Chew Toy.
Posted on 12/05/2011 11:45:43 AM PST by Altariel
Apparently gunning down stray dogs on the streets wasn’t enough for the dog unfriendly officials of Cumberland County, North Carolina.
Now they want to slay, within 72 hours, every dog that comes into the shelter who is, or appears to be a mix of:
American Staffordshire terrier, Rottweiller, Akita, chow chow, Doberman pinscher, German shepherd, Great Dane, Presa Canario, Siberian husky or mastiff. There’s a convenient catch-all pit bull category as well.
They’re not doing it yet, despite what you may be reading on the misinformation highway.
But they’re talking about it.
The county’s Animal Control Board is recommending that authorities limit the adoption of the above dog breeds, or, as one county official referred to them, ”attack animals.” (Clearly, they haven’t met many Great Danes.)
The idea is only in the discussion stages, but many websites are reporting –erroneously — that the new policy goes into effect today.
“I’ve probably had 1,500 emails,” said John Lauby, director of Cumberland County Animal Control. (Here’s hoping he gets about 150,000 more.)
Lauby told a Fayetteville Observer columnist that misinformation on the Internet led people to believe the county will ban adoption of pit bulls and other breeds starting Monday, and immediately euthanize any members of those breeds in the shelter.
In reality, the county hasn’t taken that medieval step, it’s just considering it.
“We’re looking at a list of animals used as attack animals,” County Commissioner Charles Evans said. “It has been suggested that something needs to be done about those.”
The recommendation would have to make its way through a committe and then require approval by the county commissioners before going into effect. But it’s scheduled to be introduced at a meeting tonight. (6 p.m., at Cumberland County Animal Services, 4704 Corporation Drive, Fayetteville).
Lauby said animal control constantly receives calls from residents complaining about dogs behaving aggressively or running loose, preventing people from getting into their cars.
“We have an inordinate number of pit bulls in the county that are chasing people, chasing dogs, they’re on school grounds and generally bother people,” he said. “The reality is that about 80 percent of our calls are related to that particular breed.”
Complaints from the public also led Cumberland County to hire an outside contractor to capture stray dogs in and around Fayetteville — a massive roundup that started in August and, at last report, led to more dogs being gunned down than caught alive.
Fayetteville doesn’t have its own animal control department, instead relying on the county office to handle dog-related issues.
As I’ve implied before, that might be part of the problem — the problem, in my view, being not just too many uncontrolled dogs, but too many unenlightened public servants, who see dogs as foes and death as a solution.
Maybe it’s the army base influence. In any event, someone needs to usher Cumberland County into modern times.
In a way, the proposed policy — while it it lists some new ”public enemy” breeds, like the husky, and some returning ones, like the shepherd — would only formalize what’s already common practice in the county.
Since April, Cumberland County Animal Control has taken in nearly 1,300 pit bulls, but only 124 have been adopted. The shelter has taken in 180 Rottweilers since then, only 26 of whom were adopted. Of 96 chow chows received at the shelter since April, 15 have been adopted, according to the Fayetteville Observer.
The rest are euthanized.
Now, some want to make it official, banning the adoption of any of those breeds and guaranteeing a death sentence for all of them, or any mixes thereof — all based on what will likely be, judging from the wisdom they’ve shown so far, an uneducated guess.
In addition to complaints, worries about liability issues are also behind the proposal. The county fears it might be held responsible for any damage done by dogs adopted from its shelter. Most shelters handle that with a simple waiver.
Petitions against the policy can be found on several websites, including our-compass.org and change.org.
If you’d like to give Cumberland County officials a piece of your mind — and it appears they could use it — continue reading for contact information.
Dr. Jeannette M. Council PO Box 1829 Fayetteville, NC 28302 Office: 910-678-7771 Home: 910-488-0691 jcouncil@co.cumberland.nc.us
Charles Evans PO Box 1829 Fayetteville, NC 28302 Office: 910-678-7771 Home: 910-978-6643 cevans@co.cumberland.nc.us
Jimmy Keefe PO Box 1829 Fayetteville, NC 28302 Office: 910-678-7771 Work: 910-323-1791 jkeefe@co.cumberland.nc.us
Billy R. King PO Box 1829 Fayetteville, NC 28302 Office: 910-678-7771 Work: 910-822-6676 bking@co.cumberland.nc.us
Edward Melvin PO Box 1829 Fayetteville, NC 28302 Office: 910-678-7771 Cell: 910-391-4028 emelvin@co.cumberland.nc.us
Kenneth S. Edge Chairman PO Box 1829 Fayetteville, NC 28302 Office: 910-678-7771 Home: 910-425-0918 kedge@co.cumberland.nc.us
Marshall Faircloth Vice Chairman PO Box 1829 Fayetteville, NC 28302 Office: 910-678-7771 Work: 910-323-1040 wmfaircloth@co.cumberland.nc.us
Mayor Anthony G. Chavonne 433 Hay Street Fayetteville, NC 28301 910-433-1992, 910-433-3401 Fax 433-1948 mayor@ci.fay.nc.us
Dr. John Lauby Director of Animal Services Cumberland County Animal Control 4704 Corporation Drive, Fayetteville, NC 28306 Animal Control Phone: 910-321-6845, 910-321-6844, 910-321-6826, 910-321-6827, 910-321-6945, 910-321-6965 910-321-6852 jlauby@co.cumberland.nc.us
A lot of people that don’t like the culling of DOGs(cats)...
HAVE NO PROBLEM WITH MURDERING BABIES WITH A FEDERAL MANDATE..
You know..... ABORTION...
Yep. Humane Society of America and the ASPCA are huge supporters of abortion (human sacrifice).
The rescue that I got my last dog from goes into kill shelters and adopt dogs that are due to be killed the next day....Its called Last Day Dog Rescue...my rescue was an old senior dog that had been put in the shelter cause its owner died and no one in the family wanted her...I had her for 20 months until bone cancer got to her with a spontaneous fracture of the shoulder. She was a good girl and is buried in my side yard next to a dog I had for 13 years until renal failure finally took her down so much she couldn’t walk and quit eating....
I have rescued two Great Danes (one still with us), and they have been the best dogs I have ever had personality wise.
Maybe they should get an injection of their own...
Anyone who thinks dangerous aggression and “ Great Dane” belong in the same sentence shouldn’t be making decisions about dogs.
Whoever put that list together is an idiot. Husky? Great Dane? Seriously? I don’t doubt that they have a severe stray dog problem, and that a lot of the strays may need to be put down, but who the hell came up with a list that includes Siberian Huskies and Great Danes as “attack dogs?”
I would imagine the bigger part of the pit bull problem in Cumberland County is a demographic issue not of the dogs, but of the owners.
}:-)4
For those unfamiliar with the area: Cumberland County and the City of Fayetteville are home to Fort Bragg and Pope Air Force Base. There’s a big transitory military population around there (hence the popular name “Fayettenam”). The comings and goings of Army/USAF personnel might have something to do with the dog problem, I don’t know. Maybe people are ditching their dogs when they get transferred or leave the area, or go on deployment?
}:-)4
Breed specific bans are the proverbial camel’s nose in the tent.
Some on the left would love to outlaw ownership of all dogs.
How did Great Danes get on that list? They are usually pretty even tempered and Huskies also.
I have never met a mean Great Dane and I’ve been around many of them over the years.Yes they will protect their home and owner but they are not the type of dog that just goes and randomly attack other animals or people.
I moved to the country so I could let my dogs (strays that came up) run free. They were happy until the county paved the road, then the joggers took over.
One filed a complaint and within two days I had the sheriff and backup appear and told me I had to pen them up.
They are not happy dogs now, they are prisoners in my yard. They never caused problems with people walking, riding bikes or riding horses, only joggers who stirred up the “chase” response in them.
I am just curious. Where did you get that information? I would not think that they care one way or the other. Nevertheless, I have contributed thousands of dollars to the ASPCA over the years and I intend to continue. What the organization does for animals is my primary concern.
I worked for the Humane Society of America for a time in my career, at that time they sponsored Planned Parenthood. I was told that the ASPCA was also a sponsor.
There was no one on the management team with me (besides me) that wasn’t a rabid pro-abortion advocate.
This might have changed, I can’t say.
I probably should have said all of the above in my comment.
Two of my friends have had Huskies and they were pussycats and now one of my friends has a Great Dane that is afraid of its shadow. They are not problem dogs.
Wow!
I moved to the country so I could let my dogs (strays that came up) run free. They were happy until the county paved the road, then the joggers took over.
- So you moved to the country so that your dogs could run free so everyone else should just respect that? And I guess the county should never have paved that road and those joggers should never have used that road?
One filed a complaint and within two days I had the sheriff and backup appear and told me I had to pen them up.
- How would you have handled this? Should the jogger not have filed a complaint? Should the sheriff had ignored the complaint?
They are not happy dogs now, they are prisoners in my yard. They never caused problems with people walking, riding bikes or riding horses, only joggers who stirred up the “chase” response in them.
- So how would things have gone better in your ideal world?
My husky was sweet but tore up everything in the house even the carpet off the floor, but when he learned to climb the fense I knew he needed more room than the suburbs. He went to a gal that already had a Husky so she knew what she was in for. He also loved to dig foxholes in the back yard,
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.