Posted on April 20, 2015 by Colleen Lynn

Successes, Lockouts and a Doubleheader in Georgia

DogsBite.org - Municipal associations and grassroots advocates are dominating so far in 2015. During the first quarter, all five state preemption bills prohibiting local governments from enacting breed-specific laws were rejected. This is a 100% success rate for cities and counties retaining local control. Grassroots advocates helped make this victory possible -- we salute you! This post is dedicated to each of you and to all who will help us fight future state preemption law battles.

State Legislative Sessions

Many state legislative sessions occur in the first 90 or 120 days of the year. This is true of the five states in early 2015 that considered state preemption bills that would bar local pit bull ordinances: Arizona, Georgia, Kentucky, Montana and Washington. This year's 3-month period can only be described as "frenzied" as the bills moved in and out of committees and chambers, at times rapidly, each one on a different (or unknown) voting schedule, simultaneously in multiple states.

Just tracking the bills at times was difficult; each state has a different website structure and logic, some are modern and others are not.

More importantly, each state also has its own nuanced legislative system, legislative rules and traditions. This is where lobbyists and insiders come in handy, people who know how that state system works. Our cause does not have either type of entity nor do we have any formal legislative organization. The upshot is that the two primary pushers of these state bills, Utah-based fighting dog advocates Best Friends and dog breeder interests, have both and still lost all five states!

Notification of Public Hearings

One of the toughest lessons learned in early 2015 concerns public hearing information. There often isn't much public access to it. Even when there are state laws, such as in Washington where 5 days notice is required for a public hearing, the rules can be suspended by a majority vote at any time. Of all five states, Washington had the best email notification system for tracking bills and public hearing announcements, but even that system failed when it was needed the most.

For weeks, several Washington state advocates were "on call" to attend the public hearing on House Bill 1018, the same state preemption bill that was introduced by Rep. Sherry Appleton in 2014. DogsBite was familiar with their email notification system due to our participation on last year's bill. Despite every other House Judiciary Committee notification reaching our inbox, the hearing notice for HB 1018, allegedly sent in early February, never arrived. (View inbox)1

If there is no adequate announcement of public hearings, how can the public participate? They cannot and that we learned is by design.

Therefore, no victims' advocates appeared at the February 11 hearing.2 Supporters of HB 1018 were somehow notified and did attend. Only by manually checking the legislative website -- by habit on February 12 -- did DogsBite learn the hearing had already occurred. Fortunately, it was videotaped, so we were able to quickly send the link out to advocates who watched it then wrote to committee members with corrections to inaccurate statements made by supporters of the bill.

The kicker, however, turned out to be Rep. Appleton herself. The ethereal oral testimony given by Rep. Appleton is riddled with "personal" and anecdotal statements (Fast forward to 1:37 to watch). DogsBite.org was so alarmed by it that we transcribed her testimony in full to share with others then fired off an email to the committee chair pointing out that Rep. Appleton's only citation given during her testimony, a 1920 United States Supreme Court decision, was 100% inaccurate.

Subject Line: HB 1018 - Cited Supreme Court ruling 100% false
Dear House Judiciary Chair Rep. Laurie Jinkins,
      I watched the public hearing for HB 1018 that would terminate the right of local governments from regulating dangerous dog breeds in the state of Washington. I also transcribed Rep. Appleton's oral testimony, which is filled with "personal" and anecdotal statements and lacks even the most modest citations.
      However, she did cite one case by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1920, Nicchia v. New York, and alleged that the decision found that it was "unconstitutional to have breed-specific ordinances" (her exact words). I will briefly explain why Rep. Appleton’s reasoning is like saying Brown v. Board of Education supports separate schools for black and white students.
      Part of the primary basis of the Nicchia v. New York decision relies upon the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Sentell v. New Orleans & Carrollton R. Co. - 166 U.S. 698 (1897), which determined that the "property in dogs is of an imperfect or qualified nature" and that government officials could shoot and kill loose dogs that pose a danger to the community.
      The combination of citing Nicchia and Sentell by appellate courts pertaining to upholding well-written breed-specific ordinances was done as recently as 2007 (American Canine Foundation v. Sun, Dist. Court, ND California 2007). These two SCOTUS decisions are used to support breed-specific laws, which is in direct opposition to Rep. Appleton’s analysis. - Colleen Lynn, DogsBite.org, Feb. 14, 2015

Read: DogsBite.org's email to committee chair, Rep. Laurie Jinkins
Read: Rep. Appleton's testimony, transcribed and annotated by DogsBite.org

Arizona, Kentucky and Montana

Grassroots participation in Arizona was unnecessary as Senate President Andy Biggs kept Senate Bill 1292 buried in the Rules Committee. The main lobbyist for Best Friends, Ledy Vankavage, issued an alert to their Legislative Action Center on February 12: "AZ: Tell Senate President Biggs to stop obstructing SB 1292. Demand action now!" Senator Biggs was not moved. The state preemption bill received a ceremonial first reading on the eve of sine die, session adjournment.

Another missed public hearing occurred in Kentucky despite having a committed advocate standing by. By manually checking the Legislative Calendar on February 15 (we checked it daily) we learned the hearing for Senate Bill 124 had been scheduled for February 17 in the Senate Agriculture Committee. The 17th was truly the one day the advocate could not attend. We also signed up for the bill tracking system on the Kentucky website, no notifications were ever sent.3

Fortunately, SB 124 did not see much action after passing out of the Agriculture Committee on February 24 and being assigned to the Rules Committee the next day. It also died in Rules, the committee chairman never sent it to the Senate floor for a vote. Even an announcement by the AKC did not help move the bill. Montana Senate Bill 239 did make it out of committee and lost by only 3 votes on the Senate floor, 23 to 26 on Feb 21. The bill was then "indefinitely postponed."

A close call indeed, but the bill still would have had to pass the House. Vankavage decried on her Facebook page, "failed in the senate by 3 votes. Aghhhhhh. Guess we will have to try again in another 2 years."

Doubleheader in Georgia

Georgia House Bill 124 was the last to come to our attention in late February. At that time the bill was sitting in the House Governmental Affairs Committee slowly dying; the committee chair was unwilling to give the bill a public hearing. We all breathed a sigh of relief; there were already three active bills in other states. Then Senate Bill 184 was introduced by a more powerful legislator. The Senate version accomplished the same preemption goal as HB 124, just stated in a different way.

The other side was scrambling. They knew HB 124 was dead and the March 13 crossover date was looming. Many states have a crossover deadline when a bill must pass one chamber or be declared dead. SB 184 was referred to the Senate Agriculture and Consumer Affairs Committee, where three of the bill's sponsors held a seat. The bill quickly reported out favorably. On March 11, just two days later, the bill was on the Senate floor and passed in a sweeping 42 to 11 vote.

On March 13, the Senate version of the state preemption bill landed right back into the House Governmental Affairs Committee whose chairman had not shown interest in the House version. Would the chairman call a hearing before sine die? Unlike in Washington state, the typical hearing announcement in Georgia is about 24 hours notice. We reached out to Rep. Keisha Waites and alerted her to the bill, she had previously helped Angela Rutledge after the death of her son.

On March 27, just days before adjournment, the chairman called for a hearing on SB 184 on March 30. Rep. Waites attended, but it was a closed hearing. We then learned that the chairman never allowed her to speak. This news was unbearable! We also learned that a municipal association group put forth an amendment during the meeting, lessening the blow of the bill, but the other side balked. The state preemption bill was then tabled, three days before sine die.

In both Washington and Georgia, bills from the 2015 legislative session carry over into 2016. We anticipate an extensive battle in Georgia and so do their legislators. On March 31, Rep. Waites submitted House Resolution 906 with four sponsors, "urging the State of Georgia to consider the devastation caused by pit bull attacks when crafting legislation regulating dogs so as not to impose on local governments that choose to regulate those dogs for the safety of the community."

House Resolution 906
      WHEREAS, allowing local control over issues deemed relevant to political subdivisions of this state is critical to individual liberty and a well-functioning democracy; and
      WHEREAS, cities that adopt breed-specific regulatory schemes for the control of dogs do so because of public safety concerns; and
      WHEREAS, the dangerous attack style and the general tenacity once an attack has begun make the pit bull an especially dangerous dog during a confrontation; and
      WHEREAS, pit bulls statistically cause more damage and more fatalities than other dog breeds not as a result of inherent aggression or temperament, but because of their unique fighting capabilities and tendencies; and
      WHEREAS, localities that regulate pit bulls do so because classification systems which label dogs as dangerous after a first attack do not take into consideration the severity of a first attack by a pit bull, which can cause severe injury, disfigurement, or death; and
      WHEREAS, it is reasonable for local governments to consider and impose restrictions on classes of dogs that statistically cause more harm to humans, especially children, when they attack; and
      WHEREAS, because pit bulls kill more people than all dog breeds combined, the state should not interfere with the right of local governments to proactively protect their citizens ... [Read in full]

House Resolution 906 Sponsors

Please send each of these courageous Georgia Representatives a thank you email today!

Summary and Call to Action

We cannot fix poor tracking systems or how public hearings are scheduled, typically with no hard or fast rules. But we can anticipate both realities in the future. There were times this year when many of us felt jolted by the lack of a democratic process that we had expected to be present in a state legislative system. That was the hardest lesson to learn of all, we were simply too naïve. Despite this, all five state preemption bills failed and we know that advocate engagement helped!

Thank you so much for all of your hard work advocates! But, 2015 is not over -- a similar preemption bill was just introduced in North Carolina.

Immediate at-risk states, as of second quarter 2015, include North Carolina. On April 14, state preemption bill HB 751 was filed that prohibits local governments from enacting breed-specific ordinances.4 At-risk states in 2016, expected to again face these state preemption bills, include: Arizona, Georgia, Kentucky and Washington. In Georgia and Washington, both state preemption bills introduced in 2015 automatically carry over into 2016 (known as "carry-over" legislation).

View new release: First Quarter Report: Municipalities and Grassroots Prevail Against State Preemption Bills Barring Local Pit Bull Ordinances

Advocates please also read the related post, 2015 First Quarter Report and a Primer on State Preemption Laws, for a deeper understanding of these laws; the post also contains visual charts.

1To add to the mystery and confusion, when we complained to Legislative Support afterward (and sent screenshots), they told us the email alert went out on 02/04/14. At the time that we read that email, we presumed they had meant this year, 02/04/15. Only by revisiting the email while writing this post did we catch this conflict. You can see on our screenshot 2014 alerts as well, including 02/04/14. That alert did have information about last year's bill (HB 2117). Even Legislative Support told us conflicting information! At the end of the day, there remains no explanation as to why we never received the alleged February 4, 2015 notification.
"We have checked past bulletins and the committee hearing for HB 1018 was listed in the House Judiciary Hearing e-mail for 2/11/2014. This bulletin was sent out on 2/4/2014 and lists all the bills being heard in the Judiciary committee for the week of 2/8 through 2/15. The listing was also included in the Combined Meeting Schedule emailed out at the same time." - Legislative Support
2Alex Soldano, who represented the city of Pasco did appear. Pasco has a breed-specific ordinance that declares pit bulls "potentially dangerous." Soldano put forth key amendments, "so that hopefully we can come to a friendly agreement and this piece of legislation can move forward," Soldano said. Key amendments included allowing current jurisdictions with pit bull ordinances to keep them, so long as they allow for due process, along with exempting pit bulls from local ordinances if the dog passes the AKC Canine Good Citizen test (bad idea, but compromise is required in a bicameral system).
3We later learned that along with the confusing sign up process, once inside the Bill Watch system, there was yet "another" email configuration required if you wanted email notifications sent. We never received any emails because we had not known about this second tier (until after sine die). Despite these struggles, the Bill Watch system it turns out had no notification for the Feb. 17 public hearing anyway. That could only be learned by manually checking the daily Legislative Calendar in a different area of the website. Lessons learned!
4After locating HB 751, we performed more searches on the legislature's website and found that HB 271, a separate state preemption bill, was also filed in North Carolina in mid March. The preemption clause is buried within HB 271, which overhauls the state's dangerous dog law. HB 271 modifies section: 67-4.5. Local ordinances (see existing wording). Underlined type shows the bill's "added" preemption language.
"Nothing in this Article shall be construed to prevent a city or county from adopting or enforcing its own program, law, or regulation for control of dangerous dogs, provided that no such program, law, or regulation shall be specific as to the breed, phenotype, or appearance of the dogs subject to it."

Posted on April 16, 2015 by Colleen Lynn

2015 Dog Bite Fatality: Elderly Washington, Georgia Woman Killed in Dog Attack

Little New Information
UPDATE 04/16/15: There is little new information about the dog mauling death of Neta Lee Adams. Wilkes County Sheriff's Office continues to answer all calls about loose dogs, but none so far are suspected to be involved in her death. There are no known witnesses of the attack either, which left evidence of a disturbing struggle. "There was evidence of a struggle on the ground, with broken yard furniture and scratches, blood, and clothing on the ground," Sheriff Mark Moore said.

During a recent city council meeting, this aspect was questioned again, the possibility that a criminal act might have occurred before the fatal dog mauling. Councilman Kimberly Rainey asked, "Where is her money? What happened to her beforehand?" The same meeting also discussed the local dog ordinance, which already prohibits dogs from running at large. City officials urged the public to report all dogs running loose to the Sheriff’s Office or animal control.

“My issue is not the dogs,” said Councilman Kimberly Rainey. “My issue is how did she wind up in the ditch? Where is her money? What happened to her beforehand? So I’m kinda real upset that we’re not focused on that issue, because to me that’s the real issue. What happened to her money? What happened to her pants? Nobody’s addressing that issue. That’s being glossed over. Yes the dog may have been the cause of death from what the GBI said, but how did she get in the ditch?” - The News-Reporter, April 16, 2015

04/03/15: Dogs Kill Elderly Woman
Washington, GA - On March 31, an elderly woman was discovered dead in a ditch in Washington, Georgia. Local authorities were alerted at about 8:30 am that morning. Wilkes County Sheriff's Office and investigators from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) completed an investigation at the scene and the body was sent to the GBI crime lab. On Friday, the autopsy results of 81-year old Neta Lee Adams were released. The cause of death was traumatic injury from a dog attack.

Though details continue to be sparse, we've gathered some background information below.

Location of Fatal Dog Attack

Thus far, news reports have simply stated "Gordon Street" without a block identifier. One can see that Gordon Street is not very long and that a quarter of it runs by Wills Memorial Hospital. Once pass the hospital, Google Street View shows more rural stretches, but a sidewalk is maintained on one side of the street the whole length. Also, The News-Reporter appears to be the most local newspaper, but news articles about the most recent two weeks are restricted to subscribers.

The Reporter’s Facebook page has not been updated since Friday, April 3, when the autopsy results were announced confirming the cause of death was multiple traumatic injuries inflicted by one or more dogs. Sheriff Mark Moore is following up on any reports of loose dogs in the city and states, "There is an ordinance that makes it illegal to allow your dogs to run loose in the city, but it's different now. We've had a senior citizen killed by a dog on the streets of Washington."

Dogfighting Activities Noted

Despite the city of Washington only having a population of 4,042 (2013 data) and a 7.8 mile square radius, dogfighting activities have been in the area. A March 2009 raid on a home, where suspected illegal drug use and illegal dogfighting had been occurring, yielded at least three arrests. Lt. Joseph Nelson with the Washington Police Department said at that time, "This is the worst dogfighting or animal cruelty case that I've investigated or worked here in this community."

In 2012, after hoping they had eradicated the blood sport in their city and county, another incident occurred. A badly injured male pit bull was dumped near the county landfill. Washington-Wilkes Animal Shelter Director Gloria Wheatley said then, "I can’t stop dogfighting here all by myself. It’s going to take all of us to educate our neighbors, to report suspected dogfighting, and to tell dog fighters to go to another county." The rural animal shelter serves Washington and Wilkes County.

Posted on April 15, 2015 by Colleen Lynn

2015 Dog Bite Fatality: Pahrump Man Dies One Month After Vicious Pit Bull Attack

One of several pit bulls involved in the fatal attack of Kenneth Lawrence Ford, 79.

Insufficient Penalty
UPDATE 07/08/15: In a truly regrettable and inadequate plea agreement, Ricky Davidson, 40, pleaded guilty to one count of reckless endangerment, a gross misdemeanor, after his three pit bulls horrifically attacked a man who later died while hospitalized. Davidson was sentenced to 364 days in jail in connection to the death of Kenneth Ford. The sentence also includes the other dog and drug-related charges against Davidson that were bundled together in a "global negotiation."

District Attorney prosecutor Michael Vieta-Kabell said he and defense attorney Lisa Chamlee reached an agreement on the punishment Davidson will receive for the mauling, a previous dog attack, a drug violation and a previous traffic offense.

All of Davidson’s cases were bundled in what’s known as a “global negotiation” by the prosecution and defense. - Pahrump Valley Times, July 08, 2015

On August 19, 2014, Davidson's pit bulls escaped their enclosure and killed a dog belonging to a neighbor. On September 1, 2014, Davidson's pit bulls escaped their enclosure and killed a second dog belonging to a neighbor. Six months later, Davidson's pit bulls escaped their enclosure again and brutally attacked Kenneth Ford. He was airlifted with life-threatening injuries to University Medical Center in Las Vegas, where he died on April 14. A one year sentence is a pittance.

04/16/15: Witness Interviewed
After the media began reporting the mauling death of Kenneth Ford on Wednesday, News 3 interviewed a man who said that he saw the violent March 13 attack. Going only by "Ron," he paints a very grim picture, including that the pit bulls chewed off the man's left hand and he lost six pints of blood. One of the two men who came to Ford's aid, and was also viciously attacked, spent 23 days in the hospital. The Nye County district attorney continues to interview witnesses.

News 3: It happened back on March 13. Ron, who doesn't want to be on camera saw it all happen.

Ron: I've never seen nothing like that in my life.
News 3: He thinks the dogs were provoked.

Ron: I sat down here on the porch and I seen the guy that's in jail now, out here in front of the house, beating these three dogs with a stick.

News 3: The next thing he says he saw was 79-year old Kent Ford who was taking care of this home for the owner walked up to the door and was viciously attacked.

Ron: Cause the dogs absolutely chewed his left hand plum off. He lost six pints of his blood. And his face was tore off. His eye was hanging out. I mean I have never seen nothing like that.

News 3: Ron says that two neighbors, Jerry and Manny, came to Kenneth's aid, but they were also attacked. The neighbors knew their choices were limited.

Ron: That's when he come running and he said, "Get your gun" and Manny shot one, and it did not even slow him down. He just kept attacking.

News 3: Two of the dogs were shot, and as officers and an ambulance arrived, the dogs ran off. Ford was clinging to life.

Ron: He was in the ambulance, he actually died in the ambulance, and they brought him back to life.

News 3: He died Tuesday at a Sunrise hospital. All three dogs were caught and put down. The two other victims in the case are still recovering from their injuries. One spent 23 days in the hospital. Just returned a couple of days ago. He didn't want to go on camera for this story, saying he may get an attorney and file a lawsuit in this case.

It was initially reported that owner's pit bulls had previously attacked another man. The Pahrump Valley Times, however, states there are no known previous attacks on humans. If true, this may complicate criminal charges. While police continue to investigate the March 13 attack, it is known that Davidson was cited twice for allowing his dogs to run loose, once in February 2013 and September 2014. In August 2014, Davidson was cited after his dogs attacked another animal.

04/15/:15: Pit Bull Attack Victim Dies
Pahrump, NV - A man brutally attacked by three pit bulls back in March has died of his injuries, according to the Clark County coroner's office. Kenneth Lawrence Ford, 79-years old, died Tuesday at University Medical Center. During the vicious attack, the pit bulls also attacked two men who came to Ford's aid, both suffered serious injuries. Ford was air lifted to University Medical Center with critical injuries at that time, according to deputies. He died one month later.

Background of Attack

On March 13, Nye County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a landlord and tenant two-home property in Pahrump. Ford was on the property to feed the landlord's cats when three pit bulls belonging to the tenant scaled a six-foot fence and attacked him. Two men intervened and were also attacked. Both suffered severe injuries, but were able to drag Ford through a gate and close it. But the pit bulls found a hole in the fence and continued attacking even after two were shot.

The animals continued to attack and were not deterred by the gunshot wounds, but were frightened off by the arrival of an ambulance, police said. - Las Vegas Review Journal, March 13, 2015

Neighbor Maria Wells, who witnessed part of the violent attack told 8 News Now, "He was in shock. He was bleeding terribly." Another neighbor said the scene was, "overwhelming." The tenant and owner of the three pit bulls, 40-year old, Ricky Davidson, was arrested and booked into the Nye County Detention Center on multiple charges of keeping a vicious dog resulting in substantial bodily harm. Eight months earlier, Davidson's pit bulls had also attacked another man.

Davidson continues to remain behind bars since the March 13 attack. In late March, Judge Ron Kent denied a request by Davidson's attorney that he be released on his own recognizance. At that point, some charges had still not been filed as police were still investigating "numerous additional cases active against Davidson." It is possible that the Nye County prosecutor will elevate charges due to Ford's death. Davidson's next scheduled court appearance is April 29.

In 2013, Nevada legislators passed a state preemption law prohibiting local governments from enacting breed-specific ordinances. In the last two months, there have been multiple high profile pit bull maulings in the state. Both resulted in criminal charges against the owner of the dogs.

View the DogsBite.org Google State Map: Nevada Fatal Pit Bull Attacks.

Posted on April 1, 2015 by Colleen Lynn

By J. Thomas Beasley

Purchase on Amazon
DogsBite.org - This short, easy to read version of the pit bull problem today and the history of the pit bull breed is a must for supporters. At the cost of only $6.99, we recommend buying several copies, ready to give to friends and colleagues. In a free-flowing writing style, J. Thomas Beasley dives into the sobering pit bull mauling epidemic in our country, the primary false myths trumpeted by the pit bull lobby and pulls in pop culture figures like Jon Stewart, Tia Torres and more.

Beasley presents an abundance of evidence and asks readers to draw their own conclusions.

Beasley covers an enormous amount of territory quickly in a nonintimidating fashion. Many of his themes and content are built upon a growing body of research and sources that dog bite victims’ advocates will recognize right away. The author notes in the forward how the DogsBite.org website provided him with the tools he needed to begin researching the issue of dangerous dogs. Beasley pledges to donate 50% of any profits he receives from book sales to our nonprofit organization.

Endless New Maulings

Instantly, when one reads the very first sentence, the tone is set, "I just finished writing the following book a few weeks ago, yet already the stories about dog attacks are becoming outdated, as new horror stories appear almost daily." This theme, its urgency and personal writing style are woven throughout the book. A person new to this issue will quickly have his or her eyes opened wide about the endless flow of serious and fatal attacks inflicted by pit bulls in this country.

And there is no end in sight, unless something is done. - J. Thomas Beasley

Beasley is well suited to address this issue on behalf of victims. Beasley is a licensed attorney in New Orleans and has a small private law practice focusing on public interest advocacy for economically challenged clients. He advocates for the less fortunate. He has also worked on cases involving catastrophic personal injury. He understands exactly what a violent pit bull attack entails, though even for him the term "degloving" was foreign until he began researching pit bulls.

This book is not only for parents, advocates, fence-sitters and more, it is for pit bull owners themselves. As pointed out by Beasley, many of these owners have no understanding of the true history of the pit bull breed. Where would they learn the true history? Not from animal welfare groups, not from their vet, certainly not from the shelter where they adopted the dog. Our advice is to photocopy Chapter 3: What is a Pit Bull? and circulate to every pit bull owner that you know.

Beasley also frames the book with ways to curb the pit bull mauling epidemic by explaining breed-specific legislation and the vocal factions that oppose it, but offer no solutions of their own. These groups are simply "100% against BSL of ANY kind at all times, everywhere," he writes. Beasley also addresses the rabid "mentality" of many pit bull advocates and just how far they will go by discussing several cases, including the 2014 seminal case of Kevin Vicente and "Mickey."

The Title of the Book

What galvanized Beasley’s decision to write the book was his disappointment in Jon Stewart, a pit bull owner, who recently had Tia Torres as a guest on his show. Beasley is a loyal fan of Stewart, but even he could not stomach the myths broadcast by the two, both stating that pit bulls are "misunderstood nanny dogs." This is the title of his book with a question mark at the end. Beasley’s question is directed at Stewart, Torres and all who spread these dangerous myths.

Chapter 4, "Nanny Dogs" and Other Popular Myths is primarily dedicated to the Nanny Dog myth and how it was so successfully debunked by blogger CKing in the widespread post, The Nanny Dog Myth Revealed. Beasley notes that even Bad Rap, a major pit bull advocacy group, announced in 2013 that even they can no longer support this mindboggling myth that endangers children. He also explains the propaganda "vintage" photos of children standing near pit bulls.

Built Upon Many Sources

Beasley’s book is built upon many sources that he nicely weaves together, covering all of the key elements for a person new to this issue, while only briefly touching on the quagmire issues. In just over an hour, one can read his book and be armed with extensive insights about the nuts and bolts of the pit bull mauling epidemic, the true history of the pit bull breed, the primary false myths about pit bulls and the "mentality" of the echo-chamber of voices who continue repeating these myths.

Beasley discusses many cases in the book, including Darla Napora and the surreal aftermath of her mauling death by her own pit bull; Kara Hartrich who was suddenly attacked and killed by her family’s two pit bulls on her fourth birthday and the horrific nonfatal attack of Linda Henry, whose pet pit bulls previously, "were like kids in the house." Beasley even talks about the ArtPrize exhibit, Out of the Blue, a memorial to fatal dog attack victims that was obstructed by pit bull advocates.

Statistics Cannot Be Ignored

Just when you believe you have a grasp of how frequently these maulings are occurring across the country, Beasley adds a list of people killed only by pit bulls and just in the last two years-and-a-half years. The list extends across three pages in Chapter 5 – Human Casualties. While statistics of pit bull maulings are woven throughout the book, Chapter 5 is the focal point. Beasley challenges naysayers to prove that a different dog breed killed any of those listed dead.

Finally, as a theme expressed over and over throughout the book Beasley ends with the absolute starting point to begin advancing society beyond the pit bull mauling epidemic. The starting point to greatly reducing the number of maulings inflicted by these dogs does not require breed-specific legislation. It just requires one thing -- being honest about this dog breed. We either do this as a society, or remain blind or unalarmed that our "cemeteries are filling up from dog attacks."

But mostly, we need to just start being honest about these dogs. Stop feeding biased propaganda to the public. Stop ignoring the inordinate number of dead and seriously injured people caused by Pit Bulls every year. Stop perpetuating myths about this breed - myths that were created to promote the breed by disingenuous and unqualified advocates. Just stop. And Jon Stewart, you should know better. - J. Thomas Beasley

See news release: Misunderstood Nanny Dogs? New Book by J. Thomas Beasley Exposes Pit Bull Myths and Misconceptions!

DogsBite blog ::

2015 First Quarter Legislative Highlights: Local Control Dominates, We Salute You Health and Safety Advocates!

Successes, Lockouts and a Doubleheader in Georgia

2015 Dog Bite Fatality: Elderly Washington, Georgia Woman Killed in Dog Attack

2015 Dog Bite Fatality: Pahrump Man Dies One Month After Vicious Pit Bull Attack

Book Review: Misunderstood Nanny Dogs? A Critical and Objective Analysis of the Facts & Myths Concerning Pit Bulls

By J. Thomas Beasley