Cindy Rushefsky just announced that as of Friday February 20th Pit Bulls and Pit Bull Mixes will be adoptable to rescues as long as they pass the temperament test the other breeds of dogs currently go through!
I fear there is a catch....
I fear there is a catch....
Don't stop now guys! 8 years later....we will get a repeal!!!!!
So, let me tell you all a story...
A few months after we started the Animal Issues Task Force we were told to stop by the city pound and spend the day with an officer. This would show us the deplorable conditions the dogs have to stay in and the officers have to work in, and help us come up with a plan to present to city council...well, you know what happened up til now because you can read the minutes and my blog entries, but I'm gonna tell you about my ride along day...
I got to spend the morning with a great officer that was also a past EMT and fireman. He spoke nice to me and informed me of many things I did not know. I got to go to a couple of houses where he talked to people, mostly socially stunted (for lack of a better term) people that were extremely upset to have AC at their door. Now, I have had good and bad run-ins with AC over the years, and I attribute some of the bad run-ins to my "strong personality", but all in all I believe I have been treated with respect...at least to my face. However, my day didn't just entail seeing people make fools of themselves and seeing dogs that were scared and unhappy to be in doggy jail. I got sent on a ride-along to the dump.....Yes folks, Randy Barnts decided to change the officer that was doing the carcass run, to the officer that I was with. I got to ride, to the dump, in an S-10 full of dead cats and pit bulls! Now...I'm not usually a very quiet person when someone tries to stomp on me, but I chose to keep quiet and go in the stinky truck. We took the drive to the dump up north, and I sat in the S-10 watching as the officer picked up trash bags full of dead cats and PIT BULLS THAT NEVER HURT ANYONE and throw them into the pile of stinky trash. Yes, I understand that's where some animals go after they die (frankly I cremate mine), but it showed me that Randy had a huge lack of compassion toward these dogs and me if he thought he was making a smart@@@ decision when he sent me on this trip. He knew of me and my work with Pit Bulls, but was only able to prove one point to me. It was that he is a close minded person that didn't deserve to be running an animal welfare facility..... I was quiet on the ride back to the shelter...
Questions to ask yourselves...
-Did we really have a win tonight....Maybe.
-Are we going to be pacified by this decision....No!
-Are we going to show up at the City Council meetings until someone actually looks at the legislation the AITF proposed....Yes, at least some are.
-Are we going to educate the public about dog behavior, dog bite statistics, and BSL...Yes!
-Is the city going to make it extremely hard for rescues to pull the pit bulls out of the pound...Probably.
-Are we going away because we got a bread crumb....No Randy, Clay, and Kevin!!!! No we are not going away!
NO MORE BSL!!!
Contact me if you have any questions about Breed Specific Legislation!
Carrie Galvan
Springfield Side Kick Dog Training
carrie@springfieldsidekickdogtraining.com
Anonymous questions at...dlepitgirl@gmail.com
