Posted on October 26, 2020 by Colleen Lynn

National Pit Bull Victim Awareness Day 2020 Zoom Conference

Last year, Responsible Citizens for Public Safety (RC4PS) held the first-ever event on National Pit Bull Victim Awareness Day at the Michigan state Capitol building in Lansing. The year's national awareness day is on October 26. Ann Marie Rogers, the founder of RC4PS, interviews Mia Johnson of National Pit Bull Victim Awareness and Colleen Lynn of DogsBite.org followed by a round table discussion in a pre-taped Zoom conference that is about 46 minutes long.

Johnson discusses National Pit Bull Victim Awareness Day that was first established in 2015, the related organization, and why it was started. Rogers and Lynn discuss legislative issues, such as the National Defense Authorization Act, which our nonprofit wrote about earlier in October. The round table discussion covers a number of areas, including how the act of the CDC defining a "mauling injury" (32:10), instead of using the "dog bite" vernacular would "change everything."

Mauling Event Protocol

In 2019, a study examining 182 patients at Charleston Area Medical Center in West Virginia became the first study to define "mauling injuries," and used the term "mauling event" as well. "Mauling injuries were recorded when 3 or more bites occurred over 2 or more distinct regional anatomic areas, typically the craniofacial region, back, torso, and extremities." Among the top-biting breeds, pit bulls inflicted the most complex wounds (63%) and mauling injuries (71%).

Selected Findings: "The data showed that compared with other dog breeds, pit bull terriers inflicted more complex wounds, were often unprovoked, and went off property to attack ... The probability of a bite resulting in a complex wound was 4.4 times higher for pit bulls compared with the other top-biting breeds ... and the odds of an off-property attack by a pit bull was 2.7 times greater than that for all other breeds." - Dog-Bite Injuries to the Craniofacial Region: An Epidemiologic and Pattern-of-Injury Review at a Level 1 Trauma Center, March 2020 [2019 Nov 14, Epub]

"Mauling" vernacular was also used in the 2011 Texas study, "Mortality, Mauling, and Maiming by Vicious Dogs." That study concluded, "Attacks by pit bulls are associated with higher morbidity rates, higher hospital charges, and a higher risk of death than are attacks by other breeds of dogs." This vernacular describes the severe nature of the injuries, which is an important distinction for doctors treating these injuries and for those who respond to the scene of a severe dog attack.

First responders have emergency codes for what they are responding to. Today, police and fire respond to a "dog bite" or "animal bite" even if there are multiple victims and mauling injuries. Recall the "Judith incident" where a pit bull killed its owner (Devin White) and attacked three other family members. Four ambulances were required and a life-flight was in motion, but was later called off. They were not responding to a "dog bite." They were responding to a "mauling event."

From animal control departments, who fill out a "dog bite" report after a biting incident, to the hospital intake form listing "dog bite" after taking in Daxton (this 14-month old boy underwent a sustained pit bull mauling lasting up to 15 minutes), to numerous medical studies examining "dog bite" injuries, all the way up to the CDC, which obfuscates "dog bites" with mauling and maiming injuries and deaths, there is a daunting vernacular problem that can and should be rectified.

We stated in our 2014 Remedy document to the CDC that they "must make a vernacular distinction between mauling and maiming injuries and deaths (2%) by dogs and garden variety dog bites (93%). Call them what they are: 'mauling and maiming injuries.'" Doctors, coroners, first responding agencies and animal control departments, need not wait for permission from the CDC to change this vernacular. Even changing "dog bite" to "dog attack" would be an improvement.

We recommend three designations for emergency responders:

Dog Bite
Dog Mauling Event
Rampage Mauling - A Multi-Victim Attack

Each designate different events that require a different response. A "dog bite" is a single victim event that may or may not require an emergency room visit (some victims are treated at the scene.) A "mauling event" is a single victim with multiple traumatic dog bite injuries. A rampage mauling, such as the Judith and Oviedo incidents, and the recent Seattle incident, often involves a single or multi-pit bull household, where the dog inflicts serious injuries to multiple victims.

Future Zoom Conference

Please leave ideas for topics and guests for a future Zoom conference in comments. We will forward them to Responsible Citizens for Public Safety, who will be organizing and hosting a future event (our role is post-conference video editing). We would certainly like to hear from doctors, first responders, animal control officers and family members of victims. There are also key civil and criminal liability issues (or a lack thereof) that attorneys or insurance professionals could address.

Injury severity and multi-victim attacks should be recognized in emergency response codes. When one has listened to as many fire/rescue audio log dispatch files responding to serious and fatal dog attacks as we have, it is clear that a "dog bite" response code is not enough.

Posted on October 22, 2020 by Colleen Lynn

2020 Dog Bite Fatality: 26-Year Old Man Dies After Violent Pit Bull Mauling in West Tulsa; Owner Charged with Murder

Tulsa Dog Owner Pleads to Second-Degree Manslaughter After Mauling

Curtis Wickham, 26-years old, was fatally attacked by three pit bulls in west Tulsa.

Manslaughter Conviction
UPDATE 05/09/22: Benjamin Ryan Spence pleaded no contest to second degree manslaughter in connection to the mauling death of Curtis Wickham in October 2020. Prosecutors initially charged Spence with second-degree murder for directing his three pit bulls to attack Wickham and assault with a deadly weapon for throwing a TV at him, narrowly missing his head. Prosecutors said that proving Spence commanded his dogs to kill Wickham had become difficult due to key witnesses.

"Prosecutor Erik Grayless said one key witness repeatedly changed her story and the other one didn't want to cooperate, so proving Spence commanded the dogs to kill CJ would have been difficult. He said the case is heartbreaking but the agreement was the best option." - KOTV-DT

Spence was ordered to serve four years in jail with credit for the 18 months he's already served. Spence was arrested and taken into custody in December 2020. The victim's sister, Curstie Wickham, said the sentencing was as bad as the plea deal. "The sentencing was another slap in the face for us," she said. Not only is Wickham's family frustrated with the plea deal and limited jail sentence -- as Spence allegedly never intervened to stop the attack -- the dogs are still alive.

"We’re really upset with the DA - we’re really upset with the judge,” Sanders said. “CJ [Curtis Jr.] got no justice out of this what so ever - and we’re appalled by all this."

Sander’s continued, "This guy stood for 13 to 15 minutes and watched his dogs eat CJ alive - while he [Curtis Jr.] screamed and yelled."

"Nobody deserves to be taken out that way," Sanders said. "The guy’s gonna be out in a few years - do you really think he’s learned his lesson? He’s a murderer. He murdered CJ." - Wayne Sanders, Curtis' uncle, KOKI-TV

12/03/20: Suspect in Custody
The suspect accused of second-degree murder in connection to the dog mauling death of 26-year old Curtis Wickham in October is now in custody, according to Tulsa police. Benjamin Ryan Spence, who may have gained his tattoos during previous jail stints, was charged with murder and assault with a dangerous weapon after hurling a TV at Wickham's head while he lay dying from injuries inflicted by Spence's three pit bulls that he allegedly "directed" to attack Wickham.

Spence was taken into custody on December 3 and is being held at the Tulsa County jail in lieu of more than $526,000 bail. Spence was charged with second-degree murder for "directing his three pit bulls, Boomer, Sooner and Rosie to attack Curtis Wickham causing mortal wounds," according to charging documents. Spence's girlfriend, Champaign Walker who is the "homeowner," said that Wickham begged for Spence to get his dogs, but Spence did not react, the affidavit states.

Benjamin Spence was taken into custody Thursday and is being held at the Tulsa County jail.

11/10/20: Murder Two Charges Filed
Tulsa Police have issued warrants for the arrest Benjamin Ryan Spence in connection to the dog mauling death of 26-year old Curtis Wickham. Charging documents state that Spence has been charged with second-degree murder for directing his three pit bulls to attack Wickham, which mauled and killed him. Spence has also been charged with assault with a dangerous weapon for trying to throw a television set on Wickham’s head while he was on the ground, reports KTUL.

Witnesses told police Wickham was the ex-boyfriend of the owner of the home, and he had returned in search of his cell phone. Spence was the owner's new boyfriend, and he reportedly answered the door "yelling" and stepped out onto the porch before striking Wickham and starting a fight.

One witness described Wickham "getting the best of Ben" before they heard Spence tell his dogs to "sik em' (sic)," according to a probable cause affidavit.

"(The homeowner) recalled Wickham begging for Spence to get his dogs, but Spence did not react," the affidavit states. - Tulsa World

The attack occurred about 6:00 am after Wickham had gone to the home of his ex-girlfriend, Champaign Walker, to retrieve his cell phone, which he believed was inside her home. This confrontation led to a fist fight between Spence, her new boyfriend, and Wickham and to Spence's pit bulls attacking and killing him. It was previously reported that Walker had owned the dogs. Now Spence is facing second-degree murder charges. Tulsa police are still searching for him.

After Wickham's death, both Walker and Spence claimed they tried to pull the dogs off him, but were unsuccessful. Spence also blamed Wickham for the dogs attacking. Charging documents indicate that Spence (AKA "Dias Centavos") was lying. Murder charges after a fatal dog attack are rare, as are the elements in this crime: Spence directing his dogs to attack Wickham, throwing a TV at the victim's head, and a day earlier, Spense had threatened to stab Wickham in the face.

The homeowner told police she demanded Spence to drag Wickham into the house to separate him from the dogs and he "finally" complied, but by that time, "the dogs had torn Wickham's clothing from his body and he wasn't moving."

She told investigators she could see massive injuries to Wickham's body and that he was losing a significant amount of blood as he lay on the floor, but Spence, who was "still worked up pacing back and forth," grabbed her flat screen TV and threw it at him, narrowly missing his head. - Tulsa World

10/23/20: Updates & Clarifications
On Thursday, 26-year old Curtis Wickham was killed by three pit bulls. Wickham had gone to Champaign Walker's home, his ex-girlfriend, at about 6:00 in the morning demanding his cell phone, which he believed was in her home. This confrontation led to a fist fight between Walker's current boyfriend and Wickham and then to Walker's dogs brutally mauling him to death. Walker claimed she and her boyfriend tried to pull the dogs off Wickham, but were unsuccessful.

Police were dispatched to the home due to a "shots-fired" call. A neighbor had fired a single shot into the air to stop the dogs from attacking. It was previously reported that police were unsure who had fired the gun. Police have not yet determined if Wickam's death could lead to any charges. Notably, Walker was wearing a pit bull tee-shirt when speaking to the media that displayed: "I'm telling you I am not a pit bull. My mom said I'm a baby and my mom is always right."

Between these two repellent dog owners and the loss of a 26-year old man's life, it is hard to know where to begin. However, domestic pit bull violence routinely starts when an argument erupts or a fight occurs between two or more people. That was the scenario in Plainfield earlier this year. A family argument led to Devin White's pit bull going on a rampage attack, killing Devin and injuring three other family members. When pit bulls erupt, they typically do so without specificity.

This lack of "specificity" in their victims -- which is akin to a hand grenade going off -- is why 53% of all pit bull fatality victims live in the pit bull's household or are considered well-known to the dog. If Champaign Walker and her boyfriend, "Dias Centavos,"1 had "actually" tried to intervene to help Wickham, they likely would have been injured in the attack -- neither appears to have suffered a single scratch. Walker also wore a "promotional" pit bull tee-shirt for her media interview.

One neighbor said the attack "went on for 10 or 15 minutes."

Champaign Walker, who owned the pit bulls, sports a pit bull tee-shirt in media interview.

The ex-girlfriend tries to defend herself against Wickham's family members on this thread.

10/22/20: Man Killed by Pit Bulls
Tulsa, OK - A man is dead following a disturbance Thursday morning in west Tulsa. Police are also investigating if he was shot. According to Tulsa police, the victim, whose identity has not been released, was causing a disturbance with the homeowner in the 5000 block of West Admiral Boulevard. The two got into a fist fight and the homeowner's dogs attack him, Tulsa Police Homicide Lt. Brandon Watkins said. Police were initially called to the home as a "shots-fired" call.

KJRH reports the incident occurred at about 6:00 am near West Admiral Boulevard and North 49th Avenue. When police officers arrived, they found a young man had been attacked by three pit bulls. The victim was taken to a hospital, where he died. A neighbor told KJRGH the dogs are known for being aggressive and had attacked them and their dog before. Police took the homeowner into custody for questioning. Police are treating the investigation as a homicide.

Police told News on 6 that the man had been mauled so bad, they aren't sure exactly what killed him (the mauling or possible gunfire). "There is definitely a self-defense aspect to it," said Lt. Watkins. "The guy who was mauled and died was over here and up to mischief. So, it's just determining exactly what happened right now." Watkins said detectives would be at the scene investigating for some hours to come. All three dogs were taken into custody by animal control.

Fox 23 spoke to a neighbor, John Efird. He said he heard a woman screaming and saw a man swinging something while three dogs circled him and another man that looked injured. "Another guy was slumped over the fence and I didn’t see him move or anything," Efrid said. Police have been called about these dogs before, he said. "They even killed my girlfriend’s daughter’s chicken, which is buried back there," Efrid said. Police are questioning "all the players" in this "drama."

Police later identified the victim as 26-year-old Curtis Wickham. According to police, interviews with witnesses and neighbors at the scene showed that Wickham went to the residence this morning to contact a former girlfriend and a fight broke out between Wickham and the homeowner. During the fight, the homeowner's three pit bulls viciously attacked Wickham. The homeowner was transported to the Detective Division and released pending further investigation, police said.

Pit Bulls Used in Crimes

In January, a 55-year old man in Kentucky died after being attacked by a female, who went "redneck" on him, then commanded her pit bull to attack him. The coroner's office said that Donald Abner suffered dog bite wounds, but the cause of death was asphyxiation. Melissa Wolke was charged for murder in connection to his death. "The way I look at it is that she used her animal, a pit bull, as a weapon to help her in this altercation," Trooper Scottie Pennington said back then.

Tulsa police are investigating the case as a homicide and also noted a "self-defense" aspect. "We have everybody that we are aware of right now, who are players in this drama" in custody. Will this be the first case where an owner can claim "self-defense" by siccing his pit bulls on a person?

One of the three pit bulls seen being taken into custody after severely mauling a young man.

Home on West Admiral Boulevard where a young man died after a violent pit bull mauling.

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

1The current boyfriend's name on Facebook appears to be an alias, as it translates into "Days pennies." He also has a pit bull tattooed on his lower chest.

Baseline reporting requirements:
Law enforcement departments across the United States should release consistent "baseline" information to the media and the public after each fatal dog mauling, including these items.

Posted on October 20, 2020 by Colleen Lynn

2020 Dog Bite Fatality: Woman Killed by a Pack of Dogs in Walker County, Alabama; Few Details Released

Ruthie Mae Brown, 36-years old, was killed by dogs in Walker County, Alabama.

Woman Killed by Dogs
Walker County, AL - On Monday afternoon, the Walker County Sheriff's Office posted a statement to their Facebook page, "Walker County Sheriff’s Office is currently investigating the death of a woman on Jagger Road. The woman was the victim of an attack from several dogs. Some of the dogs have been captured." The victim was identified as 36-year old Ruthie Mae Brown. Though some of the dogs were taken into custody, no breed information was released by the agency.

"We are talking about gaping wounds. One of her feet was completely dislocated from her ankle. This was a severe attack." - Coroner Joey Vick

Sheriff's deputies were dispatched to the area along Jagger Road about 2:00 pm Monday after a third party called. They responded with multiple agencies. Brown was pronounced dead at the scene. "Still a lot of moving parts at this point, the investigation continues. The DA's office will determine charges after the body returns from forensics," said T.J. Armstrong with the Walker County Sheriff's Office. Brown's family told ABC 33/40 that she was the mother of four children.

Authorities have confirmed that the violent dog attack occurred in the same area where a bull killed a person four months ago. On the Walker County Sheriff's Facebook page, a woman named Brittany stated Monday, "The same owner of the dogs owned a Vicious bull that escaped its pasture and killed my uncle less than 4 months ago!" [sic] ABC 33/40 confirmed this in their news video. Police are asking the public for information about any previous dog attacks in the area.

The Daily Mountain Eagle reports that one owner has claimed two of the dogs involved in the deadly attack, according to Walker County Sheriff Nick Smith. Those dogs are now in the custody of the Walker County Humane Society. "Officers were attempting to capture at least three other dogs Monday afternoon," reports the Eagle. Those dogs are also thought to have owners, Smith said, and are not believed to be strays. The death investigation remains active and ongoing.

"A death that is obviously this violent, it's naturally, just horrific. There are not really words to describe it. It's a terrible situation." - T.J. Armstrong

The rural community where the attack occurred, Nauvoo, has a population of about 220 people, according to Wikipedia. Our nonprofit has no record of a fatal dog mauling in this area -- or even in Walker County -- since 2005. What is stunning is that one of the owner's of the dogs also owned a bull that attacked and killed a man several months ago. That person truly is the owner of vicious animals. Both fatal animal attacks appear to have occurred off the owner's property as well.

On Tuesday, ABC 33/40 published an update that began to shape this attack more clearly. People who lived in the area knew about this roaming pack of dogs, which apparently involved multiple owners. Robin Johnson told the news agency, "It is really scary. I’ve seen them actually attack a deer." She also came in contact with the pack. "I actually had a stick in my hand which I know the owners name and I would call the owners name and they would back off," Johnson said.

"They're really aggressive dogs ... If I wouldn't have known the owner's name it probably would have happened to me." - Robin Johnson

The way Armstrong describes the injuries, "I've seen a dog bite, I've seen a dog attack but I've never seen a situation just as horrible as this," and the lack of officials releasing any breed information, indicates this was a full-on pack attack that may have involved multiple dog breeds. In the 15-year period of 2005 to 2019, only five victims, ages 30 to 39, have been killed in a pack attack (1% of all fatal dog mauling victims). Four of these deaths involved pit bull-type dogs.

Under "Emily's Law," a felony dog attack law that was passed after Emily Mae Colvin was killed by her neighbor's five pit bulls, if the dog(s) was previously declared "dangerous" by a court and it attacks and causes serious injury or death, the owner faces a Class B felony. If the dog has not been declared dangerous, but the owner had prior knowledge of the dog's vicious propensities and demonstrated "reckless disregard" of these propensities, the owner faces a Class C felony.

Thus, Johnson's testimony is critical in proving part two. A prosecutor would also need to determine if the owner demonstrated "reckless disregard" under these circumstances in a county that lacks a leash law. Finally, Armstrong stated that a witness saw seven or eight dogs. Thus far, officials have only caught about four or five dogs, and one owner has claimed two of them. It was previously reported that the other dogs involved have owners and are not believed to be strays.

Posted on October 19, 2020 by Colleen Lynn

Status Update: Heading Into Unknown Times, the 2020 Winter Months, Pit Bull Fraud Trials and National Legislation

A status update before heading into unknown times -- the election and Covid-19. We anticipate a decrease in dog bite fatality reports during the 2020 winter months compared to previous years.

Updates on pit bull con artists, including Luke Westerman, whose trial is approaching, Steffen Baldwin and a former peddler of police K9 detection pit bulls funded by a flank of the pit bull lobby.

Legislation updates on Denver's November ballot item that repeals the city's pit bull ban, and the National Defense Authorization Act, which repeals breed-specific policies in military housing.

Dog Bite Fatality Updates

DogsBite.org - Currently, we are heading into what is normally the worst season of dog bite fatalities (Nov and Dec). Yet, there is nothing normal about 2020. We knew last year that the election would be contentious, which can correlate to a lower number of media reports of fatal dog attacks. Covid-19, however, was not an expectation. Soon, both aspects will be occurring at once. We anticipate a decrease in dog bite fatality reports during this time compared to previous years.

Currently, we have nine public information requests out to various agencies pertaining to fatal dog maulings, some spanning a 15-year period. That number will grow to about 15, as we continue to contact medical examiner and coroner offices in high population counties in the South seeking the total number of people killed by dogs from 2005 through 2019. Our intention had been to get them all sent by April, until Covid-19 happened, which disrupted many of these very departments.

Record requests have also been delayed in some places. While we had anticipated releasing our 15-year report this fall, that is not an option under the ongoing circumstances. The goal of the 15-year report -- data uninterrupted by Covid-19 -- is to capture as many dog bite fatalities as possible. Though we do compare our death number data to CDC WONDER every few years, even CDC's database is known to undercount. All small number death data have reliability issues.

Since readers are now more familiar with "incident rate" due to Covid-19 data -- a disease, injury or death per 100,000 population -- consider that the incident rate for measuring dog bite fatalities is an incident per 100 million population (to avoid excessive zeros). A small number of deaths, however, are perfectly valid as a safety measure. We consistently see this in automobile recalls and recalls of child products and tip-over furniture that have resulted in statistically few deaths.

Between 2000 and 2011, 215 children died from injuries caused by a falling TV.

"This is a serious problem," said the study’s senior author, Dr. Gary Smith, a pediatrician at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, told NBC News. "A child's dying once every three weeks from a TV tip-over. The numbers are going up. This is a call to action. These are 100 percent preventable injuries." - Today.com, July 21, 2013

Pit Bull Fraud Updates

Since 2019, we have been covering pit bull con artists, like Luke Westerman and Steffen Baldwin, both of them are cut from the same cloth. Westerman, assisted by the pandemic, has managed to keep delaying his upcoming criminal trial, where he faces 19 felony charges in security law violations and theft. His next scheduled appearance in court is October 20. December of this year will mark the two-year anniversary since the 19-count felony indictment was handed down.

Attorneys representing Baldwin recently filed their first continuance, stating, "Counsel for Defendant has received more than twenty-five thousand (25,000) pages of documents as well as about 24 media files from the State to review and analyze." Defense will "need sufficient time to sort through this information and interview witnesses." We anticipate that Baldwin, who faces a 42-count felony indictment related to animal abuse and fraud, will proceed to trial in 2021.

The other con artist of note is Bradley Croft, who continues to await sentencing from a federal judge after being convicted on all counts related to defrauding the GI Bill program out of nearly $1.5 million. Croft, who operated San Antonio-based Universal K9, "intentionally bamboozled the Texas Veterans Commission" to accept Universal K9 as a credentialed school (when it was not) so he could fraudulently collect nearly $1.5 million in tuition payments, according to reports.

"The federal authorities say Croft then laundered the money on a luxury motor home and by buying the property for the dog-training school. They also claim he used the money for two jet skis and a penile implant, and that he lied on his tax forms about his income." - San Antonio Express-News, November 6, 2019

Prior to his arrest in August 2018, Croft had been paid nearly $250,000 by Animal Farm Foundation (AFF) -- a flank of the pit bull lobby -- to train pit bulls as K9 detection dogs then give the dogs to police departments free of cost. From 2015 to 2017, AFF paid Croft a quarter of a million dollars to train about 30 pit bulls for this public relations stunt, according to 990 tax records. This pit bull K9 stunt funded by AFF continues today using a different K9 instruction school.

As Bradley Croft awaits his sentencing, which could result in 25 years behind bars, his family is begging President Donald Trump for a pardon. According to online records, Croft is expected to learn his fate in mid-October. It seems unlikely any president would pardon a man that defrauded the GI Bill and left some veteran students holding meaningless certificates in K9 dog handling. Croft was also known for using "hotdogs in order to make the dog search target areas."

Legislative Updates

Earlier this year, the mayor of Denver vetoed an attempt to repeal the city's 30-year old pit bull ban by replacing it with a breed-restricted license that requires pit bulls to be registered, microchipped and vaccinated (which responsible dog owners already do). As we wrote back in February, the bill's sponsor, Councilman Chris Herndon, was expected to try to place his proposal on the November ballot. In August, the city council agreed. Voters will see this language on the ballot:

"Shall the voters of the City and County of Denver adopt an ordinance authorizing the city to grant a provisional permit to owners or keepers of a pit bull, provided the owner microchips the animal and complies with additional requirements set by Denver Animal Protection?" - Denver's 2020 Ballot Item

We expect the ballot item to prevail due to how it is written. Voters will not be considering the following: The proposal does not require pit bull owners to carry liability insurance. Thus, after a damaging attack, a victim will be unable to recover medical bill costs, loss of income and rehabilitation costs. Some voters who approve this ballot measure will discover this the hard way. Herndon's proposal is so defective, it does not even require pit bull owners to sterilize their dogs.

Also in February, we examined Denver's bite statistics. Over the 3-year period of 2017 to 2019, pit bulls ranked third among the top biting breeds in the in the Level 4 bite category. In the Level 5 bite category, pit bulls tied with boxers for second. Both breeds inflicted 5 of these severe bites, surpassed only by the American bulldog, which accounted for 8 bites. If Denver's pit bull ban is repealed, we expect at least a 4-fold increase in pit bull bites across all injury levels in just 5 years.

National Defense Authorization Act

Currently, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) has passed both chambers and is in conference, while both bill sponsors iron out the differences between the two bills. Each bill contains a clause drafted by the American Bar Association (ABA) that will prohibit military branches -- U.S. Army, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Air Force, etc -- from using breed-specific policies, the very policies that have been protecting families in military housing for over a decade.

Read our letters to the House and Senate Armed Services Committee chairmen.

Where did this clause come from? It began in 2011-2012 when Ledy VanKavage, a lobbyist for Best Friends Animal Sanctuary (BFAS), became the chair of the ABA's Animal Law Committee. VanKavage was the "national manager" of the BFAS "pit bull terrier initiative," and at that time also served on the board of AFF. One of VanKavage's primary roles is to draft and lobby for state preemption legislation that prohibits local government from passing breed-specific laws.

Recall that AFF, whose sole mission is, "Securing equal treatment and opportunity for 'pit bull' dogs," also owns the for-profit National Canine Research Council (NCRC) -- both are zealot, single-agenda pit bull groups financed by Jane Berkey. In a 2011 snapshot, they all graced the ABA's website. VanKavage is chair of the ABA committee at that time and spoke at an event about Ontario's "breed-specific legislation." VanKavage's cohort, NCRC, moderated the Toronto event.

Every year, our nonprofit fights these preemption bills. Since January 2012, state legislators have rejected 81% of these bills. Over the last 4.5 years, Jan. 2016 to June 2020, the rejection rate increased to 88%. In 2020, these bills were defeated (again) in Kentucky and Missouri. No one is surprised that VanKavage used her role as the chairperson of the ABA committee to advance this type of legislation nationally; the only relevant body that could be affected is the military.

In 2019, the ABA adopted a resolution to prohibit the Armed Forces from using breed safety policies. The ABA is a voluntary professional membership organization for lawyers. They have no mission to protect human lives, nor are they part of the federal government. They do have a concern for "due process protections" for the owners of dangerous dogs and for those charged in reckless dog owner incidents, but no concern for human beings viciously attacked by dogs.

That 2019 resolution made its way into the National Defense Authorization Act for 2021. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) takes credit for adding it to the Senate version of the bill. "A Duckworth-authored provision to require the DoD Veterinary Service Activity to standardize policy across DoD installations for dangerous dog regulations that are breed-neutral," states her website. At the ABA's urging, and by using a certifiably false argument, the House committee adopted it too.

Between 2009 and 2012, each major military division—U.S. Army, U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Air Force—adopted a uniform pet policy. It is a false argument that the Department of Defense (DoD) needs to supersede these military branch unified pet polices, whereby nullifying them and preempting each military branch from protecting personnel in family housing areas. The goal of a breed safety policy is to prevent “first attacks” by dog breeds that have well-identified risks.

“Breed-neutral” policies deliberately ignore the severity of first attacks by pit bulls and rottweilers, which can cause severe injury and disfigurement—mauling injuries—or death. Wolf-dog hybrids are so dangerous to young children that multiple states ban them outright.

It is reasonable for military branches to impose restrictions on classes of dogs that statistically cause more harm to humans, especially children, when they attack. - DogsBite.org, October 7, 2020

Leading up to these unified pet policies, several children were killed by pit bulls in military housing, and likely many more were seriously injured. The 2009 Marine Corps order specifically stated, "Pit bulls, rottweilers, canid/wolf hybrids, or any canine breed with dominant traits of aggression present an unreasonable risk to the health and safety of personnel in family housing areas." Since that time, 14 peer-reviewed medical studies have further validated this "unreasonable risk."

National Pit Bull Victim Awareness Day

Last year, Responsible Citizens for Public Safety (RC4PS) held the first-ever event on National Pit Bull Victim Awareness Day at the Michigan state Capitol building in Lansing. The founder of this nonprofit was the keynote speaker. The year's national awareness day is on October 26. Ann Marie Rogers, the founder of RC4PS, brings together Mia Johnson of National Pit Bull Victim Awareness and Colleen Lynn of DogsBite.org for a discussion in a pre-taped Zoom Conference.

In the midst of this isolating pandemic filled with uncertainty, we all thought it was important to speak to our audiences. Johnson will discuss National Pit Bull Victim Awareness Day that was first established in 2015, the related organization, and why it was started. Rogers and Lynn will discuss legislative issues -- this post is a first look at those legislative issues. We are pre-recording so that we can edit and remove any technical issues should they occur (and they did occur!).

Summary and Call-to-Action

We strongly encourage our readers to contact congressional members about the NDAA "breed neutral" policy authored by special interest pit bull groups that will remove breed safety policies that have been protecting military personnel and their children for over a decade. Send snail mail letters to the chairmen and ranking members on both committees using the following contact information. The NPBVA page also has an alert set up that only takes a minute to fill out!

The Honorable James Inhofe
Chairman
Committee on Armed Services
United States Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510

The Honorable Adam Smith
Chairman
Committee on Armed Services
United States House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515

The three primary dog breeds restricted from military family housing by U.S. military branches.

15 years of U.S. fatal dog maulings (2005-2019). Pit bulls inflicted 66.4% of these deaths.

DogsBite blog ::

Tulsa Dog Owner Pleads to Second-Degree Manslaughter After Mauling