Don't Lie, Antonovich

I've been trying to contact a few people about what was said by Antonovich's spokesperson. I have a few more e-mails sent out, but the one that I recently got a response to is this:

From:
Bonnie
To punish a breed of dog, or any animal for that matter, is completely unconscionable. Dogs are a reflection of their owners and their past, therefor it is the irresponsible, abusive and neglectful people in their lives that should receive the full force of the law.
As a man who served in the military, I would hope that you would honor the lives of a breed that has such a rich history of heroes including Sgt. Stubby who served in Unit 102nd Infantry, 26th (Yankee) Division in World War I who not only received a medal, but also received a wound stripe while protecting the soldiers in his unit.
Another hero pit bull is L.A.’s very own Diamond who shielded 16 year old Sierra from a fire in her apartment, taking the brunt of the fire and receiving severe burns and smoke inhalation just to keep her human from harm.
And Chief, who saved an 87 year old woman and her granddaughter from a poisonous snake by alerting them and then shielding them from the attack of the snake, taking the bite instead, while taking it down to the ground — giving his life to protect them.
Do not punish responsible and loving pet owners and be a part of ending the lives of innocent dogs in California.
--
This mail is sent via contact form on Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich http://antonovich.com

And what response do I get?

Thank you for your correspondence regarding vicious dogs and the recent fatal mauling of a 63-year old resident in Littlerock. 
While there is currently no effort to change State legislation to ban or restrict any particular breed, Los Angeles County is dedicated to protecting the public from the threat of vicious dogs.  At my direction, the Department of Animal Care and Control will provide the Board of Supervisors with a comprehensive package of recommendations to enhance our efforts to protect the public.
We will work to expand our County’s mandatory spay/neuter ordinance and support vigorous prosecution and severe penalties, fines and jail time for negligent and irresponsible owners who allow their animals to breed, fight, roam and attack people, horses and other animals. 
We will also continue working with the community, our town councils and cities to address this threat to public safety and prevent future attacks. 
To report animal-related public safety concerns, residents are asked to contact the County’s 24-hour call center at(562) 940-6890.
Thank you.
Office of Supervisor Michael D. AntonovichFifth District, County of Los Angeles500 West Temple Street, #869Los Angeles, CA 90012(213) 974-5555(213) 974-1010 - FAXfifthdistrict@lacbos.org

I immediately began contacting Antonovich's office about this response and about what was said by his spokesperson. If anyone needs a refresher on what was said, here is a direct quote:

 "We're going to go back to the state legislature and see if we can change that law, allow the local communities to make up their own minds with regards to breeds... Pit bulls are a different breed of animal. They're capable of incredible damage to humans, to other dogs, to horses."

Pit Bulls in the Media

What do you know about pit bulls? How much of what you know is from personal experience, being a guardian of a pit bull or from the media?

As we go through our daily lives, we are constantly receiving messages from the media, mainly from the news and Facebook. With the news networks wanting high ratings, reporters are always searching for stories containing the attention-grabbing "buzz words", "pit bull" being one of the highest. According to ASPCA's website:

"Animal control officers across the country have told the ASPCA that when they alert the media to a dog attack, news outlets respond that they have no interest in reporting on the incident unless it involved a pit bull. A quantitative study by the National Canine Research Council of dog-bite reportage in a four-day period proves that anti-pit bull bias in the media is more than just a theory—it’s a fact."

While a Maryland court has declared pit bulls to be "inherently dangerous" and news outlets are constantly reporting “pit bull” attacks (mind you, these are not true pit bulls, but are a generality of “pit bull types”) there are an alarming number of dog attacks that are not being reported or are being down-played by the media.

In April of 2012 in South Carolina a Golden Retriever-Lab mix named Lucky brutally killed and dismembered a 2-month-old baby that was in an infant swing while the father was sleeping. Lucky mauled baby Aiden McGrew and then severed both of his legs. This story barely made it into the news, calling the dog a “pooch” while “pit bull” attacks make national headlines regardless of the severity, calling them “vicious,” “dangerous” and “killers.”

Meanwhile, when there are no “pit bull” attacks to report, we see news reporters revisiting past stories and rehashing them, often asking their viewers questions slanted in a way that no matter how you answer, the outcome will always be negative.

ASPCA.ORG. (2013). Pit Bull Bias in the Media. Retrieved from ASPCA.ORG: http://www.aspca.org/fight-animal-cruelty/advocacy-center/animal-laws-about-the-issues/pit-bull-bias-in-the-media.aspx

Edelman, A. (2013, January 10). Family dog attacks child of South Carolina parents whose infant son was killed by another pooch last year. Retrieved from NY Daily News: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/months-infant-mauling-dog-attack-mcgrew-home-article-1.1237732

Viegas, J. (2012, May 15). Are Pit Bulls Inherently Dangerous? Retrieved from Discovery News: http://news.discovery.com/animals/zoo-animals/pit-bulls-dangerous-120515.htm

Creature: Hero to 89-Year-Old Dementia Sufferer Carmen Mitchell

On March 1st of this year an 89-year-old woman with dementia in Piscataway, NJ went missing for several hours after wandering away from her home. While people were out searching for Carmen Mitchaell, it was a 2-year-old pit bull named Creature who found the elderly woman and alerted her guardian Cara Jones. Creature found Carmen Mitchell in the woods, lying on the ground, covered in mud and barefoot.

Sadly, while Creature was the one who found Carmen Mitchell, the media originally credited the rescue to a low-flying helicopter and patrol cars. It was Capt. Kenneth Blair of the Piscataway Police Department that finally gave credit to Creature,

“We had people all over the area. We had fire units from every district; 10 police officers, state police helicopter, but it was her dog who found her. The dog actually led (Jones) to the spot"

Carmen Mitchell was rushed to a local hospital found to be okay and only suffering a mild case of hypothermia. If Creature hadn't have found Carmen in time, the story may have had a very different ending.

Attrino, A. G. (2013, March 1). Missing Piscataway woman, 89, is found after helicopter search. Retrieved from NJ.com: http://www.nj.com/middlesex/index.ssf/2013/03/missing_piscataway_woman_89_is.html

Attrino, A. G. (2013, March 1). Who needs K9? Hairstylist's pit bull finds missing 89-year-old in Piscataway woods. Retrieved from NJ.com: http://www.nj.com/middlesex/index.ssf/2013/03/who_needs_k9_hairstylists_pit.html

The Dangers of BSL: Incorrect Use of the Name "pit bull"

BSL or Breed Specific Legislation has many dangers, some quite obvious and some hidden. The biggest danger currently is in the vague use of "pit bull" and what people's perception of what a pit bull is.

There is only one true pit bull and that is the American Pit Bull or Pit Bull for short. However, it is common practice to use "pit bull" when talking about other dog breeds that have similar physical characteristics. The danger in this is due to the over-generalized use of the name "pit bull" it has lumped over 20 different breeds into one category, skewing the statistics and unfairly targeting dogs and dog guardians.

To prove this point, understand-a-bull released a test to see if you could pick the one Pit Bull out the 25 pictures. I clicked on this test thinking that I could easily spot the true Pit Bull and found it much more difficult than I ever thought it would be. Katie then tried and admits that it was a lot harder than she thought it would be, "I thought it would be a piece of cake. I thought 'I've got this!' and I'm a little embarrassed to admit I was wrong."

>>>> you can try your hand at identifying the Pit Bull here <<<<

Diamond the Pit Bull

In response to Antonovich and his office I thought that it would be fitting to post about Los Angeles' very own Diamond the Pit Bull. On October 24th, 2010 Diamond became a hero when she alerted her family to a fire in their apartment. The father, Daryl Steen, was able to find grab his nine-year-old daughter Darahne and send her down to safety, but was unable to find his sixteen-year-old daughter Sierra through the smoke-filled apartment. Springing into action, Diamond found Sierra hiding underneath a mattress and shielded her until firefighters found her and took them both to safety. Because of the selfless and courageous acts of a beautiful dog; Daryl, Sierra and Darahne survived the fire. Sierra and her father spent the next several weeks receiving burn treatment and skin grafts while Diamond spent six weeks at a pet hospital receiving treatment for burns and smoke inhalation. Diamond was hailed as a hero by the SPCA in Los Angeles and was awarded with their 29th annual National Hero Dog Award.
Is this the reward that she is to get from Supervisor Antonovich? Does this hero deserve to be treated like a vicious animal by Antonovich's proposed breed ban and changes in breed specific legislation? 

Brayton, J. (2011, May 5). Meet Diamond, the Hero Pit Bull. Retrieved from NBC Southern California: http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Diamond-the-Hero-Dog-121291194.html

CBS. (2011, May 4). Pit Bull Named SPCALA’s Hero Dog Of The Year. Retrieved from CBS Los Angeles: http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2011/05/04/pit-bull-named-spcalas-hero-dog-of-the-year/

We will not stand for the bullying of bully breeds, Antonovich!

In light of Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich's push for BSL in California, we have decided to make this month about dog behavior, media sensationalism and the dangers of Breed Specific Legislation in the hopes that Michael Antonovich has a change of heart and the bullying of bully breeds ends.

If you have not yet heard or seen the news about the press release given by Michael Antonovich's spokesman Tony Bell, here is a direct quote about their stance on the California law banning BSL:

"We're going to go back to the state legislature and see if we can change that law, allow the local communities to make up their own minds with regards to breeds," said Tony Bell, spokesman for Antonovich. "Pit bulls are a different breed of animal. They're capable of incredible damage to humans, to other dogs, to horses."

Shahbazi, R. (2013, May 10). Littlerock pit bull attack raises legislation questions. Retrieved from KABC-TV NEWS LOS ANGELES, CA: http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/local/los_angeles&id=9098299

While Michael Antonovich's office is specifically targeting pit bulls, this also allows for communities to target any specific dog breed that they choose -- this is BSL, BREED specific legislation. Regardless of how you feel toward pit bulls, your family dog may be your community's next target. It was not long ago that German Shepards were the boogeymen of the dog world; along with Rottweilers and Doberman Pinschers

As responsible dog guardians and dog lovers, we all need to set aside our differences and fight to protect the dogs that have become our family members and part of our every day lives. Please contact Michael Antonovich's office (respectfully) and tell them that we as animal guardians will not stand for the singling out and destruction of any breed or living creature.

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https://www.facebook.com/pages/Friends-of-Michael-D-Antonovich/145596578853627
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http://antonovich.com/e-mail/
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@mikeantonovich
The Board of Supervisors for Los Angeles County:
B-4 Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration
500 W. Temple Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Phone: (213) 974-1471
Main Fax Number: (213) 217-4979
Scheduling Fax Number: (213) 626-1741

Office Hours: 8 AM to 5 PM

The toll free number is (888) 807–2111