Pit bulls & the humane community • “National Pit Bull Awareness Month” opens with two pit bull fatalities • What the ASPCA ignored on National Dog Fighting Awareness Day • A Grim tale of suspected dumb rabies & a dumber response • Time for a national conversation about pit bulls, by guest columnist Ed Boks […]
Pit bulls & public safety
Pit bulls & public safety • Mark Kumpf named Detroit animal control chief. Remember Klonda Richey? • How did Kumpf get elected top Detroit dogcatcher? Inside info raises questions • L.A. County pays $3 million to family of pit bull owner killed by ricochet • Shelters make mega-payouts to pit bull victims: what will change? […]
Pit bull liability
Pit bull liability • Hero of pit bull attack paid much higher price than convicted owners • Dog attacks on babies double, but State Farm hails fewer claims • Landlord to appeal $2.5 million award to pit bull attack survivors • $4.25 million award for pit bull attack––and the victim may see some of the […]
Did ASPCA discover certifying SAFER dog screening might be dangerous?
Or at least cost them a lot of money? NEW YORK CITY–– “Effective immediately, the ASPCA will be discontinuing the certification process for SAFER (Safety Assessment to Evaluate Re-homing),” the American SPCA announced on December 2, 2015 via the ASPCApro blog distributed to shelter workers. The abrupt end to certifying SAFER test-givers appears to […]
Marc R. Jurnove won right of citizens to bring Animal Welfare Act cases
Last case was Angel’s Gate Marc R. Jurnove, 63, died on July 3, 2013 in McLeansville, North Carolina. A U.S. Coast Guard veteran who had ridden his own horse since age seven, Jurnove went on to spend 17 years as a mounted park ranger in New York City, rising to the rank of lieutenant, […]
Albuquerque city shelter released dangerous dogs
Office of inspector general’s report confirms allegations ALBUQUERQUE––A newly released 38-page investigative report by acting Albuquerque city inspector general Peter Pacheco confirms allegations issued in February 2015 by city Animal Welfare Department second-in-command Jim Ludwick and animal welfare program manager and behavior specialist Carolyn Hidalgo that, in the report’s wording, “Dogs with problematic […]
No one held to account for Asheville Humane Society pit bull adoption fatality
6-year-old killed three weeks after pit bull was rehomed ASHEVILLE, North Carolina––Absent a lawsuit from the bereaved family, no person or agency will be held to account for the July 7, 2015 fatal mauling of six-year-old Joshua Phillip Strother by a pit bull adopted three weeks earlier from the Asheville Humane Society, after passing the […]
Albuquerque pound broke city’s own dangerous dog law
City withholds details about consequences ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico––A City of Albuquerque internal investigation has found the city’s Animal Welfare Department to be “only partially in compliance” with the city dangerous dog ordinance, including in rehoming dogs who should have been classified as dangerous. What the cost has been to public safety remains unclear, since […]
ASPCA and the Humane Alliance move toward merger
ASHEVILLE, N.C.; NEW YORK, N.Y.––The American SPCA, the oldest animal advocacy organization in the U.S., and the Humane Alliance, the largest facilitator of nonprofit spay/neuter surgery, are exploring the possibility of a merger. “While nothing is final at this point, we intend to merge with Humane Alliance,” affirmed ASPCA president Matthew Bershadker to ANIMALS 24-7 […]
New York Police Department eclipses ASPCA humane law enforcement stats in first full year on the beat
NEW YORK CITY––Rescues of New York City animals from cruelty and neglect and arrests of alleged offenders all soared in 2014, the first full year since the American SPCA began turning the lead role in humane law enforcement over to the New York Police Department. Impoundments of abused and neglected animals nearly tripled, from circa […]