this is James Sak and Snickers. Mr. Sak is a veteran, a wheelchair user, and does not have the use of the right side of his body. Snickers, a pit bull, is his service dog. the city of Aurelia, Iowa has forced Mr. Saks to move Snickers outside of the city limits, away from Mr. Saks and her job as his service dog, because of their legislation banning pit bull type dogs. They have done this despite 2010 guidance issued by the Department of Justice stating that service dogs should be exempted from breed-specific legislation.
breed specific legislation fails to improve public safety, costs taxpayers thousands of dollars each year, and seperates families from their beloved pets. here is proof of another way bsl harms- by forcing disabled citizens to give up the service dogs they love and rely on. most people can’t afford the cost of years-long challenges to breed specific legislation, so it’s not surprising that we haven’t heard about more cases like this. people with disabilities may not have the resources or the capability for a legal fight, and are forced to simply hand over their dogs.
updates on Mr. Sak and his case are here.
okay basically today, north carolina is making it legal to kill a dog of a certain breed
after it has stayed in the shelter for 72 hours
the dogs that fall under this “breed ban” it won’t even get the chance to be adopted
if the owner brings in the dog it will immediately be killed
the breeds in the “ban” are “bullies” ie: Dobermans, Rottweilers, Chow Chows, German Shepherds, Great Danes, Pitbulls, Mastiffs, Akitas and Huskies
click here to sign the petition
and reblog the shit out of this.
as someone with ties to animal sheltering, there is some misinformation in this post and it replies to it that should be addressed.
first: this was not a statewide proposal. it was for Cumberland County, North Carolina’s county animal shelter only.
second: the plan has now been dropped. there is no immediate danger.
third, and most importantly: an adoption ban is, despite the name, a death sentence for dogs who enter shelters who employ the bans. these dogs are very unlikely to be transferred to another shelter, or sent to breed rescue. not all county shelters are the same, but many of them are strapped for money and time. there is not a lot of incentive for them to go above and beyond their outlined duties.
this is all a moot point, however, when you consider that across the U.S., pit bulls account for an average 29% of all dog intakes at shelters. that’s on the rise, by the way: in 2003 they were already at an average of 23% of surrendered dogs. they also make up an average of 60% of the dogs euthanised in shelters in 2010. the dogs in cumberland county were only the most visible victims of an overpopulation crisis in pit bulls.
if you are reading this and are concerned about the welfare of these dogs: are you helping provide low-cost spay and neuter to pet owners in need? are you supporting your local shelter? did you adopt your dog? are you breeding the dogs that will be put down in shelters in 2012? now that you’ve signed the petition or reblogged a post about it, what are you going to do?
what are you going to do to help the dogs and their owners when the cameras are off?
