Bills, Laws, etc.

"Beware of Dog" "No Trespassing" and liability

the_november_rain — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 04:17:22 -0500

Hey Guys!

I was wondering if any of you have a "Beware of Dog" and/or '"No Trespassing" signs on your property. And are you worried about liability if your dogs were to bite a strange who manages to get on your property.

USDA - Imported Dogs - Proposal

ShikokuSpirit — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 13:29:31 -0400

USDA Proposes to Strengthen Health Requirements for Imported Dogs

Breed Bans

Evan — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 11:36:11 -0500

What are your views on such laws? As Pitbull mix owner you can probably guess my opinion. But what about Half-Wolf or Coydogs?

This is what I feel like saying to every lawmaker thinking about imposing a breed ban...

Alberta Big Game Hunting & Dogs

hondru — Tue, 31 May 2011 18:24:42 -0400

Hey, everyone. I know there aren't many from Alberta on here, but if you take a minute to write some emails, I would really appreciate it! Currently, it's illegal for a hunter to be accompanied by a dog while hunting big game. That includes dogs on leashes, dogs trained to track wounded game, dogs carrying supplies, dogs trained to hunt other animals (for instance, if you are hunting birds with your dog and you see a deer, you would be breaking the law by shooting it, just because the dog is there), dogs meant to guard camps from bears, and even dogs left in a parked car while the owner goes out to shoot a deer.

Legalizing the use of dogs in big game hunting has been a wish of hunters in the area for years and was recently voted in favour of by the Alberta Fish and Game Association. However, Sustainable Resource Development has to give the go ahead and they're dragging their feet. So, please email these people and tell them to make it legal! Thanks!

Jim Allen - james.allen@gov.ab.ca
Rob Corrigan - Rob.Corrigan@gov.ab.ca
Mel Knight - grandeprairie.smoky@assembly.ab.ca
Doug Butler - dougbutler@live.com
Nate Webb - nathan.webb@gov.ab.ca
Evan Berger - livingstone.macleod@assembly.ab.ca

ignorance of some people

kaikenone — Sat, 02 Jul 2011 12:09:10 -0400

So, we have been taking the Kai puppys to a weekly walk put on in a nearby city as part of the Michigan Walks program. Great socialization by the way.

So last week it was on the board walk and my sister in law and my neice and her friend and I were walking the puppys. Of course everyone was asking what breed etc.. so this older guy with his buddies are fishing and he asks us the usual questions breed, size, etc and then he says " Are they Mean". So SIssy (sister in law) says no they are not mean... you need to socialize them etc... So the guys says " no I mean can you make them mean like a "pit bull". So she says they are protective and good watch dogs... so he says" no your missing my point can you teach them to attack people " .....

I missed most of this because I was walking ahead with Yugi who thought he was in some kind of race.. I wanted to go back and have a "discussion" with this idiot .....but of course Sissy would not let me.

some people are so stupid... it is this mentality that gets people attacked and breeds banned............

BSL information

kaikenone — Sat, 02 Jul 2011 10:44:01 -0400

I am surprised there is not more activity in this Topic, since BSL will affect everyone eventually. I recently wrote an essay and a speech on Breed Specific Legislation and was shocked at some of the things I learned, for instance PETA's stand on "Pit Bulls". PETA has adopted the "pit bull' shelter policy that all pit bulls be euthanized whether they are adoptable or not...... organizations like this are the ones funding politicians so they will implement BSL's and breeding bans. http://www.nokillnow.com/PETAkillPitbulls.php

We all need to start fighting BSL no matter what the state or country or the breed involved. Once they realize that banning a specific breed does not work they will began banning another and another until all breeds are banned. This affects everyone from breeders to pet owners, whether you have/want one dog or 20 dogs, whether you have a "pit bull" or a pomeranian.

I found this link on a group to fight BSL in Michigan.I will be sending more links on this very important subject.

Writing effective letters to officials

One of the most difficult things for those new to fighting BSL is expressing your feelings to the legislators and/or other officials who have proposed it. There are some very important things to remember when communicating with officials...

http://defendingdog.com/id2.html

New Akita attack

shibamistress — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 15:13:08 -0500

Just saw this: http://chronicle.augusta.com/latest-news/2011-01-24/girl-9-dies-dog-attack

This is a terrible, terrible thing, of course, but I'm also thinking, oh, no, here we go again with more anti-Akita sentiment, and calls for BSL. (not that it has happened yet from this, but I bet it will). When I was looking for this, I saw that after an Akita attack in Britain, there was calls to add them to the dangerous dog act.

And on a small petty note, I keep thinking, you know this was not a Japanese Akita (Akita Inu) but rather an American Akita....)

It's just like pits...it's the individual dog, not the breed, but people aren't willing to see that.

Dogs per household limit

okiron — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 16:59:34 -0500

So most (if not all) places have a limit of how many dogs (and/or cats) you can have before needing a kennel license. Now is that by street address or family?

Let's say we have a roommate with 2 dogs and we have 3 dogs. The county limit is 4 dogs per household. Would the roommate be included in the household?

Sure I could call the county up and ask but since we don't even have 1 dog (nor do we have a roommate) I don't really want to bother them and make them suspicious of something that's not happening.

New FDA Recommendation For Dog Food

jujee — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 14:41:34 -0500

This is a cross post from my post on the Shiba forums:

The company I buy my premade raw posted about this. I wanted to pass it along for those of us who feed premade raw. The FDA is proposing a new regulation for all dog foods, which includes, canned, kibble and raw, for a zero tolerance for salmonella. Which means the FDA is going to be make all manufactures cook, pasteurize, irradiate, or high pressure process the foods.

If this pass it will affect the premade raw feeder community, as the protein formulas that have salmonella in it will change. Olivia (CEO/President of the company I purchase my raw from) is urging us to make comments to the FDA about this and to separate the categories between Raw Unprocessed Food and Dry Processed Food.

I really do hope they separate the categories, because it will affect Mika's diet.

www.regulations.gov, search under FDA, open comments, keyword…Salmonella in Animal Feed or Docket# HFA-305.
Deadline to submit a comment is December 31, 2010

Just in case people are having trouble submitting a comment or finding the spot to, after searching for HFA-305, on the table listed below on the "View By Relevance" tab make sure to hit "Title" and the original Notice will be the first one listed, and there's an option to submit a comment on that one.

A really interesting article regarding BSL

JessicaRabbit — Wed, 05 May 2010 12:34:05 -0400

http://www.dogstardaily.com/blogs/advocacy-overdrive-why-bsl-humane-treatment-dogs-are-linked

Bumped: ASPCA promoting tax relief for pet medical care

StaticNfuzz — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 02:29:39 -0400

Bumped from Shiba Forum

This came in today and I thought I would send along.

To find out more and download a sample letter go to link to http://www.aspca.org/
and type HAPPY Act, H.R. 3501 in the search field at top right.

Snf

***********
Dear Animal Advocates,

Introduced by Rep. Thaddeus McCotter, H.R. 3501—known as the Humanity and Pets Partnered Through the Years (“HAPPY”) Act—is a federal bill that would reward responsible pet parents by allowing them to keep more money in their pockets come tax time.

We all want to give our animal companions the best care we possibly can, but it seems that pet care costs are always on the rise—and these days, it’s harder than ever to stretch the family budget. That’s why the ASPCA supports H.R. 3501, which would amend U.S. tax code to allow qualifying pet care expenses, including veterinary care, to be tax-deductible.

This means that when you prepare your income taxes, money you spent on pet care that year would count as non-taxable income—and you can deduct up to $3,500 per year!

Please help us support the HAPPY Act, H.R. 3501.

What You Can Do
Visit the ASPCA Advocacy Center online to send an email to your U.S. representative and urge him or her to support and cosponsor the HAPPY Act, H.R. 3501.

Thank you for supporting this bill and being part of our team!

Chained Dogs Law goes into effect in part of Atlanta...

ljowen123 — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 17:42:11 -0400

Fulton County is one of the counties making up Atlanta, GA.

The info below was sent out by one of my favorite places to get treats for Jazz.

Chaining dogs is ILLEGAL as of 9/04 in Fulton County

In March for the city of Atlanta, a bill was unanimously passed that makes it illegal to chain or tether your dog up outside. It goes into effect on September 4, 2009, so owners have a six month grace period to adjust to the new law. Some owners constructed fences or pens for their dogs, but there are still a lot of dogs living on the end of chains.

Don't worry if you like to tie your dog up outside with you while you're washing the car or out barbecuing in the park. The new law allows dogs to be tied up if the owner is present. It's the owners that force their dogs to lives live entirely on chains that this law is for. It also requires owners to provide properly fitting collars or harnesses that are not excessively heavy. No more chains or cords are to be wrapped around their necks. What about the dog owners who truly love and care about their dogs but don't have the financial means to provide a fenced in yard? An amazing group, Dogs Deserve Better, already thought about this. They can help cash-strapped dog owners by building a dog pen. Contact your local Dogs Deserve Better Area Rep to find out more details.

DOGNAPPING! (stealies not sleepies)

shirapup32 — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 13:10:04 -0400

Well I'm at work posting things on the web for NY Assembly members, and I came across a dognapping story! A man in a wheelchair and a woman stole a Husky, Laika, from in front of a store in Brooklyn. I initially wanted to post here to help out, but it turns out Laika has been found! You can read their happy ending here. Now Assemblyman Lentol is drafting legislation for NY that will raise the crime of dognapping from "Lost Property" to a felony.
Property, my ass! That's my furbaby!

BSL

brada1878 — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 01:06:14 -0400

Nice vid on BSL:

----

Law to ban debarking comes up in Mass.

Wryly Brindle — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 10:18:55 -0400

http://wbztv.com/local/dogs.devocalization.surgery.2.1079195.html

Hear Hear!,

and I mean it.

I have met a lot of dogs in the 5 years I took my dogs to The Field, but I only ever met debarked dogs at dog sports matches- owned by 'dog people." Shelties mostly. Friends and I went to watch a flyball meet held at an indoor soccer facility nearby. Since there really wasn't anyone there just to watch except us, we were allowed to get quite close to the tracks and people would come and talk with us, explain it all. One woman had her sheltie near us watching, and the poor thing seemed to bark but this aborting kind of cough came out.

I am a Yankee, and we're not intrusive, and there's loads I don;t know, so even thoguh I looked a bit quizzically at the woman when the sound came out of her dog, I didnt say anything and she smiled and sheepishly moved away. The second dog I heard bark that way had a much more brazen owner- "Is your dog okay?" I asked. "Oh, yeah, she is."
"She barks strange"
"well, yeah, I slit her throat."
?!?!!?
"Removed her vocal cords."
???
"I have six of these things and they're all barkers, and I have neighbors, you know!"
I saw stunned and couldn't think of anything to say before she strode off, cheering for a friend's dog.

So, if you have neighbors and don't want barking dogs, why did you get a sheltie of all things? or 6 shelties? or any dogs? so YOU can do flyball? this is SO very cart-before-the-horse, and cruel I can't stand it. I wish people's conscience and ethics were up to par so we didn't need to make laws about it.

I don't understand how these people can say they love dogs, or are even In Dogs. I imagine she may also breed (hence 6 of them) and show them, but I'd imagine a judge would expect any sheltie worth being deemed "The Sheltiest" to be a spirited barker, so maybe she doesn't.

This just makes me so mad. Last year we banned greyhound racing, so creating awareness of debarking is a good thing. GO, Massachusetts!

PA residents! Speak up! Akitas, Rotts & Pits will be on "the list"!

tsukitsune — Fri, 30 May 2008 17:27:31 -0400

To see legislation near your hometown : http://www.akc.org/news/sections/legislative_alerts.cfm

PA Bill to Allow Local BSL
[Thursday, May 22, 2008]

Pennsylvania House Bill 2553 will remove the state's prohibition on breed specific local ordinances, thereby allowing municipalities to adopt any type of law applicable to dangerous dogs, including breed-specific ordinances. It is imperative that concerned dog owners in Pennsylvania contact their legislators and express their strong opposition to this bill.

The American Kennel Club supports reasonable, enforceable, non-discriminatory laws to govern the ownership of dogs. The AKC believes that dog owners should be responsible for their dogs. We support laws that: establish a fair process by which specific dogs are identified as "dangerous" based on stated, measurable actions; impose appropriate penalties on irresponsible owners; and establish a well-defined method for dealing with dogs proven to be dangerous. The American Kennel Club strongly opposes any legislation that determines a dog to be "dangerous" based on specific breeds or phenotypic classes of dogs.

By allowing municipalities to impose breed-specific dangerous dog ordinances, HB 2553, if passed, will permit communities to unfairly target well-behaved dogs of specific breeds, thereby raising the possibility of harsh care and condition requirements or the possibility of penalties for owning certain breeds while not focusing on whether or not an individual dog has previously exhibited dangerous behavior. Additionally, the breed-specific ordinances allowed under this bill will create an unenforceable patchwork of dangerous dog rules across the Commonwealth.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

Concerned Pennsylvania dog owners should contact the members of the House Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee. Respectfully let them know that HB 2553 is an unacceptable means to address dog control issues.

Majority:

Hon. Michael K. Hanna, Majority Chairman
302 Main Capitol Building
PO Box 202076
Harrisburg, PA 17120-2076
(717) 772-2283
Fax: (717) 787-4137
To e-mail Rep. Hanna, click here.

Hon. Gary Haluska, Majority Vice Chairman
114 Irvis Office Building
PO Box 202073
Harrisburg, PA 17120-2073
(717) 787-3532
Fax: (717) 783-7548
To e-mail Rep. Haluska, click here.

Hon. David R. Kessler, Majority Secretary
115A East Wing
PO Box 202130
Harrisburg, PA 17120-2130
(717) 787-2769
Fax: (717) 780-4768
To e-mail Rep. Kessler, click here.

Hon. Mike Carroll
28A East Wing
PO Box 202118
Harrisburg, PA 17120-2118
(717) 787-3589
Fax: (717) 780-4763
To e-mail Rep. Carroll, click here.

Hon. Mark B. Cohen
128 Main Capitol Building
PO Box 202202
Harrisburg, PA 17120-2202
(717) 787-4117
Fax: (717) 787-6650
To e-mail Rep. Cohen, click here.

Hon. H. Scott Conklin
101B East Wing
PO Box 202077
Harrisburg, PA 17120-2077
(717) 787-9473
Fax: (717) 780-4764
To e-mail Rep. Conklin, click here.

Hon. Peter J. Daley
214 Irvis Office Building
PO Box 202049
Harrisburg, PA 17120-2049
(717) 783-9333
Fax: (717) 783-7558
To e-mail Rep. Daley, click here.

Hon. Richard T. Grucela
G-01 Irvis Office Building
PO Box 202137
Harrisburg, PA 17120-2137
(717) 705-1878
Fax: (717) 783-3180
To e-mail Rep. Grucela, click here.

Hon. Harold James
317 Irvis Office Building
PO Box 202186
Harrisburg, PA 17120-2186
(717) 787-9477
Fax: (717) 787-7517
To e-mail Rep. James, click here.

Hon. Babette Josephs
300 Main Capitol Building
PO Box 202182
Harrisburg, PA 17120-2182
(717) 787-8529
Fax: (717) 787-5066
To e-mail Rep. Josephs, click here.

Hon. Tim Mahoney
104B East Wing
PO Box 202051
Harrisburg, PA 17120-2051
(717) 772-2174
Fax: (717) 780-4786
To e-mail Rep. Mahoney, click here.

Hon. John Myers
305 Irvis Office Building
PO Box 202201
Harrisburg, PA 17120-2201
(717) 787-3181
Fax: (717) 772-4038
To e-mail Rep. Myers, click here.

Hon. Frank Louis Oliver
34E East Wing
PO Box 202195
Harrisburg, PA 17120-2195
(717) 787-3480
Fax: (717) 783-0684
To e-mail Rep. Oliver, click here.

Hon. Timothy J. Solobay
G-14 Irvis Office Building
PO Box 202048
Harrisburg, PA 17120-2048
(717) 787-1188
Fax: (717) 705-1887
To e-mail Rep. Solobay, click here.

Hon. Tom Yewcic
300 Irvis Office Building
PO Box 202072
Harrisburg, PA 17120-2072
(717) 783-0248
Fax: (717) 787-4922
To e-mail Rep. Yewcic, click here.

Hon. Rosita C. Youngblood
121A East Wing
PO Box 202198
Harrisburg, PA 17120-2198
(717) 787-7727
Fax: (717) 772-1313
To e-mail Rep. Youngblood, click here.

Minority:

Hon. Art Hershey, Minority Chairman
202 Ryan Office Building
PO Box 202013
Harrisburg, PA 17120-2013
(717) 783-6435
Fax: (717) 705-1868
To e-mail Rep. Hershey, click here.

Hon. Bob Bastian, Minority Vice Chairman
402A Irvis Office Building
PO Box 202069
Harrisburg, PA 17120-2069
(717) 783-8756
Fax: (717) 783-3899
To e-mail Rep. Bastian, click here.

Hon. Mike Fleck, Minority Secretary
159A East Wing
PO Box 202081
Harrisburg, PA 17120-2081
(717) 787-3335
Fax: (717) 260-6504
E-mail:mfleck@pahousegop.com

Hon. Karen Boback
141B East Wing
PO Box 202117
Harrisburg, PA 17120-2117
(717) 787-1117
Fax: (717) 705-1889
E-Mail: kboback@pahousegop.com

Hon. Michele Brooks
153B East Wing
PO Box 202017
Harrisburg, PA 17120-2017
(717) 783-5008
Fax: (717) 705-1948
E-mail:mbrooks@pahousegop.com

Hon. Jim Cox
412 Irvis Office Building
PO Box 202129
Harrisburg, PA 17120-2129
(717) 772-2435
Fax: (717) 260-6516
E-mail:jcox@pahousegop.com

Hon. Gordon Denlinger
163A East Wing
PO Box 202099
Harrisburg, PA 17120-2099
(717) 787-3531
Fax: (717) 705-1951
E-mail:gdenling@pahousegop.com

Hon. David S. Hickernell
143B East Wing
PO Box 202098
Harrisburg, PA 17120-2098
(717) 783-2076
Fax: (717) 705-1946
To e-mail Rep. Hickernell, click here.

Hon. Rob W. Kauffman
163A East Wing
PO Box 202089
Harrisburg, PA 17120-2089
(717) 705-2004
Fax: (717) 705-1951
E-mail: rkauffma@pahousegop.com

Hon. Mark K. Keller
5 East Wing
PO Box 202086
Harrisburg, PA 17120-2086
(717) 783-1593
Fax: (717) 705-7012
E-mail: mkeller@pahousegop.com

Hon. David R. Millard
402B Irvis Office Building
PO Box 202109
Harrisburg, PA 17120-2109
(717) 783-1102
Fax: (717) 772-0094
E-mail:dmillard@pahousegop.com

Hon. Dan Moul
G-32 Irvis Office Building
PO Box 202091
Harrisburg, PA 17120-2091
(717) 783-5217
E-Mail: dmoul@pahousegop.com

Hon. Tina Pickett
155A East Wing
PO Box 202110
Harrisburg, PA 17120-2110
(717) 783-8238
Fax: (717) 705-1949
E-mail: tpickett@pahousegop.com

For more information, contact AKC's Government Relations Department at (919) 816-3720, or e-mail doglaw@akc.org.