Good News! Washington State Might Be Next to Prohibit Breed-Specific Legislation

A state representative introduces a bill to override dozens of local ordinances aimed at certain breeds.

Here's some good news in dog-related law: Washington state is considering banning breed-specific legislation.

Under HB 2117, introduced by Rep. Sherry Appleton, cities would no longer be allowed to use the breed of a dog to determine whether the animals should be declared "dangerous." Only the dog's behavior could be considered. Right now, about two to three dozen cities in Washington have ordinances that target specific breeds.

A lot of breeds have been targets by breed-specific legislation, or BSL, but Pit Bull owners probably feel the brunt of it most often. Thanks to the news media image of Pits as being violent, and their association with dog fighting, they're easy targets. In Dec., I even wrote about a city attorney in North Chicago who rationalized a policeman's fatal shooting of a dog because "Many drug dealers have a Pit Bull and this was a Pit Bull." That kind of fear makes it easy to target an entire breed based on the actions of a few.

Appleton made a pointed and evocative argument against this image of "dangerous" dogs: "I had a friend that was attacked and disfigured by a Beagle. That's Snoopy," she said. "It just depends on how a dog is treated."

That's a great point, although it does leave me with the image of Snoopy, my beloved childhood icon, as Cujo rattling around in my head.

Sometimes, breed-specific legislation can seem like an easy sell for politicians. It has the benefit of offering a simple, clear solution to a public problem, and it can make a politician seem unafraid to stand up and take clear and decisive action. But as H.L. Mencken once said, "There is always a well-known solution to every human problem -- neat, plausible, and wrong."

More states are coming to recognize this, with regard to breed-specific legislation. Last June, Nevada became the 14th state to outlaw BSL. Late last year, President Obama publicly opposed BSL in response to a petition submitted via the White House's website.

It would be great to see Washington join that list, and congratulations to Rep. Appleton for bringing the issue to the table.

But please -- can I have cute Snoopy back in my head now?

Read more on Breed-Specific Legislation:

Via Seattle Times and Examiner.com

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Finally, Some Justice for Jagger, the Bulldog Kidnapped and Killed in Washington

A man gets three years for his role in the dog's death. But is it enough?

Last week, Jesse James Clark of Kelso, WA, was sentenced to three years in jail for his part in the kidnapping and killing of a Bulldog named Jagger in October 2011, as reported in the Daily News Online. Clark is the third person to be convicted in the crime, which received worldwide attention. 

In October 2011, the two other culprits, Ivey Rose Svaleson and her boyfriend, Johnny Lee Jordan, kidnapped the Bulldog from Jennifer Lynn Thomas. The pair had shown up at Thomas' home to collect used baby items that Thomas had offered them, out of kindness, as Svaleson was pregnant. Instead, they stole the dog. 

They then started sending "sinister" text messages, saying that the dog would be tortured and killed if Thomas didn't hand over money and prescription drugs. They kept the dog at Jesse James Clark's house.

“I was just crushed and scared and sick. I loved him so much, and I was so worried,” Thomas said during the trial. 

Police tracked down the suspects, but not before finding Jagger dead and dismembered alongside railroad tracks in Kelso. 

Last year, Svaleson received nine months in jail, and Jordan was sentenced to three and a half years in prison.

Clark, who insisted he only agreed to keep the dog for his friends, was shocked by the sentence, according to the Daily News Online, staring with "slack-jawed disbelief" at Cowlitz County Superior Court Judge Michael Evans as he read the sentence, while his mother "wept so loudly that Evans threatened to find her in contempt of court."

The jury found Clark guilty of first-degree extortion and second-degree possession of stolen property. During the trail, prosecutors said that Clark was overheard saying that "he beat the dog, then got rid of it." He also lied to to sheriff’s deputies when they came to his home and asked about the dog's whereabouts. 

Jagger's owner berated Clark in court. “If he would have been a man and said, ‘Yes, the dog is here,’ he could have been a hero right now instead of a defendant,” she said. “He cut our dog’s head off!”

Prosecutors aren't sure what exactly killed the dog, but they believe it was indeed at the hands of the defendants, saying that it “seems improbable” that a train killed the dog and caused the mutilation. 

“There’s a degree of cruelty here, a degree of depravity,” one of the prosecutors said.

Clark's three year sentence was at the top of the sentencing range for his crimes, and he won't be able to own a dog when he's out. 

Via the Daily News Online

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Dog Lover Extraordinaire: George Washington

George Washington and one of his many beloved dogs

Happy Presidents Day! Since we are Dogster, and not Humanster, we get to look at a unique and very overlooked side of the first president of the United States. This will be a history lesson, but one you should really like.

Did you know George Washington was a huge dog lover? He had several hunting hounds, and eventually created a new breed of foxhound called the Virginia Hound. He gave his faithful friends colorful names, from Sweet Lips, Venus, and Truelove, to Taster, Tippler and Drunkard. Can you hear the future first president calling out to Sweet Lips and Drunkard? (It’s pretty clear why he wouldn’t call them Rex, given his relationship with Britain and the monarchy and all…)

A really interesting article by dog-writer Stanley Coren in Psychology Today describes an incident that tells a great del about Washington as a man and a dog lover. It sits well with your morning tea on this Presidents Day.

Washington’s affection for dogs is vividly illustrated in an incident that occurred during the Revolutionary War. It was when American forces were trying to contain British General William Howe’s troops, who had occupied Philadelphia. During the Battle of Germantown, which was not going well for the Americans, Washington was encamped was encamped at Pennibecker’s Mill.

On October 6, 1777, a little terrier was seen wandering the area between the American and British lines. New York City. It turns out that General Howe’s little terrier had somehow gotten loose and had become lost on the battlefield. The dog was identified from its collar, and brought to Washington. His officers suggested that he might want to keep the dog as a sort of trophy which might weaken the morale of the British general.

Instead he took the dog into his tent, fed him and had him brushed and cleaned. Then, to the surprise of everyone, Washington ordered a cease fire. The shooting stopped and soldiers on both sides watched as one of Washington’s aides formally returned a little dog to the British commander under a flag of truce.

If only I’d learned this sort of stuff — info that makes historical figures more three-dimensional — in history class, I may have actually enjoyed the subject. It’s never too late to start, though! I hope someone will soon be offering a class called “History Through Dogs’ Eyes.” I’ll be first on the list of students! It might actually be a great idea for a book, too, but since I slept through history classes, I probably would not be the right person for the job.

(Thank you to The Poodle (and Dog) Blog for digging this one up!)

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