MPR Current Events

MPR Happenings

Patchino came into rescue when he was just a skinny little pup on deathrow at a Kansas shelter. A Kansas and Missouri Pit Bull Rescue volunteer decided she had to save him, and began fostering him. And we are pleased to announce that finally, Patchino is home! After waiting several months for the right family to come along, it became obvious that he already was with his right family -his foster family. Yay for Patchino!

Other pitties that went home for the month of May were sweet Precious, who resides in Kansas City with her rescue brother, Chiquita, who lives outside of St. Louis with her rescue brother who looks almost identical to her, Seal, who now is enjoying the good life in Kansas City, and our little Ms. Fanny, featured pet in last month's newsletter. Fantasia now lives in Nebraska with a wonderful family.

We are pleased to report that the Pet Expo went off without a hitch -many wonderful people came out to support the Missouri Pit Bull Rescue dogs! Thank you to all volunteers who spent their weekends spreading the word about our lovable lugs.

As always, if you are interested in volunteering, sponsoring an adoption event, or have any other suggestions, feel free to send them our way. Just drop us a line at email@mprgroup.net

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Okay, you caught us. We've featured Aimee here before, we know. But since we featured Fanny last month and she got adopted, we are hoping the same will hold true for poor Aimee.

We can't stress how fantastic this dog is. She's fun, lovable, playful, and just so stinking happy to be alive that it's contagious. Just look at her happy smile!

Aimee is losing her foster home and is tired of being bounced around from place to place. This little girl has been through hell, yet has a temperament of gold. She is a fantastic dog -crate-trained, housetrained, and ready to please her new family. Please, help her stay out of boarding.

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Friday, June 3rd - Sunday, June 5th 7:30-2:30 Independence Garage Sale - info soon! Sunday, June 12th 12-3 Dog-n-Jog Country Club Plaza Kansas City, MO This year's race will start near the Plaza Tennis Courts on Ward Parkway and will continue throughout the Plaza. 7:30 a.m. Packet pick-up and late registration begins 8:30 a.m. TWO MILE RUN & WALK (awards to follow immediately) 9:00 a.m. Best trick & fastest eater contest and awards. Random prize drawing 9:25 a.m. Recognize Honorary Chairperson, Gary Lezak 9:30 a.m. ONE MILE RUN & WALK (awards to follow immediately) 10:00 a.m. Best kisser contest and awards. Random prize drawing and announcement of top pledge collector.

Please note that events can be canceled because of weather or scheduling conflicts. For latest information on adoption events, see MPR's EVENTS page .

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• New Jersey
  Charges added in cruelty case
  Peanut was found bleeding from torn skin all over his neck and back after having boiling water poured on him last April. Additonal charges have been filed against his owners.

• Illinois
  18 Pit Bulls Seized: Rockford, IL
  Federal officials investigating a fraud case on May 12, 2005 stumbled upon what authorities believe is a dog-fighting operation. Winnebago County Animal Services seized 18 pit bulls from a house.

• Illinois
  Cicero probes pet trafficking allegations
  Cicero officials investigating the town's Animal Control Department, of which the entire staff was suspended last week amid allegations of animal cruelty and other improprieties, are looking at whether officers illegally trafficked in stolen animals, a town spokesman said Wednesday.

• Virginia
  Dogfighting video retailer sentenced
  
  In the first case of its kind in the country, a Virginia man has been sentenced in federal court here to 37 months in prison for selling dogfighting videos.
  
  "I'm through with pit bulls," Robert J. Stevens told Senior U.S. District Judge Alan Bloch Thursday.
  
  Stevens, 64, of Pittsville, Va., was the first person to go to trial under a federal law signed by President Clinton in 1999 that prohibits the sale of depictions of animal cruelty.
  
  Although several other people nationwide have pleaded guilty under the law, Stevens was the first to face a jury.
  
  The statute originally was motivated by a movement in California to ban "crush videos," in which women wearing spike heels and short skirts slowly crush small animals to death for the sexual gratification of foot fetishists.
  
  All the states ban cruelty to animals, but no laws made distribution of videos showing such cruelty illegal.
  
  The push for a federal law came from U.S. Rep. Elton Gallegly, R-Calif., who was disgusted at crush videos and introduced the bill after the Ventura County district attorney had trouble prosecuting an Anaheim man who sold them online.
  
  Stevens didn't make those kinds of videos. But agents from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and state police in Uniontown, who jointly investigated the case, said his tapes of pit bulls fighting are still illegal under the law as images of animal cruelty.
  
  Stevens and his wife, Julie, are pit bull fans who advertised videos in the Sporting Dog Journal, an underground publication, and then sold three tapes to undercover agents.
  
  Stevens sold "Pick-A-Winna" and "Japan Pit Fights," both of which feature dogs mauling each other in a ring, complete with handlers and spectators, and "Catch Dogs," which contains footage of pit bulls attacking pigs.
  
  Under the law, depictions of cruelty are legal only if they have "serious religious, political, scientific, educational, journalistic, historical or artistic value."
  
  Stevens said his videos had historical and educational value, but Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Kaufman said they don't.
  
  Part of Kaufman's argument equated the sale of animal cruelty videos to the distribution of child pornography, because he said both foster a demand for images of an illegal activity.
  
  The jury sided with the prosecution after deliberating less than an hour.
  
  In addition to the prison term, Bloch ordered Stevens not to associate with anyone in the dogfighting business, not to sell any items used in dogfighting and not to raise or keep any pit bulls except his pet, Victory's Secret.
  
  (Torsten Ove can be reached at tove@post-gazette.com)
  
  

Some level-headedness in the midst of all of Denver's chaos...
Johnson: Pit-bull ban may reveal unwarranted prejudice
It has to be one of the dumbest laws, ever. And I don't even own or like pit bulls. It's nothing personal, only that I'd never keep any animal that eats as much or more than I do. Still, I can weep for the pit bulls of Denver, particularly for the puppies that never did anything other than get born into the breed. >more

Possible breed ban in Tennessee
http://stopbslintn.tripod.com/id16.html

State Law: Good Dog, Bad Reputation

Breed-specific laws: unfair and ineffective?
by Debora M. Bresch, Esq.

Ohio residents Tom Daniels and Tricia Bickel were scared. Their pit bull, Jake, had scooted under the fence in hot pursuit of their other dog, Zeke, and ended up in the arms of the local dog warden.  Because of an Ohio law that until recently classified pit bulls as "vicious" and required their caretakers to purchase $100,000 liability insurance policies, Daniels and Bickel had to obtain this coverage for Jake, or risk criminal prosecution. A Utah company, whose rates had apparently tripled in the last few years, offered a policy costing more than $1,200 annually, to be paid in six-month increments. A Florida company also offered coverage but demanded one lump-sum payment at an even higher annual rate.

With friends' help, Daniels and Bickel purchased the Utah company's policy. Others haven't been so lucky. In court, Daniels noticed how many individuals submitted proof of their dogs' death in lieu of proof of insurance.  

Type-Cast Away

A September decision by the Ohio Supreme Court voided the state's onerous vicious dog law, which classified pit bulls as vicious and imposed certain obligations, including liability insurance,on their caretakers. The court held that the law violated procedural due process because it provided no opportunity to challenge a dog warden's determination of viciousness prior to a criminal prosecution for failure to fulfill the law's requirements. Still, for now, nonadoption remains the stated policy of the Ohio Dog Wardens' Association, whose members run the state's 88 county shelters. Furthermore, despite the problems caused by breed-specific laws and a lack of evidence to support their efficacy, they have proliferated within Ohio and across the country. At least 33 Ohio municipalities have enacted ordinances to control pit bulls or to ban them entirely; nationwide, more than 300 localities have chosen to regulate pit bulls and, in many cases, breeds such as Rottweilers and chow chows. Recent mandates by the City Council of Boston require warning signs to be posted outside homes with pit bulls and the muzzling of these dogs in public. At the state level, a New Jersey senator has reintroduced legislation that would require $150-$700 licenses for pit bulls, on top of costly liability insurance.  

Barking Up the Wrong Tree

Even where breed-specific laws have long been in effect, the dangerous-dog issue continues to loom large, as evidenced by the recent formation of the Ohio Dog Fighting Task Force. Its December 2002 report pronounced dogfighting increasingly prevalent and "happening in every county in Ohio."  

In 2003, Maryland's Prince Georges County set up a task force to study the effectiveness of its pit bull ban; based in part on its failure to adequately address the county's dangerous-dog problem, the task force recommended its repeal. According to Chief Rodney Taylor, head of Prince Georges County's Animal Management Division, pit bull bites have decreased only marginally since the ban was instituted in 1997, and a causal connection between this reduction and the pit bull ban has been difficult to discern.  Moreover, the county has found the ban extremely burdensome. The required seizure of all pit bulls,who are then held for as long as eight months, pending the outcome of court cases, leads to overcrowding of the shelter and the euthanasia of other dogs. Furthermore, of the estimated 900 pit bulls handled annually by animal control, asserts Taylor, "80 percent are nice family dogs, but all of them must be euthanized under the ban, unless a confiscation is successfully challenged in court."

The good news is that several states­including New York, Illinois and Colorado, have prohibited localities from enacting breed-specific ordinances. Although the city of Denver is suing the state to defend its pit bull ban, in New York, the ASPCA's legislative efforts paid off in August 2004 when Governor George Pataki signed a bill that will amend the state's dangerous-dog law to ensure the identification and tracking of all dangerous dogs, no matter what breed.

Debora M. Bresch, Esq., is legislative liaison for the Eastern region of the ASPCA's

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Washington
Ontario banned Neville, so the USA made him a cop!
Neville is now part of the Washington police force after passing his test to see that he had what it takes to be a police dog! WOW!

Philadelphia
Pit bull playing mama to abandoned kittens
Sage has a reputation as a really good mother, and that's no small accomplishment for a 9-year-old pit bull that's long neutered and never had puppies...

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If you would like to help a wonderful dog while she/he waits for a forever home, consider fostering a pit bull. They require very responsible foster moms and dads, but they will provide you with hours of laughter and enjoyment. They will also be forever grateful to have had a second chance at a happy life, thanks to you! For more information on foster home requirements, go here.

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Ways To Help MPR
If you love pit bulls and want to make a difference for them you can help MPR in many ways. We hope you can join our team of volunteers and supporters!

Volunteer Support
Donate your time helping MPR by fostering homeless pit bulls, helping care for dogs in boarding, assist with adoption events, printing materials, etc. If you would like to volunteer, please fill out our form HERE.

Financial Support
Donate cash or supplies for saving more pit bulls, assisting with medical expenses and veterinary treatment, boarding costs for dogs without foster homes, food and toys, crates and kennels, adoption events and printed materials, all donations are tax deductible!

*You may donate via PayPal on MPR’s website or checks can be sent to:

Missouri Pit Bull Rescue
PO Box 520043
Independence, MO 64052

Vehicle Donations
Did you know you can help Kansas City pit bulls by donating a vehicle, RV, or boat to MPR? All donations are tax deductible! For more information, go here.

Community Support
Educate your neighbors, friends and family on the plight of pit bulls. Encourage responsible pet ownership, spay/neuter your pets, and contact your local representatives to voice your opinions about BSL in your area. Report abuse, neglect or abandonment of animals to local authorities, including any suspected dog-fighting!

Sponsorship Programs
Our Sponsorship programs offer several different ways you can help each dog. If you are interested sponsoring one of our dogs, please go HERE.

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Thank You!

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