survey: LOUDOUN COUNTY, VIGINIA shelter kills all pit bulls

[dr961]

VIRGINIA Statute 3.1-796.93:1. Control of dangerous or vicious dogs;
penalties, begins with the breed specific preemption, "C. No canine
or canine crossbreed shall be found to be a dangerous dog or vicious
dog solely because it is a particular breed, nor is the ownership of
a particular breed of canine or canine crossbreed prohibited ..." and
then sets forth the other exclusions from the dangerous or vicious
dog standards.

This wording left open the question of whether publicly supported
shelters may euthanize dogs based solely upon breed. The October
2006 Attorney General Opinion 06-078 declared they may not.
http://www.oag.state.va.us/OPINIONS/200 ... xander.pdf

LOUDOUN COUNTY, VIGINIA: Our longtime friend, Adrianne Lefkowitz of
the Maryland Dog Federation has asked us to distribute the following
message about Loudoun County's "survey" about whether they should
continue to euthanize by breed. Our response should be clear - they
should follow state law and policy:

PLEASE CROSSPOST TO ALL INTERESTED PARTIES:
Loudoun County, Virginia, Animal Care and Control, is seeking public
opinion regarding their longstanding policy to euthanize "pit bulls"
and "pit bull mixes" instead of adopting them or even temperament
testing them.

Why? Because, in October, 2006, the Attorney General of the
Commonwealth issued an advisory Opinion stating that publicly funded
animal shelters, like Loudoun, may not euthanize dogs based solely on
breed. In effect, Loudoun officials are looking for public support in
order to CONTINUE to violate the state law prohibiting them from
slaughtering dogs by breed.

Please take a few moments to fill out this critically important
survey. Loudoun towns and zip codes are noted below.

If you vote once and pass this along, you make an important
difference in the lives of innocent dogs. If you delete your cookies
(click "tools" on IE tool bar), you can express yourself more than
once! Their survey should NOT provide them with "permission" to
violate state law.

http://www.loudoun.gov/animals/index.htm

Once there, the first bullet has a "click here" that will bring you
to the survey.

Aldie 20105
Ashburn 20146, 20147,20148,20149
Bluemont 20135
Hamilton 20158
Hillsboro 20134
Leesburg 20175,20176
Lincoln 20160
Middleburg 20117
Paeonian Springs 20129
Purcellville 20132
Round Hill 20141
Sterling 20163, 20164, 20165, 20166
Waterford 20197
*****

*a service of THE ANIMAL COUNCIL, P.O. BOX 168, MILLBRAE CA 94030
Contact us at <TheAnimalCouncil>
URL <http>

***If you go to the website, click the first topic, then do the survey. The list of cities and zips is so you can be from the area .

[AmstaffMommy]

PLEASE vote on this! As a resident of Loudoun County, VA and a Pit Bull Dog owner vote and cross post!

[mommy2kane]

I live in Fairfax County, but I filled out the survey!

[mpetva2]

I answered the survey

[dawgdays]

We just got back from Loudoun County where we did some work with the Animal Shelters on their 'pit bull issues.'

A few thoughts:

Your shelter people really DO want the blessing of county supervisors to adopt out pit bulls, however, it's a difficult battle. They're dealing with extremes -- Some who want to 'save them all' (not remotely possible) and some who want absolutely no pit bull adoptions.

Your shelters need support to design sane, practical policies that allow the best of the Breed Ambassadors to have a chance at adoption...One or two dogs at a time would be ideal! If they get the green light, they will definitely need pit bull experienced shelter volunteers who can help them work and train ambassador dogs, especially with better leash manners around other animals. The worst thing that can happen is if they get the okay to adopt out pit bulls but then those lucky dogs make a fool out of themselves in public around other animals. Bad news would convince the naysayers that this was just a bad idea.

Some of the other big challenges we noted when we in the county: Many of the homes have no fences, so finding willing people that can keep newly adopted pit bulls out of trouble will be extremely difficult...Breed bias is intense -- the community needs Breed Education in a big way if they hope to get any adoptions accomplished...Many of the pit bulls we met were WAY too drivey for your average home ... Staff is just learning how to house and train this breed; they have no support to speak of ... Shelters reported that any local pit bull groups are too full to help them ... etc etc

We were very impressed with their warm welcome and willingness to hear what we had to say about pit bull adoptions...They're good people who want to do the right thing, but they need community support.

This is a photo of Tim working 'Mimi' - a very nice pit/hound mix at county services. They love this dog but their hands are tied and they can't adopt her out. Lady Luck was on their side though and during the workshops this weekend, they arranged a transfer out to another shelter that can give her a chance. It was kismet! - Lucky for Mimi, and fingers crossed that she finds a willing home.

I hope VA pit bull people can find a way to help their shelters do the right thing. They need it if they're ever going to be able to pull this off.



PS - Loudoun County was oh-so-BEAUTIFUL!

[dawgdays]

No comments from VA people on shelter support?

Well, I guess now we know why so many super drivey strays are showing up:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/f ... ml?cnn=yes

[disSanFranchised]

Michael Vick is a complete jackass who used the alias "Ron Mexico" to get herpes treatment, and was sued by some gal he knowingly infected.

So glad these athletes are such a class act. With these guys as role models, RE being local, sketchmo dogs showing up, a town full of breed bigots and the general apathy, that shelter sure does have an uphill battle.

Sigh.

[AmstaffMommy]

No comments from VA people on shelter support?

Well, I guess now we know why so many super drivey strays are showing up:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/f ... ml?cnn=yes

I just saw your post. I am going to contact my local Loudoun County shelter to see what I can do to help.

[mpetva2]

I am in Virginia, but I live in Fairfax County.
I do what I can by volunteering with a small local rescue here. I foster all of our rescue's Pit Bull Puppies (and of course other breeds also) and I am their web mistress, so I do all photo work and all of the site maintenance. I also attend every one of our Adoption Fairs to help.
I wished I could do more, but I don't think I can :-(
But I did give input on their site when they where asking about Pitties.

Karen

[Rodney_Dangerfield]

i hate bsl the first two letters say it all! i live in ga and i take my dogs everywhere so i can show everyone i meet that its not the breed is the owner!

[dawgdays]

Back to the Loudoun County deal for a quick follow up: Their recent newsletter lists the names of the shelters that attended the workshop on pit bull adoptions.

If your shelter is listed, you may want to drop them a letter of (sane) encouragement and support. Keeping shelters on your side is important when it comes to pit bull issues because they're the first ones the media goes to when something 'bad' happens. They can change the direction of how a story is covered, they play a key role in how dog fighters and other abuse cases are handled, and can help squash BSL -- or -- they can invite it in, if they feel especially discouraged or disconnected from responsible pit bull people.

Anyway, here's the link to the story with VA agencies listed:
http://inetdocs.loudoun.gov/animals/doc ... letter.pdf

Send'em your best.

(Thanks for wanting to help them amstaffmommy. Best luck with making good connections)

Donna

[AddyBaby]

No comments from VA people on shelter support?

Well, I guess now we know why so many super drivey strays are showing up:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/f ... ml?cnn=yes

Don't be so quick to judge... just b/c we aren't posting doesn't mean we aren't there...

Posted in the Loudoun Times 6/26/2007

"Pit-bull adoption policy

The county has barred the adoption of pit bulls and pit-bull mixes from its shelter for at least the last 25 years, but that policy is being rewritten. The state's attorney general issued an opinion last year that a breed-specific policy for euthanasia at a public shelter violates state law.

On June 25 the Animal Advisory Committee worked on the draft policy drawn up by the Department of Animal Care and Control that will allow the adoption of pit bulls that come into the county's animal shelter under very strict conditions: only the animals that score the highest on the department's temperament test will be considered for adoptions, and potential adopters will be screened and evaluated, including a home visit.

The committee members asked the department to re-evaluate several sections of the draft policy for their next meeting July 9 at 7 p.m. at the County Government Center: Should all dogs with scars be barred from further assessment? Should all puppies be euthanized if they cannot be placed with foster homes (the policy allows adoption only of dogs 2 years old or more)? Must adopters be Loudoun County residents? Is the requirement for a 6-foot fence sensible? If an adopter must be 21 years old, should the age requirement for adopting all animals be raised to 21 (it is currently 18)?"

[dawgdays]

I was judging Mike Vick, addybaby.

It's nice to know that they're still working on improvements.

How are you involved in this project?

[Loudoundog]

I work in the Loudoun County Department of Animal Care and Control. As some of you know, this thread caused quite a bit of controversy here in Loudoun. There are two things that I think people should know:

1. The Department of Animal Care and Control conducted the poll because they don't want to adopt pit bulls - they were hoping the results would show that most Loudoun County residents also oppose it, and then they could use the poll to support their position. They were very disappointed when the plan backfired.

2. The Department of Animal Care and Control management attempted to manipulate the poll - they made it known to certain people that you could vote multiple times by deleting cookies. Certain people at the shelter, and their friends, were voting multiple times *against* allowing pit bull adoption.

If management finds out I have leaked this information, I will be fired - so I can't use my real name here.

[wegobad]

Further demonstration that anonymous Internet polling is not a rational way to shape public policy, at least in a democracy. Thanks for the courage to tell the truth.