No-Kill Eats Their Own: When the 'Badge of Honor' to Keep Serial Biters Alive Causes Rescuers to Devour Their Own

In her zeal to keep serial biters alive, a no-kill rescuer attacks larger no-kill agencies. No-Kill Meets Mad Max Austin, TX - Recently, we were alerted to a post by Promoting Integrity in No Kill Sheltering, which is penned by Eileen McFall. The post features two central players in "no-kill," which is the private-public partnership of Austin Pets Alive (APA), a 501(c)3 organization, and Austin Animal Center (AAC). The city of Austin has a 95% save rate initiative (5% above t… [Read full blog post]

Lawsuit Filed After Los Angeles Animal Services Failed to Disclose a Dog's Bite History and the Dog Viciously Attacked

Argelia Alvarado was critically injured by a pit bull whose bite history was not disclosed. Complaint Against City Los Angeles, CA - On August 5, 2021, dog bite attorney Kenneth Phillips filed a Complaint in Los Angeles Superior Court on behalf of Argelia Alvarado and her husband Jose. Both of Argelia's arms were savaged in a vicious attack by a pit bull adopted from Los Angeles Animal Services. One arm had to be amputated almost to her shoulder. A police officer who was at the sc… [Read full blog post]

Shelter Dog Terms Targeting Unwitting Fosters and Terms Used to Describe Major Liability Dogs - A 2021 Addendum

There are Liability Dogs like Rusty (smaller), and there are Major Liability Dogs (large and powerful), like Quincy, Dieter and Brutus (seen above) awaiting adoption at shelters today. Unicorn Fosters DogsBite.org - Last July, we published a special report that identified 125 behavior terms for shelter dogs decoded that mask aggression. We also categorized the terms into their meaning (e.g., impulsive aggression, anxiety) and risk level (e.g., very-high, high, mod-… [Read full blog post]

Webinar: Shelter Dog Behavior Review with Sue Sternberg and Gia Savocchi - Reviewing Worst-Case Scenario Dogs

These Types of Dogs Should Not be Placed into Our Communities Webinar: Shelter Dog Behavior Review with Sue Sternberg and Gia Savocchi - Fall 2020. Oyster Bay, NY - In a rare appearance on YouTube, we are able to bring to you the expertise of animal behaviorist Sue Sternberg, who has been crafting the Assess-A-Pet Protocol test for shelter dogs since the 1990s. While professionals and the public can always access paid webinars of Sternberg, it is an atypical occasion to witnes… [Read full blog post]