ColoRADogs, Longmont Humane Society, Aimee Sadler, Carly Shivers – A dangerous plethora of hypocrisy, lies and deceit

Posted on October 20, 2014 by Jeff Borchardt

On October 2nd, 2014, Daxton’s Friends For Canine Education & Awareness started an ad campaign in the greater Denver area. Our board voted to go with a more aggressive approach due to the ballot initiative (prop. #2D) allowing voters to decide on whether or not to allow pit bulls back into Aurora. We decided to keep our 501(c)(3) status in good standing by not mentioning the upcoming vote even though we were well within our legal rights to do so. The ad was approved by the Denver Post and ran in the “Pink Edition” of YourHub, an insert that covers Aurora, CO. The ad simply stated, “FACT: Pit Bulls Kill More Humans & Animals Than ALL BREEDS Combined!” Our ad did not include the full name of the American Pit Bull Terrier due to ad space. Almost two weeks went by and we received ONE e-mail. Here is a copy of that e-mail and Daxton’s Friends response:

Dear Daxton’s Friends.

I recently came across an incredibly misleading ad in a newspaper posted by your agency. Although I can barely think how to empathise with the loss of a child, I must speak out for memebers of another innocent community.Your advertisment stated that “pit bull” attacks account for more than all of the deaths caused by all other types of dogs combined. This is a blatant untruth not backed up by any factual evidence. I ask you to rescind your ad and make the correction that ALL dogs can bite and ALL dogs can cause fatalities.You can examine this link if you like. It represents the reasons whiy so often dogs are misidentified.
http://nationalcanineresearchcouncil.com/dogbites/dog-bite-related-fatalities/As part of the rescue community and wanting to determine which dogs are worth my organization’s time and money to rehabilitate, I have invetisgated this issue thoroughly. I have found that a media bias unfairly condones dogs of nearly any unknown heritage as “pit bulls”. As I am sure that you know, pit bull is not actually a breed but a set of characteristics displayed by which a person of authority may describe a dog and thus render the dog that title. I also work in a professional capacity with reported dog bites and I can tell you that I have had pure bred labradors, golden retriever mixes, hunting hounds and even a short haired St. Bernard mix labeled as a “pit bull”. Furthermore, I can tell you that police officers and animal control staff have mislable a pekinese as a pomeranian and a Brittany spanel as a springer spaniel. I have seen bites from every breed and mix imaginable. Thank goodness I have seen no fatalities.Your irresponsible ad condemns a multitude of dogs spanning every breed, age and domestic background. These dogs are as innocent as Daxton.Looking over your website, I could not find the painful story of how you lost Daxton. Perhaps it is there and I did not see it. Perhaps it is too painful to share. Again, I cannot imagine and you have my sympathy. But please cease to be the frothing frenzy that is the anti- “pit bull” movement. Your pain is real but your science, your methodology and your perception is wrong. Dogs do bite. Dogs do kill. But “pit bulls”? They don’t exist. If you must find a bogeyman it lives in humans alone.Thank you,

Janelle

Janelle,

We appreciate your concern about our organization and are more than willing to print a retraction. Please provide us with documented proof that there has been misidentification of the dogs involved in fatalities and we can recalculate our numbers. Unfortunately, we do not consider your provided link as a credible source. Those familiar with the NCRC understand that the director is Karen Delise, a strong supporter of pit bulls. The NCRC is under the leadership of Jane Berkey and the Animal Farm Foundation. The sole purpose of the Animal Farm Foundation is “securing equal treatment for “pit bull” dogs”. We do encourage you to contact the Animal Farm Foundation and let them know that pit bulls are “not actually a breed” and “don’t exist”.

Since you missed Daxton’s story, we will take a moment to fill you in. Daxton was killed on March 6, 2013 at 14 months of age by his babysitter’s two pit bulls. The dogs were raised by the babysitter since they were puppies. They were raised in a loving environment, were spayed and neutered, and well trained. They could follow basic commands and even knew how to kennel themselves. There was no indication of neglect or abuse and a thorough police investigation concluded the babysitter did no wrong doing. On March 6, 2013, she let the dogs out for a potty break. Her yard is an acre fenced doggie paradise. She went outside with Daxton in her arms and called them back to the house. For no reason, the dogs started to attack her and ripped Daxton from her arms. She struggled with the dogs for 15 minutes to get Daxton back and call for help. Unfortunately, Daxton did not survive the attack.

While the Daxton’s Friends team understands that “any dog can bite”, we do not consider a torn off face, crushed skull, severed spinal cord, multiple bite wounds, and extensive blood loss to be a “bite”. Daxton suffered a brutal mauling. There is the common misconception that “bites” and “maulings” are the same and that fatalities are caused by single “bites”. If Daxton was bitten that day, he might have seen a doctor for bandages and antibiotics. As for “ALL dogs can cause fatalities”, we agree. Yes, all dogs can, BUT they are not. If you consider the fatalities the year Daxton was killed, pit bulls clearly lead the count. Other breeds that killed that year are the Bullmastiff, which is 40% pit bull, and the Rottweiler. Still there is not a breed that came close to causing as many fatalities as the pit bull.

The ASPCA has found that 93% of animal shelter workers could accurately identify a pit bull. The mislabeling of dogs most often happens when the public believes, with the help of animal shelter workers and dog advocates, that a pit bull is a “boxer”, “lab”, or “hound” mix. These misidentifications often make dog bite/mauling statistics inaccurate and pit bull bite numbers may actually be higher.

The Daxton’s Friends team does recognize that “a bogeyman it lives in humans alone”. We get to see this “bogeyman” every time someone spreads the “nanny dog” myth or other propaganda to make parents unaware of the true dangers of fighting breed dogs. Or, when pit bull activists compare a single Chihuahua bite to a 15 minute mauling. Or, when people feel compelled to send hateful messages devaluing the life of a child, wishing harm on our families, or faking sympathy with the true intention of defending their precious breed. After the horrific death of a child, the “bogeyman” is not nearly as scary as reality.

Again, thank you for contacting our organization. We wish you the best with your animal rescue endeavors.

Thank you,

Daxton’s Friends

I recognized the blotch in the photo and my mother-in-law’s coffee table

That was the ONLY e-mail we received in regards to our ad until October 12th, 2014, when it showed up on “Pitbullinstagram” with a link to the Denver Post’s contact info encouraging pit bull fanatics to send an e-mail and tell them “positive” stories and “facts” about their pit bulls. As you can imagine, we started to see a major increase in traffic to our website but they were not coming to read anything from it. They were going to the website simply to get our e-mail address to harass us and tell us what a bunch of jerks we were. There were a few comments that went up for moderation on the website under our “Potentially Dangerous Breeds” section, but I came to the conclusion they were landing there because it is linked on our home page.

A worthy side note:

After the ad ran in YourHub, my mother-in-law from Centennial sent us a picture that she took from her phone of the ad sitting on her coffee table. I then forwarded the picture to a few of my friends and fellow advocates but didn’t say whether or not I wanted it shared. I forgot to tell them not to share it until after the vote on Nov. 4th. I didn’t want it getting out there due to the pit bull apologists harassment and intimidation tactics that this country has become so accustomed to. The picture was then posted on Craven’s Desires and that’s how the pit bull fanatics from all over the world got it. You see? These weren’t the citizens of Aurora. Not even close. These messages were being sent from all over the country and WORLD. The small mistake I made ended up being a blessing in disguise. Just like the pit bulls they protect, they cannot help themselves from attacking the victims.

Here are just SOME of the e-mails we started receiving:

Jessica

Your post in the CO news paper has gone viral. With it being National Pit bull Awareness month, I think you need to become aware of pit bulls. I don’t think that you understand stand one bit. Due to your post, it shows that there are IGNORANT people like you and your ‘friends’ that think all pit bulls are dangerous. I understand that the result of your page is due to the loss of someone who was attacked. But any animal can attack, it’s not just a pit bull. Just because Pit bull attacks are reported more, doesn’t make them a bad breed. Do you know about any of the hero Pit bull stories? This link from Huffington Post is Great! (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/29/pit-bulls-heroic-happy-and-good_n_5563496.html). It features numerous stories about the good things pit bulls have done, and the lives they saved. The reason that these dogs get there bad name is because of people like you! The uneducated morons who go and breed bash.

Sophie is my 2 year old, 90lbs, female, red nose who’s also mixed with a Bull Mastiff, which is also considered an aggressive breed. Not only that but I have a female, with a red nose, to society she is the most ‘aggressive’ pit bull and I am not afraid of her at all! She’s never been aggressive! Anyone who has ever met her can tell you that she is one of the nicest, and best dogs you could ever have. She follows me wherever I go. She sleeps with me every night. When I brought Sophie home she was 6 weeks old. She’s great with kids and other animals. I took her for a walk and had a shepard attack her, and she didn’t even respond to the other dog. You can’t just say ALL pit bulls are bad and dangerous. Quit being so ignorant.

I’m sorry for the loss of anyone who has lost their life from being attacked. Its a tragedy that this has happened. But the next time you go and breed bash, know that NOT EVERY PIT BULL IS DANGEROUS.

“PITBULL FACTS AND FICTION:Pit Bulls have locking jaws – FICTION. Pit Bulls can’t lock their jaws. Their jaws are constructed just like any other dog. In fact if you take the x-ray of a Chihuahua and compare it to that of a Pit Bull, you will see that they are both the same except for the size difference.Pit Bulls are unpredictable and more likely to bite than other dogs – FICTION. Pit Bulls are no more vicious than Golden Retrievers, Beagles or other popular dogs! In a recent study of 122 dog breeds by the American Temperament Testing Society (ATTS), Pit Bulls achieved a passing rate of 83.9%. That’s as good or better than Beagles … 78.2%, and Golden Retrievers … 83.2%. How did your favorite breed do? See for yourself – go to: www.ATTS.orgPit Bulls are good with children – FACT. Pit Bulls always test high as one of the most stable breeds of dogs in the country. These statistics can be found with the American Temperament Test Society of the United States, where they always fall as one of the top five most stable dogs. Because of this, they are extremely patient and tolerant of children.All Pit Bulls will “snap” and attack a person sooner or later – FICTION. Pit Bulls are a very popular breed and rarely attack. Pit Bulls are very powerful animals, so when something does go wrong, it usually makes the news. Almost all Pit Bull attacks have involved unaltered Pit Bulls, so it is very important to have your Pit Bull spayed or neutered as soon as possible. Additionally, serious Pit Bull attacks rarely involve spayed/neutered Pit Bulls who have received proper training and socialization.Pit Bulls are good dogs for apt./condo living – FACT. Though Pit Bulls are athletic and love to get out and play, if they had their druthers, they would be sleeping on the couch, 24/7. They are short coated dogs and do not do well outside in the cold weather or very hot weather. They don’t shed too much and are easily groomed, thus making them the ultimate indoor dog.“Red nose” Pit Bulls are more aggressive – FICTION. Are blondes dumb? Do redheads have a quicker temper? Of course not. “Red nose” is simply a color/style. They have a lighter pigment such as a pinkish nose with yellow/green eyes. They act no different than black, brindle, or white Pit Bulls. Pit Bulls are easy to train – FACT. Extremely easy to train. All they want to do is please you. As they are so sensitive to your feelings, verbal training comes easily with this breed. Pit Bulls cannot be with other dogs and/or cats – FICTION. This is probably the biggest misconception and biggest misunderstanding when it comes to this breed. With proper training and handling, your Pit Bull can learn to live peacefully in the company of other dogs and often cats as well.” (http://www.beachpetpals.org/info/display?PageID=5124)

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Daxton’s Friends Response:

Dear Jessica

Thank you for contacting Daxton’s Friends for Canine Education and Awareness. Due to the high volume of e-mails we receive, we unfortunately can no longer respond personally to each one.

If your e-mail included photographs of your pet, we appreciate the photographs, but unfortunately we cannot accept them as evidence that our facts about dangerous dog breeds are incorrect.

Unless you can provide actual evidence that pit bulls have not killed more humans and animals than any other dog breed, we will not consider retracting our ad in the Denver Post. We do not accept personal stories or accounts of your pet as evidence.

We wish you, your family, and pets the best.

Thank you,

Daxton’s Friends

American Pit Bull Terrier breed bio:http://www.daxtonsfriends.com/american-pit-bull-terrier/

How many other animals did pit bulls kill last year?http://www.animals24-7.org/2014/03/22/how-many-other-animals-did-pit-bulls-kill-last-year/

Why did the CDC stop tracking fatal dog attacks by breed in 1998?http://www.daxtonsfriends.com/2014/07/non-profits-urge-cdc-resume-collecting-richer-data-set-for-dog-bite-fatalities/

The National Canine Research Council was purchased by Jane Berkey (Animal Farm Foundation) in 2007:https://daxtonsfather.wordpress.com/2014/08/16/the-pit-bull-lobby-jane-berkey-animal-farm-foundation-karen-delise-the-national-canine-research-council-indeterminate-breeds/

A few former pit bull owners and victims recall their attacks:http://www.daxtonsfriends.com/victims-stories/

2013 dog bite related fatalities:http://www.daxtonsfriends.com/category/fatal-dog-attacks-2013/

The full story of what happened to Daxton Borchardt:http://blog.dogsbite.org/2013/07/beyond-the-interview-essay-of-a-fatal-pit-bull-mauling.html

Canine myths. (Including “pit bull is not a breed – nanny dogs”)http://www.daxtonsfriends.com/canine-myths-2/

Acknowledging negative traits in breeds is “racism”: https://www.facebook.com/jeffreydborchardt/posts/695491930505747

2014 Dog Bite Related Fatalities
Updated after each fatality following fact finding research

30 Dog Bite Related Fatalities
by Breed:
22 by Pit Bull / Pit Bull Mix
3 by Bullmastiff / Mastiff Mix
2 by Rottweiler
1 by Cane Corso
1 by Shepherd Mix
1 by Catahoula Leopard Dog

By age:
17 Children
12 Adults

By State:
TX – 6 deaths
AL – 3 deaths
OH – 3 deaths
FL – 3 deaths
NC – 2 deaths
MI – 2 deaths
AZ – 1 death
CA – 1 death
CT – 1 death
DE – 1 death
IL – 1 death
LA – 1 death
MS – 2 death
NJ – 1 death
MO – 1 death
AR – 1 death
Names and ages of the deceased:
Christina Bell-Burleson – 43 – Houston, TX – 2 Pit Bulls [01.05.14]
Betty Clark – 75 – Canyon Lake, TX – 2 Pit Bulls [01.06.14]
Kara Hartrich – 4 – Bloomington, IL – 2 Pit Bulls [01.17.14]
Annabel Martin – 89 – Corona, CA – 3 Rottweilers [01.26.14]
Klonda Richey – 57 – Dayton, OH – 2 Mastiff Mixes [02.07.14]
Je’vaeh Mayes – 2 – Temple, TX – Pit Bull [02.17.14]
Braelynn Coulter – 3 – High Point, NC – Pit Bull [02.24.14]
Summer Sears – 4 – Tallassee, AL – Shepherd Mix [02.26.14]
Kenneth Santillan – 13 – Paterson, NJ – Bullmastiff [02.28.14]
Raymane Robinson, Jr. – 2 – Killeen, TX – Bullmastiff [03.01.14]
Nancy Newberry – 77 – Phoenix, AZ – Pit Bull [03.14.14]
Mia DeRouen – 4 – Houma, LA – Pit Bull [03.25.14]
Christopher Malone- 3 – Holmes County, MS – 2 Pit Bulls [03.31.14]
Dorothy Hamilton – 85 – Kaufman, TX – 2 Pit Bulls [03.31.14]
John Harvard – 5 – Riverside, AL – Pit Bull [04.06.14]
Petra Aguirre – 83 – San Antonio, TX – Pit Bull Mix [04.11.14]
Katie Morrison – 20 – Phenix City, AL – 3 Pit Bulls [05.03.14]
Nyhiem Wilfong – 1 – Caldwell County, NC – Rottweiler [05.04.14]
Kasii Haith – 4 – Kent County, DE – 3 Pit Bulls [05.07.14]
Rita Pepe – 93 – Branford, CT – Pit Bull Mix [05.25.14]
Holden Garrison – 10 wks – Davisburg, MI – Catahoula Leopard Dog [06.09.14]
Logan Shepard – 4 – Riverview, FL – 2 Pit Bulls [07.19.14]
Jonathan Quarles – 7 mo – Dayton, OH – Pit Bull [07.20.14]
Craig Sytsma – 46 – Metamore Twp, MI – 2 Cane Corso [07.23.14]
Cindy Whisman – 59 – Madison Twp, OH – Pit Bull [08.04.14]
Joel Chireieleison – 6 – Fanning Springs, FL – 2 Pit Bulls [08.07.14]
Deriah Solem – 22 mo – St Charles County, MO – Pit Bull Mix [08.09.14]
Javon Dade – 4 – Miami, FL – Pit Bull [08.13.14]
David Glass Sr.-51-Benton County, MS – 3 Pit Bulls [09.20.14]
Alice Payne – 75 – Cave City, AR – 1 Pit Bull [09.26.14]

Non – Bite Related Canine Deaths

Demonta Collins – 13 – Augusta, GA – Chased into traffic by at large Pit Bull [04.10.14]
Davon Jigget – 17 – Fulton County, Ga – Chased into traffic by at large Pit Bull [04.11.14]
Ryan Brown – 15 – Fayette County, TN – Killed by pan thrown by brother when attempting to break up dog fight [08.08.14]

On average so far this year someone has been killed by a pit bull every 12 days. Some of these pit bull attacks were from the family dog that was well trained and had never shown signs of aggression before. The only common factor in these severe and often fatal attacks is not abuse or lack of training, it is breed. Choose the breed of dog you trust the lives of your loved ones with wisely.

Jessica’s response:

Quit being fucking ignorant. Your wrong, end of story. Plus I never said they don’t. I’m sayin they are not all dangerous. Quit being fuck tards. I hope you die from being attacked. You fucks deserve it.

Sent from my iPhone

From Lynsie:

To whom it may concern,

I recently was made aware of a terrible advertisement in your news paper about pit bulls. I would like for you to remove this article and replace it with POSTIVE stories about pit bulls! This is my dog Stella, she is a rescue and the best dog I’ve ever had.

She loves every human she’s ever seen. She’s never killed one. Not one! She’s never killed another animal! One time she caught a bird and didn’t know what to do with it and wandered around the whole day, seemingly depressed about it.

I have visited Denver many times throughout the years and am sad to know I could never move there because of breed specific legislation.

Please check out my account on instagram to see Stella, a positive pit bull ambassador!

The “pit bull” is not a breed, but a mix of many different breeds that are commonly mistaken for this certain type of dog because of their large head and muscular body. They are each individual dogs and should be judged per personality only! ALL dogs can bite! It’s up to the owner to make sure they don’t.Here are some common misinterpretations and myths about pit bulls, please read:

In temperament testing, different variations of “Pit Bull Breeds” actually test better than common family pets like Dachshunds, Collies, Golden Retrievers, and Cocker Spaniels.

Pit Bulls do not have “locking jaws”. There’s no proof of any kind of “locking mechanism” of the jaw and/or teeth that is different from any other dog.

In the early 20th century, Pit Bulls were the number 1 family pet.

Pit Bulls are so good with children, they used to be considered Nanny Dogs. Every dog should be supervised when around children.

No single neutered household pet Pit Bull has ever killed anyone.

The term “Pit Bull” does not define a single breed. Many dog breeds fall into the category of Pit Bull, including Staffordshire Bull Terrier, Cane Corso, and American Pit Bull Terrier.

Pit Bulls are the most euthanized dog in the US. This is in part because there are so many myths surrounding them, which makes some people believe they’re not suitable for adoption. THIS IS NOT TRUE. A rescued Pit Bull can make a wonderful companion. Again, you have to judge each dog individually. You cannot make an intelligent, well-informed decision about a dog based on hearsay, myths, or stereotyping

Lynsie Ramos

@spookshowstella on Instagram

Daxton’s Friends response:

Lynsie,

Thank you for contacting Daxton’s Friends for Canine Education and Awareness. We appreciate the photograph of your dog, but unfortunately can not consider it as evidence that pits bulls have not killed more people than any other dog breed.

We will kindly include the link to our website that addresses several the myths you have included in your e-mail. Canine Myths

On a side note, may we ask what type of harness your dog is wearing? We are very familiar with the Easy Walk harness, which it appears that yours could be a version of. The idea of the Easy Walk harness is to connect the leash to the front hooks. This makes it difficult for the dog to pull and does not put pressure on the dog’s trachea. We are not familiar with a harness that attaches the dog’s harness to the collar and allows the dog to pull from the back. If this is not an Easy Walk harness, we do politely suggest your consider getting one. You will be amazed on how well they work.

We wish you and your pet the best.

Thank you,

Daxton’s Friends

Doney,

I just saw this ad you posted in the Denver post! Clearly you’re one of those stupid uneducated morons that knows nothing about pitbulls. I would love to see all your facts on this stupid ad your dumb ass posted! Its not the dog, its the owner! It how they are trained and brought up. Any and every dog can hurt anyone! Just like guns,knifes,automobiles etc don’t kill people, people kill people!

Agnes from Estonia

It hurt my heart to see such topic that the dog breed is very dangerous. This is very untrue though. If you would have a dog yourself, you would understand this!

I dont think you have ever had a close enclosure with a pitbull before. They are super sweethearts! The only reason a dog can grow aggressive is when the owner is a bad human and doesnt know what (s)he is doing.. but this also happens with all the other dog breeds, such as golden retrievers, as they are more dangerous than the pitbulls. why? well because they are dogs and the bad parenting is making the dog bad, not the breed!! and you could lurk up more information about this!

I hope you will educate yourself a bit more next time you are going to bash someone that is so innocent and happy flower dog!

wow, so much negative energy from you! im glad we estonians, dont even read this piece of crap newspaper!

Agnes – American Staffordshire Terrier owner from Estonia

Kristina,

Saw your ad in the newspaper and honestly it broke my heart.. It’s ignorance like yours that kills millions of dogs a year off wrong tenses. Who are we to deem an entire breed and all the individuals in it as such monsters. When the MAJORITY of them aren’t.. I just hope one day you will find it in your heart to not judge and hate a living being before even giving them a chance and I hope that one day you will target the real monsters, the people that take advantage and neglect such a beautiful breed.

You are more likely to be killed by a coconut than a pitbull.. Maybe we should ban those too! And the relative number of pitbulls that do bite and the ones that don’t is MINUSCULE.

Patricia,

You’ve got a serious problem if you feel pit bulls kill more humans and animals than any other breed combined. Not sure where your getting your statistics. I plan on sharing this with many many animal advocates to put a stop to your nonsense. There are more chow attacks then there are pit bulls- that’s a fact!

K Manka,

You should be ashamed of yourself. Your suppose to be techimg people about animal awarness and your slandering the pitbull breed with very little to no evidence and bastranising there name in a newspaper article are you serious you should be sued and put out of buisness. Do some reading and some reaserch instead of being racist toward a certain breed dogs are dogs and unfortunalty attacks will happen with any breed bit it is usually the neglogents of the owners. You should be ashamed your a racist and trying to pass your thought off on others and say it is education awarness you should be investigated for your non profit organization that is prob imbezzeling money. How are you going to be a non profit and teach hate. Yea you will hear from my lawyers in your area then and will def be investigated for fraud.

Hello,
First I’d like to say how discriminatory your ad against pit bulls is! Not mention, incredibly FALSE INFORMATION. You should be sued for slander! Pit bulls are the most loyal, loving dogs in the world. Owners cause bad dogs, any dog with a gangster, dog fighting owner can turn out bad, and even than they can be rehabilitated. Pit bulls were first introduced to be nanny dogs to take care of kids because of their love and loyalty. YOU TWO HAVE MADE A HUGE MISTAKE!
SLANDER!
Sean Hooper

Daxton’s Friends response:

Dear Mr. Hooper,
Thank you for contacting Daxton’s Friends for Canine Education and Awareness. The information in the ad was indeed true. Pit bulls do kill more people than any other dog breed. If you have evidence to prove otherwise, please feel free to send it to us. As far as we know, dogs can not currently sue for slander. What we do know, is that the pit bull was never a “nanny dog”. The pit bull advocacy group, BADRAP, has already retracted that claim. We will kindly leave you with the link to the Canine Myths section of our website http://www.daxtonsfriends.com/canine-myths-2/
We wish you the best in your future endeavors.
Thank you,
Daxton’s Friends

Sean Hooper’s response:

BECAUSE OF THEIR OWNERS! You are blaming the breed, when it’s not. It’s the sick owners you own pitbulls, like I said gangsters and dog fighters, that’s why. If they fought golden retrievers, it would be the same stat. So stop your negative publicity, it’s bullshit. Don’t bully the breed, bully the bad owners. You are taking stats and working them in your favor without seeing the big picture and that’s bullshit. If you were a reputable company/newspaper, you would know to get all the facts! Like who owns the dogs who bite. That’s the argument. Maybe you should go after dogfighters, that’s where your problem lies. Not in the innocent breed.
Sent from my iPhone

Daxton’s Friends response:

Dear Mr. Hooper,
If any dog could dog fight, then dog fighters would be using a variety of dog breeds, including your mentioned Golden Retriever. Retrievers would not make suitable fighters due to their “bite and release” bite style and their breeding to be “soft mouth” dogs. Pit bulls are selected by dog fighters due to their specifically bred fighting traits. They have a “grip and shake” bite style and “gameness”.
We would love to continue discussing the issue with you, but need to take the time to respond to other e-mails.
Thank you,
Daxton’s Friends

This continued on for about 80 e-mails. Most of them were saying the same thing so we ended up sending back a form letter that was included in this blog post.

Fast forward to October 13th, 2014:

The Denver Post caves to on-line bullies:

Hi Jeff,

Is there anyway we can get a revised version of your ad that is not so in your face i guess. We have received a ton of hate mail and complaints against the Denver Post and my VP has asked that we tone the ad down before next run. I apologize in advance but this request comes from above.

Sincerely,

Denver Post

Daxton’s Friends response:

Tone it down how? Make the font smaller? We are well aware of the hate mail you are receiving. This is just the tip of the ice burg of what victims of pit bull attacks go through every day. Please forward this to your VP and tell him/her not to worry about it. The e-mails you are receiving are from all over the country and do not reflect the citizens of Aurora. Someone posted this on a Facebook page and an organized effort was put in place to silence the truth.

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We can back up our facts and our website does not promote “hate.” The citizens of Aurora deserve the cold, hard truth.

http://www.daxtonsfriends.com/2014/07/non-profits-urge-cdc-resume-collecting-richer-data-set-for-dog-bite-fatalities/

http://www.animals24-7.org/2014/03/22/how-many-other-animals-did-pit-bulls-kill-last-year/

I assume your lack of response to our e-mails means your company will proceed as we planned and paid for? If you do not feel like dealing with the bullies sending you e-mails, you may simply direct them to us. Again, if our company does not receive a response from you, we will assume our ad will proceed as planned.

Jeff,

I apologize. We simply can not run the ad any longer and its out of my control. I also apologize that I have not gotten back to you and your emails. I have had a lot of my time and efforts taken from my day to day work to focus on this and I simply can’t spend much more time on something I can not change. I apologize and you will be refunded the remainder days.

Sincerely,

Denver Post

That is OK. I would also like you to inform your VP that we will be writing about this and exposing the Denver Post for bowing down to bullies. This is a freedom of speech issue and was handled very poorly by your paper. When can we expect our refund?

Jeff Borchardt

DaxtonsFriends.com

Jeff,

I misunderstood my employers directions towards me it’s been a bit of a crazy week. I apologize and will be in touch shortly.

By this point I had already contacted the Aurora Sentinel and told them what happened. I was really upset and told them about the harassment that victims of dangerous dog attacks have to endure every day. A few days later, the article ran. Click here to read the article.

Thanks to some of the victims’ harassment pages, I came across a group called ColoRADogs. A non-profit organization that is based out of Fort Collins, Colorado 80526 and beyond. Their mission statement on Facebook says, “ColoRADogs is comprised of a group of individuals, who are passionate about rescue, advocacy, outreach and education. We rescue most breeds, but our focus is on the group of blockheads called “ Pit Bull” dogs.”

I came across the following screenshot taken from a hate page on Facebook called, “Exposing Daxton’s Frends.”

OK, so now they have involved my mother-in-law. Great. Thanks. But apparently these people knew a little more about my family than I was comfortable with. I knew Dax’s grandmother had been writing the Aurora city council when the ordinance was being discussed. At this point I thought that maybe one of the city council members was leaking personal information to ColoRADogs about my mother-in-law. I quickly gave this information to the Aurora Sentinel and expressed my concerns. The editor told me that it was probably brought up during the meeting, that she was very well aware of the organization, their involvement, and that’s how they obtained this information. This sparked my interest even more. So I asked my mother-in-law for a copy of all the e-mails that she sent regarding this matter only to uncover more interesting facts. The fact of the matter is, my mother-in-law NEVER identified herself as a resident of Aurora. It was a mistake by city council member, Bob LeGare’s part.

From: ***** *****>

Date: January 15, 2014 10:34:25 AM MST

To: rrpeters@auroragov.org

Subject: Pit Bulls

I read in the November 14 issue of the Aurora Sentinel, that you are considering asking the City Council of Aurora to repeal their ban on pit bulls.As the Grandmother of a 14 month old grandson, who was mauled to death by two pit bulls, I’d like to ask you to seriously rethink your goal to repeal Aurora’s ban on pit bulls.The two pit bulls involved in the killing of my grandson were raised since puppies in a loving environment. My daughter, her husband, and my grandson had visited the home of their friends, who owned these pit bulls, on countless occasions. The female owner of the pit bulls had babysat my grandson numerous times. On the fateful day and for some unknown reason, these two pit bulls attacked their female owner and my grandson. The female owner ended up needing medical care and my grandson ended up dead.My daughter and her husband, as well as, the two owners of the two pit bulls, believed, as many do, that it is not the breed of the dog that is the problem, but rather how the dogs are raised. None of them have this belief any more!Obviously, my husband and I will never get over the loss of our grandson. Our daughter and her husband are trying to put their lives back together – an unbearable task. It is amazing that they are actually functioning. Following her recovery after the attack, the female owner of the pit bulls ended up in the hospital due to a suicide attempt. One of the veteran first responders is now getting counseling, because of what he witnessed. The doctor and staff, who treated Dax, cried. A young friend of our grandson is going to group counseling at her school. Needless to say, no one who knew Dax will ever be the same.And so I ask, which is more important – a breed of dogs or the lives of our children?I will thank you in advance for your reconsideration of the goal to repeal the current pit bull ban.

Daxton’s Grandmother
Centennial, CO 80015

From: “LeGare, Bob” <blegare@auroragov.org>

Date: March 1, 2014 2:42:56 PM MST

To: ***** *******>

Cc: Elected <Elected@auroragov.org>

Subject: FW: Factors Contributing to loss of Dax Borchardt. Re: Repeal of 14-75

Dear Daxton’s grandmother,

I have not yet made up my mind on this pit bull repeal matter but I wanted to share the below emails and attached report with you. After you sent me the additional info links about your grandson’s death I read numerous articles about the case. I also asked our city attorney to call the Wisconsin law enforcement entity and verify what I had read in the news links. Everything reported was accurate.

The info below came as a result of my inquiry to the pit bull advocates as to how two well cared for, well mannered family pets could kill a 14 month old child. The response offered several possibilities about what might have gone wrong. You may have already seen all of this information but I wanted to share it with you because this and the info you shared has been part of my deliberation process.

Thanks,

Bob LeGare

Aurora City Council

303-819-8617

From: LeGare, Bob

Sent: Sunday, February 16, 2014 11:50 PM
To: Jennifer Bryant
Subject: RE: University Studies related to BSL

Thanks for the additional info Jennifer. I will review it before March 3rd.

While I don’t make decisions based on single anecdotes, the story below troubles me (see links below). Daxton Borchardt’s grandmother lives in Aurora and she has pleaded that we NOT repeal the ban on pit bulls. I asked our city attorney to call the law enforcement agency in Wisconsin that investigated Daxton’s death to determine if the dogs were abused or mistreated in any way. The captain of the detective unit provided the following information:

The babysitter and parents of the child were friends and the baby had been in the babysitter’s house before – this was a routine day. The dogs were the babysitter’s own dogs and all indications show that she was a good dog owner. The house was clean, the dogs were healthy, and there was no indication that the dogs were mistreated in any manner.

The babysitter went outside with the baby and her dogs began jumping on her in a manner that was either playful or attention getting and then turned into jumping on the babysitter in an attack mode. The dogs separated the babysitter and baby, where the babysitter tried to lay over the baby to protect the baby. The dogs then pulled them apart and continued to attack both the babysitter and the baby, killing the baby and leaving injuries on the babysitter.

Nothing in the investigation showed any negligence or mistreatment to these dogs prior to the attack and it doesn’t appear that the dogs were provoked in any way.

I read that the babysitter had raised the dogs from puppies and they were loved and adored. The neighbors said the dogs were friendly and lovable. There were no charges filed because the owner had done nothing wrong. I understand this one incident does not condemn every pit bull but but does your organization have any explanation as to what may have occurred in this case?

Bob LeGare

Aurora City Council

303-819-8617

Before I continue with Bob LeGare’s attempt to find ANY reason for my son’s death, I would like to talk about a self proclaimed dog trainer and “expert” Carly Shivers.

Carly Shivers “received her training” from Aimee Sadler, then Director of Training & Behavior Modification at Longmont Humane Society. http://www.highdrivedogco.com/about/ Sadler left Longmont Humane Society right in the nick of time, in June 2012. http://www.newmexicopetsalive.org/blog/aimee-sadler-departs-longmont-humane-society-to-serve-shelters-nationally

Aimee Sadler still ships “problem” dogs across state lines to the Longmont Humane Society. http://www.newmexicopetsalive.org/blog/woof-let-s-help-ginger-get-to-longmont-humane-society-

The Longmont Humane Society is now (October 2013) nationally known for adopting out dangerous biters. The problem was so bad, they were nailed by police. [Longmont Police Cmdr. Jeff Satur] said that in 2012, nearly 16 percent of reported dog bites in Longmont were traced to dogs adopted out of the Longmont Humane Society. So far in 2013, 13 percent of reported bites were from humane society dogs.

December 2013, “Longmont Humane Society guilty of owning a dangerous dog” http://www.timescall.com/longmont-local-news/ci_24711561/longmont-humane-society-guilty-owning-dangerous-dog

Animal control officers ticketed the humane society after researching the dog’s history and finding that it had a documented record of aggression with other dogs and people in Mesa County. There, its original owners were forced to give up the pit bull during a court hearing. The judge allowed the dog to live at the time so long as it was surrendered to the Longmont Humane Society, where its owners had taken it for periodic training, according to reports.

Longmont Police Cmdr. Jeff Satur said in October that police and animal control officials were concerned about some of the dogs adopted out of the humane society.

The pit bull had only been with its foster owners for four days before it escaped the yard and attacked, according to police reports. The dog had been in training at the humane society to address aggressive behaviors and had been making progress before trainers approved her for foster placement, police reported.

Satur said in October that police hoped dogs could complete additional screening before release into the community.

It should absolutely be no surprise that the recent Portland “Streetcar” incident involving a pit bull “from Longmont” attacking and killing a smaller dog was also “adopted out” by the Longmont Humane Society.

October 2014, “Streetcar dog attack: Pit bull had history of problems with other dogs, report shows”

http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2014/10/streetcar_dog_attack_new_detai.html

The report lists the owner as Erica Montoya of Westminster, Colo., and says that she reported the pit bull known as Baby Girl or Purdy missing from her home this past June after adopting it from the Longmont Humane Society in August 2012.

Any “so-called” training “expert” connected to the Longmont Humane Society is an extremely poor source of information about “dangerous dog behavior.”

What is true about the the Longmont Humane Society is that they adopt out a high number of dangerous pit bulls who don’t just attack in Colorado, but attack in whatever state they end up in.

So why did Bob LeGare turn to Carly Shivers for an explanation as to why two loved, cared for, and in all sense of the words, “raised right” pit bulls would attack their owner and maul my son to death for fifteen minutes? I will give her explanation below with some of my added links to prove where Carly is either buying into the pit bull propaganda, or just full of shit, followed by my mother-in-law’s response. Please make sure you follow the links that I provide.

From: Jennifer Bryant [jenniferelainebryant@yahoo.com]

Sent: Friday, February 21, 2014 9:30 AM
To: LeGare, Bob
Cc: Peterson, Renie
Subject: Factors Contributing to loss of Dax Borchardt. Re: Repeal of 14-75

Council Member LeGare;

Please see the possible explanation for the events that led to the attack on Daxton Borchardt and Susan Iwicki below. I had provided Ms. Shivers with a copy of the Police Report Synopsis, which I have attached for you. The following day, I also received a full copy of the police report.

The only thing that was in the full report of significance that was not mentioned in the synopsis was that when the dogs were jumping up one of the dogs was going for and grabbed the ball on the top of baby Daxton’s hat and pulled it off. Also these dogs had been kenneled for a significant period of time. These facts only reinforce what Carly has to say below.

One of the major factors that contribute to serious injury and death as reported by various experts is “victim behavior”. By this I do not mean to say that 14 month old Daxton did anything wrong, or that Susan Iwicki had been negligent, neglectful or abusive.

Ms. Iwicki’s response to the unwanted behavior of the dogs was to swat and yell at them, which only increased the energy of the dogs. Ms. Iwicki had not had the benefit of attending a training session or received education to know that this response would escalate the problem. In a training session I attended, and at outreach events, trainers talked about energy level and gave instruction on safely and effectively stopping unwanted behavior.

The dog owners background indicates that she was a loving owner, with the best of intentions. I have no doubt that, had she known of affordable education or training sessions she would have taken that opportunity. Had there been outreach in her community, such as the events I have attended and planned, she would have been provided behavior assistance, educated on the value of training, and how to safely and effectively calm the dogs and communicate that their behavior is unwanted. Experts suggest a community approach including outreach and education.

I had read one persons comment that this would not have happened had the dogs been poodles. Indeed, the outcome would be unlikely. It would also be unlikely that Ms. Iwicki would have taken in poodles. Her previous dog was a German Shepherd. These dogs have been described as both “boxer mixes” and “pit bull mixes”. Regardless of breed, the result would likely be the same with a vast number of other breeds or breed mixes. There is no evidence to support the idea that these dogs, or pit bull type dogs, have any physical or behavioral trait unique to themselves that contributed to this tragic loss. Further, it is impossible to say whether the owner would have had the dogs if her city had an ordinance such as 14-75.

Thank you for asking us for a response on this case, and your interest in the facts. I feel that we were able to identify preventable factors.

Sincerely,

Jennifer Bryant

P.S. Please see Miss Shivers discussion below:

Carly Shivers

Carly Shiver’s response:

Feb 20 at 3:51 PM

As a dog trainer there are several things that come to mind when reading this account:

1) That breed was identified by sight: I was part of a nationwide study of canine professionals several years ago where we were shown pictures of dogs and asked to pick the breed / mix of breed. The result of that study showed that only 23% of the time did canine professionals guess breed correctly by sight. Additionally new studies have shown that as little as 1% of a dog’s DNA can determine his outward appearance. Knowing these facts makes it hard for me to assume any visual identification of breed is correct, so how can we make decisions and laws against certain breeds knowing this?

2) Dogs are animals. I feel our society has started to forget that. When I was growing up in the 70s if a child was bitten by a dog, people said bad parenting. There has been a shift in this thinking to react “bad dog” instead when so often the circumstances of the bites make sense when we remember the dogs are animals. Yes, they are domesticated, and therefore are safer to live with than, say, a lion, but we each assume the risk of possible outcomes when living with an animal, or as in this case, allowing our child to be in the home of a friend with their animals.

3) Dr. Roy when on to state: “ Breeds like Pitbulls, Shepards, and Rotweillers have a tendency to freeze when provoked or scared, which if the dog attacks, gives little warning. In other breeds, the dogs have a tendency to retreat first.” This is simply a false statement. Of the thousands of dogs we have worked with, with many of them being behavior cases since that is our specialty, I can state as fact that there is no one breed that freezes when frightened over others, just as there isn’t one breed that doesn’t warn before it attacks. It is natural for dogs to warn, sometimes people miss it because they don’t understand dog behavior and sometimes humans have punished the warning out of the dog, i.e., a dog growling. A growl is a dog’s way of saying I don’t want to have to bite you, please know I am uncomfortable – yet so many humans yell at the dog, hit the dog, etc. for growling instead of seeing it as a warning and moving to work on making a dog more comfortable in that type of situation. As a whole, vets have very little behavioral training or handling training, they just learned the medical piece. Thankfully there is a move to teach more about dog behavior in some vet schools, like Maddie’s Shelter Medicine Program at the University of Florida, but to date vets are most often reciting outdated information, and police and lawmakers should not look to them as authorities in dog behavior fields.

4) My take on this specific account: there is no doubt this is a tragedy. It is heartbreaking when any life is lost due to our canine companions. For me, as a professional dog trainer who is trained to always look at every situation from both the dogs’ and humans’ perspective as I help both live better lives together, I see it as a tragedy for the humans as well as the dogs.I have no doubt these two dogs were not human aggressive. Every single way I read the account – from each humans’ perspective, not the least of which is the first officer on the scene, Deputy Brauer, who states in his report “pulls his firearm, as he is unsure of the temperament of the dog, and the dog slows to a walk before approaching him. Deputy Brauer makes the determination that the dog is not going to be “vicious or violent” towards him, and holsters his weapon. The dog walks up to him, sniffs him for a few seconds, and takes off towards the
residence in a “slow trot” – shows me the same thing: these dogs were not aggressive. They were adolescents, untrained, with a high arousal personality. What happened next is a series of incorrect choices by the babysitter which fueled the fire leading to a tragedy:When the female dog started to nip at the babysitter’s pant leg, the fact that the babysitter stated “she was batting them away, and yelled at them to get down” was just bringing the energy level up – rather than the babysitter giving the dog information in a calm manner to knock it off, followed by a tool such as a spray bottle with water or a shake can with pennies in it as we train people every day in our dog training classes. This was likely adolescent behavior from the female that was more in line with play but behavior we, in training, would teach the dog was inappropriate while giving them a different outlet during play to get this energy level out, such as tug with a rope toy.

The other factor to consider is when you have excited dogs holding anything will make it something fun to try to get. The babysitter is now batting and yelling while holding something, in this case the toddler, and the dogs are getting more excited and trying to get it. I have no idea how the babysitter ended up falling and dropping the baby – I am baffled by a lot of things humans do – but taking into account everything else I read in the report, I believe these dogs were young and untrained and had a high arousal personality, and that coupled with the fact that the babysitter is now screaming nonstop at the top of her lungs, we have what is much like a mob mentality happening now – everything is whipping up into a frenzy and the child is on the ground also screaming and the dogs’ natural instinct to tug is activated. This could all easily be the same sort of scenario as play if we replaced everything with a human and a tug toy and laughter and telling a dog to “get it” – all in good fun and exercise.It’s just that in this case, the human didn’t know what to properly do that would lower the energy level and get the dog to stop nipping instead of whipping it up into a frenzy, then falling and dropping the child, and screaming at the top of her lungs for 10 minutes. When I want to bring any dog’s energy level down, I become calmer and he matches my energy level.

I want to be clear, this is a tragedy. It is an event that if a few things were changed, the outcome would be different. We work with a lot of dogs, many with serious behavioral concerns when we meet them, and they are all different breeds, all different personalities, and in almost all cases it is a matter of teaching the humans how to better communicate with the dogs what is acceptable and unacceptable behavior. What is behavior we’d like to see more of, or less of. What is their job or isn’t their job. And it’s also about educating the humans on what kind of dog they have, and by “kind” I always mean personality: fear-based personality, high arousal personality, drivey personality. A high drive dog is one that will likely excel at being a K-9 cop or a search and rescue dog, and he is also one that if put into the tragedy described here might have the same horrible outcome if he were an adolescent, and/or untrained, and/or these human errors were made. But there is no one breed of dog that is more or less likely to be a part of a tragedy – they are all animals and all are capable of hurting us.

Best regards,

Carly Shivers

Trainer / Behavior Expert / OwnerHigh Drive Dog Company
101 Pratt Street, Unit D
Longmont, CO 80501303.747.4419 main
303.775.5181 cellVisit us on the world wide web:
www.highdrivedogco.com
http://www.facebook.com/HighDriveDogCoProfessional Member, International Association of Canine Professionals

From: Daxton’s grandmother>

Date: March 1, 2014 4:47:38 PM MST

To: blegare@auroragov.org

Subject: pit bulls

Mr. LeGare,

I want to thank you so much for the hours you have spent researching this issue. Obviously, you take this issue and your vote very seriously.I quickly glanced over the information that you sent and will read it more carefully on other occasions. The information is very informative, but also painful. I can only carefully read and digest a small amount of information at one sitting. March 6 will be the one year anniversary of Dax’s passing.Ms. Shivers, as a dog trainer, has a lot of expertise. But the reality is – that most people, who own any kind of dog, do not receive dog training. So maybe we do need to control/ban the most dangerous types of dogs.Thank you again for all of the time that you have spent on this issue.

Daxton’s grandmother

Did you just see what happened here? An “expert” dog trainer that was trained by an animal rescue organization that has a history of adopting out dogs that attack humans and animals just blamed the victim for her own attack. She was trained by the Longmont Humane Society that has had criminal charges set against them. THIS is the woman that Bob LeGare turns to for an explanation?

Let’s take a closer look at the police report in my son’s death:

First Interview w/Susan Iwicki:

Deputy Craig Konopski interviewed Iwicki at the scene, while being checked out by the ambulance crew members. Iwicki stated that she had Daxton fully clothed in snow pants, a jacket and a hat. She had him in her arms and was walking with the dogs out the back door to let them into a fenced-in area in the backyard. She opened the gate to the fenced in area and stated that the female dog became aggressive. The female was jumping up on her and Susan was pushing the dog back down. The male then joined in and Susan stated she was confused about what happened next but stated that one of the dogs had jumped up on her and knocked her to the ground, and when she fell to the ground, she fell on her stomach area and lost Daxton on the ground. While they were on the ground, she said that the female dog began attacking Daxton in the arms and legs, while the male dog grabbed the tassel on top of his hat and pulled the hat right of of Daxton’s head. Susan stated the female was behind her and must have been the one to push her down, as she was now standing on her back. Susan said she could not stand up, and the male dog kept biting at Daxton. She was swatting at the male dog and yelling at him to get away, and stated that she was screaming for help, hoping that a neighbor would come out of their residence to assist. She states she does not know how long this attack went on for, but the female dog finally got of her back and ran towards Daxton and joined in the attack. They were biting him in the head, face, arms and legs. Susan states that Daxton was screaming and crying. She got up to her knees, and then finally to her feet when she began to kick at the dogs with her boots. She was kicking the dogs in the ribs and head area while screaming for someone to help her. She said the child was still screaming at that time. She kicked the female dog in the head and was able to get on the ground between the dogs and the child. She grabbed the child with both arms, and got back up on her feet. While retreating, one of the dogs, bit the sleeve of her jacket of and the back of her coat. She said that she then pulled her cell phone out of her coat pocket, and dialed 911 as she moved toward the back of the house. She was able to enter the residence using the sliding glass door. One of the dogs was able to force its way into the house before she could get the door secured. She laid Daxton on the floor, got a hold of the dogs collar, and dragged it into the kitchen area where she put up a gate. She said she was on the phone with dispatch, screaming for help and she ran around to the side of the house, and let the second dog in, also confining it in the kitchen. She said that she then went back to Dax who was no longer screaming or moving. She said that the next thing she remembers is when Deputy Brauer entered the residence. She stated that the whole incident happened so fast that she “didn’t have time to react.”

Iwicki stated that the dogs are kenneled at night and were kenneled most of the day TODAY. She has had them out of their kennels when Daxton has been there in the past with no problems. She stated she was holding Daxton in her arms when she led both dogs out to the back yard fenced in area to pee. She stated both dogs went of and peed. She said when both dogs came back to her, one of the dogs began to pull on her pant leg of her jeans. She said that she began to slap the dog in the muzzle, telling it to stop. She said she was unsure if it was Bosston or Penny. She stated then both dogs began to bite her on her coat, tearing the pocket, causing her cell phone to fall to the ground. She said at that point, Daxton began to cry. She said the dogs then started jumping up on her, biting Daxton as she held and attempted to shield him from the dogs.

Report of Humane Ofcer Deputy Richard Lagle: Deputy Lagle states that he monitored the situation via portable radio in his office at the Sherif’s Department. He reports that the dogs were described as two 65 lb pit-bull type dogs. He stated that he contacted Cindy Wroebel, who is the Humane Officer at the Lakeland Animal Shelter, and advised her of the situation. Due to the nature of the attack, Deputy Lagle and Ms. Wroebel came to the decision that the dogs must be euthanized. Ms. Wroebel responded to the scene to remove the dogs. The dogs were transported to Elkhorn Vet Clinic, and euthanized by Dr. Jefrey Korosec. He is the one who prepared the dogs for rabies testing, by removing their heads.
Deputy Lagle asked Dr. Korosec “How the dogs looked?” Dr. Korosec stated that both dogs looked healthy and were in “good” shape. On March 7th, Deputy Lagle retrieved the specimens from the Elkhorn Vet Clinic and drove them to the State Lab of Hygiene. The specimens were turned over to Dr. Jim Kazmierczak for testing. Deputy Lagle states in his report: “As the heads were removed from the box, it is my opinion that they were pure bred “pit-bull” dogs.” The dogs heads were tested and repackaged. Neither of them had rabies. Deputy Lagle contacted the Lake Geneva Animal Hospital, Walworth Clinic, where the dogs received their last evaluation in September 2011. At that time, the female weighed 58 lbs, and the male weighed 49 lbs.

Oh, I think this self proclaimed “dog expert” has been hanging around Michelle Serocki from the “Brew City Bully Club” too much.

Excuse me Carly Shivers? Do you think it’s a normal reaction to “remain calm” when your pit bulls are ripping a baby to shreds right in front of your eyes? This goes against human nature you heartless woman! Not that you would know anything about being a decent human being or humanity when all you do is apologize for a breed that was created to slowly rip bulls apart and later fight each other to death in a pit.

“Ms. Iwicki had not had the benefit of attending a training session or received education to know that this response would escalate the problem.”

You know some more education that would’ve been handy to Susan Iwicki that day Ms. Shivers? That the American Pit Bull Terrier is, like all the ‘bully’ breeds, one of this group of descendants of the British ‘bull and terrier’ type fighting bulldogs. Once imported into the United States, it was bred up to be bigger again, and again used in baiting animals and in dogfighting. The American Kennel Club (founded 1884) was unwilling to register these fighting dogs, so in 1898 the United Kennel Club was founded specifically to register working pit-fighting dogs and to promote dogfighting. In order to be registered, a dog had to first win three pit fights. The American Pit Bull Terrier (APBT) became a ‘breed’. As dogfighting declined in popularity in the 1930s and 1940s, Colby (the most famous and prolific breeder of these dogs) began to search for a new market and began promoting the APBT as family pets. This despite the fact that his breeding lines included child killers.

Read more about the history and purpose of the American Pit Bull Terrier by clicking HERE.

Back to ColoRADogs

ColoRADogs

October 17 · Edited

Journalistic Integrity- An attribute severely lacking in the Aurora Sentinel. Having been contacted by a reporter today asking us for a statement about Jeff Borchardt’s ads in the Denver Post, we corresponded and sent them a statement. Only to have a horribly biased report filed that is typical of the editor and then to be told that the reporter had not gotten a chance to look at the very statement we wrote.The people of Aurora are certainly ripped off in their ability to get fair information. We include what our statement was below:Please feel free to share out.We can only guess the Sentinel did not get the hateful, augmentative response they expected.ColoRADogs stands by their statement that the in-laws of Jeff Brochardt did identify themselves as Aurora residents in their initial email. We were contacted by an Aurora City Council member to speak about concerns they had based on information sent in a letter from the Sucharskis.But we feel there is a deeper issue than a “he said-she said” conversation that distracts from the real issues.We are deeply sorry for the Borchardt’s loss of their son Daxton. No parent should ever have to bury a child. To lose your child so suddenly, so tragically, would leave anyone searching for answers and struggling to find a solid solution to prevent any parent from having to live through that nightmare. However, what we see all too often is the adhering to an idea that is not founded in good science, and goes against what both true experts and peer reviewed empirical data tells us. That while there are many common factors in dog attacks/fatalities, breed is not on of them.My. Borchart tried to have family pets banned in his home city and was not successful. He is not a Colorado resident and we are at a loss as to why he, and his cohort Ms. Lynn of dogsbite.org, would spend so much effort to try and dictate what local communities in a state thousands of miles from them, should vote. Additionally, neither party, who are so adamant about banning dogs who look a certain way, lives in an area that has those breed restrictions. ColoRADogs firmly believes that the people of Colorado deserve to have this very important and profound discussion without out-of-state interests posting hysteria-based information. These are our communities, our friends, neighbors, and our dogs. These are our decisions to make.The one common ground we have is that we all want tragedies like what happened to Dax to end. We also know that when we look to enforce laws that address reckless owners instead of condemning a dog based on appearance, we increase public safety and reduce the chances of another horrific circumstance that ended this child’s life. We appreciate Mr. Borchardt’s passion and recognize his reasons. But the innocent lives of family pets in Colorado should not have to pay the price for his loss.

If Mr. Borchardt or Ms. Lynn would like to discuss this further in a public venue, ColoRADogs would be happy for the opportunity to dispel the misinformation they continue to propagate as truth.

All I can say is, “Busted, Busted, Busted.” You make me sick Nancy Tranzow. You could care less about public safety. All you care about are pit bulls. You support animal abuse as long as pit bulls are the ones abusing other animals. You receive money from the Jane Berkey’s AFF. You take the Jane Berkey controlled NCRC as law and don’t even question an organization whose mission statement is “Securing Equal Treatment & Oppurtunity for “pit bull” dogs.” You are the pit bull breed’s worst enemy when 3000 pit bulls are PTS in shelters and replaced by backyard breeders every day. You say that I don’t have any business meddling around with Aurora affairs, yet you take money from the AFF that’s based in Bengall, NY. Ledy VanKavage, board member of the AFF and heads up Best Friends Animal Society, is based in Knab, Utah. By your logic, they have no business meddling around with Aurora affairs either. Oh wait, that’s right. Aren’t you from Longmount Nancy? Isn’t that a 40 minute drive to Aurora? Daxton’s grandma lives on the border of Aurora you hypocrite. Oh wait, what’s this you’re telling people Nancy Tranzow? Here’s a screenshot of your organization encouraging people from all over the country to meddle around with Aurora law.

ColoRADogs tells people from everywhere to vote

You’re full of shit Nancy

I will take down this blog right now if you can prove that I, “tried to have family pets banned in his home city and was not successful.” Even IF I did live in Watertown, WI, I sure as hell didn’t try and have “family pets banned.” I SPOKE at the hearing after Alderman Fred Smith CALLED ME when he proposed a dangerous dog ordinance after hearing of the brutal, fatal mauling of my son by 2 pit bulls just 1.5 hours south of where he lives in Walworth County. And to be perfectly clear, BSL does NOT mean that “family pets will be banned.” That is just another scare tactic used by pit pushers to make people fear BSL and then oppose it. BSL does not mean the government comes into your house and takes your pit bull. If you are a responsible pit bull owner, and your dog does not do anything wrong, you are allowed to enjoy your pit bull for the rest of its life. Family pets. Tss. Give me a break. What kind of family pet decapitates a 2 year-old’s head while his mom goes to the bathroom? Probably should have kenneled the pit bull whenever you go to the bathroom. Oh wait, that’s right. The dogs killed my son because they WERE kenneled at night? What kind of family pet kills a 4 year-old on her forth birthday? What kind of family pet fractures grandma’s C1 & C2 while she’s watching her grandchildren? Better get ‘ol butch haircut Carly Shivers on the case to explain. Maybe grandma was screaming too loud and escalated the attack, right Carly?

That’s right Nancy. Keep blaming the victims. Join the rest of the “sorry for your loss, But” crowd. Tell me I need to seek professional help until I learn to shut up. Tell me I’m being taken advantage of while YOU keep spreading Karen Delise’s, National Canine “Research” Council’s bullshit and calling it truth. I already blogged about this Nancy. It was very in-depth. Maybe you missed it? Click here to read this wonderful masterpiece that covers everything from DNA, statistics and letters to victims FROM Karen Delise herself. I sure did get a response from Karen Delise right after she blocked me on Twitter. I suppose that may have been because I was in Centennial visiting my family and couldn’t sleep, so I was tweeting her at 4am telling her what a piece of shit she was.

How pathetic is that? She goes right back to the AVMA study for her response. The AVMA who makes money on BOTH ends of the leash after a pit bull attack. Right Nancy? I got a kick out of Barbara Kay’s response though. Check it out.

Sound familiar Nancy? Sort of like you and ColoRADogs. Can I ask you a question Nancy? Would you go to the tobacco companies for “research” to prove there was no connection between smoking and lung cancer?

The NCRC is a business lobbying group funded by another pit bull business lobbying group. Karen Delise prepares lobbying propaganda for an industry. These are common in the business and commercial industries. Business lobbies produce “information” that relates to profit interests, and that creates a bias that can be exploited with falsehoods and deceit issued in propaganda, which is why people need to know that they are dealing with information from a business lobbyist so they can understand influences that can alter the facts or information. It’s called disclosure. Failing to disclose is deceitful.

“My approach in both books was historical and investigative. Based upon my research, I specifically rejected a statistical/epidemiological approach. I have always concurred with the American Veterinary Medical Association Task Force on Canine Aggression and Human-Canine Interactions which stated, “Dog bite statistics are not statistics, and do not give an accurate representation of dogs that bite.” – Karen Delise

She rejected a statistical/epidemiological approach because “Dog bite statistics are not statistics and do not give an accurate representation of dogs that bite” ….WTF?!!!

Or maybe you missed the recommendations document that DogsBite.org and DaxtonsFriends.com submitted to Dr. Thomas Frieden at the CDC through my congressman’s office? I was very curious why the CDC bent under pressure from special interest groups like ColoRADogs and stopped tracking fatal dog attacks by breed in 1998 under the guise of “breed misidentification.” Making my son the 211th American killed by a pit bull since 1998. Just to catch you up Nancy, I’ll give a snippet. It’s YOUR job to “do your research” from here.

“We live and die in public health based on how good our data is,”
– CDC Director, Dr. Thomas Frieden

Joint Summary Statement

On February 4, I wrote a letter to my representative, Congressman Paul Ryan. I wanted to know why the CDC had stopped tracking dog bite fatality information by breeds of dogs in 1998.

After my son was brutally attacked and killed by his babysitter’s two pit bulls on March 6, 2013, I did not talk to the news media. This was far too painful. Instead, I began doing a lot of research on my own about this issue. By June, I felt armed enough with information and ready to share my story with the public. When I agreed to do the WISN interview, I was very adamant in wanting the public to know the current 2013 statistics. By early June, pit bulls were responsible for 93% of all dog bite fatalities (13 of 14 total); my son was one of these deaths.

I was so adamant that the statistics be aired in the segment that I went as far as stating them at least ten times during the lengthy interview. The reporter that interviewed me was very kind and the final story that aired tugged at the heartstrings of the viewer, but she did not use the statistics that I was so insistent on. The next day I asked her why? She said that management uses CDC statistics because it is a universally accepted website; they cite a variety of health related statistics from their website. But the CDC stopped tracking fatalities by dog breed statistics 15-years ago, so there was not any data to cite in my segment. My son’s death and hundreds of others since 1998 are simply uncollected data.

My experience with WISN, along with other similar experiences I have later, compelled me to reach out to my congressman the following year.

Click here to learn more Nancy

You hear that Dawn? She just accused you of being Kory Nelson. LOL

I have done nothing but speak the truth since Dax was taken from us Nancy. Sometimes I have let my anger and sarcasm get in the way, leading to the TWO horrible screenshots that pit bull apologists continue to throw in my face. (That will be reserved for a future blog post) But I’m sorry if my truth and yours don’t line up Nancy. Have you ever considered for a second that the vitriol and deceit are coming from organizations like yours that exist to protect pit bulls over the safety of our communities Nancy? Does it matter to you that Jane Berkey spent $2.8 million of her daddy’s money toward the AFF? Does it matter to you that pit bulls have killed 447 Americans since 1883 Nancy?

Nancy Tranzow – Victim blaming 101

I’m going to end this blog with something one of my fellow advocates wrote in regards to this last screenshot from Nancy Tranzow. It pisses me off when you pit bull apologists accuse us “foamers” of being cult members of DBO and we are somehow “exploited” by Colleen Lynn. I, as well as many other victims of dangerous dog attacks, are perfectly capable of thinking for ourselves Nancy Tranzow. It is was “I” that reached out to Colleen Lynn after my son’s death, not the other way around. I consider her a very close friend and I will continue to defend her as one.

DogsBite.org is a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to reducing serious dog attacks. We are the only nonprofit committed to putting the safety of humans before dogs, as we are the only source of information on this topic that is not owned, controlled, or funded by dog breeders, owners, veterinarian or animal welfare groups.

DogsBite.org is a non-profit organization to raise dangerous dog awareness, promote safety and archives ALL serious dog attacks. The related blog and Facebook group sometimes include commentary in a post, but the primary focus and bulk of a post in evidentiary, factual and statistical details. Though pit bull fanatics would have you believe the entirety of the site is fabricated or invalidated because the founder is a pit bull attack victim, the truth is that;

Victim’s status should not be grounds to disqualify the experiences and professionalism as it pertains to their particular issue. If anything, are not victims of domestic violence best testimony about what it entails? Are mother against drunk driving (MADD) not well versed in the horrific aftermath of drunk driving? Is their data gathering any less valid just because they lost a loved one?

Even so, issue with the founder itself is not relevant here because the charity organization is composed of data and facts not issued by her individually but by other people and groups (detailed below)

It provided accessible and easily traceable citations for every assertion.

It cites hundreds – if not thousands – of external sources from independent studies, historical archives, news reports, literature, doctors, surgeons, animal control professionals, dog trainers, breed enthusiasts, canine organizations and kennel clubs, peer reviewed studies and polls, law enforcement, court records, eyewitness testimonies, images and videos, dog behaviorists, the mouths of pit bull owners and breeder themselves, shelter employees, pit bull lobbyists and their sites, pit bull celebrities and their reality shows, service dog agencies, dogfighting related professionals, and highly experienced veterinarians.

It’s a collective of external information, much like a library. To discredit the information therein requires going to any of the numerous external sources cited above and discrediting each to invalidate data of epic proportions.

Let’s take a moment of silence for ALL the victims of fatal dog attacks so far in 2014. That’s OK Nancy Tranzow. You keep on promoting pit bulls as safe family pets, putting them is a positive light, and keep Jane Berkey’s blood money coming in to ColoRADogs. Hopefully no one you love will never make this list.

2014 Dog Bite Related Fatalities
Updated after each fatality following fact finding research31 Dog Bite Related Fatalities
by Breed:
23 by Pit Bull / Pit Bull Mix
3 by Bullmastiff / Mastiff Mix
2 by Rottweiler
1 by Cane Corso
1 by Shepherd Mix
1 by Catahoula Leopard DogBy age:
17 Children
12 AdultsBy State:
TX – 6 deaths
AL – 3 deaths
OH – 3 deaths
FL – 3 deaths
NC – 2 deaths
MI – 2 deaths
AZ – 1 death
CA – 2 death
CT – 1 death
DE – 1 death
IL – 1 death
LA – 1 death
MS – 2 death
NJ – 1 death
MO – 1 death
AR – 1 death
Names and ages of the deceased:
Christina Bell-Burleson – 43 – Houston, TX – 2 Pit Bulls [01.05.14]
Betty Clark – 75 – Canyon Lake, TX – 2 Pit Bulls [01.06.14]
Kara Hartrich – 4 – Bloomington, IL – 2 Pit Bulls [01.17.14]
Annabel Martin – 89 – Corona, CA – 3 Rottweilers [01.26.14]
Klonda Richey – 57 – Dayton, OH – 2 Mastiff Mixes [02.07.14]
Je’vaeh Mayes – 2 – Temple, TX – Pit Bull [02.17.14]
Braelynn Coulter – 3 – High Point, NC – Pit Bull [02.24.14]
Summer Sears – 4 – Tallassee, AL – Shepherd Mix [02.26.14]
Kenneth Santillan – 13 – Paterson, NJ – Bullmastiff [02.28.14]
Raymane Robinson, Jr. – 2 – Killeen, TX – Bullmastiff [03.01.14]
Nancy Newberry – 77 – Phoenix, AZ – Pit Bull [03.14.14]
Mia DeRouen – 4 – Houma, LA – Pit Bull [03.25.14]
Christopher Malone- 3 – Holmes County, MS – 2 Pit Bulls [03.31.14]
Dorothy Hamilton – 85 – Kaufman, TX – 2 Pit Bulls [03.31.14]
John Harvard – 5 – Riverside, AL – Pit Bull [04.06.14]
Petra Aguirre – 83 – San Antonio, TX – Pit Bull Mix [04.11.14]
Katie Morrison – 20 – Phenix City, AL – 3 Pit Bulls [05.03.14]
Nyhiem Wilfong – 1 – Caldwell County, NC – Rottweiler [05.04.14]
Kasii Haith – 4 – Kent County, DE – 3 Pit Bulls [05.07.14]
Rita Pepe – 93 – Branford, CT – Pit Bull Mix [05.25.14]
Holden Garrison – 10 wks – Davisburg, MI – Catahoula Leopard Dog [06.09.14]
Logan Shepard – 4 – Riverview, FL – 2 Pit Bulls [07.19.14]
Jonathan Quarles – 7 mo – Dayton, OH – Pit Bull [07.20.14]
Craig Sytsma – 46 – Metamore Twp, MI – 2 Cane Corso [07.23.14]
Cindy Whisman – 59 – Madison Twp, OH – Pit Bull [08.04.14]
Joel Chireieleison – 6 – Fanning Springs, FL – 2 Pit Bulls [08.07.14]
Deriah Solem – 22 mo – St Charles County, MO – Pit Bull Mix [08.09.14]
Javon Dade – 4 – Miami, FL – Pit Bull [08.13.14]
David Glass Sr.-51-Benton County, MS – 3 Pit Bulls [09.20.14]
Alice Payne – 75 – Cave City, AR – 1 Pit Bull [09.26.14]
Juan Fernandez – 59 – Modesto, CA – ? – [10.14.14]

American Pit Bull Terrier

The ‘bull and terrier’ type was originally developed in England in the early 19^th century. The lineage goes back to the mastiff / molosser types, including what we now call the Olde English Bulldogge, that were used for bear-, bull- and horse-baiting from the 12^th through the 18^th century. This isn’t the bear-baiting we think of today, when hunters feed bears in order to bring them out in the open to shoot them. Rather, the bear, bull or horse was confined in a public arena where the mastiff ‘bulldogs’ would slowly tear them apart alive for the public’s amusement^1,2,3,4,5.

The popularity of this ‘sport’ declined as education became more emphasized in urban society of the Industrial Revolution and literacy among the population grew (from about 30% in the 17^th century to 62% by 1800)⁶. The ‘sport’ was banned altogether by Act of Parliament in 1835.

The lovers of blood ‘sports’ turned to dogfighting to satisfy their fancy, breeding the large, mastiff-type bulldogs to smaller working terriers to get dogs both smaller and more agile, easier to keep and to hide, but just as willing to attack and fight to the death. With the rise of the kennel clubs and the desire to distinguish dogs by looks and pedigree as well as by performance, this ‘bull and terrier’ type eventually divided into many official breeds. They all share the same ancestry and function, distinguishing themselves mostly by slight differences in appearance.

APBT 2

The American Pit Bull Terrier is, like all the ‘bully’ breeds, one of this group of descendants of the British ‘bull and terrier’ type fighting bulldogs. Once imported into the United States, it was bred up to be bigger again, and again used in baiting animals and in dogfighting. The American Kennel Club (founded 1884) was unwilling to register these fighting dogs, so in 1898 the United Kennel Club was founded specifically to register working pit-fighting dogs and to promote dogfighting. In order to be registered, a dog had to first win three pit fights^7,8,9. The American Pit Bull Terrier (APBT) became a ‘breed’. As dogfighting declined in popularity in the 1930s and 1940s, Colby (the most famous and prolific breeder of these dogs) began to search for a new market and began promoting the APBT as family pets^10,11. This despite the fact that his breeding lines included child killers¹².

The APBT is of medium intelligence, and it is athletic. They have plenty of energy and exuberance for life. They are affectionate companions are often referred to as a “nanny dog”, which leads many families to believe that they are suitable companions for children. Many can live happily with children and never have an issue, but there are many cases of the family pit bull suddenly attacking or killing a child in the household. The Pit Bull advocacy group Bad Rap recently retracted their original “nanny dog” statements (https://www.facebook.com/BADRAP.org/posts/10151460774472399 )¹³. In 2013, in the United States, 16 children were killed by Pit Bulls and their mixes. Most of these children were killed by family pet pit bulls that had never been neglected or abused and had always loved the child. As with all breeds, the traits needed for their original tasks remain in the dogs – in this case, the sudden explosive aggression that was necessary to survive in the fighting pit. An APBT may never show this aggression, but if it does there will be no warning and the attack will not be easy to stop. Extreme caution should always be taken when this breed interacts with children. They are fun loving dogs that have “clownish” behaviors. Despite, their many positive qualities, this breed may not be suitable for everyone. Their high energy requires a family that can accommodate and appreciate this aspect of their personality. They usually do best with active families. Many American Pit Bull Terriers get calmer as they age and an older dog may work for a more reserved family.

Pit Bull Terriers need regular vigorous physical activity. They crave mental and physical stimulation. Regular long walks and plenty of play time can be ideal ways to burn energy. If their exercise needs are not met, they can develop destructive behaviors. They can often excel at physical activities, such as jogging and weight pulling. Some clubs admit them to agility and fly ball; others don’t because it is dangerous to have APBTs off leash near other dogs and the clubs don’t want to bear the liability in the event of an attack.

The American Pit Bull Terrier needs early socialization and training. Since they are active dogs, they can become unmanageable quickly. They need a firm and consistent handler that can maintain control at all times. They are eager to please and can learn tricks if trained patiently. They are very active both indoors and outdoors. Despite proper training and socialization, many dogs may be hard to manage and can still have unwanted behaviors.

The American Pit Bull Terrier has a history and bloodline deep rooted in the blood sports of animal baiting and dogfighting. As with all breeds, they retain their original traits. They often to do not accept other animals, especially dogs, and can be extremely aggressive towards them. They may accept animals they are raised with, but have been known to kill other family pets even after years of living together happily.

Most APBT puppies get along fantastically with other animals, including dogs. Puppies often love to play with and have companionship with other animals. This often gives owners a false sense of security. As the APBT matures, their relationship with other animals can change drastically. Often dog aggression issues emerge from 1-3 years in age, but some dog’s exhibit aggression as early as 6 months of age. They often will actively seek out other dogs to engage in fighting with and have broken their collars, crashed through windows, and torn through fences to do so, and one recently leaped from an apartment 2^nd story balcony, to get to a dog. They can get along with other dogs at times, but things can escalate quickly and they can attack suddenly and for no apparent reason. They often redirect onto humans who try to break up the fight¹⁴. Extreme caution should be used with all animal interactions and owners should never be completely comfortable. They can be unpredictable and a dog that plays nicely with dogs for years can suddenly change. Many owners have been shocked to see their beloved pet’s fighting instincts suddenly surface. It is highly recommended that the APBT is separated from other animals in the household when they cannot be supervised¹⁵. This is not a breed that is suitable for interactions at off leash dog parks¹⁶.

It is recommended that American Pit Bull Terrier owners have and carry a break stick¹⁷. A break stick is a device designed to open a Pit Bull type dog’s mouth while it is engaged in fighting. Pit Bull type breeds have a very distinctive fighting style and often will latch on their opponent and not let go. They usually will shake the other animal violently when they are latched on. This can cause horrific damage quickly. The break stick was designed by dog fighters to be inserted into the Pit Bull’s mouth and release his grip. The original purpose was to safely end a dog fight. The break stick often is the ONLY thing that will release the dog’s grip. People have been known to hit Pit Bulls with objects such as a bat or even shoot them and the dog still will not let go. Bully Breed owners should always have one handy in cause of an emergency. The break stick is not safe to use on other breeds of dogs and is only recommended for dogs in the Pit Bull family that were once used for dog fighting purposes.

Research is advised before selecting an APBT as a pet. They are often on the list of dogs that many landlords/property management companies do not allow. There are many American towns that have breed specific legislation or restrictions on certain breeds, including theAPBT. There are also many countries that have enacted restrictions or bans, such as the United Kingdom, that include the breed. It is wise to make sure your pet will be allowed into your community.

Breeds in the Pit Bull family are the most common surrendered and stray dog breeds in the animal sheltering system. They are also the most commonly euthanized dog breed. Owners are often unaware and unprepared for these breeds. While many families own bully breeds successfully and have only positive experiences with the breed, there are families they are not suited for. Because shelters are so full of APBTs and other Pit Bull types, it’s important to neuter your APBT rather than breeding it – for the sake of the APBTs themselves¹⁸. No dog lover wants to breed any kind of dog only to have it quickly end up in a shelter after it’s sold!

The American Pit Bull Terrier requires a minimal amount of grooming and only sheds lightly. They are prone to several medical issues such as hip dysplasia, cataracts, allergies, and heart disease. They usually weigh between 30-70 lbs and their average lifespan is about 12 years.

In North America, from 1982-2013, Pit Bull breeds and mixes have seriously attacked 2,990 humans that resulted in 1,777 maimings and 275 deaths.

1. http://www.coeffic.demon.co.uk/bearbaiting.htm

2. http://www.elizabethan-era.org.uk/elizabethan-bear-bull-baiting.htm

3. Lee, Sir Sidney. “Bearbaiting, Bullbaiting, and Cockfighting.” Shakespeare’s England: An Account of the Life and Manners of his Age. Vol II. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1916.

4. Scott-Warren, Jason. “When Theaters Were Bear-Gardens; or, What’s at Stake in the Comedy

of Humors.” Shakespeare Quarterly. Vol. 54, No. 1, Spring 2003. 63-82.

5. Encyclopaedia Britannica 3. Encyclopaedia Britannica Company. 1910. p. 575

6. Johnathon Barry, ‘Literacy and Literature in Popular Culture: Reading and Writing in Historical Perspective,’ in Popular Culture in England, c. 1500-1850, ed. by Tim Harris (London, 1995), pp. 69-94 (p. 70)

7. Colby, LB, Jessup, D, Colby’s Book of the American Pit Bull Terrier, T.F. Publications, Inc, NJ, 1997.

8. Beach, M, at http://dogs.about.com/cs/breedprofiles/a/pitbull_history.htm (accessed February 2014)

8. Homan, M, The Complete History of Fighting Dogs, Ringpress Boods, 1999.

9. Gibson, H, Dogfighting Detailed Discussion, Animal Legal and Historical Center, Michigan State University College of Law, 2004.http://www.animallaw.info/articles/ddusdogfighting.htm (Accessed February 2014)

10. The Dog Fancier, Vol. 27 – 28, 1918, pages 39, 45.

11. The Sun (newspaper), New York, February 3, 1909, The Sun Printing and Publishing Associates. http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030272/1909-02-03/ed-1/seq-1/#words=JohnP+P+Colby&date1=1836&rows=20&searchType=basic&state=&date2=1914&proxtext=john+P.+Colby+&y=11&x=10&dateFilterType=yearRange&index=0 (accessed February 2014)

12. Bad Rap, Facebook posting, May 20, 2013 at 6:00pm. https://www.facebook.com/BADRAP.org/posts/10151460774472399 (accessed February 2014)

13. One example: http://www.wdsu.com/news/local-news/new-orleans/pit-bull-attack-prompts-push-for-tougher-laws/20369204?item=0

14. From Pitbullsontheweb.com, emphasis added, last accessed May 2011, the entire site has now been taken down:

1. Thou shalt NEVER trust thy Pit Bull not to fight
2. Thou shalt contain thy Pit Bull securely when not supervised by an adult
3. Thou shalt NEVER leave thy adult Pit Bull alone and unsupervised with another dog
4. Thou SHALT attend obedience classes most faithfully with thy Pit Bull
5. Thou SHALT keep thy Pit Bull socialized with ALL KINDS of people
6. Thy Pit Bull wilt NEVER be allowed off-leash in a public place
7. Thy Pit Bull wilt NEVER be allowed to roam free in thy neighborhood, EVER!
8. Thou SHALT take thy well trained Pit Bull out in public and show him/her off – on leash for good breed PR!
9. Thy Pit Bull shalt go forth into the world as an ambassador of the pit bull breed
10. THOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY WRONG DONE BY THY DOGS!

15. Ibidum
16. See (among others) :
http://www.pbrc.net/breaksticks.html

http://pitbullholocaust.wordpress.com/pit-bulls-and-their-different-jaws-pit-bulls-do-have-locking-jaws-pit-bull-owner-myth-exposed/

http://www.realpitbull.com/breakstick.html

17. See (among others):
http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/More-pit-bulls-are-filling-area-shelters-1815274.php

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2011/02/09/20110209maricopa-county-animal-shelters-pit-bulls.html

http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/Pit-bulls-dominate-shelters-5003648.php

http://www.newsela.com/articles/pitbull-problem/id/2149/

The Pit Bull lobby – Jane Berkey, Animal Farm Foundation, Karen Delise, The National Canine Research Council, Indeterminate Breeds

Posted on August 16, 2014 by Jeff Borchardt

THE PIT BULL LOBBY EXPOSED

If you are reading this, you probably used the NCRC (National Canine Research Council) as your “credible” source of information regarding the pit bull issue.

I’ve wanted to blog about this for a long time now. I must give credit where credit is due. Much of the content of this blog post was gathered or provided by fellow advocates of the Victims Of Dangerous Dogs Advocacy Network. It was my undertaking to pull it all together. If you are an elected official and are about to vote on Breed Specific Legislation (BSL), I wrote this blog for you. You need to read this blog in its entirety.

Karen Delise, the Executive Director of the National Canine Research Council, had this to say about the father of a child mauled to death by pit bulls:

Yes, I AM biased against pit bulls. You would be too if you had to see half your son’s face ripped off, eyeball hanging from his socket, and skull crushed after a 15 minute pit bull attack and $37,ooo flight for life later. So excuse me for wanting to explore the pit bull issue in depth. So often I wish I could just have my old life back. A completely ignorant and happy life. A life before I had to see my baby ripped to shreds like that. Lying there on that hospital table, lifeless and looking like a hand grenade went off underneath him. A life completely blind to the pit bull issue. I knew their advocates were crazy, but I would just laugh it off like I did so many other things in life. I was just like anyone else and thought they were just like any other dog. The only thing I knew about them is they tended to be aggressive with other dogs.

How I wish that were true. The pit bull lobby is held together by one person’s inheritance. Her name is Jane Berkey. And Jane bought the pit bull lobby months after her father died.

I hope by putting this all in one place, it will shed some light on the pit bull advocacy and ITS bias.

The Pit Bull Propaganda Machine

Whenever someone is evaluating research, the first thing you should do is ask who is paying for the research. Where does the money come from? What are the motives (if any) of the source? Is it a special interest group? Do they have an interest in keeping their products on the shelves?

In this topic the product is pit bulls.

Animal Farm Foundation, Bangall, NY

“Securing equal treatment and opportunity for “pit bull” dogs”

I don’t know about you, but I see a conflict of interest right off the bat. With this statement (Securing equal treatment and opportunity for “pit bull” dogs) RIGHT IN THE LOGO, it seems to me that keeping the truth about the history and purpose of the American Pit Bull Terrier hidden from the American public, is in this big cooperation’s best interest. I would like someone to start an organization that “secured equal treatment and opportunity for victims of “pit bull” dog attacks. How can Animal Farm Foundation be considered anything but an organization that exists to protect the image of the pit bull? Hardly an unbiased organization, yes?

A popular American slogan is, “Follow the money trail.” So let’s do this in reverse order and start at the top.

Click the following links to view the 2013, 2012 & 2011 990(s) for Animal Farm Foundation:

2013

http://www.guidestar.org/FinDocuments/2013/222/386/2013-222386955-0a025c39-F.pdf

2012

http://www.guidestar.org/FinDocuments/2012/222/386/2012-222386955-08f9aa05-F.pdf

2011

http://www.guidestar.org/FinDocuments/2011/222/386/2011-222386955-0835e8d6-F.pdf

Page 39: Animal Farm Foundation board members

Jane Berkey – President

Donald Cleary – Secretary/ Treasurer (Author of the JAVMA study)

Peggy Gordijn – Vice President

Diana M. Gurieva – Board Member

Ledy VanKavage – Board Member (Best Friends Animal Society)

Andrew Saul – Board Member (Jane Berkey’s brother)

Stacey Coleman – Executive director

And now for the executive director of Animal Farm Foundation, coming in at a salary of $103,846 dollars, ladies and gentlemen, put your hands together for Stacey Coleman!!!

Look at her t-shirt. Look at the photo on the wall. This is the money source of the pit bull advocacy. Special interest groups?

Jane Berkey, president of Animal Farm, is a bizarre woman to say the least. Jane Rotrosen Berkey dropped out of New York University “just short” of a degree and went to work for a small literary/dramatic agency in the City. Determined on following her own path, after only 12 months as an assistant and an associate agent, Jane divided her one-bedroom apartment in half and hung out the shingle of Jane Rotrosen Agency in 1974.

One thing is for sure. Jane LOVES pit bulls and she loves to surround herself with other people that do too. Just take a good look at this photo. No, I don’t mean the disgusting duck face. I mean her t-shirt. I mean the nasty, ear-cropped “pit bull” on the wall. It’s apparent to me that this woman LOVES “pit bulls.” In my opinion she LOVES “pit bulls” so much, she might want to see a professional.

Jane Berkey loves “pit bulls” so much, in 2013 she contributed $2,850,000 of her family’s money to Animal Farm. Most people with the kind of disposable income that allows a $2.8 million dollar donation, would put it toward a children’s hospital or a cultural asset for their city. Not Jane Berkey though. In my opinion, she uses her blood money to support the deaths of hundreds of innocent children and countless other animals.

$2,850,000 from Jane Berkey in 2013

If you also go through the 990’s for 2012 and 2011, Jane Berkey gave $1.5 million in 2012 and $1.5 million in 2011. Her brother (Andrew Saul) gave $155,323 in 2011 as well. What an odd amount. This is on page 15 for all three years if you would like to see for yourself.

You’re probably wondering by now, “Where did Jane Berkey get all this money?” The answer is, she inherited it from her father.

The late Joseph Saul –

SAUL–Joseph E. The Board and staff of the American Friends of the Israel Museum and the Israel Museum, are saddened by the death of our longtime friend and supporter, Joseph E. Saul. We offer heartfelt condolences to Norma, Andrew and Denise and the entire family.

Stephen S. Lash President, AFIM James S. Snyder Anne & Jerome Fisher Dir., Israel Museum

Published in The New York Times on Apr. 13, 2007

$(6$)SAUL–Joseph E., 1919-2007. Loving husband of Norma for 67 years. Fabulous father of Andrew and Jane Berkey, father-in-law of Denise. Loving grandfather of Kim and Aaron, Jennifer and Rob. Great-grandfather of William and Caroline. A true gentlemen and outstanding person. Services will be private.

The Animal Farm Foundation huge operation costs rely strictly on the Berkeys’ money. Jane Berkey and her family are funneling money through this non-profit organization and getting huge tax deductions in the process. But this should not surprise anyone, right? Isn’t this what rich people do all the time? I’m not saying it’s illegal, and there are plenty of wealthy Americans who donate to worthy causes all the time. As a born again Christian, I am to love my neighbor no matter what. Rich, poor, middle class. Envy is one of the seven deadly sins, so it makes me mad when politicians try and play the class envy game to get votes. It’s none of my business how much money my neighbor earns. I don’t envy the wealthy. As a matter of fact, I rely on those Americans for work. So I can pay my rent, have a nice car, a row boat with a 6 horse motor on it, put food on the table, or once feed my now dead son that was brutally mauled to death by two pit bulls in a prolonged attack. But I have a huge problem when wealthy people use their money for EVIL. And what else can you call this but evil? In my opinion, the killing, maiming, and disfigurement of innocent children and countless animals are happening in part because of Jane Berkey’s work by protecting a breed whose sole purpose on this Earth is to take down a 2000 lb bull and fight to death in a pit, is that not evil?

Let’s take a closer look at the Jane Rotrosen Berkey Agency.

From left to right: Andrea Cirillo, Meg Ruley, Annelise Robey, Christina Hogrebe, Amy Tannenbaum, Rebecca Scherer, Jane Berkey, Danielle Sickles, Liz Van Buren, Peggy Boulos Smith, Julianne Tinari, Michael Conroy, Christina Prestia

They all seem like lovely people. But did you see a pattern like I did? I won’t say anything else about them but her staff are all your young women that all look like they came out of the same cookie cutter. I wonder if they even know the pain and suffering Jane Berkey is causing today?

In the next section of this blog I will be writing about the NCRC (National Canine Research Council) and its connection to the AFF. But before that I want to talk about Donald Cleary – Secretary/ Treasurer of the AFF.

Donald Cleary is also on the staff of NCRC and makes public statements for both organizations

Donald Cleary is also on the staff of NCRC and makes public statements for both organizations. He does interviews where he paints himself as an expert on dogs. He worked for Berkey at her literary agency and was apparently a big enough suck up that she brought him into her personal mania. You will find Bios for Cleary and his son on the Rotrosen Literary bios pages.

Donald W. Cleary, Royalty Manager

Yes, you guess it. Jane Berkey also hired Donald W. Cleary (Donald Cleary’s son) to be part of the happy team at Rotrosen.

I know, I know. You’re thinking, “this is getting weird.” Right?

You haven’t seen anything yet.

Meet the Jane Rotrosen Berkey Literary/Dramatic Agency’s mascots!

Joshua, Agency Mascot

Joshua, Agency Mascot

Joshua, CGC, TT, TD Inc is a rescued pit bull (Amy Marder had no problem identifying this pit bull) and our agency mascot. He has made appearances in Michael Palmer’s novel, the Fifth Vial and on CNN, and is an ambassador for his misunderstood breed as well as a beloved addition to this dog-friendly office.

Learn more about Josh and his friends at www.animalfarmfoundation.org

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Beep, Agency Mascot

Beep, Agency Mascot

Beep is an avid reader who has achieved her Canine Good Citizen certification.
Learn more about Beep and her friends at www.animalfarmfoundation.org

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Petal, Agency Mascot

Weird enough for you yet? Oh wait, there’s more! Meet Petal, Agency Mascot.

Petal, CGC, a rescued pit bull, affectionately known around the office as “The Beetle”, traveled on December 3, 2008. Her spirit lives on in Luanne Rice‘s Dream Country and Tami Hoag‘s Deeper than the Dead and mostly, in all of our hearts.
Learn more about Petal’s friends at www.animalfarmfoundation.org

Sculpture of Petal by Tim Racer

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The pit bullery connections are incestuous.

That last mascot may or may not seem strange to you. But I guess it would if you knew more about the pit bull advocacy. The sculpture of Jane Berkey’s deceased pit bull was made by Tim Racer. Tim Racer and Donna Reynolds are completely out to lunch when it comes to pit bulls. They are a childless couple who founded BADRAP (Bay Area Dog Lovers Responsible About Pit Bulls) They have recently posted on their Facebook page debunking the “Nanny Dog” myth.”

The National Canine Research Council

The NCRC was founded by Karen Delise, a former vet tech, who wrote a book purporting to show that pit bulls get “a bad rap” and “it is all how you raise them.” I’ll get back to YOU, Karen Delise. The NCRC was subsequently acquired by Animal Farm Foundation which is a pit bull rescue and advocacy group whose mission statement is: “securing equal treatment and opportunity for pit bull dogs” http://www.animalfarmfoundation.org/pages/About-Us-Mission-Statement

This information would not be possible without DogsBite.org entering into a costly legal battle with AFF over the “Com” domain name (See WIPO dispute). In March 2010, DogsBite.org learned that “DogsBite.com” was purchased for $11,000, registered under a cloaked name then began forwarding to the NCRC website. In order to pursue a domain name dispute, DogsBite.org needed to prove that AFF and NCRC were one in the same. After extensive research, they gained access to the New York state documentation showing Jane Berkey as the owner of NCRC. Up until this point, no one knew that Jane Berkey controlled the NCRC.

Click here to see what happens when you type in DogsBite.com or DogsBite.net for that matter.

If you check the AFF’s website today:

Today, Animal Farm Foundation clearly states on its website in the “About Us” section that the NCRC (National Canine Research Council) is a subsidiary of the AFF.

4. WHAT IS YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH NATIONAL CANINE RESEARCH COUNCIL?

NCRC is a subsidiary of Animal Farm Foundation. NCRC’s mission benefits all dogs by working to preserve the human-canine bond.

5. WHY DID AFF ACQUIRE NCRC?

While doing our advocacy work on behalf of “pit bull” dogs, we realized there was a real deficit in fact-based, scientific research that promoted the value of the human-canine bond. We knew from history that the cycle of discrimination that is currently plaguing “pit bull” dogs had plagued other groups of dogs and unless we did something to end that cycle, more dogs would be discriminated against in the future.

Karen Delise, the Founder and Director of Research for the National Canine Research Council had already been researching instances of when the human-canine bond was broken. We approached Karen about expanding the mission of NCRC to include preserving the human-canine bond and she agreed. Karen Delise remains the Founder and Director of Research for the National Canine Research Council.

Does your relationship influence their research? It is the other way around. The independent research of NCRC is relevant to all kinds of dogs and dog owners and is therefore often helpful with the mission of Animal Farm Foundation.

Because of this deceitful maneuver by the AFF, DogsBite.ORG has to spend countless hours per year correcting newspaper articles and journalists across the country. Here is one example from right here in my own state that was recently corrected by DogsBite.org on 8/18/14.

At least 43 municipalities in Wisconsin currently ban or restrict pit bulls, according to DogBites.COM, which tracks dog-breed statistics.

http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/in-cambridge-a-pit-bull-named-sherlock-triggers-a-rancorous/article_469ffa84-704a-5fce-9ad1-6f5bc30b59f3.html

On August 15th, 2007, (The same year of the Michael Vick dogfighting bust) Jane Berkey took control of the National Canine Research Council MONTHS after the death of her father.

Click here to download the PDF

This is where it gets tricky.

The National Canine Research Council is an LLC. However, they can set up a 501(c)(4) “Action Fund” for lobbying and to influence legislators.

What is a 501(c)(4)?

The IRS provides an exemption under Section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code for social welfare organizations (called 501(c)(4) organizations), that are nonprofit in nature and operate exclusively for the promotion of the common good and welfare of a community. These local associations of employees must provide net earnings exclusively for the purpose of charitable, educational or recreational goals. The NAACP and AARP are examples of 501(c)(4) organizations that are classified as groups promoting social welfare primarily for the common good and welfare of a community.

In 2009 the AFF “name shifted” their action fund as the National Canine Research Council.

Click here to view

Now that Jane Berkey has acquired the NCRC as an LLC, their donations are not tax-deductible, however, they do not have to disclose who their donors are. Now that the NCRC has an action fund, Jane Berkey is free to use her money to influence lawmakers and protect the pit bulls from breed-specific legislation. (BSL)

A closer look at the National Canine Research Council 2013 action fund had $78,237 and the end of the year had $73,754. If you look closer at the forms you can see that the NCRC contributed to the passage of “Improved animal control and animal protection legislation by the state of Ohio house of representatives.”

The action fund claims to have influenced Ohio to drop BSL for two different years. I wonder if Ohio legislators knew who and what they were dealing with when they stripped hundreds of jurisdictions in their state of their right to keep their citizens safe from a known and well documented dangerous breed? One thing is for sure: The more we let pit bull apologists and special interest groups, that only have the interests of animal welfare in mind, public safety will continue to fall by the wayside. The more we allow special interest groups to influence legislators, the more maimings, maulings and deaths of humans and animals we will endure. Many jurisdictions in Ohio that already had BSL were grandfathered in and allowed to keep the bans. Other cities, like Reynoldsburg, recently upheld their pit bull bans despite more than a year of pleas from pit bull advocates.

Ledy VanKavage – Board member of the AFF

I ran into a wall while writing this blog when I got to Ledy. There’s just so much to talk about with this pit bull advocate. From everything I’ve read and been told about her, she’s a real snake in the grass but is very sociable, quite likable in person and does not come off as pit bull advocate. I believe this is what makes her so effective.

When Ledy VanKavage’s was only 4 years old, her first and best friend was an American Pit Bull Terrier named “Boody. “Boody was a stray puppy that the family adopted and was a partner in all of VanKavage’s childhood exploits. She recalls hiding out with Boody in his dog house when she didn’t want to come indoors. Not only was Boody allowed to roam around the neighborhood, un-neutered, he often fought with other dogs. Apparently Ledy’s pit bull had the same genetic propensity to fight and kill other dogs as the same pit bulls she apologizes for today.

“I remember jumping into the middle of a dog fight when I was 6 and pulling Boody off another dog because someone had called the police, I didn’t want the cops to shoot my dog.”

Ledy’s purpose-bred fighting machine, along with his lack of neutering, became Boody’s undoing.

“He got in a fight, he was able to drag himself to our street, where he met me every day on my walk home from school. I found him on my way home. We took him to the vet, but he died of his fighting wounds. To this day I grieve for him.”

When Ledy speaks about Boody and his tendency to fight today, she says that was decades ago, “Before the time of responsible ownership.”

She grew up and became a lawyer. Ledy VanKavage studied at the St. Louis University Law School. She is now the senior legislative attorney at Best Friends Animal Society and lives in Collinsville, IL.

Maybe she grew up to be a lawyer because she supports a pit bull’s right to rip apart other pets? Maybe she grew up to be a lawyer to fight against dangerous dog designations for pit bulls that unprovoked kill other dogs? In my opionion, whether it’s the 1 million pit bulls killed in shelters and reborn every year or the thousands of other animals pit bulls kill, Ledy supports animal abuse, as long as pit bulls and their owners are doing it.

Here’s Ledy sucking face with a pit bull and holding another wearing a tu-tu.

When VanKavage worked for the ASPCA she drafted “Anna’s law.” The law was in honor of Anna Cieslewicz, who was killed by pit bulls while jogging in the Dan Ryan woods in Chicago. Anna’s Law had nothing to do with BSL. It is mostly concerned with feral cats and medical care for pets of low income residents. For the law to be named after a victim of a brutal pit bull attack that was jogging in a park, is insulting to say the least. The law flew under the guise of public safety but was the exact opposite. Here is the ASPCA’s version of what the law would do.

Click here to view the current Illinois law.

The Illinios law that I just linked to above is where the prohibition came from and Ledy VanKavage takes credit for as well. I am factually correct in saying that Ledy brought a prohibition on BSL to the state, just not in Anna’s law. I checked this out with a trustworthy friend of mine that lives right over the border from me in Illinois. The current law makes it more difficult to have a violent dog euthanized. Read the steps she put into the process.

Illinois State law “(510 ILCS 5/24) (from Ch. 8, par. 374)

    Sec. 24. Nothing in this Act shall be held to limit in

any manner the power of any municipality or other political

subdivision to prohibit animals from running at large, nor

shall anything in this Act be construed to, in any manner,

limit the power of any municipality or other political

subdivision to further control and regulate dogs, cats or

other animals in such municipality or other   political

subdivision  provided that no regulation or ordinance is

specific to breed  including a requirement of inoculation

against rabies.

(Source: P.A. 82-783.)

Link to the whole law. When something is underlined on a site like this it means that the section is new. Ledy added this.

http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/publicacts/fulltext.asp?Name=093-0548&GA=93

I don’t think you will need me to explain its flaws.

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While I was writing this blog (8/6/14) the U.S. had another DBRF (Dog Bite Related Fatality). It was the 25th of 2014 and it occurred in Ohio. It was the 3rd fatal pit bull attack within 55 miles of each other.

On August 4th, 2014, Cindy Whisman, a 59 year old grandmother was killed by her daughter’s pit bull as she was babysitting her grandson at her home in Madison Township Ohio. Cindy Whisman was dead at the scene, her two-year-old grandson was found uninjured in the yard when a neighbor rushed to help, beating the pit bull away with a walking stick.

From “Scorched Earth, the Politics of Pit Bulls” blog, and I just LOVE this title because it really hits the point of my blog:

Ohio woman killed by her daughter’s pit bull. Will Ohio lawmakers PLEASE quit allowing breed specific advocates/animal rights advocates write and influence Ohio law!

Since the passage of HB 14 in 2012 Ohio has had nine fatal dog attacks. Historical note – in the previous 25 years Ohio had six fatal dog attacks. HB14, sold to foolish legislators as “finally giving dog wardens the tools to deal with dangerous dogs” is an epic fail. Here is another historical note, HB 14 was written by Ledy VanKavage’s staff at Best Friends Animal Society headquartered in Kanab Utah, the deal was brokered by private citizen and pit bull advocate Jean Keating, and pushed through the Ohio Legislature by Keating’s personal friend, Representative Barbara Sears assisted with a media blitz by the Toledo Blade. All these facts come from documents obtained via public records requests.

Just a week or so ago Jean Keating was interviewed for a story by NBC24.com. She stated on camera that Ohio law since the passage of HB 14 is “much more proactive, it identifies dogs that are dangerous before they hurt people.” Given the nine fatalities, not so much. Watch the video, Tom Skeldon is also interviewed. He gives very honest information. Per NBC24.com “Skeldon says the amended law was a mistake. “At the rate we’re going, you’re going to have a lot more deaths due to dogs. And, it doesn’t have to be that way.” Skeldon has the opportunity to say, “I told you so.”

Cindy Whisman was killed by her daughter’s pit bull named Polo. Her daughter, Julie Whisman was very outspoken and sounded logical immediately following her mother’s death. “I wish he would’ve had a gun so he could have shot the dog.”

I wonder if the pit bull lobby went into action and got to Julie? I only say this because 24 hours later she said, “I want to see the results of that investigation and better understand what happened before making a determination about Polo’s fate.” She said after thinking about the situation for 24 hours, she is “indecisive.”

You’re probably like I was before my son was brutally mauled to death by two pit bulls in a fifteen minute attack and thinking, “There’s no way a dog that has killed a human being would not be put down.” If we lived in a country where dangerous dog laws were not written by special interest groups and the animal lobby, you would be correct.

Congratulations lawmakers. You made a deal with the pit bull lobby and now you have blood on your hands.

Thanks to Jane Berkey and her pit bull protectionist squad, the dog that killed Cindy Whisman could be returned to the owner BY LAW. So much for human biters being “culled” huh? I mean, for the love of John P. Colby! What kind of country do we live in where a DOG that KILLS a human being is allowed to live? This falls directly at the feet of anyone who touched HB14. We need to start holding legislators feet to the fire when they make deals with the devil. I know they think they’re doing good when it’s dressed up all fancy by people that have dedicated their lives to protecting pit bulls. But they’re not innocent. Especially when I just showed you the document for a $74,000+, Jane Berkey controlled, National Canine Research Council Action Fund that was used to buy your vote. You ignorant and corrupt politicians better listen, and listen well. We ALL live downstream. And someday, when and IF Zainabou Drame is ever able to speak again, her scarred face might be standing at a podium pointing her finger at you and demanding you be held accountable.

For shits and giggles, let’s just imagine Polo, the human-killing pit bull, is allowed to return to the neighborhood. Let’s just imagine if the frail Wayne Walker is forced to use his walking stick again because Polo has the taste of human blood and wants more. NO, I don’t care if Polo is now neutered or not. Just ask the family of Betty Todd how well the “professionals” advice on the calming effects of spay/neuter worked for them.

Wayne Walker probably knew Cindy Whisman before her daughter was born. What if Polo attacks again and this time it’s the 2-year-old? Will Wayne Walker’s walking stick be enough this time? I hope so. I think anyone that lives within a 2-block radius of Polo, the human-killing pit bull, should be required to carry and learn how to use a break stick just in case of an emergency. I hear those plastic tent stakes work pretty good too.

If this human killing pit bull is allowed to be anywhere around Julie Whisman’s child, someone needs to call Child Protective Services.

Thanks to Jane Berkey’s henchmen, all the scenarios I just listed are possible. LEGALLY.

Karen Delise (National Canine Research Council)

Karen Delise

In my opinion, Karen Delise may as well been dropping “It’s all how you raise them” leaflets from an airplane over Susan’s one acre fenced-in back yard when she was fighting off her own two pit bulls for 15 minutes while they were ripping my son to pieces.

Karen Delise is a vet tech, no special education. When she writes she uses the title LVT. Licensed Veterinary Tech is not a big deal. She claims to have a background in investigation and worked for a law enforcement agency of some sort. She was probably a clerk. She uses Jim Crosby for backup sometimes. Jim Crosby is a failed animal control officer who lost his job because his employees barbequed a pet pig that had been sent to his shelter to be placed as a pet.

Karen Delise has run the NCRC for a long time. It is a kick ass name but was never really a council, just Karen’s excuses for pit bulls. Karen Delise wrote the silly “Pit Bull Placebo” book and used to sell it. When Jane Berkey bought the NCRC, the Pit bull Placebo became free to download. You get what you pay for, even for free it is not worth wasting time on.

Amy Marder

Karen Delise looks at newspaper photos and shockingly, she can’t identify the dog as a pit bull. She sends the photos to Amy Marder DVM (a breeder of showdogs so I’m told) and shockingly, Marder can’t ID the breed either. If you shop around the AFF site and the NCRC site Marder’s name turns up, she is one of the happy AFF gang.

Karen Delise is a bit of a mystery as for her career timeline. I’ve not found her on LinkedIn or any of those career sites. She could be exaggerating or fabricating her expertise big time.

Delise’s analysis of fatalities is driven by Jane Berkey’s agenda. Nothing is a pit bull despite the police reports, media reports, neighbors and even the family itself. Karen has never been able to show any documentation that is unavailable to anyone else. She has Jane Berkey’s money, files a freedom of information request for police records and public records. I have seen some of the records she works from and she skews facts. There is no doubt about this. Carol Miller put some examples in her letter to the Annals of Surgery, published on DogsBite.org. In my next segment I will highlight how Karen Delise contacts dog owners and asks for registration information. It will be interesting to see what she does with the Derouen case. The dog’s pedigree was easily available online, it was a pit bull. Pit bull advocates were claiming that the papers were falsified even though the dog looks just like the sire and dam.

Karen Delise arrogantly states that she and SHE ALONE, does not rely on media sources for dog bite related fatalities. Cravens Desires disproved that claim here.

Karen Delise and the NCRC is the only “research” organization I know of that cites themselves as a source when doing research. You just can’t make this stuff up. In my opinion, Karen Delise of NCRC has been altering and falsifying material to lobby for the financial interests of the pit bull industry for a long time. NCRC material is nearly all fabricated and is more like advertising promotion, just like many business lobbying groups. It’s not like that is a secret. These lobbying propaganda groups are common in the business and commercial world, and pit bull breeding and dealing is commerce. NCRC is a business lobbying group just like a tobacco lobbying group, producing propaganda to protect financial interests and obscure dangers and negatives.

Yes, law enforcement and animal control and dog owners are all on record calling the dog a pit bull and the National Canine Research Council says breed can’t be determined? Oh how convenient! Having it be not determined does three things for them:

1. It allows them to say not that many pit bulls are killing people.

2. It allows them to say this is not a breed centered problem or that breed is a factor at all.

3. It adds more fuel to their theory that pit bulls can’t be identified. It’s a circular argument used to prove itself.

Even a quick look at official records and a quick comparison to Karen Delise’s propaganda quickly reveals the outright fabrications. Let’s face it, even for a business propagandist who, (In my opinion) appears to be hired to deceive, obscure and alter the truth, she is not very good at what she does. The fabrications, errors, and falsehoods are so apparent, they make the pit bull lobby look criminal. She does it no favors.

If the owners can’t produce breed registration papers for the attacking dog (which only about 40% of owners of dogs have) then they say the breed is “indeterminate” no matter how obvious it is to everyone what breed the dog is. As in the case of the Rottweilers attacking the boy in Chicago in 2009.

Read the NCRC reports and click on the blue hypertext and also look through many of their notes. A very large number of their assertions and terms (like “resident dog”) are generated from them and not an independent source. And, it’s just ridiculous on its face and defies all common sense for them to decide that unless a dog has papers, the breed is “indeterminate.” It’s very clear WHY they take that stance–because it suits their agenda, which is to advocate for pit bulls. It’s their sole reason for existence. This looks like the way the pit bull lobby operates, doesn’t it? Here is the AVMA attempting to silence and censor an investigation into corrupt accreditation practices influenced by corporate interests, doing everything they can to hide the documents from public view! Many practicing veterinarians are so disgusted by the AVMA, they refuse to have a connection with it.

January 21, 2010
By: Edie Lau
For The VIN News Service: http://news.vin.com/VINNews.aspx?articleId=14876

Read what Karen Delise writes, it is strange stuff. The made up facts are striking, she also cites herself for facts. Pretty much “this is a factoid that I made up in the past and it looks good here too” sort of thing. Here is a gem: http://nationalcanineresearchcouncil.com/uploaded_files/tinymce/Delise%20Research%20&%20Investigation%20Methodology.pdf and a quote from this document:

“My approach in both books was historical and investigative. Based upon my research, I specifically rejected a statistical/epidemiological approach. I have always concurred with the American Veterinary Medical Association Task Force on Canine Aggression and Human-Canine Interactions which stated, “Dog bite statistics are not statistics, and do not give an accurate representation of dogs that bite.”

She rejected a statistical/epidemiological approach because “Dog bite statistics are not statistics and do not give an accurate representation of dogs that bite” ….WTF?!!!

From a thread on Dog Bite Law:

“Virginia Mayn Well, rather, people are not good at visually ID dogs. Not that it cannot be done. Just most people suck at it.”

Actually Virginia, most people are pretty good at it. It’s only the pit bull apologists that seem to have a problem identifying a pit bull. Unless of course a pit bull is pulling a kid from a burning building, or free S/N programs for pit bulls. But as soon as a pit bull attacks or kills someone, suddenly we can’t identify a pit bull? Just look at the comments section of 4-year-old Javon Dade to see this denial for yourself. While you’re there you might notice a few comments citing the Jane Berkey controlled NCRC and some animal (pit bull) welfare organizations. Hey KC Dog Blog! (Don’t think I haven’t run into your dribble while doing my own research) Animal rights organizations should not be writing law because their bias and positioning is geared toward protecting animals, NOT the health and safety of human beings! One more reason this blog is so important to me to finish.

Let’s take a closer look at this myth that a pit bull cannot be identified without the use of DNA tests:

And that science will begin with the Mars Wisdom DNA test. Let’s see what that company has to say about their DNA test, shall we?

“Does Wisdom Panel® test for “Pit-bull”?
The term “Pit-bull” is a bit of a misnomer and does not refer to a single, recognized breed of dog, but rather to a genetically diverse group of breeds which are associated by certain physical traits. Pit-bull-type dogs have historically been bred by combining guarding-type breeds with terriers for certain desired characteristics. As such they may retain many genetic similarities to their original breeds and other closely related breeds.
Due to the genetic diversity of this group, Mars Veterinary cannot build a DNA profile to genetically identify every dog that may be visually classified as a Pit-bull. When these types of dogs are tested with the Wisdom Panel®, we routinely detect various quantities of the component purebred dogs including the American Staffordshire Terrier, Boston Terrier, Bull Terrier, Staffordshire Bull Terrier, Mastiff, Bullmastiff, Boxer, Bulldog, and various other Terriers. Additionally, there are often other breeds outside of the Guard and Terrier groups identified in the mix depending on each dog’s individual ancestry.”

http://www.wisdompanel.com/service/faq/#783

The term “pit bull” in lower-case letters refers to three closely-related breeds. The original breed was the Staffordshire Bull Terrier, a dog bred for pit fighting in the 18^th and 19^th centuries in the UK. After importation to the U.S. in the late 19^th century, they continued to be used for fighting, but were bred to be taller and heavier. These larger cousins were then registered in the UKC as “American Pit Bull Terriers” (1898) and in the AKC as the “American Staffordshire Terrier” (1936). Note that these are identical breeds under two different names, and many individuals hold conformation championships in both registries. In addition, some of the original, smaller dogs were reimported from the UK and were recognized in the AKC as the original “Staffordshire Bull Terriers” (1935).

A 2013 ASPCA double-blind study revealed that shelter workers were able to correctly identify dogs with significant ‘pit bull’ blood (‘pit bull’ = the 3 breeds above) 96% of the time, as confirmed by DNA tests. http://www.aspcapro.org/blog/2013/09/25/bully-this%E2%80%94-results-are-in%E2%80%A6

Let’s look at the results with the information that the testing company provided to us:

1. significant Boxer with some Bulldog
2. distant traces of Smooth Fox Terrier
3. significant Chihuahua with some Cocker Spaniel
4. some Rottweiler and Boston Terrier
5. some German Shepherd Dog and distant traces of Affenpinscher
6. some Chinese Shar-Pei and distant traces of Rottweiler
7. some American Staffordshire Terrier and Australian Cattle Dog
8. distant traces of Basset Hound, Dalmatian and Pug
9. significant American Staffordshire Terrier and distant traces of Boxer
10. some German Shepherd Dog and distant traces of Basset Hound, Norwegian Elkhound and Samoyed
11. distant traces of Basset Hound, Dalmatian, Glen of Imaal Terrier, Staffordshire Bull Terrier and Wire Fox Terrier
12. some Rottweiler and distant traces of Clumber Spaniel, German Wirehaired Pointer and Newfoundland
13. some Boston Terrier and distant traces of Bulldog
14. distant traces of Borzoi, Brussels Griffon, Dachshund, English Cocker Spaniel and Samoyed
15. some Boxer and distant traces of Bernese Mountain Dog, Briard, Dalmatian and Welsh Springer Spaniel
16.distant traces of Beagle, Boxer, Bulldog, Chesapeake Bay Retriever, Dalmatian, Mastiff and Whippe

Breed identification DNA tests are a sure-fire way to make money for those who sell them, including veterinarians who are paid for product endorsement.

But do they work?

No. In fact, the results shown here are common: a pure-breed dog comes back as being a vague pastiche of three or four breeds.

Breed DNA tests are not too different from Gypsy Fortune telling, Fortune Cookies, the I-Ching, Numerology and Tarot Card reading: If you give a vague-enough answer, the believers will rationalize whatever result you give them, pounding the square peg into the round hole.

Please pick out a dog show to attend. Any dog show. They are held in every state, every weekend . They are all judged on a visual identification system. Every dog show ever held has been judged on a visual identification system. Judges not only identify breeds but also minute deviations from breed standard. Watch the judges work. Humans are capable of this and do it all the time. You can pick out a Poodle or a Pug, Irish Setter or Wolfhound, Corgi or Chihuahua but you have difficulty identifying a breed that you state is anywhere from 5% to 40% of the dogs in America? The material that I have linked to is very clear that the ASPCA is telling us that their shelter volunteers can correctly identify pit bulls 96% of the time.

Here’s the point: The NCRC uses the DNA when it is convenient to do so. It knows full well that the test does not test for “pit bull” and will often pick it up as other breeds, but it does not tell its readers. It then uses the mix of other breeds to declare the dogs not pit bulls. Then the National Canine Research Council uses this sham of an experiment as cited research in their fatality reports to prove they can’t identify pit bulls.

Karen Delise’s letters to victims AFTER they decide to speak out

About one week after Colleen Lynn, Susan Iwicki and I released “Beyond the Interview – Father Of Child Killed By Babysitter’s Pit Bulls Speaks Out After Attack”, Karen Delise from the NCRC wrote the following letter to Susan Iwicki:

Hello Susie,

My name is Karen Delise and I am director of research for the National Canine Research Council. We conduct research on all the dogs involved in dog bite related fatalities in the U.S.

My sympathies to you for the tragedy involving Dax, you and your dogs. I often refrain from contacting owners and/or victim families, as I imagine how difficult it is to discuss the tragic events surrounding these cases. But, I have seen that you have publicly spoken about the incident and as such I was hoping you may be able to provide some information about your dogs. I know that you purchased your dogs from a breeder, but are you able to tell me if the sire and dam were registered to any breed club, or if the breeders had any kind of pedigree papers on the dogs? Thank you in advance for any response you may be able to provide.

I know what you’re thinking. “So what? What’s the big deal?” I would say the same thing until I started connecting with other victims of pit bull attacks. Check out the next two letters.

This one was written to Angela Rutledge. Her 2-year-old son, Beau, was decapitated by the family pit bull of eight years named “Kissy Face” while she went to the bathroom. Angela told me herself that Karen Delise sent this letter around Christmas. Her family’s first Christmas without baby Beau:

Hello Angela,
I must say I am deeply saddened by the tragedy your entire family experienced. I work for the National Canine Research Council and we collect data on all dog bite related fatalities in the United States. Much of your story is known to me because I read your words and your recounting of the incident. I know there can never be any answers as to why this happened. I usually hesitate in contacting family members of victims, but since you have gone public with your story and seem emotionally strong enough to discuss it, I hope you do not mind me asking you a few questions. Can you tell me if Kissy Face was spayed? And can you tell me more about Kissy Face’s mother and where you got her from and what behaviors you noticed that caused you to put her to sleep? If you are comfortable answering these questions, I thank you. If not, I thank you anyway for taking the time to read my email. Most sincerely, Karen Delise National Canine Research Council

The last letter was written to Ruth Halleran. Her mother was killed by the family pit bull while she was babysitting her grandchildren:

Hello Ruth,
I must say I am deeply saddened by the tragedy your entire family experienced. I work for the National Canine Research Council and we collect data on all dog bite related fatalities in the United States. I know there can never be any answers as to why this happened. I usually hesitate in contacting family members of victims, but since you have gone public with your story and seem emotionally strong enough to discuss it, I hope you do not mind me asking you a few questions. Can you tell me if the dog that attacked your mother was spayed? And can you tell me where your family got her from and if the dog was registered? Do you have papers on the dog? If you are comfortable answering these questions, I thank you. If not, I thank you anyway for taking the time to read my email.

Most sincerely, Karen Delise
National Canine Research Council

The last straw for any shred of credibility for Karen Delise and the NCRC is when she decided to contact the dog owners and badger them into calling it “not a pit bull.” She blew it doing that, that’s lobbying coercion. She also still has not registered as a lobbyist, has she? Does anyone know? There are requirements about lobbying and lobbyists are supposed to register. Ledy VanKavage is a registered lobbyist, for example. Although one does not have to be a lobbyist to be a full-time advocate, if Karen hasn’t registered, then, in my opinion, she is not following the law and is trying to obscure her status and interest.

Resident dog vs. family dog

What do YOU think? Is BRUTUS a RESIDENT or a FAMILY dog?

To better explain the term “resident dog” vs. “family dog” I will direct you to the Craven Desires blog.

Resident dog vs. Family dog

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE?

A RESIDENT DOG
Resident dogs are dogs, whether confined within a dwelling or otherwise, whose owners maintain them in ways that isolate them from regular, positive human interactions.

The isolation and lack of exposure to the family unit results in the display of behaviors different from Family dogs.

FAMILY DOG
Family dogs are dogs whose owners keep them in or near the home and also integrate them into the family unit, so that the dogs learn appropriate behavior through interaction with humans on a regular basis in positive and humane ways.

“Like any educated nutter, KAREN DELISE blames owners when pit bulls attack and kill. She says it all comes down to maintaining RESIDENT DOGS (on occasion she will blame the weather). according to KAREN DELISE, “We will achieve safer, more humane communities when we hold owners of all dogs accountable to high standards of humane care, custody, and control.”

The terms “resident dog” and “family dog” are a creation of Karen Delise with the Jane Berkey controlled NCRC. But it would seem to me that unless Karen Delise was living with the family, observing the dog 24/7 from the time it was a puppy, she is absolutely full of shit. This all goes back to the pit bull apologists excuse “It’s all how you raise them.” Excuse me, Karen Delise? How in the world can you scientifically PROVE how a “dog was raised?” Science is based on what we can prove, not YOUR assumptions. And believe me when I tell you, pit bull apologists make some pretty broad “assumptions” when apologizing for pit bulls.

DogsBite.org/ NCRC side by side comparisons

Justin Clinton:

DogsBite.org version:

10-years old | Leverett’s Chapel, TX

Justin Clinton, 10-years old, was killed by two pit bull-mix dogs after he walked to a friend’s home where the dogs lived. Lt. Hilton of the Rusk County Sheriff ‘s Office said witnesses reported the dogs dragged the child along the side of the road, but he was not sure if the attack began on or off the owner’s property. Christy and Ricky George had been caring for the dogs since February. The dogs had formerly lived with a person in Kilgore. Prior to the attack, Justin had been acquainted with the dogs and had visited the George’s home to play with their children. After the boy’s death, his mother and Cynthia Kent, a Tyler attorney, and supporters called for the banning of pit bulls. The group hopes to outlaw the ownership of pit bulls in Texas under a law known as “Justin’s Law.” [source citations]

06/17/09: KLTV Pities Owners; Mislabels Breed
KLTV 7 News dedicated a segment to the owners of the pit bulls that fatally attacked Justin Clinton. The segment appears to be a pit bull apology piece designed to paint the pit bull owners, Ricky and Christi George, as “victims.” The story can best be described as deplorable in the wake of a young boy torn apart by the powerful jaws of these dogs. The piece also emphasizes that the dogs were not loose. In other words, the “victim” dog owners are not liable under Lillian’s Law.

The segment also confuses viewers by calling the dogs American bulldogs instead of pit bulls or pit bull-mixes. This is a common tactic taken by pro-pit bull groups to try to lower the staggering number of serious and fatal attacks that have been attributed to pit bulls over the last 30-years. KLTV’s attempt to mislabel the dogs (or attempt to confuse viewers) also contradicts Rusk County Sheriff Deputies which stated that there is “no doubt” that the dogs are pit bulls.

1Attempts to mislabel the pit bull as a bulldog stretches back for decades as the two breeds share a common gene pool and are often crossbred. Pit bull experts, such as Diane Jessup, commonly refer to pit bulls as “bulldogs” as well. Jessup even states on her website that the “original working bulldog” is the pit bull.

2The modern American bulldog was not established until the 1970’s. The AKC does not recognize the breed, and the UKC only began to in 1999. There are two major lines of the breed: the Johnson type (1st left photo) and Scott type (2nd left). The Scott type was directly developed by crossing early Johnson lines with the American pit bull terrier and has become the breed standard. Without question, the Scott type is a pit bull type dog

Justin Clinton:

NCRC version

Date: June 15, 2009
Location: Rusk County, Texas
Victim: Justin Clinton, 10-year-old male
Circumstances: Witnesses reported seeing Justin being dragged along the side of the road by two dogs. Justin was a frequent visitor to the home where the dogs resided. In a lawsuit filed against the dogs’ owners, Justin’s mother claimed he was skateboarding to the owners’ home that fateful day.
Investigators are not sure if the dogs attacked Justin inside or outside the fenced enclosure in which they resided.
Criminal case still pending.

Family Dog or Resident dog: Resident

Dogs primarily maintained in yard. Unknown whether dogs spent any significant time inside the home.

Breed attribution: Indeterminate

Conflicting breed attributions were given by the media and authorities. Among the many descriptions assigned to the dogs were pit bull mix and American bulldog. NCRC did obtain photographs of the dogs. Photographs were submitted to NCRC’s expert advisor who determined that the breed(s) of dogs could not be reasonably determined from the photo graphs.

Christine Staab

DogsBite.org version

37-years old | Philadelphia, PA

Christine Staab, 37-years old, was mauled to death by one of her mother’s six pit bulls. The victim had gone to her mother’s home early that morning and the two reportedly had an argument, which set the dog, named Jade, off. The pit bull latched onto Christine’s throat, killing her. The dog did not let go of the victim until being shot to death by Philadelphia police officers (a second pit bull was also shot dead at the scene). Christine’s stepfather, Thomas Fowler, and mother, Barbara Erb, defended their pet pit bulls on local news stations. Erb described the six pit bulls as “house dogs” that were well cared for and even microchipped for identification. “They were spoiled rotten,” Erb said. “They were not neglected in any way.” Both Fowler and Erb pleaded with authorities to have the remaining four pit bulls seized by authorities returned to them. [source citations]

Staab’s Mother Speaks
UPDATE 02/21/10: The mother of Christine Staab (See: Video), Barbara Erb, told the local paper that the two had been arguing when Christine fell backward (See: Pit bull triggers) causing her pet pit bull to attack and kill her. Erb said she tried frantically to pull off the dog, Jade, but could not get the pit bull to release its grip on Staab’s throat. The four surviving pit bulls were taken to an SPCA shelter. Like her husband, Thomas Fowler, Erb would like the dogs returned to her.

Erb described the six pit bulls as “house dogs” that were well cared for and even microchipped for identification. “They were spoiled rotten,” Erb said. “They were not neglected in any way.” The door of the house had one sign that read “Beware of dog,” and another saying that in the case of fire, rescuers should save the six dogs inside. It listed their names: Paige, Peaches, Maggie, Satan, Bear, and Jade, as clearly the lives of Erb’s dogs outweigh the lives of human beings.

Christine Staab

NCRC version

Date: February 20, 2010

Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Victim: Christine Staab, 38-year-old female
Circumstances: Christine Staab arrived at her mother’s home at approximately 6:00 a.m. Staab’s mother reported that her daughter had a history of drug addiction and on this day appeared “to be high.” An argument between mother and daughter ensued. Although the argument was not a physical altercation, at some point Christine tripped and attempted to clutch at her mother’s arm as she fell. When she did so, one of her mother’s five dogs attacked her.
Did owner exercise humane care, custody, control of dog(s)? Yes
Family dog or Resident dog*: Family
Number of dog(s) involved: One
Sex, reproductive status of dog(s): Female, unknown
Unsupervised child: N/A
Other: Victim stumbled or fell during altercation with mother/owner.
Criminal Charges: No
Breed attribution: Indeterminate
Details: The dog was reported to be a “pit bull.” NCRC was unable to obtain documentation from the owner or authorities that substantiate the breed. NCRC did obtain photographs of the dog. NCRC submitted the photographs to NCRC’s expert advisor who concluded the breed of the dog could not be reasonably determined from the photographs.

This is the NCRC investigative report on Christine Staab’s death. Despite being released nearly two years after Christine’s death. The NCRC was unable to determine if the pit bull ( according to the owner of the dogs) was actually a pit bull. The NCRC is a pro pit lobby organization, not a credible source of factual canine information.

Carmen Ramos

DogsBite.org version

50-years old | Philadelphia, PA

Carmen Ramos, 50-years old, was mauled to death by her husband’s five pit bulls. The victim’s husband, 55-year old Jose Alvarez, told police he came home from work to discover his wife being attacked by the dogs in their living room. Eleven days earlier, the pit bulls escaped his home and attacked two neighbors, Dolores Estrella and Gus Castro. The Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PSCPA), picked up the dogs only to return them to Alvarez three days later. Neighbors said that Alvarez had at least three run-ins with the PSPCA in the past about his dogs, including the discovery of dead dogs in his basement last year and the removal of live dogs. The potential protocol violations by the PSPCA were so numerous that City Managing Director Brian Abernathy launched an internal investigation into the group. We do not expect to hear results from the investigation anytime soon or possibly ever. [source citations]

Protocol Breakdown?
UPDATE 09/02/11: A week before the attack that left Carmen Ramos dead, neighbor Dolores Estrella described how the same pit bulls had attacked and bitten her. Estrella was not the only person bitten in the August 19 incident, Gus Castro was as well. The PSCPA allegedly sent the dogs home three days later, which is a rabies protocol violation in many cities. The agency likely should have kept the dogs in quarantine for 10 days after the August 19 bites.1

When the dogs were returned, everybody on the block “was in shock,” [Gus] Castro said.

Unfortunately, returning a dangerous, biting pit bull to its owner should not shock anyone, as many state laws allow for multiple bites prior to deeming a dog “dangerous” and long before a court ordered euthanization. What should shock all persons is when a rabies protocol violation occurs — a disregard or error concerning the 10 day quarantine following a biting incident — coupled with a person being bitten to death by the same dogs in a very close time span!

More Protocol Breakdowns?

Further review of early news reports shows more potential protocol violations by the PSPCA. One neighbor, Victor Viruet, claimed that Jose Alvarez had at least three previous run-ins with the agency. According to his brother Ariel, “He kept paying $200, $300 and they’d give the dogs back.” Ariel added that the PSPCA removed 10 dogs from the Alvarez home last year and found dead dogs in his basement. The agency returned the “living” pit bulls to him.

On September 1, City Managing Director Brian Abernathy launched an internal investigation into animal control — the PSPCA — to review if proper procedures were followed. It seems that many procedures were not. At the very least, the discretion of the investigating officers who continued to interact with Alvarez and his pit bulls was sorely lacking. The sufferers include the dead victim and her children, the bitten neighbors and the neighborhood as a whole.

Carmen Ramos

NCRC version

Date: August 30, 2011

Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Victim: Carmen Ramos, 50-year-old female
Circumstances: In August 2011, five dogs were languishing in an uninhabited “crack/stash house” in North Philadelphia. These dogs were a replacement of five dogs which had been seized by the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty towards Animals (PSPCA) in September 2009. Owner Jose Alvarez
had been convicted of animal cruelty, of keeping his dogs in unsanitary conditions, and of failing to provide medical care. However, a simple recitation of the charges fails to convey the intense anguish Alvarez’s dogs suffered. One of the dogs that, according to the citation that was issued, “lacked medical care” suffered from an untreated broken back, was unable to walk, and only able to drag himself by his front legs, with his useless rear legs trailing behind him.

Breed attribution: Indeterminate

Details: The dog was reported to be a “pit bull” dog. NCRC was unable to obtain evidence or documentation from the owner or authorities that substantiate the breed of the dog. There are also no available photographs of the dog determined to be involved in the incident.

Then what do you call this, Einstein? —–>

This is the complete NCRC report. Somehow their home is now a crackhouse (I have no idea of their living conditions) and somehow the dog is stabbed. (I do not recall this, and can find no mention of it) Even with all the information provided, the NCRC is still unable to determine what type of dogs the victims husband was raising, possibly breeding, possibly fighting? I’ll give you a hint. They were not Chihuahuas.

I just gave you three and only three examples of the NCRC’s bias and positioning. I will be updating this blog in the future to include more side by side comparisons. I’m a fair and reasonable person, I love to play Devil’s Advocate, but the NCRC is just not salvageable as an unbiased source of information. You can see from the multiple examples here today that it’s not as if a mistake has been made or anything – there is a consistent pattern of how the NCRC presents itself and operates. I understand fatality reports, that they are just being prudent and erring on the side of caution. But there is also being too prudent – and look at the benefit of why one would be. Besides, it’s not just the fatality reports. Look at the breed identification page where facts are omitted. Look at the quote where no single neutered house pet pit has killed a person. Technically, it was true at the time, but it was stated a specific way in order to make it true. And we all know that the average person is just not that good at critical thinking and reading comprehension. They see that statement and interpret it as “no neutered pit has killed a person” therefore if I neuter my pit bull (and raise it right) I have nothing to worry about. The NCRC is a pro-pit bull organization controlled by Jane Berkey and her blood money and has been since 2007. The spin has always benefited pit bulls – see my post above with the #1 #2 and #3. They may consider themselves an all-breed and non-biased site, but they don’t conduct themselves as if they are, and that’s a problem. I don’t care that they cater to pit bulls, I care that they masquerade as a legitimate, fair source for information. And I think when you have example after example after example, the case is made due to the sheer volume of it all.

But for some pit bull advocates, its not. So let’s take it a step further. The NCRC was “acquired” by Animal Farm Foundation, which openly states they are a pro-pit organization. The pro-pit research of NCRC benefits AFF, as does the guise of independence and non-breed specific focus. However, if it were true that the NCRC truly was an unbiased organization, they would never allow themselves to be “acquired” by a biased one or be associated with a known pro-pit organization of any kind. It would ruin their credibility and their ability to say they were unbiased. Even with pit bull advocates.

Stacey Coleman – Executive Director of the AFF and NCRC

Good Lord. Get a room Stacey.

I was forwarded this bit of research on Stacey Coleman recently

Stacey Coleman identified herself as executive director of both the National Canine Research Council and Animal Farm Foundation in her testimony before the Maryland legislature. In her testimony, she identifies the AFF as an animal welfare organization, but neglected to mention that AFF specifically advocates for pit bulls. http://www.animalfarmfoundation.org/files/Coleman_Maryland_Testimony_6_19_2012.pdf

One of Coleman’s first statements in that testimony is: “Nothing in the available public record in Maryland – or anywhere else in Europe or North America – supports the designation of “pit bull” dogs as “inherently dangerous.”

Although scientific medical studies do not characterize pit bulls as “inherently” dangerous, surgeons and medical professionals consistently have found that the pit bulls are excessively dangerous when compared to other kinds of dogs because pit bull attacks are consistently more severe and more likely to be lethal than attacks by other kinds of dogs.
http://www.dogsbite.org/dog-bite-statistics-bibliographies-injury-studies.php
http://safetybeforebulldogs.blogspot.com/2014/04/medical-professional-experts-on-pit.html

And while scientific medical studies do not specifically characterize pit bulls as being “inherently dangerous,” there are 18 appellate rulings recognizing the unique dangerousness of pit bulls, and four of those decisions found pit bulls to possess inherent characteristics, including viciousness and unpredictability, that make pit bulls dangerous.
http://scholar.google.com/scholar?start=0&q=%22pit+bull%22+and+%22inherent%22+and+%22danger%22&hl=en&as_sdt=6,44&as_vis=1

Much of Coleman’s testimony rests on NCRC studies, and much of her testimony can be legitimately called into question with some research. For instance, Coleman makes a reference to “controlled studies have not identified this breed group [i.e., pit bull] as disproportionately dangerous.” in an AVMA study. However, there is no citation for this statement referring to these studies in the otherwise heavily cited and sourced AVMA document. I hope research is done to provide a good frame of reference for the NCRC claims and that readers of this blog recognize that the NCRC was created by a pit bull advocate, (Jane Berkey) is currently owned by a pit bull advocacy organization, (Animal Farm Foundation) and is not an independent research council on “dog matters.”

WHEW!

This blog felt like it took forever. And it did! But now that I have explained how the pit bull lobby functions and is funded, I’m going to close this blog with an intercepted e-mail from none other than Stacey Coleman herself. It is in a response to a fellow victims’ advocates e-mail to a Utah legislator regarding HB97. An anti BSL law that was passed earlier this year. It is clear to me that this bill was passed the same way that Ohio’s HB14 was passed. By flat out lying and using pro pit bull organization’s “research.” Notice the links she uses. Notice the animal lobby quoting its own biased sources?

I want you to copy and paste this blog’s URL link EVERY TIME you see the following used in the comments sections or when you get into an argument with a pit bull advocate that has good copy and paste skills: Even on the links I have provided in this blog.

The Jane Berkey controlled:

AFF (Animal Farm Foundation)
NCRC (National Canine Research Council)
Karen Delise
Ledy VanKavage
Donald Cleary
Stacey Coleman
Amy Marder

Organizations that exist to protect animals before humans:

ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals)
AVMA (American Veterinary Medical Association)
BADRAP (Bay Area Dog Lovers Responsible About Pit Bulls)
Best Friends Animal Society (Ledy VanKavage)
JAVMA (Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association)
HSUS (Humane Society of the United States

I think it goes without saying that pit bull rescues exist only for the benefit of pit bulls.

These organizations care ONLY to protect pit bulls and animals. They DO NOT CARE about the health and safety of the American public or their pets and livestock. I have to laugh my ass off when the human hate pages continuously bash and try and discredit anyone that speaks negatively against the pit bulls they exist to protect as, “DBO cultists.” Organizations like DogsBite.org and DaxtonsFriends.com are the ONLY nonprofits committed to putting the safety of HUMANS before DOGS, as we are the ONLY source of information on this topic that is not OWNED, CONTROLLED, or FUNDED by DOG breeders, OWNERS, VETERINARIAN or ANIMAL WELFARE GROUPS.

Looks like I just took away all your ammo.

In the beginning of this blog, I was directly talking to lawmakers that are voting on BSL. (Breed Specific Legislation) If you are an elected official, I want you to open up your e-mails and tell me if you see anything like the following. This is an intercepted e-mail from Stacey Coleman to a Utah legislator regarding the anti-BSL bill, HB-97.

——– Original Message ——–

Subject: Letter to Utah Legislators
From: Stacey Coleman <scoleman@animalfarmfoundation.org>
Date: Mon, February 17, 2014 5:03 am
To: *******
Hello C**** –

I was sent the text of an email you sent to the Utah legislators who are considering HB 97. In the email you present some data and make the offer to provide the evidence that supports the data’s reliability. I work for organizations that work to prevent discrimination against dogs and dog owners and I am unaware of the information that you have presented to the legislators. Are you willing to share with me your source of that data?

Specifically this assertion:

In 2013, 33 humans were killed in dog attacks, 28 of these deaths were caused by one specific breed. Of the 33 killed, 16 were children, all of these children were killed by one specific breed. 17 of the 28 attacks were caused by a family pet that had never shown signs of aggression before the fatal attack. In 2014 we have had 4 deaths to date, 4 of these deaths are caused by one particular breed. On average last year, 2.8 severe attacks on humans have happened daily. One breed in particular is the cause for most of these attacks. I won’t even get into the attacks that are happening on other family pets.

You also made the point that breed specific mandates will increase the number of owners who comply with responsible pet keeping. Can you please share with me your source of that data, too?

Thank you,

Stacey Coleman

Executive Director

Animal Farm Foundation

www.animalfarmfoundation.org

National Canine Research Council

www.nationalcanineresearchcouncil.com

Office: 845-868-7559

Direct: 845-233-8823

——– Original Message ——–

Subject: RE: Letter to Utah Legislators
From: Stacey Coleman <scoleman@animalfarmfoundation.org>

Date: Mon, February 17, 2014 9:11 am
To:********

Thank you, C*****.

The content wasn’t sent to me from a legislator, it came from an animal advocate. I am not sure where she got it from but it was attributed to you.

Here is the text that our legislative subsidiary sent to the legislature:

Thank you for considering HB 97 and we urge you to please support this important bill. In light of the third reading, I have included documents below that we hope will be helpful.

Breed-specific legislation (BSL) has never resulted in safer communities wherever it has been attempted [Attachment 1], and a recent AVMA report concludes that regulating dogs by “breed” is not an effective way to reduce dog bite incidents [Attachment 2]. A recent evidence-based analysis published by the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association offers one perspective on why this is the case [Attachment 3].

The American Bar Association has urged for the repeal of BSL nationwide and the White House recently released a statement saying, “research shows that bans on certain types of dogs are largely ineffective and often a waste of public resources” [Attachment 4,5].

Safe and humane communities are made when all dog owners are held accountable for their actions [Attachment 6,7].

Additionally, with respect to the misinformation that often surrounds serious dog bites and dog bite-related fatalities (DBRFs), I thought that you should know about a paper just published in JAVMA on the topic [Attachment 8]. The study is the most comprehensive multifactorial study of DBRFs to ever be completed. It is based on investigative techniques not previously employed in DBRF studies and identified a significant co-occurrence of multiple potentially preventable factors. Breed was not one of those factors. The authors conclude that the potentially preventable factors co-occurring in more than 80% of the DBRF’s in their 10 year case file are best addressed by multifactorial public and private strategies, as opposed to single-factor strategies such as BSL.

http://nationalcanineresearchcouncil.com/uploaded_files/tinymce/Co-occurrence%20Whitepaper%20-%202013.pdf

Lastly, I understand that the state does not want to infringe upon rights of municipalities to self-govern, but it is important to remember that law-abiding dog owners are being infringed upon by municipalities that pass BSL. Those citizens deserve consideration as well. BSL does not ever accomplish safer communities, but it does impact law-abiding dog owners.

Thank you for your time and consideration, and we urge you to vote favorably on HB 97.

From: ***************]

Sent: Monday, February 17, 2014 9:30 AM
To: Stacey Coleman
Subject: RE: Letter to Utah Legislators

Stacey, I will gladly get you that information. It will be in separate emails as it will come for various sources. Can you please tell me which Utah legislator passed on my email to you? Thank you, C*******

EVERY SINGLE source from Stacey Coleman in that e-mail was from ANIMAL WELFARE and BREED SPECIFIC organizations. Tell me Mr. or Mrs. elected official! Are you listening to your constituents, or these SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS? Do the right thing and vote to protect the most vulnerable in our society.

Please take a moment of silence for the victims of dog attacks in 2014

2014 Dog Bite Related Fatalities

Updated after each fatality following fact finding research

42 Dog Bite Related Fatalities

by Breed:

27 by Pit Bull / Pit Bull Mix

3 by Bullmastiff / Mastiff Mix

4 by Rottweiler

1 by Cane Corso

1 by Shepherd Mix…

1 by Catahoula Leopard Dog

4 Unknown Breed

1 Mix Breed

By age:

20 Children

22 Adults

By State:

TX – 7 deaths

AL – 3 deaths

OH – 3 deaths

FL – 5 deaths

NC – 4 deaths

MI – 2 deaths

AZ – 1 death

CA – 2 death

CT – 2 death

DE – 1 death

IL – 1 death

LA – 2 death

MS – 2 death

NJ – 1 death

MO – 1 death

AR – 1 death

WI – 1 death

WY – 1 death

SD – 1 death

IND – 1 death

Names and ages of the deceased:

Christina Bell-Burleson – 43 – Houston, TX – 2 Pit Bulls [01.05.14]

Betty Clark – 75 – Canyon Lake, TX – 2 Pit Bulls [01.06.14]

Kara Hartrich – 4 – Bloomington, IL – 2 Pit Bulls [01.17.14]

Annabel Martin – 89 – Corona, CA – 3 Rottweilers [01.26.14]

Klonda Richey – 57 – Dayton, OH – 2 Mastiff Mixes [02.07.14]

Je’vaeh Mayes – 2 – Temple, TX – Pit Bull [02.17.14]

Braelynn Coulter – 3 – High Point, NC – Pit Bull [02.24.14]

Summer Sears – 4 – Tallassee, AL – Shepherd Mix [02.26.14]

Kenneth Santillan – 13 – Paterson, NJ – Bullmastiff [02.28.14]

Raymane Robinson, Jr. – 2 – Killeen, TX – Bullmastiff [03.01.14]

Nancy Newberry – 77 – Phoenix, AZ – Pit Bull [03.14.14]

Mia DeRouen – 4 – Houma, LA – Pit Bull [03.25.14]

Christopher Malone- 3 – Holmes County, MS – 2 Pit Bulls [03.31.14]

Dorothy Hamilton – 85 – Kaufman, TX – 2 Pit Bulls [03.31.14]

John Harvard – 5 – Riverside, AL – Pit Bull [04.06.14]

Petra Aguirre – 83 – San Antonio, TX – Pit Bull Mix [04.11.14]

Jessica Norman – 33 – Sebring, FL – 3 Pit Bulls [4.30.14]

Katie Morrison – 20 – Phenix City, AL – 3 Pit Bulls [05.03.14]

Nyhiem Wilfong – 1 – Caldwell County, NC – Rottweiler [05.04.14]

Kasii Haith – 4 – Kent County, DE – 3 Pit Bulls [05.07.14]

Rita Pepe – 93 – Branford, CT – Pit Bull Mix [05.25.14]

Holden Garrison – 10 wks – Davisburg, MI – Catahoula Leopard Dog [06.09.14]

Logan Shepard – 4 – Riverview, FL – 2 Pit Bulls [07.19.14]

Jonathan Quarles – 7 mo – Dayton, OH – Pit Bull [07.20.14]

Craig Sytsma – 46 – Metamore Twp, MI – 2 Cane Corso [07.23.14]

Cindy Whisman – 59 – Madison Twp, OH – Pit Bull [08.04.14]

Joel Chireieleison – 6 – Fanning Springs, FL – 2 Pit Bulls [08.07.14]

Deriah Solem – 22 mo – St Charles County, MO – Pit Bull Mix [08.09.14]

Javon Dade – 4 – Miami, FL – Pit Bull [08.13.14]

David Glass Sr.-51-Benton County, MS – 3 Pit Bulls [09.20.14]

Alice Payne – 75 – Cave City, AR – 1 Pit Bull [09.26.14]

Juan Fernandez – 59 – Modesto, CA – 4 Pit Bulls – [10.14.14]

Logan Thomas Meyer – 7 – Hustisford, WI -1 Rottweiler – [10.24.14]

Alemeaner Dial – 83 – Robeson County, N.C. – 4 Pit Bulls – [10.31.14]

Deanne Lynn Coando – 40 – Wind River Indian Reservation, WY – Unknown – [11. .14]

Stella Antanaitis – 91 – Stamford, CT – Mix Breed – [11. .14]

Jayla Rodriguez – 8 – Pine Ridge, SD – Unknown – [11.18.14]

Bobbie Cheveallier – 85 – Grant Parish, L.A. – Unknown – [12.1.14]

Jose Robles – 62 – Madison, N.C. – Pending – [11.23.14]

Christopher Camejo – 2 – Crystal River , FL – Rottweiler’s – [12.6.14]

Rita Woodard – 64 – Corpus Christi , TX – Pit Bull – [12.15.14]

Edward L. Cahill – 40 – Porter County, IND. – Pit Bull – [12.25.14]

Non – Bite Related Canine Deaths

Demonta Collins – 13 – Augusta, GA – Chased into traffic by at large Pit Bull [04.10.14]

Davon Jigget – 17 – Fulton County, Ga – Chased into traffic by at large Pit Bull [04.11.14]

Ryan Brown – 15 – Fayette County, TN – Killed by pan thrown by brother when attempting to break up dog fight [08.08.14]

On average in 2014 someone was killed by a pit bull every 13 days. Some of these pit bull attacks were from the family dog that was well trained and had never shown signs of aggression before. The only common in these severe and often fatal attacks is not abuse or lack of training it is breed. Choose the breed of dog you trust the lives of your loved ones with wisely.

Laurie Hoffman. Liar. Pit Bull Apologist. Founder of “Watertown for Responsible Dog Ownership”

Posted on July 11, 2014 by Jeff Borchardt

I recently read a story of a 56-year-old Wausau woman who was mauled last month while trying to save her dog from a pit bull that attacked it now is pushing the city to ban all pit bulls from Wausau.

Cindy Ryder was attacked June 19 by a neighbor’s pit bull after it charged from its home on the 900 block of Washington Street, just feet from her home. Ryder bent to protect her Chihuahua, Bartok, as the pit bull came at her and was bitten in the arm, wrist and back of the head. The pit bull eventually was brought under control by the father of the dog’s owner, but it was too late for Bartok. Ryder was taken by ambulance to the hospital as Bartok took his last breaths in the arms of a neighbor.

This story wouldn’t have made it on my radar because there are so many other animals getting mauled to death every day by pit bulls. But this story jumped out of the page to me because of a certain woman being quoted in the article, Laurie Hoffman.

From the article:

Owners of pit bull breeds also have been stigmatized. Laurie Hoffmann, founder of Watertown for Responsible Dog Ownership, said that popular myth — “a punk and a pit” — is being dispelled. Programs such as the Majority Project are trying to demonstrate that pit bull breeds are owned by “people from all walks of life,” said Hoffmann. The project, initiated by the Animal Farm Foundation,

asked pit bull owners around the country to submit photos of themselves and their dogs to their website and discovered a diverse ownership. Click here to read more about Animal Farm Foundation.

“Because of this and other facts we know about dog behavior and breeds,” Hoffmann said, “cities are overwhelmingly rejecting and repealing breed-discriminatory ordinances.”

How much do you really know about dog behavior Laurie Hoffman? How much do you know about the history and purpose of the American Pit Bull Terrier?

I really don’t think Laurie Hoffman has any business whatsoever being quoted in news articles when she was caught flat out LYING about the circumstances involving the death of my son. How DARE she call us “negligent?” Who do you think you are Laurie Hoffman? You are an EVIL woman and a LIAR that will say or do anything to protect the image of your precious breed that was created by man for his blood thirsty sport of dogfighting.

*******************************************************

The following is a copy of Laurie Hoffman’s letter to the editor to the Watertown Daily Times.

Voice of the people

Editor, Watertown Daily Times 8/23/13

By Laurie Hoffmann (Watertown, WI)

“I cried when I read the tragic story of Dax’s death – for the baby, and also for the conscience of the father and baby sitter having been negligent in putting the child in a situation with the dogs that were obviously unruly. Dogs don’t become unruly overnight. Any dog of any breed can bite. Incidents like this don’t happen because of a dog’s breed or appearance. There are always warning signs and it’s the responsibility of the owner to read the sign and know their dogs.
I also cried when I heard National Public Radio report about the Wisconsin grandmother who put her grandson in a car seat on the floor with her Jack Russell terrier. That one act resulted in the death of her infant grandson.
I have only one child, and even though she’s grown, I can’t imagine the pain of losing her and the guilt that would haunt me if my negligence caused her death. When NPR reported the tragedy, they passed up a chance for a teachable moment – surely for the purpose of saving the grandmother the pain of additional guilt. They could have spent time on dog bite prevention right then and there and may have prevented the negligence that led to Dax’s death.
People don’t talk about the negligence aspect of stories like this because the parent, baby sitter or grandparent is assumed to already have enough pain and guilt. Unfortunately, Dax’s parent and baby sitter are not reflecting on their own actions. They’re blaming one breed of dog, when almost any breed can kill a child if parents and caregivers are negligent.
They are placing blame on local governments far and wide for the tragedy they were responsible for. This mentality puts our entire community at risk – creating a false sense of security with dogs other than the targeted breed.
Alderman Smith was quoted in the Times as saying, “It will be a miracle if we don’t have a tragedy in the city all too soon.” (If the new dog law is defeated.) What the council failed to recognize when they passed the law is that, when they imply that they’re preventing a tragedy by limiting ownership of one breed of dog, they create a false sense of security for the public. Some people will assume that it’s safe to repeat the negligent actions of Dax’s father and baby sitter with another breed of dog and another child will suffer the consequences.
Alderman Smith, Alderman Zgonc, Alderman Stocks and Alderman Tietz may believe that they are preventing a tragedy with this law, but the truth is that they’re setting us up for the next one. Is the safety committee going to amend the dog law after every tragedy the media reports to include the next devil-dog-of-the-day? When will the council realize that the world is full of dangers when people are careless? Parents are responsible for the safety of their children. If there is a loose dog in the neighborhood should parents disregard it because it’s “only” a Husky, Akita, Rottweiler, Mastiff, Jack Russell or Lab?
Is the council going to pass a law concerning trampolines, parade horses and swing sets next? Please call your alderman to let him know how you feel on this topic.”
-Laurie Hoffman, Watertown, WI

http://maultalk.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/laurie-hoffman-editorial1.jpg

******************************************************************

My response to Laurie Hoffmann that was printed in the Watertown Daily Times:

“My name is Jeff Borchardt. I am the father of 14-month old Daxton Borchardt who was brutally killed by two pit bulls owned by a family friend on March 6th. It was a prolonged attack that lasted up to 15 minutes. The dogs crushed my son’s skull and ripped off the entire right side of his face. My friend Susan, was also sent to the hospital due to the injuries she received fighting off her own pit bulls to protect my son’s life.

In Laurie Hoffman’s letter to the editor (August 23, 2013), she made grievous errors about the circumstances of my son’s violent death. Being the father, I spoke at length with the Walworth County detective. Had there been any negligence on anyone’s part, criminal charges would have resulted. Susan’s dogs have never shown any signs of aggression prior to March 6th, both were also spay and neutered. These dogs appeared to be the nicest, friendliest family pets you could ever imagine. The only mistake I made was believing the myth, “It’s not the breed, it’s all how you raise them.”

I have no idea where Hoffmann got the story of the Jack Russell terrier that supposedly killed another Wisconsin boy. It never happened. The only recorded fatality by a Jack Russell in the past decade occurred in Kentucky. That infant was lying on a bed; there was no grandmother present or car seat, his name was Justin Mozer.

The desire of some people like Hoffmann to portray pit bulls as anything other than the ticking time bombs that they are is a great disservice to the public. Dogs selectively bred for hundreds of years for the repulsive sport of dogfighting. When Susan walked into her back yard carrying Dax on that snowy day in March, they viciously attacked them. The result of Susan’s two well-raised pit bulls turning “dead game.” It was a struggle so violent that the metal gate to the dog run was ripped down. Blood covered her backyard along with all of my son’s clothing. In addition to inflicting catastrophic injuries, the dogs stripped my son naked.

My only desire is to honor the memory of my son by sharing the truth about pit bulls with other people who believe the myth that I did. If the truth in this letter can contribute to a safer Watertown, my son will not have died in vain.”

– Jeff Borchardt

******************************************************

Susan Iwicki’s response to Laurie Hoffmann that was printed in the Watertown Daily Times:
“My name is Susan Iwicki. I was caring for my friend’s 14-month-old son, Daxton Borchardt, at my home in Walworth, WI when my own two pet pit bulls attacked me while Dax was in my arms. It was the most violent and bloody 15 minutes of my life. This was not just “a dog bite” incident. This was a vicious and prolonged attack on our flesh. This was a mauling by “normal house pets” that without warning reverted to what their breed was initially bred for: killing. No amount of force I exerted, including gouging at the female’s eye, was enough to stop or even create pause in their attack.

I never saw a single flash of aggression in those dogs since they were brought into my home as puppies three years prior. I truly believed, “It’s all how you raise them.” And they were raised with love, attention, and proper discipline. They were each spayed and neutered as early as the vet allowed and had regular veterinary visits. Both dogs were socialized, played with numerous children and small animals throughout their lives, and loved to cuddle. I was their “mama.” My dogs never experienced a day of neglect or abuse in their existence. The false sense of security is in believing it is the owner, not the breed.

On March 6th of this year, my so-called “babies” attacked their “mama” and ended the life of a real, human baby. A sweet, curious, happy little boy named Dax. In Laurie Hoffmann’s letter to the editor on August 23rd, she refers to the “negligence aspect” of pit bull victims’ stories. If the breed is so safe and truly are “nanny dogs,” how could any owner of a pit be negligent for having a child near their “nanny dog” that was raised well?

I urge you to look at that “friendly” pit bull you or your neighbor owns. Perhaps you believe the myth that I did, “It’s all how you raise them.” It certainly sounds attractive to believe, doesn’t it? It isn’t. It is an outright distortion of reality and one of the most dangerous myths to believe and perpetuate. From 2005 to 2012, pit bulls killed 151 Americans, about one citizen every 19 days. By 2016, pit bulls are projected to maul 275 Americans to death since 1998, the year the CDC stopped tracking fatal dog attacks by breed.”

– Susan Iwicki

*********************************************************

There is so much more to this story in Wausau if you keep reading.

“Mary Kirlin, executive director at the Humane Society, said a dog’s behavior is influenced by both its bloodline and its training. In her experience, all breeds have the capacity to attack.”

I’ll agree with you about one thing Mary Kirlin. Dogs behavior is highly influenced by it’s bloodline.

The American Pit Bull Terrier is, like all the ‘bully’ breeds, one of this group of descendants of the British ‘bull and terrier’ type fighting bulldogs. Once imported into the United States, it was bred up to be bigger again, and again used in baiting animals and in dogfighting. The American Kennel Club (founded 1884) was unwilling to register these fighting dogs, so in 1898 the United Kennel Club was founded by Chauncey Z Bennett specifically to register working pit-fighting dogs and to promote dogfighting. In order to be registered, a dog had to first win three pit fights. The American Pit Bull Terrier (APBT) became a ‘breed’. As dogfighting declined in popularity in the 1930s and 1940s, Colby (the most famous and prolific breeder of these dogs) began to search for a new market and began promoting the APBT as family pets. This despite the fact that his breeding lines included child killers.

Click here to read more about the American Pit Bull Terrier

Mary Kirlin goes on to say:

“I have seen it from awesome dogs, I have seen it from poodles, from shepherds, from pit bulls,” Kirlin said. “I have seen it from just about every breed that is out there.”

Really Mary Kirlin? You’ve seen poodles do this?

Really Mary Kirlin? You’ve seen shepherds do this?

Really Mary Kirlin? You’ve seen Golden Retrievers do this?

ceara-schofield-bulldog-attack-injury-2-large

Really Mary Kirlin? Have you seen a Chihuahua do this?

Really Mary Kirlin? All dogs “bite”?

Shall I continue?…OK. I will. Back to the article.

Mary Kirlin goes on to say this:

“To prevent attacks, training and socialization is key, said Kirlin. She said anyone who owns a dog should be prepared to raise it just as they would raise a child — with love, attention and discipline.”

This is a picture of one of the pit bulls that killed my son. Susan and Steve had raised their dogs from puppies with all the love, affection, proper care, exercise (One acre fenced in dog run) and food that is required. For some unknown reason, Susan’s 2 pit bulls attacked her while she was carrying Dax and mauled him to death for FIFTEEN minutes. She was punching them, kicking them and gouging their eyes out to get them to let go. Nothing she could do to get them to let go of my son’s head. Click here to read the full story.

“You get what you put in,” Kirlin said. “We are supposed to be the smarter species.”

Shame on you Laurie Hoffman. Shame on you Mary Kirlin. How many more Americans must die a horrible and tragic death before you pick a different breed to save? There is a reason the shelters are over run with pit bulls. NOBODY WANTS THEM!!!!

2014 Dog Bite Related Fatalities
Updated after each fatality following fact finding research

42 Dog Bite Related Fatalities

by Breed:

27 by Pit Bull / Pit Bull Mix
3 by Bullmastiff / Mastiff Mix
4 by Rottweiler
1 by Cane Corso
1 by Shepherd Mix
1 by Catahoula Leopard Dog
4 Unknown Breed
1 Mix Breed

By age:

20 Children
22 Adults

By State:

TX – 7 deaths
AL – 3 deaths
OH – 3 deaths
FL – 5 deaths
NC – 4 deaths
MI – 2 deaths
AZ – 1 death
CA – 2 death
CT – 2 death
DE – 1 death
IL – 1 death
LA – 2 death
MS – 2 death
NJ – 1 death
MO – 1 death
AR – 1 death
WI – 1 death
WY – 1 death
SD – 1 death
IND – 1 death

Names and ages of the deceased:

Christina Bell-Burleson – 43 – Houston, TX – 2 Pit Bulls [01.05.14]
Betty Clark – 75 – Canyon Lake, TX – 2 Pit Bulls [01.06.14]
Kara Hartrich – 4 – Bloomington, IL – 2 Pit Bulls [01.17.14]
Annabel Martin – 89 – Corona, CA – 3 Rottweilers [01.26.14]
Klonda Richey – 57 – Dayton, OH – 2 Mastiff Mixes [02.07.14]
Je’vaeh Mayes – 2 – Temple, TX – Pit Bull [02.17.14]
Braelynn Coulter – 3 – High Point, NC – Pit Bull [02.24.14]
Summer Sears – 4 – Tallassee, AL – Shepherd Mix [02.26.14]
Kenneth Santillan – 13 – Paterson, NJ – Bullmastiff [02.28.14]
Raymane Robinson, Jr. – 2 – Killeen, TX – Bullmastiff [03.01.14]
Nancy Newberry – 77 – Phoenix, AZ – Pit Bull [03.14.14]
Mia DeRouen – 4 – Houma, LA – Pit Bull [03.25.14]
Christopher Malone- 3 – Holmes County, MS – 2 Pit Bulls [03.31.14]
Dorothy Hamilton – 85 – Kaufman, TX – 2 Pit Bulls [03.31.14]
John Harvard – 5 – Riverside, AL – Pit Bull [04.06.14]
Petra Aguirre – 83 – San Antonio, TX – Pit Bull Mix [04.11.14]
Jessica Norman – 33 – Sebring, FL – 3 Pit Bulls [4.30.14]
Katie Morrison – 20 – Phenix City, AL – 3 Pit Bulls [05.03.14]
Nyhiem Wilfong – 1 – Caldwell County, NC – Rottweiler [05.04.14]
Kasii Haith – 4 – Kent County, DE – 3 Pit Bulls [05.07.14]
Rita Pepe – 93 – Branford, CT – Pit Bull Mix [05.25.14]
Holden Garrison – 10 wks – Davisburg, MI – Catahoula Leopard Dog [06.09.14]
Logan Shepard – 4 – Riverview, FL – 2 Pit Bulls [07.19.14]
Jonathan Quarles – 7 mo – Dayton, OH – Pit Bull [07.20.14]
Craig Sytsma – 46 – Metamore Twp, MI – 2 Cane Corso [07.23.14]
Cindy Whisman – 59 – Madison Twp, OH – Pit Bull [08.04.14]
Joel Chireieleison – 6 – Fanning Springs, FL – 2 Pit Bulls [08.07.14]
Deriah Solem – 22 mo – St Charles County, MO – Pit Bull Mix [08.09.14]
Javon Dade – 4 – Miami, FL – Pit Bull [08.13.14]
David Glass Sr.-51-Benton County, MS – 3 Pit Bulls [09.20.14]
Alice Payne – 75 – Cave City, AR – 1 Pit Bull [09.26.14]
Juan Fernandez – 59 – Modesto, CA – 4 Pit Bulls – [10.14.14]
Logan Thomas Meyer – 7 – Hustisford, WI -1 Rottweiler – [10.24.14]
Alemeaner Dial – 83 – Robeson County, N.C. – 4 Pit Bulls – [10.31.14]
Deanne Lynn Coando – 40 – Wind River Indian Reservation, WY – Unknown – [11. .14]
Stella Antanaitis – 91 – Stamford, CT – Mix Breed – [11. .14]
Jayla Rodriguez – 8 – Pine Ridge, SD – Unknown – [11.18.14]
Bobbie Cheveallier – 85 – Grant Parish, L.A. – Unknown – [12.1.14]
Jose Robles – 62 – Madison, N.C. – Pending – [11.23.14]
Christopher Camejo – 2 – Crystal River , FL – Rottweiler’s – [12.6.14]
Rita Woodard – 64 – Corpus Christi , TX – Pit Bull – [12.15.14]
Edward L. Cahill – 40 – Porter County, IND. – Pit Bull – [12.25.14]

Non – Bite Related Canine Deaths

Demonta Collins – 13 – Augusta, GA – Chased into traffic by at large Pit Bull [04.10.14]
Davon Jigget – 17 – Fulton County, Ga – Chased into traffic by at large Pit Bull [04.11.14]
Ryan Brown – 15 – Fayette County, TN – Killed by pan thrown by brother when attempting to break up dog fight [08.08.14]

	Jennifer Lang on Terry Holt, Harassment and his…
	Abby-Gail Naude on Abby-Gail Lorandi Sends Hatefu…
	Barry s on Terry Holt, Harassment and his…
	Jennifer Lang on Terry Holt, Harassment and his…
	Barry S on Terry Holt, Harassment and his…

Here are just SOME of the e-mails we started receiving:

Daxton’s Friends Response:

Jessica’s response:

From Lynsie:

Daxton’s Friends response:

Daxton’s Friends response:

Sean Hooper’s response:

Daxton’s Friends response:

Fast forward to October 13th, 2014:

The Denver Post caves to on-line bullies:

Daxton’s Friends response:

Before I continue with Bob LeGare’s attempt to find ANY reason for my son’s death, I would like to talk about a self proclaimed dog trainer and “expert” Carly Shivers.

Any “so-called” training “expert” connected to the Longmont Humane Society is an extremely poor source of information about “dangerous dog behavior.”

Carly Shiver’s response:

Let’s take a closer look at the police report in my son’s death:

Oh, I think this self proclaimed “dog expert” has been hanging around Michelle Serocki from the “Brew City Bully Club” too much.

“Ms. Iwicki had not had the benefit of attending a training session or received education to know that this response would escalate the problem.”

Back to ColoRADogs

“We live and die in public health based on how good our data is,” – CDC Director, Dr. Thomas Frieden

THE PIT BULL LOBBY EXPOSED

Karen Delise, the Executive Director of the National Canine Research Council, had this to say about the father of a child mauled to death by pit bulls:

Let’s take a closer look at the Jane Rotrosen Berkey Agency.

Meet the Jane Rotrosen Berkey Literary/Dramatic Agency’s mascots!

The pit bullery connections are incestuous.

If you check the AFF’s website today:

Ledy VanKavage – Board member of the AFF

Ohio woman killed by her daughter’s pit bull. Will Ohio lawmakers PLEASE quit allowing breed specific advocates/animal rights advocates write and influence Ohio law!

Karen Delise (National Canine Research Council)

Let’s take a closer look at this myth that a pit bull cannot be identified without the use of DNA tests:

Karen Delise’s letters to victims AFTER they decide to speak out

Resident dog vs. family dog

DogsBite.org/ NCRC side by side comparisons

10-years old | Leverett’s Chapel, TX

Justin Clinton:

Christine Staab

37-years old | Philadelphia, PA

50-years old | Philadelphia, PA

Then what do you call this, Einstein? —–>

Stacey Coleman – Executive Director of the AFF and NCRC

WHEW!

The Jane Berkey controlled:

Organizations that exist to protect animals before humans:

“We live and die in public health based on how good our data is,”
– CDC Director, Dr. Thomas Frieden