Pit Bull Puppies, Killed And Dumped Into Dog Food Bags

A resident of Bluefield, discovered 10 pit bull puppies dumped in dog food bags on a Bluefield back road. Investigators recovered the puppies bodies on Tuesday from a dump site. A property owner, Bernard Neal, cut open the bags which revealed 10 lifeless puppies around 6 months old. A necropsy will be performed to determine the cause of death. “Every animal cruelty case is awful, but at this point I couldn’t tell you how bad this actually is,” McGinnis said. “Until we determine the cause of death of these animals I can’t speculate this is an animal cruelty case.” A pit bull awareness team is offering a cash reward for any tips that leads to a conviction. “The reason why anyone would do this is because of the city’s stupid ordinance against pit bulls,” Neal said. “Pit bulls aren’t dangerous. It’s these idiots that own them that makes them dangerous,” Neal said. 

Since there is an ordinance against pit bulls, the city council is just as guilty as the person who did it.  

10 Year Old Pit Bull Saves Family And 5 Other Dogs From House Fire

A 10 year old pit bull named Baby, saved Rhonda and her sister, Evelyn Westenberger after their house caught on fire in Lincoln County, Oklahoma on Tuesday morning. Baby went back into the burning house to save 5 other dogs that lived there, she walked out the Westenberger sisters from sleep for them to escape the fire. All the family’s belongings and home were burned but they were so thankful for their loyal dog, Baby. The house caught on fire after a malfunction with the dryer but Baby refused to let her owners sleep after she kept nudging them and barking at them to wake up. There was still 5 other dogs in the burning house and Baby was not prepared to lose anyone to this fire so she faithfully entered her home to save the other dogs.

Evelyn, one of the sisters saved by Baby, suffered a congestive heart failure and was hospitalized after the fire. She was recovering in her hospital bed and was in good spirits knowing that her pit bull, Baby, saved her life. With tears in her eyes, Rhonda said :  “There were flames shooting down the hallway. If Baby hadn’t woken Evelyn up, I don’t think either one of us would have come out of it. It brings my spirit up a lot to see the dogs. I’m so proud of her. She is my hero. She’s the hero for all of us.”

Happy Valentines Day!

Pit bulls, Rottweilers And Wolf Hybrids Are Being Excluded By Farmers Insurance

On Tuesday, February 12th, Farmers Group, INC announced that they would no longer be covering dog bites from pit bulls, rottweilers or wolf hybrids anymore with homeowners insurance anymore. Homeowners in California will be notified of the change when their policies come up for renewal. The reason for the change is that it costs too much to cover these breeds because the number of bites have risen. “We reviewed our liability claim history and we determined that three breeds accounted for more than 25% of dog bite claims,” Erin Freeman, Farmers Group spokeswomen said.  “In addition, these three breeds caused more harm when they attacked than any other breed.”

Pit bull advocates, trainer and rescue groups have criticized the decision made by Farmers saying that it is condemning the breed, which are not vicious by inheritance, rather than punishing irresponsible owners. According to NBC, Farmers is not the only insurance company that is finding ways to limit the increasing level of liability for dog bites. U.S insurance companies have seen a rise by 50% in payments to the people who have been attacked by dogs. In trying to decrease the costs of  dog bites and attacks, Farmers and other insurance  companies around the country, are now asking their  customers to sign a waver that acknowledges that bites will not be covered. 

Some companies will be charging extra for owners who own pit bulls or other breeds with a high bite rate. Some companies are refusing to cover any dog bites at all. The majority of insurance companies have a “one bite rule” which will cover the initial bite but no other bites by the same animal, the report states. 

Sacramento Offering Free Spay And Neuter For Pit Bulls In Certain Neighborhoods

Free spay and neutering procedures for pit bulls and pit mixes are being offered The Sacramento Animal Shelter after they have received a grant to provide it. Two zip codes in the city will be able to have these free procedures done. Gina Knepp, the shelter manager, says that 40% of the 5,000 dogs in the shelter are either pit bulls or pit mixes. The $5,000 grant that was given to the Sacramento Animal Shelter was from the Chako Pit Bull Rescue will allow the shelter to help most of the stay pit bulls in the 95816 and 95818 area codes.

The dogs that are not adopted will be euthanized, however, the adoption rates for the dogs are 60% but Knepp says there are still too many. Knepp says “If i treat say 200 hundred animals, 100 pairs, with 3 to 8 puppies a pair. That’s a lot of animals.” For the owners who choose to take the free spay and neuter offer, the city will throw in micro chipping, vaccinations, I.D tags and collars and city license. The city would save money if they didn’t deal with pit bulls and pit mixes and other animals. You don’t need to be an owner of a pit bull to get these discounts, the shelter also does have a yearly round spay and neuter program based on income for any breed.

27 Pit Bulls Taken From Dog Fighting Operation

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg police rescued 27 pit bulls and arrested two men in what they are calling the biggest dog fighting operation they’ve ever seen. The two men arrested, Melvin Smith and Lefonze Williams, were both charged with felony training of animals with the purpose of dog fighting and baiting. The dogs that were taken from the operation are evidence in the case but they will be sent to a rehab facility and will be observed so they can be adopted. The dogs had some scarring, but overall were healthy and happy, said Chris Dozier of Animal Care and Control. The officers who responded to the scene had heard dogs barking behind a large fence on the property and then they saw a few pit bulls chained to spiked driving into the ground. The Animal Care and Control was called to the scene and the officers had found evidence “consistent with training dogs for the purposes of fighting” and there was aerial footage also showed more evidence of the dog fighting operation. 

The officers obtained a search warrant and found the 27 dogs, a dog fighting arena and other evidence like tethers, antibiotics for the animals and also two few week old puppies dead on the property.

Animal Planet’s “The Puppy Bowl” Is Pro Pit Bull!

The “Puppy Bowl” on Animal Planet is a yearly program on TV,  that is like the Super Bowl but except football players, they use puppies! The show consists of a number of puppies playing in a model stadium that looks like an actual football field, with commentary on what they’re doing. This years “Puppy Bowl” lineup is featuring two pure bred pit  bulls and four pit bull mixes out of thirty one puppies. However, the Puppy Bowl takes place in Miami and there has been a twenty year ban on pit bulls. Failed efforts to downturn the legislation last year, Miami-Dade is the only county in Florida that has an active pit bull ban. Animal Planet has been doing an amazing job with promoting pit bulls and changing peoples misconceptions about the breed. You can watch The Puppy Bowl this Sunday at 3 p.m. 

Pasadena Considering A Ban On Pit Bulls

Steve Madison, the city councilman thinks Pasadena should be considering a ban on pit bulls within city limits. He says that the breed poses as an inherent threat to the public, being aggressive and powerful sometimes.  Madison said “Time after time, a pit bull chews a kid to death somewhere, and I’m not going to let that happen in Pasadena,” during a meeting of the councils Public Safety Committee, Madison also says “I would have no problem saying ‘Pasadena’s a special place: If you want to live here, come, but don’t bring your pit bull.”

The president of the Pasadena Humane Society & SPCA, Steve McNall, says the law would unfairly punish the responsible pit bull owners. “It’s a discrimination issue” McNall says, and told Madison he would refuse to take part of any plan that wants to seize and euthanize contraband dogs. “To take somebody’s personal property, a family member, and kill it? The last time I checked, this is the United States, not Russia.” However, the pit bull ban is currently on pause because California’s law prevents cities from banning a specific breed of dog.

Six 8-Week Old Pit Bull Puppies Poisoned At A Pit Bull Awareness Event

On October 13th, a pit bull awareness event was hosted by A Darrah Bull Bully Rescue (ADBBR) in Pennsylvania. Six 8-week old pit bull puppies were poisoned at this event, how ironic right? Renae Metz, one of the founders of ADBBR, noticed that Yogi, one of the puppies, that his stomach was bloated, eyes were glazed over and he had trouble holding his head up. Yogi was then rushed to the animal hospital called Ebensburg Animal Hospital, where he later died. The other 5 puppies, were sent to the animal hospital for observation and they were given IV fluids, sadly, one of the pups (Takota) died. There was a necropsy done which confirmed poisoning, and a veterinarian suspects it was bleach or a bleach substance that was put in their water bowls. This caused their livers to bleed and a few days earlier, the puppies were given a clean bill of health by the vet. ADBBR is offering a $2,500 reward to whoever has information leading to convict the subject(s). The state police and State Warden Dog are actively investigating the poisoning. The rest of the puppies are in foster homes and are waiting for adoption. 

Good News: Edmonton Cuts Ties On Pit Bull Owners

For the first time in 25 years, pit bulls can now run freely in Edmonton because the city has removed the licensing rules that kept them tied up when they are outside. In 1987, the law was introduced because of concerns of the attacks and required Staffordshire Bull terriers and American Staffordshire terriers to be leashed and muzzled when out of the owners property. Even if the dogs were on the owners property outdoors, they would have to be chained, muzzled or in pens. Owners also faced a higher licensing fee and needed a $1 million in liability insurance. The city amended the law without a debate to remove those requirements and only apply them to dogs who have attacked, bitten or chased people or other animals. In a city report, it indicated the breed specific legislation law has not been effective and there have been no evidence that it has reduced attacks or biting. The best way to stop attacks, bites and aggression is education and training for owners and their dogs but this is good news for the city of Edmonton, I am hopeful that more city’s will follow in their foot steps in eliminating their breed ban.