
dogs at a central Lawrence home. In addition, police found
drug paraphernalia, three guns, dog-training treadmills
and dog-growth supplements during their search of the house
at 2133 Naismith Drive."We
did know pit bulls would be there," said police spokesman
Sgt. Dan Ward. "We didn't know it would be to this extent."Police
later found the target of the search warrant, Ernest Martin,
28, at the Ramada Inn, 2222 W. Sixth St. Police said Martin
had 77 grams of crack cocaine, with a street value of approximately
$8,000, in his possession at the time of his arrest. He
was booked into Douglas County Jail on charges of possession
with intent to distribute crack cocaine. No animal cruelty
charges have been filed.Jeaneen
Hercha, operations manager at the Humane Society, said rehabilitating
the dogs would be difficult."Unfortunately,
it is a very laborious process," she said. "For now, we'll
do our best to take care of them, but down the line, we'll
have to look at their temperament." Hercha
said a close-knit circle of pit bulls owners in the area
made it possible for people like Martin to obtain so many
of the dogs." The
people who fight them and breed them, they all know each
other," Hercha said. Hercha
added the supplements found at the home were not difficult
to obtain -- any person could purchase them at a high-end
pet store or via the Internet."The
things that bodybuilders use to build up before a show,
they make those same things for dogs," she said.Martin
has run afoul of the law previously. In 1996, police found
two of Martin's 18-week-old pit bull puppies kept in a pickup
truck in freezing weather without water. He received diversion
for a cruelty to animals charge stemming from the incident.
In
1998, he received a year of jail time for raising fighting
dogs in an abandoned house at 1820 Vermont. Neighbors called
the police to complain about suspicious activity at the
home; police found 11 dogs, including one dead dog with
bite marks and scars all over its body. Martin was charged
with 16 counts of animal cruelty.Martin's
neighbors said they had noticed several dogs in the back
yard of his residence on Naismith Drive. In recent months,
the odor of the dogs' excrement had become so strong that
neighbors complained to the Lawrence-Douglas County Health
Department. Patsy
Anderson, who lives next door to the house, said she called
the property's landlord twice because of the dogs."I
told him that they had pit bulls, and I didn't like the
way they were being treated," she said. "I did notice a
lot of traffic going in and out of the house, but I didn't
say much, because you never know what is going to get back
to you."Jeff
Tschudy, property manager, said he last visited the home
to discuss cleaning the excrement out of the back yard but
had not noticed anything that would have led him to believe
that the tenants were running a dog-fighting ring or dealing
drugs.Tschudy
said he had been unaware that Martin was living in the residence.
There was only one name on the lease, Tschudy said, and
it was not Martin's. Neighbors said Martin lived at the
home with a woman.Tschudy
said he would be evicting the current tenant.Staff writer Eric Weslander contributed to this report.
Lawrence
Journal World Online Website |
Deadline set for owners to claim 22 abused pit bulls
By:
Jack Tynan - The Sedalia Democrat
OCTOBER 5, 2003
The Pettis County Sheriff's Department has given the owners of 22 pit bulls confiscated Sept. 17 until Monday to step forward and claim ownership.
The dogs, all of them marked with scars, were picked up by police after the Sheriff's Department received an anonymous tip about a "possible puppy mill" at the rural home at 21348 Hwy. O, just north of Sedalia.
Police found three dogs tied up around the home and 19 others chained in a forest clearing several yards behind the house. Police suspect the dogs were injured as a result of competitive dog-fighting, which is illegal in Missouri.
Sarah Kearney, who lives at the address, has claimed three of the dogs. She said she takes care of the rest of the dogs, but two friends own them.Police have mailed notices to anyone thought to be connected to the dogs. Neither of the other owners has claimed the animals.
Ms. Kearney's three dogs are being held as evidence in an ongoing investigation. The other dogs will be held until a 10-day period expires Monday and then will be turned over to the Humane Society or destroyed if the owners are not found.
"We're right now trying to establish ownership and right now it's really difficult," said Sheriff's Detective Doug Retherford "She's the owner of three of the animals, but that leaves another 19. We've got to have someone to charge."
Ms. Kearney said Wednesday that all 22 dogs were well cared for, and none was used for fighting.
"Pettis County Sheriff's Department made a big goof," said Ms. Kearney. "They came onto our property without a warrant and stole our dogs. We don't fight those dogs. Some of them have cuts and scars on them because they do get loose."
The dogs are powerful enough to pull out of their collars and attack each other, she said. Some of her dogs have even killed each other, she said.
"It's in their blood," said Ms. Kearney. "It's been bred into their blood for centuries."
Ms. Kearney said she breeds the dogs and sells them to responsible pet-owners. She said they are all registered through the American Dog Breeders Association. She produced one certificate of registration for a dog that has died, with a different owner listed on the certificate. A spokesperson for the association said registration information is regarded as personal and cannot be disclosed.
Ms. Kearney also told The Democrat that representatives of a pit bull rescue group from Kansas City looked at her dogs after they were confiscated.
Melissa Zarda, vice-president of the Missouri Pit Bull Rescue Group in Kansas City, part of a national pit bull rescue network with affiliates in most states, said no one from her group had seen the dogs in Sedalia.
"We have never spoken with or visited Sarah Kearney, nor has anyone in our group been to Sedalia to visit the dogs and report on their condition," she wrote in an e-mail. "... In no way would anyone from Missouri Pit Bull Rescue justify someone chaining up 22 scarred pit bulls on their property. I seriously doubt these dogs were loved family pets. There are several things that are suspicious in this situation."
Ms. Zarda said having 22 dogs of any breed is too many, that pit bulls are not good guard dogs because they are too friendly with people, and that pit bulls do not live well outdoors because of their short fur.
"Most dogfighters use the same old excuse, the one that Sarah Kearney used when questioned why her dogs are so scarred up: 'He got loose and picked a fight.' " noted Ms. Zarda. "I find it hard to believe that all 22 of Sarah's dogs got into an accidental skirmish."
Marilyn Bogard, animal control officer with the Sedalia Police Department, was at the Mid-Missouri Animal Shelter where the dogs are being held Wednesday.
"(Ms. Kearney) comes over and fawns over them and says 'Oh look at my little baby.' Well this is not how you treat your little baby," Mrs. Bogard said. "Look at the scars on that dog's face. Dogs don't get scars like that just from once in a while."
Five of the dogs are severely marked with layers of scars. About five others are moderately scarred. All of the animals, including an eight-week old pup, are scarred, said Mrs. Bogard.
"A lot of pit bulls get along fine with other dogs. Some don't. It's not normal for 22 dogs to have that many scars," she said.
At the shelter, the dogs are friendly with people, but hesitant when the cage door opens.
"Some of them, I swear, they are telling me 'Don't take me out of this cage and let me fight,' " said Mrs. Bogard.
In an interview with The Democrat, Ms. Kearney said that she, her friends and buyers would not let their dogs fight.
"If I knew they were (fighting) I wouldn't sell it to them," she said. "It's cruel and unusual punishment."
The 22 dogs are taking up needed space at the animal shelter. One of them had nine puppies after being picked up by Sheriff's deputies. The fate of the puppies has not been decided.
The shelter has been forced to kill many other dogs because the adoption rate is down 25 percent for the month, and 50 percent for the past two weeks, said shelter manager Bob Fulmer.
"It's killing us," said Mr. Fulmer. "We keep everything as long as we can but there are state requirements for space." jacktynan@sedaliademocrat.comThe Sedalia Democrat
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