Shame, Shame, Shame

A local apartment complex will be added to the Wall of Shame.

Two days ago I received an urgent call for help. A man disabled by mental illness is facing immediate eviction. Is he being evicted because he is a disruptive tenant? No. Is it because he doesn't pay his rent on time? No. The reason for his eviction - his 9 1/2 year old prescribed, emotional service dog looks too much like a pit bull according to the complex manager. This dog wasn't identified or evaluated by any animal professional in order to make this determination. In fact, the dog's Vet states the dog is nothing more than a mutt. The complex manager has made this determination which will greatly impact the life of this man and his dog. (Perhaps I should ask her to do the locking jaw test)

The details of this situation makes it that more shameful. This man has lived in this apartment for NINETEEN years. The dog, who is recovering from mammary cancer and spends her days laying on the couch watching tv, has been living in this apartment for nine years. In nine years there has never been any type of aggression issues with humans or animals.

When this gentleman renewed his lease in November 2007, he thought he was renewing the same lease that he had signed for the past 18 years. The manager pointed out the changes in monthly rental fees but never mentioned the newly added breed restrictions or that his dog would be considered one of the disallowed breeds. Instead, seven months later, he is slapped with an eviction notice.

What is even more shameful - the Department of Fair Housing allows this type of treatment of disabled tenants.

Shame on you CSC Apartments and shame on you Department of Fair Housing.

Cleaning up after the Councilwoman

I am sure many of you are familiar with the lunacy we have been dealing with in Whitehall in the form of Jackie Thompson. Apparently Jackie has found a new website to cozy up with on those long, lonely nights and it is inspiring her to send out more letters to the editor filled with twisted statistics and false information. The following letter is to once again correct her inaccuracies and mistruths that were published in the July 3rd issue of The Other Paper.

Response to Councilwoman Thompson

It is always interesting to read the opinions of those who rely on news snippets and inaccurate data to drive their fear. I would like to correct some of the inaccuracies and add a bit of clarification.

The pit bull is not a breed of dog, but instead the term has come to be widely used to describe a dog that has an appearance similar to an American Pit Bull terrier or American Staffordshire terrier. Since other breeds of dog physically resemble these breeds, mistaken identity is frequently made and consequently numbers are inflated for the number of attacks involving so-called "pit bulls". Further, correct breed identification becomes more problematic when the dog involved in an attack is a mixed-breed. Hence, ambiguity exists when using the term "pit bull". Note that other data collection techniques (animal control reports, police reports, witness observation) used for breed identification purposes in dog attacks may also be flawed for these reasons. Recently genetic DNA testing has become available to help with breed determination. Preliminary DNA studies have found that approximately 1 out of every 10 dogs identified as “pit bull” actually has any bully breed DNA at all. This potentially means that 90% of these dogs are misidentified.

Ms. Thompson states that "The American Temperament Test Society argument does not stand up to close scrutiny. The ATTS was not set up to score house pets. It was devised to test dogs for police and guarding type work." Actually, according to Thomas Szebenyi, the Chief Tester of the ATTS, “The test was created to help breeders remove dogs from their breeding stock that have bad temperament. The test is open to all purebred dogs and spayed/neutered mixed breed dogs.” The ATTS tests dogs on a number of behaviors to determine the temperament and stability of a dog, not specific to suitability for police or guarding dogs. A dog that is fearful or overly timid when facing specific stimuli is not a sound, stable dog. Aggressiveness when facing stimuli would be another indicator temperament issues. This test is to determine if the dog has the correct, healthy response to the stimuli.

Ms. Thompson also states that the UK Dangerous Dog Act names the pit bull terrier but not the Staffordshire Terrier or the American Staffordshire Terrier in the Act, thus giving dog owners a loophole. While she is correct in that the Act only specifically lists the pit bull terrier, the UK Dangerous Dog Act classifies dangerous dogs by "type" not by breed label. This means that whether a dog is prohibited under the Act will depend on a judgment about its physical characteristics. To highlight this fact the UK even distributes brochures with pictures and descriptions of the prohibited breed "types."

Ms. Thompson further states that she would like to see bite incidents reported by severity. On this we can agree. I would like to take it a step further and have the dog owners’ responsibility placed in the report, as in the recent incident in New York when the angry boyfriend kicked out a window air conditioner and tossed a frightened dog into a room of children. I would also like to know how many prior incidents the owners have had regarding animal control violations.

To correct Ms. Thompson's belief that there has not been a pit bull related death in Ohio since BSL was enacted. There was a pit bull related death in 1992. Additionally, since BSL was enacted in Ohio, a Husky and a Chow killed a 7 year old, an American Bulldog killed a 5 year old, a Wolf-Dog killed a 5 year old, a German Shepherd and a mixed breed killed an infant, a Rottweiler killed a 54 year old woman and a Rottweiler killed a 40 year old man.

Ms. Thompson also brings up fatalities in the state of Texas. Texas which is the 2nd most populous state had the highest rate of fatal dog attacks in 2007, which were not limited to pit bull type dogs. There were some commonalities. All of the dogs were intact and most were chained, outside dogs, not "family dogs" as it was claimed. Ms. Thompson attributes the higher rate of fatalities in Texas to their lack of BSL. However in 2007 there were 44 states with no pit bull fatalities that did not have BSL enacted.

She also brings up Council Bluffs, Iowa as a success story. Of course pit bull bites are going to decrease if you decrease the population. What she fails to mention is that while there were fewer bites by pit bulls due to the decreased population, attacks by other breeds increased. The question shouldn't be "did pit bull bites go down", but "did public safety improve?" The answer would be a resounding, no.

It also needs to be pointed out that there is no difference between the injuries inflicted by a pit bull versus any other breed of similar size. For nearly two decades the National Canine Research Council has investigated and analyzed fatal dog attack injuries. It is important to note that NCRC has researched EVERY fatal and/or severe attack for which data is available. No other individual or group has even approached the volume of information that NCRC has collected and analyzed. The NCRC states that it is impossible to determine the breed of dog by reviewing an autopsy report or photo, as no breed of dog has a particular method of attack or inflicts an exclusive type of injury. It is virtually impossible for anyone to match the breed of dog with the fatal injuries - as such - claims that one breed of dog inflicts injuries unlike other breeds have no merit.

Any time anyone is hurt by a dog it is an unfortunate situation that should have never occurred. I do know that the “pit bull lobby”, as Jacquelyn Thompson likes to call those of us who are pushing for stronger laws requiring responsible ownership of all breeds, reached out to a recent victim of a local dog attack to be certain that the victim had the appropriate care and assistance while recovering from injuries. I personally have been pushing for much harsher penalties for owners of animals which have attacked as well as pushing for stronger regulation of dogs which have shown threatening tendencies. I have no tolerance for irresponsible people that allow their animals to hurt others and I believe Ms. Thompson would be quite surprised at some of the measures I would like to see taken. In fact, I invite Ms. Thompson to meet with me to discuss these ideas.

New Legislation Passes In Whitehall

Hello all. Dr. Mandi here to fill everyone in on what happened at the July 1st meeting of the Whitehall City Council. So, first things first...VICTORY. Amendments to Chapter 505 of the Codified Ordinances of the City of Whitehall entitled "Animals" were finally adopted. There was only ONE vote against the ordinance and it came from our old friend, you guessed it, Jackie Thompson. Councilwoman Leslie Lacorte surprisingly voted "yes" and added something to the effect that she hopes this doesn't come back against "us".

What does this mean for HELP FIDO and our supporters you might ask? Well it's really just the tip of the iceberg. Now our real work will begin! Getting the legislation passed was only round one. Enforcement is going to be the hard part. Mayor Wolfe will need to get to work on appointing an appeals board, enforcement decisions will need to be made, and word needs to get out to the Whitehall community that there are programs to help them comply with the new laws and to help them to be responsible pet owners. At HELP FIDO we will make ourselves available to help with all steps of the process.

The passing of the revised ordinance wasn't the only notable occurrence at the meeting. As usual, Ms. Thompson was very vocal concerning her opinions on BSL as well as her opinions on HELP FIDO's involvement in Whitehall. She quoted a letter written to a Pit Bull website concerning the drafting of the new legislation which mentioned that a majority of HELP FIDO members were active in helping to re-write existing Whitehall animal laws and that we did not reside in Whitehall. She said that she was "outraged" and "never thought she would see the day when outsiders would come in and dictate how we should live here in Whitehall." What Ms. Thompson doesn't understand is that what happens in Whitehall doesn't stay in Whitehall. The legislation that is passed in that community has the potential to affect all of the surrounding communities. So if BSL is passed in Whitehall, many surrounding communities may consider following the same path. In fact, Ms. Thompson was trying to follow the path of Bexley and Reynoldsburg, and in doing so would not have been a doing a thing to help citizens and instead punishing good responsible members of the community.

It seems funny how Ms. Thompson uses examples and "facts" from communities and municipalities outside of Whitehall when it suits and supports her arguments, however, she is reluctant to let "outsiders" voice their opinion. Isn't that being a bit hypocritical? Hmmmmm Ms. Thompson?

Ms. Thompson also mentioned an "altercation" that occurred at a Whitehall music in the park event a couple of weeks ago. Again she failed to get her facts straight before preaching to the council. She made it sound like there was an incident between several "pit bulls", when in fact the altercation mentioned was between the dog owners and the dogs NEVER got involved. In fact, they never misbehaved or showed aggression in any way. IT WAS THE OWNERS. As usual owner irresponsibility caused the problem and the reputation of the breed suffers as a result.

She also explained that Whitehall is in their "current mess" because previous leaders made poor decisions and the passing of the new animal legislation is, in her opinion, another one. Now here's a question...if Ms. Thompson is so concerned about making poor decisions and is worried about the safety of "her" community wouldn't she have voted yes to the new ordinance hoping that it would at least provide for some increase in safety and quality of life of the residents of Whitehall? Hmmmm.........

There was also some concern by several council members regarding a letter in the Whitehall News that many thought was slanderous towards Ms. Thompson. Here's the link http://tinyurl.com/3z6mhx . Read the letter and decide for yourself but I think it wasn't slanderous at all. Calling for the removal of Ms. Thompson from the city council is simply one person's opinion, nothing slanderous about that.....we live in a democracy where free speech is a right....GOD BLESS AMERICA. Ms. Thompson takes advantage of expressing her opinion about lots of things every chance she gets.....she gives opinions about BSL, about "outsiders", about other city council members, "pit bull" owners (or should we say evil doers)..... Slanderous Ms. Thompson? You know what the say, "people who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones", I hope you have a lot of Windex Ms. Thompson to clean all of that glass.

Well, that's all for now folks. Onward and upward to continue helping HELP FIDO to fight the good fight in ALL communities.

Domestic Violence Forum 6/25

HELP FIDO members were in attendance at a public forum provided by Columbus City Councilman Hearcel F. Craig yesterday evening. It was the first of several forums, focusing on offering help to victims of domestic violence. Also speaking were:

Kristi Timbrook: Legal System Task Force Director, Columbus Coalition Against Family Violence
Anne Murray: Assistant City Attorney, Director, Domestic Violence and Stalking Unit
Detectives Gauthney and Coleman: Columbus Police Department

Columbus Police respond to over 23'00o calls and make around 5000 arrests regarding domestic violence on an annual basis. There is overwhelming evidence that animal abuse and domestic violence go hand in hand. Pets are often used by abusers as means to gain power or control over the victim. 40% of victims delay seeking help because of this. We learned that the Capital Area Humane Society has partnered with several other organizations to create a program called “Safe Haven” that assists victims of domestic violence, providing temporary foster homes for pets in these situations.

Read more about animal abuse and how it relates to domestic violence as well as the “Safe Haven” program HERE.

Realizing the relation between domestic abuse and animal abuse we (HELP FIDO) wanted to learn more about what resources are currently being implemented and are interested in showing our support, and seeing if we can assist in connecting any resources. HELP FIDO hopes to use these meetings to open lines of communication with representatives and organizations involved and will continue show our support and offer any assistance we can .

Sign up to get Columbus City Council E-mail notifications HERE.

Related Columbus City Council initiatives:
Animal Abuse and Family Violence Task Force
Preventing Domestic Violence

HELP FIDO's Response to article in The Other Paper

I'm writing in response to the 6/19/2008 article titled "Pit Stop." I want to applaud The Other Paper for delving into such a controversial issue, but I feel compelled to add some points that are critical in understanding and preventing canine aggression.

Karen Delise and her group, The National Canine Research Council, have done amazing work studying dog bites. Delise has authored two books and the work of her not-for-profit, has confirmed what so many of us already knew. There are real factors of canine aggression and those factors are not skin deep nor breed specific.

In the past 150 years, there have been countless interactions between humans and canines. In her second book, The Pit Bull Placebo, Delise breaks down the relatively low, though very important, incidents of fatal and severe dog attacks during this period. What one comes to learn is that there are three categories that are present in an overwhelming percentage of these tragic incidents:

-reckless ownership practices (such as chaining and allowing dog(s) to run at large),
-reproductive status of dog(s) (not spayed or neutered; intact), and
-the function of dog (obtained for a status symbol, breeding, fighting, protection; not a companion animal).

It's when we as a community start to address these issues that we begin to make progress. And this progress is hard work, indeed.

We must love, respect, raise responsibly and control man's best friend in order to protect the rights of all dog owners and keep our communities safe. Please, your community needs your help. Get involved! Such groups as the Capital Area Humane Society, Citizens for Humane Action, the Franklin County Dog Shelter, HELP FIDO, the American Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, just to name a few, are wonderful organizations to support. Through their work, the intricate connection that is the human-canine bond can be understood, respected, and preserved.

Amanda Spires
HELP FIDO, Board Member

Keep It Up Columbus!!

We here at HELP FIDO have spent the better part of the past 4 months being present at Whitehall City Council discussions about a proposed pit bull ban by Councilwoman Jacquelyn Thompson. In fact, this civil action of ours was what brought about HELP FIDO as an organized effort to increase the quality of life for dogs in central Ohio.

These long, arduous, stressful Tuesday nights were not only spent listening to myths, lies and unsupported “facts,” but also were often felt like a personal attack. Indeed, we have been called evil-doers and owners of “tools of terror.” This all happened before PETA’s announcement that pit bull owners are thugs.

*sigh*

After a few months, we decided, as we were beginning to organize and talk amongst ourselves that we would continue to attend the Whitehall meetings. However, since there had been comments made about our “outside” presence being unwelcome, as well as some rude accusations lodged against us, we also decided we would refrain from further comment until the status of the proposed ban was decided. Luckily other citizens of Whitehall chose to act and spoke numerous times at the meetings and to media. They didn’t need us to point out the problems with a ban…they had found their voice. On the night it failed we decided to speak out only after the vote though afterwards we retreated again behind our “above the fray” shield.

Since then, even though Thompson’s crazy ranting speech from the night of the failed ban made it into the Saturday Dispatch editorial section, we have not felt the need to speak out. The reason we have not been voraciously responding to this? We haven’t needed to. Many others came forward to point out the incredibly unsupported stance of BSL. Online letters to editors against BSL have far outweighed any support of Thompson (here) and (here) and (here). These are but a few of the letters that appeared. And then there is the glorious statement in Saturday’s Dispatch by Amanda Gleason, a woman who states she is not only not a part of the “pit bull lobby,” she doesn’t even own a pit bull! Furthermore, a rather, um, interesting article appeared in The Other Paper and featured one of our members rescue operations, and we will be addressing some concerns with that article.

Meanwhile we wanted to take a moment to applaud the efforts of these folks who have taken the extra time to write a letter, make a phone call, or send an email. We welcome their support and encourage them to continue to use their voice!!

Well done!!

Lending a Hand

**Written by Amanda but posted by admin**

One of the privileges of volunteering for an animal welfare agency is the ability for an individual to help out on so many different levels. I've been a volunteer for the Capital Area Humane Society for about 5 years now and have worn many hats: dog-walker, enrichment care-giver, pooper scooper, doggy chauffeur, match-maker, and many more not so glamorous, but very rewarding roles. At our shelter, a unique opportunity exists for experienced (and willing) volunteers to "ride along" with our Humane Agents while they investigate reports of animals in need. So, every once in a while, I get to hop in a van and support the work of some awesome individuals.

I recently spent the afternoon traversing our seemingly huge county with a Humane Agent while we answered concerns lodged by concerned neighbors, citizens and passers-by. Now that it's not snowing in central Ohio, it's about 80 plus degrees and very humid. For a dog living outside (or even placed outside for extended periods of time), these conditions can be deadly, so there's no shortage of reports to investigate in summer. The animal care-givers we visited were as different as the animals we came to check on. Some were all smiles and tail wags, happy to talk to us about their dog(s)/cat(s), while others got their hackles up and made it clear that a marked vehicle complete with someone wearing a uniform, was not welcome. And who could blame them? How would you feel if you were paid a visit by law enforcement? I think it takes a big person to show us they've nothing to hide and, on top of that, thank the agent for looking out for animals, even if the only reason we're standing on their doorstep is because their neighbors don't like the breed of dog they chose to own.

As much as possible, donated bags of food are given to owners, sturdy buckle collars are switched out for choke chains and people get to hear about the benefits of spaying and neutering. Not everyone is going to listen and certainly many don't want to listen, but education is a huge part of fostering compassion, so no effort to explain the dangers of heatstroke or how painful mats can be is ever wasted. And, even though my small part was feverishly recording each detail at each address, at the end of the day, it just feels good to be in your community—really in your community-- and to lend a hand.

If you suspect an animal is in need (and perhaps even their owners), make the call to your local animal cruelty investigators or the local dog warden.

HELP FIDO wants every outdoor dog to have a comfortable nylon collar, a spill proof 5-gallon bucket, the product SWAT (for fly strikes) and comfortable shelter like a dog Igloo. Your local community needs your help!