Apparently there is an old Zig Ziglar story -- about a pilot flying an airplane from New York to Dalls. The wind blows the plane off course after a few minutes. The right thing to do is to adjust the course, and head on. The wrong thing to do is head back to New York and start over (or reconsider flying to Dallas at all).

No matter what you're doing, no matter what cause you're trying to make better, it is easy to get blown off course a little. The best thing to do is acknowledge that you're generally heading in a positive direction, course correct, and get there more efficiently. You don't have to start over. You don't have to quit. You just have to adjust the course ever so slightly (or even considerably) to get there sooner.

I think we've all been blown off course a little at times. Adjust, and keep going.

On Sunday, two year old Ja'Marr Tiller was apparently attacked by one, or two dogs outside his family home.

The family put the young boy to bed for the night, and while 3 adults and an older sibling were awake in the house, the young boy climbed down a flight of stairs and went out into the back yard. The boy's mother, who was out running an errand, returned home to find her young son tragically dead in the back yard.

The boy is believed to have been attacked by 1, or both, of two dogs that lived near the family's back yard. It's hard to make out the exact story on the dogs, but as best I can tell from the media reports, they were unowned "yard dogs" that roamed freely in the area although the victim's uncle had been feeding for years.

The two dogs are longer-haired black mongrel dogs -- described by local authorities as "Lab-Shepherd mixes". It seems clear that the dogs were not well socialized, or even possibly owned dogs, but likely living more like wild animals in this family's back yard.

The story has been picked up by about a dozen media outlets.

It's worth noting that attacks like this are very rare, but does highlight a) the need to call in stray dogs that can be a threat to the public and b) the need to supervise toddlers at all times as there is no shortage of trouble a 2 year old can find in short proximety to their home.

My heart goes out to the family in this case.

 

This week, two more Ohio towns repealed their breed-specific law. In both cases the communities had laws that mirrored the state law and now, with the state law being changed, they changed their city laws too.

Shreve, OH repealed their law on Monday.

And Bay Village, OH repealed theirs on Tuesday.

It's worth noting that either city COULD have kept their breed-specific law, but opted not to, because they realized it was not an effective way of controlling dog bites in their communities.

Congrats to everyone in Ohio for helping these cities see the light and for these cities in listening to the experts in their own communities.

Or not.

So, animal welfare experts out there, I encourage you go and take this survey. It's a survey done in partnership with Maddies Fund and the University of Florida. Basically, the survey asks you a few questions about your experience in labeling the breeds of mixed-breed dogs and then shows you two pictures (front and side view) of 20 different dogs with their height & weight listed. And then, you get to pick what the dog's predominent breed is from a selection of 180 dog breeds. The whole thing should take you 10-15 minutes, depending on how much you toil over your selections.

The results are then going to be matched with their DNA results to see how accurate people (and people with animal welfare experience) are at matching dog breeds to what DNA tests show.

The results are going to be posted in July and I'm eager to see how I did. On the flip side, I'm thinking I did miserably. I'm guessing you will too.

What is amazing is the number of these dogs that look very similar to dogs we have in our shelter -- and we never have any idea what their breed really is. In a lot of shelters, many of these dogs simply get labeled as "Lab-mix", "Shepherd mix", "Chow mix", "pit bull mix" or "terrier mix". 

It's also going to highligh just how ridiculous it is that we try to make assumptions about dog behavior based on how it LOOKS vs, I don't know, how it actually ACTS.

So take the test. Let me know how you think you did.

 

We're coming up on dog bite prevention week. Fortunately there are a lot of good organizations and people that are trying to increase knowledge during this week. Unfortunately there are others who would rather try to spread hysteria and fear. Please keep your eyes peeled for the hysterics and try to create some logic in the matter. Now, onto the roundup.

Cities and laws

Kingsford, MI is now looking at a potential repeal of their 25-year old pit bull ban.

It seems that everyone realizes that Ontario's breed ban is ineffective -- except for the Liberal Government.

Donnellson, IA decides against breed-specific legislation after discussing the topic for about 6 months.

The media

A story from KMBC her in Kansas City that highlights a dog bite incident in Kansas City. It's worth noting that on this particular day, there were 17 dogs on bite hold at the Kansas City, MO shelter, but guess which one made the news?

Miscellaneous

New biomarker test predicts arthritis at a much earlier stage and was developed by analyzing joints of dogs -- because of the controlled breeding of dogs, and because relatively few genetic markers were used to create the many different breeds that now exist, they provide a lot of interesting insight into human genetics and diseases, including ailments like arthritis.

Monsters, or just misunderstood? Pit Bulls strike fear but owners say training is key -- a really good story from Longmont, CO that notes that pit bulls really aren't responsible for a disproportionate number of dog bites or animal control calls and that training for them, just like all dogs, is key. This isn't suprising as Longmont has one of the more progressive shelter programs in the country with a great base of knowledge for the community.

Brain scans can help us figure out what dogs are thinking -- some new technology allows us to get a better understanding of what dogs are thinking.  If it means I find out my dog thinks I'm anything other than the best person ever then I don't want to know.

Infographic on 10 ways to lower your lifespan -- #10 -- don't own a pet. Owning a pet can add 2 years to your life. You should also not smoke, floss your teeth, get married, not drink and be female.

If you haven't seen this story yet you MUST read it -- but in Shirley, Mass, a pit bull pulled an unconscious woman from the train tracks that she passed out on. Unfortunately, the dog was hit by the train as the woman was pulled to safety, severing the dog's foot and fracturing her pelvis. The dog is back home and healing safely after undergoing surgeries and 10s of thousands of dollars in donations to help with vet bills.

One community takes your dog poop and turns it into free wi-fi.

What does your dog see?  A look at the world as our dogs see them from The Poodle and Dog Blog.

A good understanding of dog behavior is key to preventing dog bites -- bravo on this educational piece from the Tahoe Tribune.

Portsmouth, OH passed a local law that establishes pit bulls as "vicious" under their city law in reaction to the state undoing such a designation.

No Kill News

Indianapolis makes improvements in limiting shelter killing  -- although they still have a ways to go. Plans include ramping up low cost spay/neuter services and low cast vaccination clinics targeting 10 key zip codes based on income in hopes of decreasing the number of animals that make it into the shelter.

The Weatherford/Parker County Animal Shelter (TX) has changed their rule about not adopting out 'pit bulls' and has now begun allowing these types of dogs to leave the shelter.

An article from Ft. Wayne, IN discussing many shelters in their surrounding area and the high kill rates that they have.

In 2011, San Angelo, TX decreased shelter euthanasia by 15% and are working to decrease the killing any more by focusing on spaying/neutering, getting more community support, working more with rescue groups and increasing foster homes.

An article in the Ventura (CA) Star notes the economic impact No Kill would have on their community. I have no idea how they figured these numbers, but it's an interesting approach to gaining support for No Kill.

To Kill, or Not to Kill - a fairly balanced article about No Kill via Scripps Howard News Service.

Some positive movement at decreased killing in Danville, VA - where a year ago, 85% of dogs and 90% of cats were killed last year.

The Humane Society of Southeast Missouri is asking for local communities it serves to increase their funding for their services as rising costs and lower donations have made getting by a little mor difficult. The shelter impounded about 4,000 animals last year and had a budget of $360,00.

Blogs

I'm a little behind on blog reading right now, but here are a few recent ones:

What No Kill means to me -- by YesBiscuit!

Breed Specific Legislation - It's in the mind, not the math

Goodbye, Delilah - Lucky Dog Rescue says goodbye to a very loved dog in an emotional post that puts words to the feelings that most rescue people and dog owners can identify with.

The dramatic rescue of Taz the dog by Kansas Firefighters -- LOVE this story of saving a dog from The Poodle and Dog Blog

When is the right time to have Fido fixed -- from Paw Prints the Magazine.

The needless fear of Pit Bull breeds -- from No Kill Allegany

I'm going to start with noting that all dog bite fatalities are tragic. But they are exceedingly rare -- with only about 25-30 happening each year in spite of there being over 78 million owned dogs in this country. However, they can and do happen, andwhen they do, it is usually a tragic set of circumstances that led up to the incident.

This case is no different.

In Beaverdam, OH, a 3 day old infant, Makayla Darnell, was tragically bitten by the family dog. The child was left in a swing while the parents were in another room.  The dog was left alone with the infant, and apparently bit the child in the head. The child died of injuries 5 hours later.  The dog is said to "look like a pit bull mix".

While some are taking this as some type of vicious attack, it certainly doesn't seem like one. A 3 day old toddler would be very fragile and the fact that the child lived for several hours sure sounds more like a tragic "bite" than an "attack" -- and such a bite could have even come with the dog trying to pick the toddler up. There would be no wonder that the dog would be interested in the infant as the child had only been in the home for less than 2 days -- and this new smelling, living thing would be of interest to any dog. Unfortunately, this dog's interest ended up causing a fatal wound on the young child.

All of this is why it is imperative for new parents with young children to a) get some support even before birth for them and their dog prior to the child being born to help learn easy tips to acclimate the dog with the child -- I always recommend Family Paws as an outstanding resource for this and b) to always, ALWAYS supervise a dog and child's interactions for the first 5-6 years of life to have adult supervision to be sure nothing bad happens. If a parent cannot be there to watch the child and dog, then they should use baby gates, crates and doors to separate the two. I always wish the news media, and commenters, would focus more on this type of education when reporting stories instead of acting as if the dog's breed had anything to do with it.

It's a tragic incident -- but easily preventable and one that was done by a dog that likely wasn't even really aggressive.

My heart goes out to this family as they deal with this horrible time.

This story was picked up by over 250 media outlets from across the nation.

Last week, 16 month old Jazilyn Mesa was tragically killed by the family's dog.  According to Dr. Beth Vesco-Mock, Director or animal services, the dog and child were apparently left alone in the back at the victim's granparent''s house.

Apparently the child's grandmother heard the ruckus and went out to help the toddler and a neighbor ended up shooting the grandmother in the leg while trying to shoot the attacking dog. The grandmother will recover from her injuries.

The dog is being described as a "pit bull".

Local authorities seem to get that circumstances are what lead to attacks -- according to Vesco-Mock "It's not a dog issue. It's not a pit bull issue. It's a responsibility issue. When you get these dogs, you must train them and supervise them, especially when they're around children."

Indeed.  And this is true of any dog.

This is really a tragic case that was easily avoided with adult supervision over the toddler and the dog's interactions.  My heart goes out to the family in this case.