HB 101's Weblog

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HB 101 — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 02:07:29 +0000

I recieved this e-mail today from someone keeping very good watch on HB-101.

I received an email stating HB 101 may be added to another ‘animal related bill’ in session, thereby passing inconjunction with that bill!! I called the Committee on Agribusiness at 850-488-5465, and spoke with an extremely helpful person that gave me further details. She said there was nothing on file at the moment that stated that was happening, however that was not to say it couldn’t. She said HB119 had been withdrawn, SB744 had not been heard by any committies, and HB1227 was ‘not moving’. HOWEVER, she said to keep an eye on Agri Bills HB5055 and 5077, because HB 101 could potentially be attached to them. The Session ends May 2nd, so our fight is not over yet!

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Keep writing those letters.

APRIL 12 – Sit In to Protest HB-101

HB 101 — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 13:40:43 +0000

There will be SIT INs for people and their dogs on Saturday April 12, 2008. This will be a time for all animal lovers to come together in support of responsible pet ownership and rescue to let our legislators know responsible pet owners are a big part of their constituents and we will not tolerate bills such as HB101 that targets Breed Specific Legislation. Let’s unite to tell them instead of such inane ideas as banning breeds, we need better laws to prosecute animal abusers and enforcement of the ones in place!

If you want to participate in a location below, please e-mail the contact listed.

If you want to be a group leader and coordinator of a park or location in your area, click here to EMAIL and sign up to be a Team Leader. Each team leader is in charge of promoting the Sit In at their park.

Sat April 12th

Arrive and sign in at 2pm

EVERYONE one dog per person

ALL CANINE BUTTS on the grass from 2:30 to 2:35

Here are the teams so far:

Wilton Manors, Broward, FL

Chuck- Broward Friends of Shelter Animals

Browardcares@gmail.com

Wilton Manors, Broward, FL

15^th Ave Bark Park

Oakland Park, Broward, FL

Amber- Camp Canine Fort Lauderdale

amber@campcanineflorida.com

38^th St Bark Park

Markham Park, Fort Lauderdale, FL

Jamie- rescue volunteer

michaelgillham@hotmail.com

Matt- Frisbee group

xmonstermattx@aol.com

Bark Park

Snyder Park, Fort Lauderdale, FL

Jacquelyn- Faktura Pet Projekt- Feral Dog Rescue

FakturaProjekts@gmail.com

Bark Park at Snyder Park

Tim and Kayla- Rescue Volunteers

TGOMEZ@miamidade.gov

kaylagomez@hotmail.com

MIAMI

Need Park INFO

Avon Park, FL

Yvonne- Humane Society Sebring

byvonne608@aol.com

Need Park Info

Venice, FL

Mary- Cat Rescue- St. Francis Animal Rescue

stfrancisar@verizon.net

NEED PARK CONFIRMATION

Cape Coral, FL

Sharon- Rescue Volunteer

sharpebrandt@msn.com

Waggin’ Tails Dog Park in the city’s Rotary Park

Karin- Pet Sitter

Karinlynneevans@aol.com

Need LOCATION

Visit the organizer’s website here:

www.bewaregooddog.com

A Letter from a Florida Pet Owner

HB 101 — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 08:45:16 +0000

Dear Representives:

I would like to share a story about one the most scariest moments in my life. It was almost 4 years ago. My family and I was at a very close friends house. The plan was to have cookout and let all of our kids play together and have fun. Instead, we all spent the night in the emergency room with my youngest son who was only 3 years old at the time.

The night started when my husband and I ran into my friend and her husband at wal-mart. We were all buying food to grill for dinner that night at their house. After we were done making our purchases. My family followed their family back to their home. As the adult walked into the house, I was about to put down the groceries down on the counter when I heard my oldest son running into the house screaming that Jake (my 3 year old) was bleeding really bad. I immediately ran outside and saw my 3 year old son sqwatting down, holding his face and blood prefusely pouring thru his hand onto the cement. What you must understand is that we were only in their house for approximately 3 minutes (and that’s being extremely generous). It is was not like my son was a stranger to this dog, for you the owner was my best friend. My family spent countless h ours, even days at their house. So this came as tremendous shock to us all that this attack had occurred. And it was an even bigger suprise, when we learned that the only thing that my son had did to the dog when he arrived at the house was to bend down and pet him on the head.

Needless to say, my son’s face was mauled by this dog. He had over 12 laserations to the right side of his tiny little face. When we arrived at the hospital, I layed him down on the gurny to find chunks of his flesh stuck to my shirt. He had to have a plastic surgeon operate on his face to close his wounds. This was due the fact that is laserations had laserations. My precious little baby, had to have almost 100 stitches to the outside as well as the inside of his face to close his wounds. In total, that surgery cost over 12,000 dollars to fix my son’s face that night.

I share this story with you because I read a statement that was made about the viciousness of one dog versus another. I dont know that I agree with this mindset, for you see the dog that mauled my son was not a dog listed on the “top most dangerous” dog list. It was not a pit bull, doberman or even a rottweiller. It was a blue healer. The dog only stood about 10 inches from the ground. He was consider to be a small dog but he did a tremendous amount of damage.

Finally, I must comment on the “danger” of certain dogs. I currently have one of the famous “bad” dogs. Her name is ginger. She is a rottweiller and she is the biggest mush face, you have ever seen. She is the gentlest dog in the world. My children feed her treats from their lips.

Another quick story about another one of our pets. Her name was lady. She was a golden retriever. We adopted her from the pound and later came to the conclusion that she must have been beaten by her previous owners because every time I would try to sweep the house, she would bark and cowar down. She was affraid of the broom and sticks. Needless to say, We had to put her down due to the fact that she bit on 2 separate occations. The first time was our niece. She was trying to play fetch with lady and when she drew back the stick to throw, Lady bit the stick and part of her cheeck. It was a clean bite only 4 small puncture wounds. My husband and I decided right there that we were going to put her down but everyone involved convinced us not to do it. The doctors, the nurses, the police officer who filed the report and even the person from the animal shelter said that this was a freak accident, it not in a golde n retriever’s nature to be vicious. We listened and a few years later, she bit our nephew in the face. He got too close to her face while she was eating and she snapped. This time it wasnt so clean. He received 36 stitches to his head, face and arms. We should have stuck with our initial decision and not allowed anyone to convince us otherwise.

I asked you, PLEASE vote against the HB101 bill because you really cant judge dogs by their breed. If that is the case, then one day in the near future, the state of florida will ban all dogs because if the irresponsible dog owners can’t have thier dog of choice then they will settle for the next breed and ruin it as well. And the cycle will keep repeating until all dogs are banned.

Not to mention, I dont think my poor children could not handle loosing another dog. We just lost our 13 year Doberman on July 4, 2007. She was here before we had kids therefore, she was a constant love in their lives. As well as, I really dont think my husband could stand returning home from Afghanistan to find out that his “daughter” was gone. You see, our rottweiller is not just a dog to us. She is part of our family

Thank you for your time.

The Independent Florida Alligator on HB101

HB 101 — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 14:29:03 +0000

http://www.alligator.org/articles/2008/03/25/news/local/080325_dogs.txt

Breed-specific bans unlikely to affect Alachua County dog owners

By WILL PAFFORD, Alligator Writer

March 25, 2008

Although a new state bill may give local governments the power to ban certain breeds of dogs, local officials say they have not seen evidence that would support banning certain breeds in Alachua County.Florida House Bill 101, which has been proposed in Tallahassee, would lift an 18-year-long restriction banning local governments from prohibiting their residents from owning “dangerous dogs” based on breed.

Florida House Rep. Perry Thurston, D-Plantation, who sponsored the bill, said it just gives local governments the authority to ban certain dogs but does not force them to.

“It gives them a complete arsenal to protect the citizens,” he said. “Whatever authorities want to do, they should have the authority to do it.”

Currently Florida, Texas, California, New York and eight other states do not allow breed-specific legislation.

Gainesville defers to the decisions of the Alachua County Commission for dangerous animal law.

“I personally do not support, just from my own standpoint, banning dogs by breed,” County Commissioner Paula DeLaney said.

DeLaney said while the commission would have the ability to get involved, she has not seen any evidence that certain breeds of dogs are more dangerous than others. In addition, Alachua County already has laws in place to deal with dangerous pets, she said.

Many animal specialists and owners agree that current local laws based on the behavior of individual dogs are more effective in protecting people from danger.

Lin Santerfeit, an investigator for Alachua County Animal Services, said the laws in Alachua County are adequate.

According to the Alachua County Animal Services Ordinance, a dog is considered dangerous when it has attacked a human, injured or killed a companion animal, been used for dog fighting or chased a human unprovoked.

Once a dog is considered dangerous, the dog must wear a collar indicating it is a threat, and the owner must post signs on the property to warn others.

“The law is already there,” said Jude Piccola, president of the Society to Protect Animal Young-Legislation, Education, Enforcement Inc. in Ft. Myers. “Ban the deed, not the breed.”

Piccola said while the bill does not target any specific breed, she is worried it might lead communities to outlaw bigger breeds, like her Doberman pinscher.

City Commissioner Jack Donovan was on the public safety committee two years ago when the city investigated dangerous dogs and proposed rules for dog owners.

Donovan said that most of the time, when evaluating why a dog is dangerous, “owner misbehavior seems to be the first place you go.”

He said he has not seen any data to suggest one breed of dog is more dangerous than another.

Santerfeit also said it is not possible to tell if a dog is dangerous based on its breed.

“There is some really good in every breed, and there is some really bad in every breed,” she said.

However, according to a study conducted by Animal People, an online publication about animals, pit bull terrier is the deadliest breed based on newspaper reports from 1982-2006.

According to a September 2000 study by the Centers for Disease Control, while other breeds have fatally attacked people, rottweilers and pit bulls were responsible for 67 percent of dog bite-related human fatalities in America between 1997 and 1998.

A report published by the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association concluded that although it appears pit bulls and rottweilers are more deadly to humans, determining a dog’s breed is usually difficult.

Therefore, even if a ban were passed, it could be difficult to enforce.

Kenneth Phillips is a personal injury lawyer based in Beverly Hills, Calif., who specializes in national dog bite laws.

Phillips said that although the Florida bill would not require any local government to ban dogs by breed, governments that do are addressing the problem shortsightedly.

“It is a knee-jerk reaction to a problem that needs a broader solution,” he said.

Banning a breed of dog to combat dog attacks is like trying to reduce gun crime by banning all Smith & Wesson firearms, he said.

Miami-Dade County is the only Florida county with a breed-specific ban, which prohibits pit bulls. The ban was instituted before local governments were prevented from doing so.

Thurston said he created the bill after a woman complained to her homeowner’s association that she was scared to walk in her neighborhood because of loose dogs.

“You got old ladies afraid to walk around,” he said.

Alachua County resident Jay Jolicouer, who owns a Labrador retriever, said it’s not fair to determine if a dog is dangerous based on its breed or size.

“I’ve been bitten by four dogs,” Jolicouer said, “three poodles and a mutt.”

Rep Martin David Kiar, Two Thumbs Up!

HB 101 — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 13:17:33 +0000

Here is a letter from Beth N. to her Rep, David Kiar, who is another legislator who has some good sense when it comes to HB101.

—–Original Message—–
From: Beth N.
Sent: Tuesday, March 25, 2008 12:41 PM
To: Kiar, Martin
Subject: From ‘Write Your Representative’ Website

To the Honorable Martin David Kiar;

I am writing to you because I am very concerned about HB 101. I strongly disagree with Rep. Thurston’s belief that banning certain dog breeds will curb dangerous dog behavior. It doesn’t make sense to cull the canine poplulation to eliminate thousands of wonderful pets just because of the behavior and lack of pet-ownership responsibility of some dog owners. Perhaps we should be looking at stronger pet owning licensing requirements & accountability; however, eliminating non-aggressive animals just because they were born a specific breed is cruel, unjust and ineffective. Get to the source – train the people & hold them accountable. Have breeding of dogs restricted, and encourage spay & neuter programs & dog training/dog behavior education. Dog is man’s best friend – let’s show them some respect.

Sincerely,

Beth N

——————

Beth’s representative took the time to write and send her a personal response.

—– Original Message —–
From: “Kiar, Martin”
To: Beth N
Sent: Tuesday, March 25, 2008 12:48 PM
Subject: RE: From ‘Write Your Representative’ Website

Thank you for your email. I agree with you completely and I will absolutely oppose HB 101. It is a bad and unfair bill. Have a great day.

Take care,

Martin David Kiar

Representative Martin David Kiar, District 97
6600 University Drive
Parkland, FL 33067
954-346-2813
Fax 954-346-2815

Misquoted

HB 101 — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 20:52:13 +0000

It seems the press really is notorious for changing a quote to fit what they want to portray. I found a condensed article from the original Sun-Sentinel article today. This one was on the on-line Herald Tribune site.

And as it was written:

Helen Schwarzmann, of the Florida Doberman Pinscher Rescue Ring, started a blog on her group’s Web site opposing the bill. Any breed can attack a human, she said. Labrador retrievers, the most popular breed in America, rank near the top in reported cases of dog bites in South Florida, she said.

I NEVER said “Any breed can attack a human.”

This was the original quote from the Sun-Sentinel article:

Fort Lauderdale’s Helen Schwarzmann, of the Florida Doberman Pinscher Rescue Ring, started a blog on her group’s Web site to try to derail the bill. Thurston’s move to target certain breeds places the blame on the dogs, she said, instead of where it should be: their owners.

“Any breed can go out and do bad things,” Schwarzmann said, noting that Labrador retrievers, the most popular breed in America, rank near the top in reported cases of dog bites in South Florida.

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As you can see, I never used those misquoted words. By “bad things,” I was referring to mischief, not necessarily attacking humans.

It’s appalling how someone can recreate a quote to suit his/her needs.

Meanwhile, please keep your letters going to your representatives. Let them know you want to keep your dogs no matter where in Florida you live.

Helen

Please Watch This Video – Michael Vick’s Rehabbed Pit Bulls

HB 101 — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 14:18:00 +0000

This is a warm story about Pit Bulls and how they can love and be loved.

What an amazing segment.

CLICK

If you are as moved by this as I was, please send the link to your representatives and let them see the other side of Pit Bulls.

Press Inquiries

HB 101 — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 18:50:57 +0000

For Press inquiries, please contact Jude Piccola.
Cell 239-851-0432
Home phone/fax 239-939-3680
E-mail apic@aol.com

Please forward the links to any articles written about HB101 to dobermannrescue@earthlink.net, and we will post them on the blog.

Thank you,
Helen

www.dobermannpinscher.org

South Florida HB101 Articles

HB 101 — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 21:23:34 +0000

Two newspapers in South Florida have run articles on HB101 recently.

PETS AND THE LAW
State proposal to allow dangerous-dog ban stirs debate

By ROBERTO SANTIAGO

rsantiago@MiamiHerald.com

Posted on Sat, Mar. 08, 2008

——————

Bill would let Florida cities ban
pit bulls, other dog breeds

By Josh Hafenbrack |Tallahassee Bureau

jhafenbrack@sun-sentinel.com

March 16, 2008

Representative Ralph Poppell rocks!

HB 101 — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 20:46:09 +0000

This is Representative Ralph Poppell’s response to my letter.

October 25, 2007

Thank you for your copying me on your recent e-mail, in which you expressed concern with regard to House Bill 101. I am pleased that you took the time to contact me, and I appreciate being able to have the benefit of your views regarding this legislation.

As you know, this proposal was recently referred to the House Committee on Agribusiness, of which I am a member, for review and potential consideration. There is a possibility that, during the Committee process, this legislation could be amended and substantially alter the intent of the language. As such, my staff and I will continue to monitor the proposal for potential changes.

In the interim, however, please know that I feel that it is the owner of the dog that should be responsible for the actions of his or her dog – regardless of the breed. It is not logical to impugn particular breeds of dogs merely because of stereotypes and negative publicity. Simply, pet owners need to be accountable for the behavior of their animals, not the government.

Should this proposal be considered by the Agribusiness Committee, I will be certain to remain mindful of your remarks. Once again, thank you for writing.

Sincerely,

Representative Ralph Poppell

State House District 29