Working at an Open Intake Shelter: Deliberate Breed Mislabeling, Aggressive Dogs and Unprepared Adopters

Images of deliberately mislabeled pit bulls that DogsBite.org located in a 60 second online search. Adoptable dogs from taxpayer-funded open intake shelters in the Midwest and Northeast.1 DogsBite.org - In mid-December, this letter was sent into our nonprofit. We've known for several years now that many open intake shelters operate in this manner. But first-hand accounts are still painful to read. The degree of full-fledged lying to the public cannot be expressed enou… [Read full blog post]

Ann Marie Rogers: Animal Welfare Advocate, Animal Control Officer, Public Safety Advocate - Perspectives of Advocates

Ann Marie Rogers of Responsible Citizens for Public Safety shares her background in animal welfare, animal control and public safety advocacy in our series: Perspectives of Advocates. My Background As I have always had a passion for animals, particularly dogs, I volunteered at a local humane society as a teenager and later worked at the Michigan Humane Society in various capacities -- adoption counselor, wildlife specialist, animal behaviorist, evaluator and veterin… [Read full blog post]

Dog Bites Increase 35% in Austin After the Adoption of 'No-Kill' Policy

2007-2011 Dog Bite Data Austin, TX - DogsBite.org recently reviewed 5-years of dog bite data gained from the City of Austin under the Freedom of Information Act. The data shows that dog bites have increased substantially since the city adopted a No-Kill policy in 2010. Between 2009 and 2011, dog bites increased 35%. The primary offenders of all bites were pit bulls and their mixes, responsible for 22% (1,288), followed by Labradors and their mixes, which inflicted 12% (682)… [Read full blog post]

2012 Dog Bite Fatality: Newborn Dies After Severe Dog Bites in McKeesport

Nikko, a recently adopted husky, fatally attacked 2-day old Howard Nicholson. Baby Killer Gets Reprieve UPDATE 03/08/12: In a not so unsurprising update, the husky named Nikko that mauled a 2-day old baby to death has been granted a temporary reprieve by Judge Borkowski. The dog will remain in custody in its current holding facility and be evaluated again after a magical 21-day period. Prior to killing the newborn, the dog killed the family cat and jumped a fence (or out of a wi… [Read full blog post]