melzawelza

Lets hope justice prevails.

This.

That's PETA's absolute policy when it comes to any animal they take in, stray or surrender

Really interesting - thank you! I'm not surprised at the outcome but it's great to read the way the Magistrate arrived at that conclusion.

Ah, yes - they're effectively one and the same as far as keeping requirements. Unfortunately everywhere there is escalating punitive measures for 'declared' dogs includes restricted in that bunch. I have no problems for it being a much harsher penalty if your dog has previously been declared dangerous - as that shows some serious ongoing mismanagement of a dog, but I agree with you that it's ridiculous for a restricted dog to be included in that. Getting rid of BSL is the only real solution to that one.

In NSW a 'dangerous dog' and a 'restricted dog' are not one and the same and the terms are not interchangeable. The requirements for keeping are very similar but on a couple of points they are actually MORE stringent on the 'restricted dog' that has done nothing wrong as opposed to the 'dangerous dog' that has actually been involved in an incident.

DogzRule just make sure that they guarantee to allow you to purchase her at the end of the hold if you take her there.

This is probably the best solution, the hold time in Vic is 8 days, so if she doesn't check her mail in a week you can return to the pound and collect her, or follow her through to wherever the dogs from the pound go to be rehomed, and she can be desexed before being adopted out to you. It won't be free but at least all the vet work will be done and the legalities of the microchip will be all sorted. Best option as long as the pound is a good one. If the pound would be Lost Dogs Home then I would absolutely not do that, as there's every chance they may not put the dog up for adoption if it is isn't bombproof (very few dogs even make it to the adoption floor).

Done! Interested in the results. :)

Your trainer is crazy - that's a lovely life for your dog and more than enough interaction with his people. My dog spends 11 hours in the yard when I'm at work. She couldn't care less and chases lizards/sleeps under the house all day. Our time is the evenings and my days off (granted I have a 7 day rotating roster and never work 5 days straight).

That is just heartbreaking - all over what he looks like (nothing to do with his temperament at all).. Would they let him leave the state - that seems to be a popular option these days. Nope. They're going to the bitter end. They said they were worried about him because he's a lot like the dog that killed Ayen Chol (which happened in their Council area). When questioned as to whether he meant behaviourally he stumbled on his words and said not really and basically just said the dog looks the same appearance-wise. It was odd as the officer clearly had a relationship with the dog and said he's a sook, and said that he will be with him when he is put to sleep, but at the same time was all for enforcing this legislation and was very disparaging (i.e: defamatory) of the people in VIC who fund the appeals and other Councils that haven't declared any dogs. I guess that's cognitive dissonance in action right there.

Hector and all the other Vicktory dogs literally changed the game completely for victims of cruelty in the form of dogfighting. Prior to these dogs and the people who fought for them to have a chance all seized dogs were held as evidence and destroyed after conviction. Now in most places in the US dogs rescued from fight busts are assessed as individuals and given a chance. People like Tim and Donna at BADRAP worked tirelessly to ensure these dogs had a chance and completely changed the game. It was an honour to have visited them two years in a row now and to call them friends. I was lucky enough to meet a few of the other Vicktory dogs and their owners on my last few trips to the States and they really tell us what many find hard to comprehend about APBT - they are just dogs :) They have left their past behind them and are wonderful, loving pets and therapy dogs. Some live with other dogs, with kids etc. Some are high energy, some aren't. Hector had a particularly expressive face and love for life. He'll be missed. This photo and caption on his facebook page not long before he went made me smile :)

Ok, 'bulldog breed' is fairly subjective as lots of people will include Boxers and Mastiffs in that group too. How many breeds are we talking here that you're including under this banner? Are we including cross breeds? What about dogs in pounds that look a bit blockheady - those too? All of these dogs - numerous different pedigree breeds, cross breeds, and dogs with no idea of heritage but look a bit like a 'bulldog breed' - that group as a whole are not for first time owners and require extra work compared to all other dogs? I'm really not intending to attack you here at all, but just trying to highlight how generalising an entire group or 'type' of dogs is really unhelpful, incorrect, and detrimental to the dogs. You've obviously got the right attitude re: knowing that it's about an owner, not a dog's breed, but you are singling out a whole arbitrary umbrella of dogs as 'different' than other dogs, and requiring different care... this sort of wording is actually part of what fuels BSL, and well meaning advocates often had their words quoted back to them in legislation. Animal Farm Foundation have a good graphic about this (none of the quotes from the 'advocates' have any fact or science behind them, and were well meaning but extremely harmful)

So, what is a 'Bully'?

Listened to a talk from Brimbank City Council at the Australian Institute of Animal Management conference a couple of weeks ago. They'll go to the end to kill this dog.

'Bully Breed' is such a huge blanket term, you can't make a massive generalisation by saying that all dogs that could come under that umbrella take dedication and commitment. All dogs are individuals, especially within a 'type' rather than an actual pedigreed breed. Heaps of 'bully breeds' are easy as anything. I've got one. She's lazy and doesn't need much exercise, she loves everyone, she's great with other dogs, and she's well behaved. Sure some of that was training but I got her as a 10 month old rescue and she always had a lovely temperament, all she had to do was learn manners. She hasn't taken any more dedication or commitment than any other dog would. And she isn't an anomaly. As for the petition and the group - I'd just ignore it. As soon as they started mentioning things about 'dangerous breeds' it wasn't worth any time or consideration. Part of the reason why there aren't enough ranger resources to be patrolling adequately for off leash dogs is that rangers time (which is extremely limited in most Councils) is being taken up trying declare and restrict dogs that had not and would not every cause a problem.

It depends on position of your house on you property. Council, Police, Utility all have right of access without risk of attack or injury. So gates separating the front half of the house from the rear are great - in our case we have double gate system which enables us to drive in and out and the front 1/3 or the property ( the house block is 1/2 acre) readily accessible. Police/Utility readers etc wouldn't be considered trespassers so it wouldn't really be a defense if the dog bit them regardless. Same as if you have a dog in the front yard and someone comes in to ring the doorbell and gets bitten - they aren't trespassing so you can't use it as a defense. Your set up is the ideal! Unless you have the sign removing implied access permission .If you have this sign then anyone entering without a warrant is trespassing Yep this is true. I'd be recommending having locked front gates too just to cover all bases.

It depends on position of your house on you property. Council, Police, Utility all have right of access without risk of attack or injury. So gates separating the front half of the house from the rear are great - in our case we have double gate system which enables us to drive in and out and the front 1/3 or the property ( the house block is 1/2 acre) readily accessible. Police/Utility readers etc wouldn't be considered trespassers so it wouldn't really be a defense if the dog bit them regardless. Same as if you have a dog in the front yard and someone comes in to ring the doorbell and gets bitten - they aren't trespassing so you can't use it as a defense. Your set up is the ideal!

You need to be careful with protection trained dogs.........pets can bite intruders, but protection trained dogs in most cases are considered dangerous requiring an enclosure to house the dog away from people. That's why it's not a good idea to put bitework videos up on the internet of named dogs in the event that the dog is used for protection at any time. Not in NSW. How does the owner of a protection trained dog in NSW convince the court that the dog wasn't deployed to attack on command and that's the problem as the NSW law doesn't permit the use of dogs as a weapon. If it's a pet biting an intruder untrained in protection removes owner influence from the bite. You said that a protection trained dog is considered dangerous and must be kept in an enclosure - that isn't true in NSW.

You need to be careful with protection trained dogs.........pets can bite intruders, but protection trained dogs in most cases are considered dangerous requiring an enclosure to house the dog away from people. That's why it's not a good idea to put bitework videos up on the internet of named dogs in the event that the dog is used for protection at any time. Not in NSW.

So heartbreaking, he seemed like a very special person.

They're so great :) Thanks for sharing, Mita.

Dogs are expected to be fluffy stuffed toys these days - most people it doesn't even occur to them that a dog may chase or attack a horse and are horrified at the thought of such a 'dangerous' dog being at the dog park. People don't understand that dogs are predators. Our legislation reflects this. In NSW if one of the dogs chased a horse at the dog park and the owner reported it your dog could be declared menacing or dangerous. I agree with you that it's madness to ride horses (prey animal) in a dog park.

I think it would be hard to find any vet who 'happily' euths a pet. You'd be surprised. Any vet that accepts a dog for euthanasia in this situation, and chastises a vet nurse for giving other options, is happily euthanising the dog. They don't have to rescue it themselves, all they have to say is ' we won't euthanase a normal healthy dog, I'm sorry but we won't be accepting the animal'.

There are significant problems with this pound, starting from management that just couldn't care less. Only a couple of years ago they were killing absolutely everything and not working with rescue until a volunteer spent an extreme amount of time and effort forcing them to step up. They were resistant every step of the way,and it took at least a good 18 months to get them to consistently improve some of their issues without big resistance. It is my understanding that some of the staff at the pound are now great as are some of the admin girls but management are absolutely horrendous and it bleeds out into how the place is run and the decisions that are made for the animals. They are now infinitely better than they were but they are still far from ideal or acceptable in how they deal with a lot of things.