Bull Horn #002 [ 52:29 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

00:39 Google Hangouts
01:27 Please help Susan and Sadie
09:24 International Day of Happiness stamp controversy
11:18 Why do you debate these idiots?
13:26 Dog parks and a PetSmart playgroup
21:32 There’s a war on big dogs
22:56 Dog-related human fatalities in the last 6 days
27:12 Media bias and Bullmastiffs are not Pit Bulls
32:09 Dogs are incredibly safe
33:40 Family dog vs. resident yard dog
35:03 Consistency and exposure in training
38:36 Speaking in general vs. being specific
40:39 Tim Farriss
41:46 Illegal dog confiscation
43:32 The extremes of animal control
45:05 Racketeering at the Carson shelter
48:34 The taking of property
49:55 Animal control acting like cops

A few weeks ago I was standing in a doorway watching a woman cry for her dog. Her frail voice spoke about Pit Bulls and how they are “good dogs” and how “there’s nothing wrong with them.” Truer words have never been spoken. Between those 2 statements tears started rolling down her face, surely coming for her dog who now has an uncertain future. Her tears led to a few of mine as I listened to her from the side of the room. My girlfriend, who’s a tenant’s rights attorney trying to get her a reasonable accommodation, was holding her hand and trying to give her some hope for a better result. Hope in the midst of what is absolutely both physical and mental torment. Medication bottles surrounded her napping position. The dog was missing from the bed. Here’s why…

Susan is a middle-aged woman who is suffering from end-stage endometrial cancer. She is actively undergoing radiation treatment and she works in Pasadena. She has no remaining family, she has no kids. She does have a 12-year-old senior dog named Sadie who’s at some level probably mixed with Pit Bull, amongst other things.

4 months ago she lost her home due to foreclosure. She’d lived there for many years. She now lives in a trailer right outside of South Pasadena where she pays $1,000 a month to rent. On her lease she put that Sadie was a “mix.” This is certainly not a lie. The property manager didn’t show any interest in meeting Sadie. All was fine.

Well, 3 months after moving into the unit the property manager was onsite and saw Sadie laying out sunning in the enclosed yard. This person immediately began verbally accosting Susan and then filed paperwork demanding that the “unapproved Pit Bull” be gone or that Susan was going to be evicted. Nice. They were ready, and are still ready, to put a dying cancer patient on the street to die on the street.

So why do Pit Bulls and their mixes fill so many shelters? Why are so many considered “hard” to adopt out? This is one of the biggest reasons why!

Susan’s had Sadie for almost 12 years. She found her after she had been thrown out of a car on the 110 freeway. She loves this dog and Sadie is all that she has. To immediately try to remedy the situation Susan turned Sadie over to what she thought was a trusted colleague for rehoming. This man then immediately turned Sadie into the kill shelter behind Susan’s back. She got called when the shelter staff scanned for the microchip. This is how Susan found out.

Sadie’s still at the North Central pound and Susan’s now been in the hospital for almost 2 weeks. She’s dying, and she’s worrying, and she’s heartbroken. She’s missing her dog, she’s hoping her dog isn’t killed. Quite literally all that she wants is to see her dog, and when she’s gone, know that her dog is safe.

The point being that breed-targeting is able to be implemented philosophically in all kinds of different ways, and with or without legislation. This happens all over the place. This is not the fault of Pit Bulls. This doesn’t say anything about them, but rather about the individuals opting to implement such unjust and vague practices. But Pit Bulls and others looking like them are the scapegoats who routinely pay with their lives.

If you’d like to help Sadie then please do so. She is impounded in Los Angeles with an ID# of A1453500. You can reach the shelter by calling 213-485-5767. Remember, Sadie is a lovely senior dog who deserves nothing short of a fantastically loving home with a warm bed and a caring hand. The peace of mind that this genuine act of kindness would give Susan would also be beyond measure. Please help me share their story.

The anti-Pit Bull hate group DogsBite.org has recently put out a “call to action” in response to something meant to spread happiness and good will. Surprised? Me neither.

Founder Colleen Lynn wants everyone to go after the United Nations, not for anything that they’ve actually done politically, but for opting to put the smiling face of a Pit Bull-mix on 1 of their 6 stamps that are being created for the 2014 International Day of Happiness. What a crime! Not only will the dog be featured on 1 of the stamps, but that particular stamp was also chosen to be on the cover of the holiday’s promotional brochure… Choices which have caused dog-hating individuals such as Lynn to shit blocks of red ceramic material generally used for mortar construction.

They say this choice “offends” victims of dog mauling incidents and, get this, promotes dog fighting. How? Well, first it’s simply because any dog that even remotely looks like a Pit Bull was chosen. God forbid. Never mind the indisputable fact that millions upon millions of these dogs exist, and that they are all individuals, 99.9% of which have never harmed anyone. But further, apparently the DBO hate group has also taken issue with how the picture has been tinted blue and red, to go along with the dog’s white coat (um, American Pit Bull Terrier = United States = red, white and blue?). Colleen Lynn claims that the placement of the red represents a blood “stained chest” and that the glorification of the dog’s happy face represents the “very emblem of immoral cruelty,” an “obscene” choice.

Honestly, what kind of freak can see ^that image and think that it promotes dog fighting and killing? Colleen Lynn can! That’s who.

So in response Lynn has begun begging her followers to start emailing the UN obscene images of victims, as a way to vilify all dogs deemed, by her, to be Pit Bulls. Verifying what picture represents what doesn’t matter in the slightest, so long as it’s bloody and gruesome. Exploitative much? Incredible. Wait, weren’t we just talking about what was offensive and obscene? Yeah, that’s what I thought. This irony only registers with those who are rational. But okay.

Point is, they want the stamp stopped before it begins to circulate. They want to throw their fit, attempt to dumb everyone down, attempt to ignore public safety, attempt to evasively misrepresent millions of dogs, and attempt to relay their message of “non-obsceneness” by continuing to embrace the bottom of the barrel philosophy of being eternally obscene.

To counter this wicked effort, please contact these same individuals from the UN and let them know how much you appreciate the beautiful choice:

unpanyinquiries@un.org, katzr@un.org, postmaster@paho.org, linnl@paho.org, eberwind@paho.org, maysonia@paho.org

This is the sweetie cake of a dog, her name is Macy. She was a shelter dog that was deemed “not appropriate for adoption” at a kill pound in California. This oftentimes happens to dogs simply because of how they look, or their breed, and having nothing at all to do with their actual temperament.

Macy was thankfully rescued, fostered, and then ultimately adopted by the same person that decided to foster her. Now she happily lives out her life as a lap dog. It’s a great story.

From Macy’s adopter:

I had never considered myself a Pit Bull person, and if I were honest, they scared me a little. However, Macy completely blew my stereotypes and preconceptions out of the water. The thing Macy loves above all else is human interaction and attention. The main takeaway is, please everyone, just give them a chance — pitties and other shelter dogs alike. That’s really all they need.

The inclusion of a rescued shelter dog, Pit Bull or not, to represent a day promoting happiness is a huge honor that is absolutely deserved.

Bull Horn #001 [ 50:22 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Tino Sanchez from PeaceLoveAndPitBulls.org and Josh Liddy from SwayLove.org start on a dog-related podcasting adventure. In this very first episode we talk about what led us to advocate on behalf of our dogs, who at whatever level are categorized as being Pit Bulls. Tino really gets into his background and I learned things about his experiences that I had no idea about. The point of this show is to try and be as genuine as humanely possible with the issues that so many dogs face, while also being real and uninhibited with our truths. This is about communication. This is about being, at times, opinionated. We know that this could lead to forms of controversy. I think that both of our hopes is that this outlet more so leads to further perspective and thought-provoking ideas coming from everyone. Our dogs of all breeds need all of us. Open minds for dogs of all kinds is the most helpful mindset to have if we want to promote public safety while also shaming the disgraceful philosophy of hate and prejudice against groups of anything who are lumped together because they visually look a certain way.

Discussed links:
Mister Mom discusses Pit Bulls 2/16/2014
Saving Buddy
Just one dog
Bandit tries to figure out the treadmill
Guilty ‘Til Proven Innocent
The Pit Bull Placebo by Karen Delise

Mr. Madison continues on his crusade to scapegoat all Pit Bulls for any speck of mayhem he can pin in their direction. This time it’s a screenshot of this story on his Facebook page, which tells the tale of a Riverside County man being saved from numerous dogs by a Good Samaritan who drove his van through a chain-link fence. The Councilman then “liked” the comment that said “wow, they even turn on their masters.”

I’d like to point out, since Steve didn’t, that this incident occurred in Riverside County. The same Riverside County that just 6 months ago passed a piece of breed-discriminatory legislation against Pit Bulls. Coincidentally the same exact type of legislation that Steve Madison desires to pass in Pasadena (he wants a ban but can’t achieve that, so this is the next best thing). I’d also like to point out that the BSL in Riverside County didn’t stop this attack, just like the Board of Supervisors were told that it wouldn’t. Also worth pointing out is that there were 6 dogs on the property, all resident yard dogs, 2 being puppies. None of the dogs were spayed or neutered. None of the dogs were licensed. Robert Miller and the Riverside County animal control did nothing to assist in bettering this environment, nor would their BSL (breed-specific mandatory spay and neuter) have stopped this. They have it, it still happened, and they were all still unaltered. The attacked man allegedly became involved after trying to break up a fight between 2 unneutered males. Does anyone care to wager on whether there was at least 1 female actively in heat on this property as well? I’d take that bet. One of the roommates, in this video, claimed that the man that was attacked was first swinging on 1 of the dogs after picking up its injured puppy.

Further, the post by Madison comes 10 days after I stayed for multiple hours sitting through the 2/3 City Council meeting so that I could briefly speak to him about going with me to the Pasadena Humane Society. The stated intention would be so that Councilman Madison could meet some of the dogs. He told me that he would. He admitted that he was scared but told me to contact his office to arrange. I emailed him that night, as well as called his office and left a voicemail on 2/6, 7 days prior to him posting this. Still haven’t gotten a response to either attempt. I, along with another person, also invited him to the local shelter during a Facebook exchange on 1/30 that came 14 days prior to him posting this. He’s still yet to respond to either of us through that platform as well. His post also comes 17 days after BSL was “tabled” in Pasadena, when well over 100 people showed up to oppose his desires. It was also on this night where numerous others genuinely invited him to come by and meet their dogs, including trainer Brandon Fouche who invited any of the Council members down to his Los Angeles training facility to see the dogs or talk about aggression.

So all of that needs pointed out, as Pasadena City Councilman Steve Madison continues trying to blame every single dog who in any way looks like a “Pit Bull” for any and every singular attack or incident ever recorded.

Yesterday the Orange County Board of Supervisors wanted to amend their dangerous dog ordinance to not only ensure that any dog taken from a suspected fighting environment, bait dogs and puppies amongst them, would be deemed “vicious” and thus destroyed, but also to further evade due process with sweeping language that would put strikes on a dog or group of dogs suspected of harming any animal (bunny, lizard) in its/their own yard!

Public comments and relayed community opposition to such moves:

I compared the dog confiscation stuff to authorities busting up a child kidnapping and sex operation, and then subsequently deeming all of the victims to be “deviants, prostitutes and sex offenders.” I also wanted to point to the lack of due process with all of it, but especially the labeling of a group of family pets who could get vaguely accused of harming a squirrel (for example) on their own property and then deemed “dangerous” by the county. Many times with shelters and animal control they are able to get away with outright ignoring due process, and simply because many people don’t have the information or the resources to be able to stand up for themselves. I see the Carson shelter do this type of stuff all the time. But that doesn’t make it any less wrong.

Here you see shelter director Ryan Drabek say some pretty suspect things about following the law. I was sitting next to an attorney and she was squirming in her chair. Then you see Supervisor Nelson give a condescending speech from his perch, attempting to needle the people who had come out to oppose his plan. Then his plan fell flat and didn’t even get a single motion, needing 2 motions to even garner a vote. Death to his desires, and then he huffs and puffs.

In the end we had Boss the surfing Pit Bull and local supporter Keebo spreading love after the meeting.

This shows yet again, and on the heels of Pasadena, that people having the courage to oppose such unjust laws can actually make a mighty difference.

If this wasn’t evidence enough, or this, or this, or this, or this, or this, or this, or this, or this, or this, or this, or this, or this, or anything Nathan Winograd constantly details, or this, or this, or this, or this, or this.

Then how about this?

Quoted in the above article is PETA’s VP of communications and Pasadena resident Lisa Lange, the same lady that I confronted back in 2013.

Doing this for Pit Bulls, the dogs that need the most help from society, is a very good thing and it makes no sense that anyone who cares about dogs at any level would oppose this.

Let’s cut the bullshit. This is the guy that is pushing the legislation, thus the man that PETA is supporting…

^Watch the video.

Prior to the below conversation taking place, the Facebook page “Ferdinand & Friends” had shared Steve Madison’s Facebook update from Wednesday about a “Pit Bull attack” that had taken place just 2 hours prior. I wrote about him doing this at length here. Anyways, so the F&F page shared Steve’s status with a commentary of their own, which brought Mr. Madison onto their thread to defend himself. You can see the entire thread here. Madison twice accuses the page of using “personal attacks,” even though all that the F&F page kept saying was that Steve ignores the overwhelming data that doesn’t fit his agenda. Apparently that is an “attack” these days.

The below image represents the comments that have taken place under the original status that was posted by F&F, which you can read in full here.

It’s now been a full day without a response from Madison. Which basically speaks for itself, considering what was said here.

After his massive defeat at Monday’s City Council meeting anti-Pit Bull demagogue Steve Madison is out on his Facebook page this morning promoting an alleged “Pit Bull attack” that happened at 5am in Pasadena.

Leading up to Monday’s meeting I had been attending Pasadena City Council and Commission meetings on a weekly basis and giving public comments. The one thing that was universally present in each of my comments is that any time there is a dog-related human fatality, or other serious dog attack for that matter, there is almost always existing elements of recklessness to blame. These 3 circumstances are roaming and loose dogs, chained/resident yard dogs and unsupervised children, or a combination thereof.

This incident in Pasadena was no different. Yet Madison, grandstanding on the mantle of public safety, failed to point out that this morning’s offending dogs were out roaming loose, and thus, able to do whatever they wanted to do to whomever they wanted to do it to.

Further, Ricky Whitman of the Pasadena Humane Society stated that the dog that was killed by the police “looked like it was in heat.” And even further, if any dog were at first acting in an aggressive manner you can directly correlate the increase of such behavior by the others to a pack-mentality type of response. This also has nothing to do with breed. Many individual dogs with varying personalities could certainly opt not to join, but others most certainly would. This, aligned with the “in heat” element, creates a scenario totally ignored by Mr. Madison.

I find this Councilman shameless to the core, and as disingenuous as they come.

In his Facebook ramblings, and at Monday’s Council meeting, Madison also mentions the 5 dog-related fatalities we had in the state of California in 2013. He quickly attributed them all to Pit Bulls, and then moved on, achieving his hyperbole but ignoring all of the circumstances behind the incidents.

Here’s some very pertinent background regarding each of these situations:

Elsie Grace, a 91-year-old from Hemet, was found dead in a hotel room with her son’s 2 dogs identified by someone as “Pit Bulls.” There was an autopsy done at the time of her death, with unknown results, and it was stated by the impounding officer that her death could have been due to natural causes. Claudia Gallardo, a 38-year-old from Stockton, was killed by a resident yard dog after she jumped into its chained area at night “looking for work.” Pamela Devitt, a 63-year-old from Littlerock, was killed when 4 loose dogs (identified by someone in a car as “Pit Bulls”) ran up on her while she was walking in the desert. The owner of these dogs was arrested and it has since been uncovered that animal control had been called out to his residence numerous times, covering a multitude of dog-related complaints. It should also be noted that her husband went out of his way to say that he doesn’t blame the dogs, or “Pit Bulls,” but the irresponsibility of this specific dog owner. Nephi Selu, a 6-year-old from Union City, was bitten 1x in the head by his uncle’s “Pit Bull” while over at his grandparents’ house. This dog was a resident yard dog who was “never allowed in the house.” Nephi had a past with the dog and was left fairly unsupervised while out in the yard. According to the police Nephi was “riding the dog like a horse.” Nephi was “coherent, conscious and talking for hours” after being bitten. His uncle, the owner of the dog, actually went to work after ending the scuffle, which he thought might have required a “couple of stitches.” Nephi died hours later. And finally, Samuel Zamudio, a 2-year-old from Colton, was killed by anywhere from 7-10 resident yard dogs (some chained) after he climbed out of a screenless window and ended up in the backyard unsupervised. His dead body was found almost an hour after he had died. No one witnessed the attack. 6 of the dogs were referenced as “Pit Bulls,” while interviewed neighbors said that they actually owned 1 Pit Bull and many Lab-mixes.

So for those that are counting: 1 incident involved an unknown outcome, 3 incidents involved chained/resident yard dogs, 1 incident involved a roaming pack of loose dogs, and 2 incidents involved unsupervised children. Only 1 of the 5 involved no known reckless circumstances, and that’s the one with the lady from Hemet who quite possibly died of natural causes.

Another element of the “attack” from this morning that’s certainly interesting to me is how it’s being reported vs. certain details that are in the report. For example, the 911 caller stated that the dogs were “dragging” the man down the street, yet the victim of the attack actually “declined medical treatment.”

This is from the police’s own press release:

Mr. Ross tried to position his bicycle between him and the three attacking dogs attempting to bite his legs. At least one dog did make contact with Mr. Ross’s left leg, resulting in minor puncture wounds. Ultimately, Mr. Ross dropped his bicycle and jumped onto the hood of a vehicle parked on Fair Oaks Avenue.

^I see nothing about “dragging,” do you? Also, as far as I know there are no images of the offending dogs available as of yet. The Pasadena Humane Society has declined to identify the dogs as “Pit Bulls.” Regardless of whether they were or not is not the point, as it takes away from any element of genuine public safety and shouldn’t be used to scapegoat any and every dog that looks like a Pit Bull.

Worth keeping in mind is that the Pasadena Humane Society, at a prior meeting, have explained to the Council about the many difficulties in identifying such dogs. The Animal Control Association offers no courses in “breed identification.” 2010 court case Cardelle vs. Miami-Dade County found that animal control officers were “not qualified” to visually identify Pit Bulls. They also found that there is “no scientific basis” for admitting such an opinion, since there is no way to test whether it is accurate. Dr. Victoria Voith, in her 2013 study on visual identification, found that over 900 shelter workers across the country were wrong over 73% of the time when their breed designation was compared with actual DNA evidence of the same impounded dog.

All of this clearly lends to the fact that police officers have no more of an ability to identify a dog than anyone else does. Madison needs to hold his horses and not be so opportunistic in his approach.

In closing: The dogs, whatever breed or type they end up being, were out and running loose. This is the reckless circumstance that deals with public safety. Focusing on the breed, based on a mere mention and no further evidence, just shows that Madison is nothing more than an polical hatchet man.

There’s not many dog or human safety expert organizations that will make the claim that breed-specific legislation is effective. I’m personally not aware of a single one. On top of that, every mainstream and professional animal welfare group is openly against breed-specific legislation, here’s just a partial list.

While all of this has up to this point seemed to fall on deaf ears with most on the City Council, hopefully the ongoing directed public correspondence to their proposed ordinance will not. To my eyes over 95% of which seems to be against breed discrimination.

I’d also like to highlight a few letters… From colleagues Marla Tauscher (animal attorney) and Barbara Telesmanic (registered nurse), as well as my own piece on public safety which was dually published on the Pasadena News Now website.

Marla Tauscher opposition letter to Pasadena BSL by swaylove

Barbara Telesmanic opposition letter to Pasadena BSL by swaylove

Josh Liddy opposition letter to Pasadena BSL by swaylove