Good Afternoon Ms. Speiers,

I have been closely following the story unfold in San Francisco surrounding the tragic death of Nicholas Faibish.  I have read the news reports and the taskforce report to the Mayor.   I understand that you and Mr. Leno will be supporting the Mayors efforts to amend the current California State law prohibiting Breed Specific Legislation (BSL).    In light of that, I feel compelled to write to you with some information, research and facts and ask you to please read with an open mind. 

While I understand Mr. Newsom’s concern for public safety in light of the recent event, he is traveling down the wrong road and the final destination will be no safer than what is in place now.  BSL in any fashion will not create a safer community.  The issue isn’t breed related but lies with irresponsible owners and/or parents.   Punishing an entire group based off the actions of a few is simply wrong and doesn’t target the root of the problem.   Organizations such as the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), National Animal Control Association (NACA), ASPCA, American Canine Foundation have clearly stated they are against any form of BSL as it’s ineffective and doesn’t target the real problem

Regulating based on breed is expensive, ineffective and wrong.   If I were to say that the majority of cars involved in fatal accidents were red, would one seek to regulate red cars?  No, that would be absurd as we understand it’s the driver not the color of the car.  The same is true with dogs, it’s the owner. 

Reviewing the Mayor’s report lets look at the California canine fatalities from 1965 thru 2005.   There were 47 fatalities from 1965-2001 and 7 from 2002-2005 not including the current case as the final investigation has not been completed.  Here is a break down of dogs involved and the numbers represent the number of dogs involved.  Example:  1 fatality involving 3 dogs, the number would increase by 3.

So going by the suggested changes to the law, at least 61 of these dogs would NOT have been affected and the outcome would not have changed.  Does that sound like a safer community?   Had San Francisco changed the laws in the wake of Diane Whipple’s tragic death would Nicholas have been saved?  The answer is no because it would have been specific to Presa Canario’s.  Did Denver’s ban on pit bulls save the Logel child last month from being killed by her families two Alaskan Malamutes?  No it didn’t. 

Comments on dog bite statistic reports and the above table in regards to accuracy.

1.       Looking at the above table you can see the different breeds listed, with the exception of “Pit Bull”.  Pit bull is not a breed of dog, it’s a term used to group three distinct breeds of dog, the American Staffordshire Terrier, American Pit Bull Terrier and the Staffordshire Bull Terrier.   So while each of the other columns is a more accurate number (based on identity of the breed), the Pit Bull column is for 3 breeds so obviously those numbers would be higher.  You never see “Retrievers” listed where the Golden’s, Chesapeake Bay and Labradors are all grouped in dog bite reports.

2.       Pit Bull “type” dogs are dogs that appeared to be pit bull related but no confirmation of breed was available. 

3.       Breed identification is often inaccurate, mixed breeds being identified as purebred.  In many instances the identification is made by the victim or witnesses who are not trained in canine breeds or identification. This is a HUGE issue with dog bite reports and their inaccuracy.   Aside from the term pit bull representing three breeds, there are 20+ other breeds that are commonly mistakenly identified as pit bulls.   In the past couple months there have been a couple of incidents reported with headlines of “pit bull” attack, only to be determined days later they were not pit bulls at all.  One was a Dalmatian mix, another was Bull Mastiffs and yet another was an American Bull Dog mix.

If you doubt what I’m saying about breed identification, I invite you to visit my website and try to pick the pit bull:   http://www.understand-a-bull.com/Findthebull/findpitbull_v3.html

Not to mention many of these identities are based on witness reports which is impossible to prove as accurate.  I’ve seen just about every type of dog identified as a different breed.  People don’t know dog breeds, they make assumptions based on the first breed that comes to mind. 

4.       There is no population analysis included in any reports.  This is a critical part of the research!  For instance, 10 attacks by a Doberman relative to a total population of 10 dogs implies a different risk than 10 attacks by a Labrador relative to a population of 1000 dogs. (A community approach to dog bite prevention, AVMA taskforce report)

5.       The true number of bites isn’t known as many dog bites are not reported. 

6.       The number of dogs by breed in any given area is unknown, rarely are all dogs in an area properly licensed with the city.  So there is no accurate way to determine statistics when all the factors are unknown or inaccurate.

7.       These reports don’t often consider multiple incidents by the same dog.

I have noticed an increase in dog attacks this year already. There have been many incidents involving Huskies, Australian Cattle Dogs and Belgian Malinois, along with a bunch of other breeds.   I’ve also seen 3 different city / county dangerous dog / bite summaries in the past couple weeks and none of them have the pit bull at the top of the bite list. 

• San Mateo County, CA has Labradors and German Shepard’s topping the list.
• Fairfax, VA only four of the 39 canines on the dangerous dog list are described as pit bulls. There is an equal number of Labradors. There are twice as many Siberian huskies. There are 10 German shepherds. The list uses an “X” to identify mixed breeds, of which there are five.
• Thurston County, WA has Herding dogs like the Australian Cattle dog topping their incident lists.

So my point with this information is clear, anything breed specific is a waste of time, taxpayer dollars and will do absolutely nothing to make your district any safer. 

It’s time to stop pointing fingers at different breeds and start addressing the root of the problem!  Until we address the real issue at hand people will continue to be hurt and that is not acceptable. 

What should we be doing?   A lot of things that address the real problem and don’t target a specific breed:

1.       Reviewing statistics on Fatal Dog attacks its obvious spaying and neutering a dog greatly reduces the risk and it’s healthier for the pet.   Let’s sell this concept to people!  There is NO reason that pet quality pets should not be speutered.    Let’s get an official flyer together that list out the reasons pets should be altered, both behavioral and medical and get it mailed to every citizen.  Get it in the libraries, city offices, parks.

2.       Get low cost/ no cost spay and neuter clinics going and encourage people to get it done.  I’m sure local rescues will be willing to work with the city on programs such as these. 

3.       Add canine safety to the official school curriculum.  Invite local rescues and shelters in monthly to talk about animals, safety and responsible ownership.

4.       Create flyers for parents about being a responsible owner and canine safety. Include the fatal dog stats on children, intact pets, etc. 

5.       Offer free classes at the local libraries or shelters on responsible ownership and canine safety for adults.

6.       When new parents leave the hospital, include a flyer on canine safety and children.  Let them be educated from day one.

7.       Do canine safety public service announcements.

All of these are critical to success REGARDLESS of breed! 

Some additional information for you to review on the topic:

Pit Bull Educational Packet, this has information regarding BSL, court cases ruling BSL as unconstitutional, pit bulls in general and sample laws including California’s.

Bite Prevention Information, contains information for parents, communities and public workers.  Under this section be sure to read the AVMA’s taskforce report as it addresses BSL and backs up my point of it being ineffective.

List of dog bite stories by different breeds

Court Cases

I urge you to start doing some research and work towards our common goal of safer communities without punishing responsible people. 

Sincerely,

Marcy Setter