Leeds Adopts Animal Ordinance:
A sensible and well-thought out approach to target dogs whose owners have allowed them to be a potential problem to the community.
December 21, 2009 - The Leeds City Council adopted an ordinance aimed at addressing potentially vicious dogs in the community.
The ordinance confronted the belief that dangerous dogs have become a serious and widespread threat to the safety and welfare of the residents of Leeds and that it is believed the number and severity of attacks are attributed to the failure of owners to properly confine, train and control their animals.
An existing ordinance is in place. However, the City said they believed they are inadequate to deal with the threat to public health and safety posed by potentially dangerous and dangerous dogs.
“We have put a lot of time and effort into this ordinance,” said Mayor Eric Patterson. “We have called the humane society and we conducted a first reading a couple of weeks ago. It does not let us go out, look at a dog and say the dog is vicious. They have to do something, we then make a report and the guidelines have to fall within the set criteria.”
A dangerous dog is defined as any dog that may reasonably be assumed to pose a threat to public safety including such behaviors as attacking a person or domestic animal causing serious physical injury or death or behaving in a manner that a reasonable person would believes poses an imminent threat including if a dog’s behavior escalates to a point which causes it to designated as a potentially dangerous dog or if a dog is trained for or used in dog fighting or any other illegal activity.
A potentially dangerous dog includes those who cause physical injury to a person or domestic animal regardless of the severity and one that chases or menaces a person or domestic animal in an aggressive manner, acts in a highly aggressive manner within a fenced yard and appears to a reasonable person to be able to jump over or escape or runs at large and has been impounded or owners cited two or more times within a 12-month period.
The ordinance is not breed specific and includes any member of the canine family.
The City believes that it is the owner’s responsibility to keep animals under restraint at all times and that they should not be allowed to run at large within the city limits or police jurisdiction. Animals should not cause a nuisance and owners should ensure that they have proper identification at all times or other means to allow easy determination of the animal. Animals over the age of three months must also be immunized for rabies as required by state law.
The City has laid out a plan to determine potentially dangerous dogs that is specific in the way it is applied. The plan will be rated with a point system and its tabulation will then allow the animal control officer to make a determination as to whether the animal is considered vicious. The plan will include: location relevance for example if a victim was uninvited on the property of the dog’s owner; severity of the situation for example chasing, harassing and attacking; and aggression severity/danger of a situation for example barking, growling, snapping, lunging, biting, etc.
If an animal is considered vicious, owners will be notified and will have to take proper measures to secure the animal and may face the impoundment of their animal. Owners can appeal the process within five days and petition for a review. The review will then be scheduled for a public hearing before the Animal Control Review Board including the Leeds chief of police, the Leeds fire chief, city clerk, magistrate, and the mayor.
Leeds Mayor Eric Patterson said someone who is found to have a vicious dog will have stringent stipulations put on them. “Our number one priority of the City is to protect citizens and improve their quality of life,” he said.
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Alabama Dogfighting Operation Raided; ASPCA Forensic Veterinarian Examines Dogs, Skeletal Remains, Discovered in Two Alabama Towns
June 1, 2009 /PRNewswire — A suspected dogfighting operation that spanned two towns in Randolph County, Ala. was raided by Alabama’s 5th Judicial Circuit Drug Task Force, in collaboration with The ASPCA (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) and the Humane Society of the United States. Authorities have seized 45 dogs and found skeletal remains, as well as evidence consistent with dogfighting, on the scene.
The ASPCA’s forensic veterinarian, Dr. Melinda Merck, is examining and documenting injuries and conditions of dogs that were seized in the towns of Roanoke and Wedowee. She is also examining partially buried skeletal remains of a dog found in Roanoke. Evidence Dr. Merck collects from the crime scene will aid in the prosecution of the case.
“These dogs definitely suffered abuse and inhumane treatment at the hands of dogfighters,” said Dr. Merck, senior director of Veterinary Forensics for the ASPCA. “So far, we’ve seen that one is unable to walk, another that is limping, and many that are injured, some severely. Our hope is that the forensic evidence collected will help us seek justice for all of these animals.”
Dogs were discovered on heavy chains and have scars, untreated injuries and wound patterns indicative of fighting. In addition, controlled substances, illicit drugs and other paraphernalia related to dogfighting have been discovered.
“Forensic evidence does not lie,” said Laura Maloney, senior vice president of Anti-Cruelty Initiatives for the ASPCA. “Dr. Merck’s unparalleled expertise and tools, combined with the capabilities of the ASPCA’s Animal CSI Unit, means these animal abusers cannot hide.”
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About the ASPCA(R) Founded in 1866, the ASPCA(R) (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals(R)) was the first humane organization established in the Americas, and today has more than one million supporters throughout North America. A 501 [c] [3] not-for-profit corporation, the ASPCA’s mission is to provide effective means for the prevention of cruelty to animals throughout the United States. The ASPCA provides local and national leadership in animal-assisted therapy, animal behavior, animal poison control, anti-cruelty, humane education, legislative services, and shelter outreach.
About the ASPCA’s “Mobile Animal Crime Scene Investigation (CSI) Unit” The ASPCA’s “Mobile Animal Crime Scene Investigation (CSI) Unit,” the nation’s first, was unveiled in December 2007. A “forensics first,” the “Animal CSI” vehicle was created to significantly advance the prosecution of animal cruelty and help strengthen cases against offenders by incorporating the emerging field of veterinary forensics in crime scene investigations. It also provides a proven chain of custody for law enforcement, thus ensuring the integrity of the evidence, and helps reduce the stress placed on the animals that are the innocent “collateral victims.”
Website: http://www.aspca.org
National Canine Research Council