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Saturday, January 12, 2008


Pit Bull "Parenting" Class Offered After Brutal Death of Jennifer Lowe

Knoxville Animal Shelter Responds (Barely)
Tennessee - In the wake of Jennifer Lowe's fatal mauling by two pit bulls, two Tennessee cities (Johnson City and Rockwood) are researching ordinances that ban or restrict the breed, joining an international movement toward anti-pit bull laws.

The Knoxville County Animal Center, which regulates the region where Jennifer's attacked stemmed, is dealing with public concerns by offering a Pit Bull Parenting class taught by volunteers over the course of a weekend. The class will teach pit bull owners or would-be owners about socializing the dogs and encouraging obedience.

A one-weekend Pit Bull Parenting class hardly addresses the problem. Moreover, irresponsible dog owners aren't likely to attend this course. Prior to San Francisco's mandatory sterilization law, the city's animal shelter offered free sterilization to entice pit bull owners to spay and neuter their dogs. The free service was ineffective.

Vicky Crosetti, the Director of the Humane Society of the Tennessee Valley, comments:
"By offering a class on Pit Bull Parenting, the Young-Williams Center board does indeed recognize that pit bull-type dogs are in fact dogs which require specially trained owners." She points out that several Humane Society shelters in the area, including hers, refuse to offer pit bulls for adoption.
Crosetti praised state Sen. Tim Burchett's state-wide call to mandate the spaying and neutering of pit bulls. "This would have been an excellent first step in protecting our community and particularly our children from dogs who can and frequently do maim, cause serious injury and death."

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4 comments:

Anonymous Anonymous  |  1/12/2008 7:40 AM  |  Flag  
The comments about the Tellings v Toledo decision were cherry picked in the article. The whole decision can be read here:

http://www.sconet.state.oh.us/rod/newpdf/0/2007/2007-ohio-3724.pdf

Anonymous I'm no dumbass  |  1/12/2008 8:01 AM  |  Flag  
Instead of having people read through God knows what legal documentation, why don't you state which parts were cherry-picked and why? Or can you not write such a reasonable comment?

Anonymous Anonymous  |  1/30/2008 11:34 PM  |  Flag  
I actually attended the class. Not because I do not know how to be responsible where my pit is concerned, but to see what material was being offered. The class was never intended to be a cure-all for the problems that are arising due to irresponsible owners. The class was intended to help individuals understand that they have a responsibility as an owner. It was intended as the first step to awareness. I have read all of the items on this page. I noticed that in every incident, the dog was either chained, restrained by an owner that could not control their dog, or was a dog at large. I also noticed that you only posted pit bull attacks. Is that because your agenda is breed based and not behavior based? There are other dogs biting and seriously. Alaska has the same problem with huskies that some areas are having with pits. Open you mind, address all agressive dogs and go after ALL irresponsible owners - not just those that own pits. We are not all thugs and drug dealers.

Anonymous Karen  |  1/31/2008 12:06 PM  |  Flag  
"I also noticed that you only posted pit bull attacks."

NO, I post all breed attacks. As a matter of fact, you passed by at least 4 more recent articles that involved other dog breeds. You are guilty of what you accuse the media of doing and that is ignoring non-pit bull attacks.

It is true that the majority of these posts are about pit bulls. I see dog bites similar to car accidents. Only the bizarre or the very serious or the fatal car accidents are reported in the news, not the fender benders.

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