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Against BSL

Did you know that if I was a certain dog breed I would be illegal in the UK? If I was a pit bull type, Fila Brasiliero,

Dogo Argentino or Japanese Tosa, the police could seize me and put me to sleep just for being me,

– even if I hadn’t done anything to deserve it. These breeds have been banned by the Dangerous Dogs Act (1991) –

a very unfair law. It wouldn’t matter if I was the nicest, friendliest dog in the entire universe without an aggressive

bone in my body – they could kill me just for being born one of these breeds, or for being imported into the country.

Petition from ANVIL (Animals Need A Voice In Legislation) who campaign to give animals the

voice they need in government in Ireland and are fighting against this issue amongst others :

http://www.petitiononline.com/anvil/petition-sign.html

In the words of Mahatma Gandhi:

"You can judge the moral stature of a nation by the way it treats its animals."

Dublin City Council bans 'dangerous dog breeds'
Olivia Kelly

Eleven breeds of dog, including Rottweilers, Bull Terriers and German Shepherds have been banned

from all Dublin City Council properties, including houses, flats and estates, with immediate effect.

The council has said it will give tenants an opportunity to rehouse the animals but if alternative

suitable accommodation cannot be found for them they will be destroyed.

The council has taken the step to remove all "dangerous breeds" due to the increasing numbers of

complaints from tenants and because of the legal implications associated with an attack taking place

on one of its properties. The ban initially applies to council housing and all public areas within council estates.

However, the council plans to amend its bylaws to include public parks in the ban.

This would mean that anyone owning a dangerous dog could not walk it in a public park,

even if they lived in private housing.

The council has also written to the Minister for the Environment asking him to ban all breeds

of fighting dogs nationally. The 11 breeds are not banned for general ownership in Ireland

but must be muzzled, kept on a special leash and be under the control of a person over

16 years old.

The breeds are: English Bull Terrier, Staffordshire Bull Terrier, American Pit Bull Terrier,

Rottweiler, German Shepherd (Alsatian), Doberman, Rhodesian Ridgeback, Japanese Akita,

Bull Mastiff, Japanese Tosa and Bandog. Cross-breeds of these dogs or crosses of these

dogs with any other breed are also banned.

Executive manager of the council's housing department Michael O'Neill said tenants would

be asked to remove any banned dogs but if they failed to comply the council would

take them away. "Our information on these dogs is that that they can be very

aggressive and while they might be family pets, that has to come secondary and would

be no defence to us if a child or other vulnerable person was attacked on our property."

Labour councillor Kevin Humphreys said he understood council tenants may feel

discriminated against, but he hoped that this was just the first step to banning these breeds nationally.

© 2007 The Irish Times

http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/frontpage...3751555449.html

True Stories

Chris Georgiou of Adelaide, Australia never learned how to swim. When he fell into a pond wearing full winter regalia, it looked to him like the end was near. He was cutting the grass which grew around the pond, located on his trout-fishing farm when he lost his balance and splashed into fifteen feet of water. His border collie, who had followed him down to the water, barked frantically as Georgiou screamed for help and struggled to keep his heavy, water-logged clothing and boots from dragging him under.

"I could hear Ziggy barking furiously. It was a shrill, frightened bark that I'd never heard before. I was coughing and sputtering. Finally, I couldn't fight anymore. I was about to go under for good. Then a miracle happened." As he was going down for the count, his 90 pound rottweiler, Stella came tearing across the field from her napping spot outside the house, some sixty yards away. She flew right into the pond and swam straight for Georgiou, who grabbed her right rear leg. Stella made her way, paddling determinedly to the shallow water, where Georgiou was able to stand, stumble up the bank and collapse.

"The next thing I knew, the two dogs were licking my face and whining for me to get up. Then it hit me: little Ziggy knew he wasn't strong enough to save me--he weighs only twenty-five pounds. So he had barked to Stella, who's strong as a horse, to come save my life. When I got home, I hugged the two of them and cried like a baby. I'd be a dead man if it wasn't for my dogs."

Stella and Ziggy won special medals of heroism from the South Australian Canine Association

5-year-old Vivian Cooper of Watsonville, California had always been afraid of 102 pound Reona. That is, until the day when Reona heard her screaming in her kitchen when the earthquake began. Vivian has epilepsy, and her life threatening seizures can be caused by over-excitement. Reona left her house, leaped over three fences, and catapulted herself into Vivian's home. She pushed the frightened little girl up against the kitchen cabinets and held her there, just as a large microwave oven was shaken off the top of the refrigerator and fell right on the spot where Vivian had been a moment before. Vivian clutched the dog and covered her face in her fur while Reona stayed with her until the ground stopped shaking. Jim Patton, Reona's owner says, "There's a bond between them now that just won't quit."

Reona was the Ken-L Ration Dog Hero of the Year in 1989

While hiking through the woods of Cucamonga, California, fireman Lorenzo Abundiz noticed that his 4-year old rottweiler, Cinder, was behaving strangely. Thinking the dog was sick, he decided to go home. A few minutes after arriving, Abundiz had a heart attack and fell unconscious. Cinder woke him by pushing the phone towards him. He called for an ambulance and was rescued. He later said, " I strongly believe that dogs can sense when your body chemistry is going haywire. Cinder saved my life."

Cinder was a Ken-L-Ration Dog Hero of the Year Runner-up in 1994

Kathie Vaughn, paralyzed from the waist down, began an all night drive in her custom designed van, accompanied by Eve, her 104 pound rottweiler. Twenty minutes later, something under the hood exploded and the van swerved all over the road while Kathie struggled to bring it under control. When the vehicle came to a stop, Kathie flung her door open and commanded the dog out of the car, which was rapidly filling with smoke. Once she thought that Eve was safe, Kathie fought feverishly to put her wheelchair together.

Despite the command which she had obeyed at first, Eve leaped back into the van and caught hold of Kathie's arm. Frantic to protect her dog, Kathie once again ordered her to leave the car. Fortunately for Kathie, Eve refused. She grabbed Kathie's disabled leg and dragged her out of the van and ten feet away, while Kathie lost consciousness. She awoke to an immense explosion, which so frightened Eve that she tugged her owner another twenty feet. Ever vigilant, Eve initially resisted the attempts of the police to move Kathie to their own vehicle. "They say dogs have no reasoning power, but I pushed her out of the truck and she returned, against all her natural instincts to save me."

1992 Winner of the William O. Stillman Award

http://www.pooch.org/wagtales/0902.htm