In a previous post, we showed a couple of News10 stills depicting what looks to be a Doberman/German Shepherd mix near a police cruiser. The dog is running loose around the vehicle. This footage aired during the story of two dogs, allegedly Pit Bulls, that were running loose. At least one of the dogs bit two people. Witnesses said there might have been a third dog as well, but police could only find (and shoot) two dogs.

I contacted News10 and asked them where they got the information that both dogs were Pit Bulls. Who identified the black and brown Shepherd-like dog as a Pit Bull? News10 responded that Sacramento County animal control identified the dogs as Pit Bulls or Pit Bull mixes. I then contacted the county animal control, and their PR representative Annie Parker informed me that animal control officers identified the dogs as Pit Bulls or Pit Bull mixes.

Well, the whole thing made my head spin. I’ve seen breed misidentifications before –even by veterinarians and animal control officers — but only once have I ever seen an animal control agency so badly mess up the “Pit Bull” label… on a Shepherd? Really? So, I dug further and laid it out on the table….

Either Sac County AC is flat-out wrong about the dog’s breed, or the black and brown dog was not one of the dogs shot by police. I emailed Parker the photos, and she informed me that the dog was, in fact, NOT one of the dogs shot by police. It happened to be another loose dog, apparently in the area at the same time. It was wearing a collar. It’s not clear whether the mystery dog was the “third” dog spotted or whether it was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Parker wrote, “Yeah, we are assuming it was out loose at the same time. We’re not sure. Supposedly a third dog was called in, but only one person saw it, and neither the ACR officers or the Sherriff Deputies saw the third dog. ACR did spend almost two hours afterwards canvassing the neighborhood looking for the third dog but it was never located.”

It does leave me wondering, though, if witnesses reported two to three dogs, and this dog was running around loose in the area at the same time… why did none of the law enforcement officers seize the dog? And why did News10 show such prominent footage of this dog in its “Pit Bulls attack” broadcast? Did News10 believe this dog was one of the “Pit Bulls?”

Well, about the only thing I’m sure of now is something I’ve known for many years — media stories are sometimes misleading, and breed identifications should always be regarded with a healthy dose of skepticism.

(But NEWS10 isn’t quite as bad as FOX news splicing together footage from two different protests, on two different days, to make a crowd appear significantly larger! http://www.fancast.com/blogs/2009/tv-news/daily-show-calls-out-fox-news-for-flubbing-footage/)

Author D. Capp holds an M.S. in medical science (biochemistry and genetics), a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry and molecular biology, and a law degree.

Auburn, CA wants to revise its dog ordinances. Last night, I had the pleasure of sitting through agenda Items 1-8 about property tax assessments and the like before getting to Agenda Item 9–the agenda item just about everyone in the room (including the news media) wanted to hear.

What is Auburn going to do about dogs?

The mayor, who had previously emailed me with reassurance Auburn was not looking at any breed-specific ordinance, including a spay-neuter one, opened his remarks by stating that they would not be discussing a breed ban, acknowledging that bans violate CA law. The council went on to discuss dog incidents and statistics with animal control and law enforcement staff. By the end of the evening, it seems most of the city council would love to target Pit Bulls, but the mayor and the city attorney and some of the animal control/law enforcement folks aren’t too eager to start trying to enforce a breed-specific ordinance. We’ll have to wait to see what the draft ordinance actually says.

During last night’s meeting, Councilmember Hanley read a statistic that “90% of all dog attacks are committed by intact dogs.” Well, actually, the statistic often quoted is 90% of all fatal dog attacks are committed by intact males (the percentage is actually less when you look at dog attacks in general). So, Councilmember Hanley, the statistic is male dogs and fatal attacks, and as we all know, statistics are…well…only that. They do not generally prove cause and effect. In fact, almost all idiot dog owners own intact dogs (which, as anyone who has taken a logic course knows, does NOT mean that all intact dogs are owned by idiots — i.e., “all cats are mammals but not all mammals are cats.” But I digress!) So, even if the statistic is valid, does it show that having testicles causes dogs to turn psycho, or does it show that irresponsible owners who fail to properly contain, train, and/or socialize their dog, or are attracted to a “tough” image, by and large, and want to keep intact males? It’s no surprise these might be many of the dogs that end up causing problems in communities, not by virtue of the reproductive organs, but by virtue of the idiots who own and breed them.

And as for the topic of sterilization and aggression, by the way, studies have correlated spaying females to increased aggression). (http://eprints.lincoln.ac.uk/1880/4/1_3.pdf).

However, there are benefits of spaying and neutering. Neutering males CAN lessen a dog’s desire to roam, mark, and hump — but then again, my parent’s Pug, neutered at the age of 5 1/2 months can be quite the little marker — as my mom’s couch can testify! Neutering males, especially younger, can lessen the degree of same-gender DOG aggression (i.e., neutered males can be a little less testy with other males over territory/resource issues).

But as for human aggression — no chopping off testicles does not miraculously turn an unstable, aggressive dog into a gentle, passive one. Behavior problems need to be dressed directly, through intervention, training, and diligence… a trip to the vet to chop off reproductive organs isn’t going train and socialize you. (And if those methods don’t work, just euthanize the dog for everyone’s sake!)

Oh, and let us not forget the two neutered dogs in Napa a year or so ago that broke out of a yard and attacked a passerby.

I will leave you with the following photos from last night’s meeting:

Author Dawn Capp holds an M.S. in medical science (biochemistry and genetics), a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry and molecular biology, and a law degree.

These days, Pit Bulls are so cool, other dogs are pretending to be them! Take one Sacramento Doberman/Shepherd-like mix strolling down the street, biting people, and getting shot by police.

This black-and-tan dog with vaguely shepherd-like ears, a thick tail, and lab-like coat was apparently proclaimed a “vicious Pit Bull” by bystanders, animal control, the police, and even News10.

I’ve posted the image here for all to see. If you think this is a Pit Bull, you need glasses. What I find scary is… did animal control think this was a Pit Bull? (I say “was” because apparently law enforcement shot the dog dead after it bit/attacked several people).

You can see the News10 video here http://www.news10.net/video/default.aspx?aid=85071

UPDATE: KCRA, which originally reported the dogs as “Pit Bulls” has changed its online story to reference them merely as “dogs.” We presume this change is because one of the dogs is obviously NOT a Pit Bull and the other’s breed is still undetermined. http://www.kcra.com/news/21544090/detail.html

Author Dawn Capp holds an M.S. in medical science (biochemistry and genetics), a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry and molecular biology, and a law degree.

News10 did a story about a Pit Bull Attack. Immediately following that story, it aired another story about National Pit Bull Awareness Day in Sacramento (October 24th). In the middle of talking about the Pit Bull walk, News10 interjected the interview of an Animal Control officer from the City of Sacramento. The officer’s name is Clinton Nelms, and he apparently adopted a Pit Bull from the shelter that had behavior issues. (Incidentally, News10 misspelled his name as Melms). Nelms states in the interview that he tried to rehabilitate the dog, but the behavior was not eliminated. Nelms, wearing his animal control uniform and standing in front of the City of Sacramento animal care building, goes on to say he believes that, unless Pit Bull ownership is regulated (think: Breed Specific Legislation!), all Pit Bulls will be banned.

During this interview, News10 shows footage of a white Pit Bull-looking dog in a kennel — presumably at the very same animal care and control agency. The dog is in a kennel with a sign that says “keep fingers out of cage.” The dog also wears a thick chain collar around its neck that’s held in place by a large padlock.

The entire interview with Nelms and the background footage is disturbing, and we wonder why having an image of a barking Pit Bull wearing a ridiculous and intimidating collar was chosen as a backdrop for this story. We have questions we’d like answered. You’ll have to watch the video (link below) to understand our criticisms and concerns.

First, why is the shelter adopting out dogs with aggressive behavior issues in the first place?

Secondly, does the agency want to ban Pit Bulls — currently in violation of state law? Do they really and truly think Pit Bulls are inherently aggressive with (unspecified) “behaviors” that can emerge at any time?

Thirdly, why is News10 showing a dog wearing a thick chain collar with padlock? Did News10 ask to see a “scary” Pit Bull? Or did Nelms or another worker choose to show them this particular dog? Was the footage News10’s way of “juicing” up the story with the most sensationalized image it could find? Or is the City of Sacramento intentionally selecting negative images to show News10?

Fourth, what was the full context of Officer Nelms’ statements. In a preliminary statement, a shelter worker stated that Nelms’ interview was heavily edited and “not entirely accurate.” Just how heavily edited was his interview? Was News10’s editing fair, careless, or intentionally misleading? We’re asking News10 to supply Officer Nelms’ entire, unedited interview for comparison.

Finally, and most curiously of all, why in the hell is there a dog in the City’s kennel that has a thick chain link collar and padlock? Did the dog just come in off the street and no one had five minutes to spare to get the collar off (and if so, why did they then let News10 back to view THAT dog)? Or is this some new policy with the City of Sacramento? Are they now advocating keeping Pit Bulls on thick chain collars with padlocks?

Take a look at the footage (of the relevant portion of the clip) HERE:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrhXl_taWN8

We’ll be interviewing Carol (and Idge) later, so stay tuned for THAT enlightening video!

We implore all Pit Bull advocates to contact the City of Sacramento Animal Department of General Services to express your opinion about Nelms’ ‘ interview. You can go to their online form here: http://www.cityofsacramento.org/generalservices/contact-us/

Or you can call the animal control agency directly at 916-808-7387

After all, everyone who pays taxes and the mandatory dog licensing fees should have a say in what this agency is doing with all our hard-earned money!

Author D. Capp holds an M.S. in medical science (biochemistry and genetics), a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry and molecular biology, and a law degree.

I think it’s about time we talked about the entire regime of online news polls. You know the kind–a news story prompts an Internet media agency to post a poll asking a yes-or-no type question, and then provides a list of selectable answers. Instead of the answers being simple and objective such as “yes,” “no,” or “I don’t know/have no opinion,” they are often phrased in a way that makes at least some people have to “say” things they don’t really mean (or choose not to vote at all).

The following News10 poll caught our attention tonight:

Following Friday’s death of a Delhi child from a pit bull attack, do you think pit bulls should be allowed in homes with small children?Yes. Pit bulls are only dangerous if they are not trained properly.No. Pit bulls are too naturally aggressive to be around children.

I know many of our members wanted to vote, but some just couldn’t bring themselves to select either answer. Both answers mandate that, in order to vote, one must assert that Pit Bulls “are dangerous.”

Yes. Pit Bulls are no more potentially dangerous than other dogs of similar size.

That, at least, is a true statement. (At least if you believe the National Geographic bite force tests which show the Pit Bull’s jaw strength is less than that of both the Rottweiler and the German Shepherd).

And anyone who wants to say, “But German Shepherds don’t kill babies.” Um. Yes, they do. In fact, there were at least 27 human deaths caused by German Shepherds between 1979 and 1998 in the United States (and deaths caused by police dogs are NOT included in this number). Great Danes caused 8 human deaths during this same time period.

These numbers come from the CDC Report, and unfortunately, it’s impossible to tell how many deaths were caused by Pit Bulls during this time period, because the CDC study only references “Pit Bull type” dogs (it doesn’t say “German Shepherd type” dogs, in comparison). So, we have no way of knowing what “Pit Bull type” dog includes. Does it include Bull Terriers and American Staffordshire Terriers and Staffordshire Bull Terriers and Boxers and American Bulldogs and all the other breeds commonly mistaken for Pit Bulls (like Presa Canarios, Bandogs, Dogos, and anything else that has short hair)?

We’d like very much to see News10 and other agencies change they way they craft their online polls to include more neutral (and factually correct) statements as answer options. We don’t mean to pick on News10 because, after all, we LIKE News10 (especially after their exceptional story on Continental Airlines and its horrible breed discrimination policy):D (Of course, we’re totally objective on that point!)

But, come on… enough is enough with the slanted online news polls!

Should you wish to send your POLITE comments to News10, you can email the agency at comments@kxtv.com

CDC Report: http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/duip/dogbreeds.pdf

Author D. Capp holds an M.S. in medical science (biochemistry and genetics), a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry and molecular biology, and a law degree.