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04-13-2006, 08:34 PM
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Breeding ground for needlessly vicious dogs
Humane Society paying to neuter pit bulls
SHERYL KORNMAN (skornman@tucsoncitizen.com)
Published: 04.13.2006
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Don't blame pit bulls. Blame the humans who fail to care for them properly or, worse, breed and train them to fight.
A growing number of aggressive and unadoptable pit bulls in the Tucson area has spurred the Humane Society of Southern Arizona to pay some dog owners $20 each to have their pets neutered.
Tomorrow's Pay Day for Pit Bulls marks the first time the nonprofit agency has targeted one breed for free sterilization.
The procedure will be available for 24 pit bulls delivered tomorrow to City Councilman Steve Leal's office, 4300 S. Park Ave. Another 24 will be picked up and sterilized for free April 28.
The Humane Society wants to help pit bull owners from low-income neighborhoods on the South Side who can't afford the neutering fee, which can run to about $100, said Jill Wohlfeil, the society's community relations manager.
Free neutering along with the $20 incentive will also be offered to residents of Marana and Sahuarita over the next couple of months, Wohlfeil said.
Unrestrained pit bulls that have not been socialized can be a threat to people and other animals and can produce unwanted litters.
Pit bulls are popular pets for protection or as symbols of status or power, but owners can't always control them or don't always take the precautions they should to keep them contained, animal advocates say.
Pima County Sheriff's Detective Mike Duffey, a full-time animal abuse investigator, said pit bulls bred by unscrupulous "backyard breeders" for aggressive tendencies end up in the homes of unsuspecting families who want a companion dog.
Pit bulls have also become the dog of choice for illegal fighting, Duffey said, and pit bull fights have become the favorite form of entertainment for people involved in methamphetamine use. People who engage in the blood sport often breed the dogs and also steal them from people's yards to use them as training bait, Duffey said..
"We can't really say how many pit bulls are out there," said Kim Janes, director of the Pima Animal Care Center.
Earlier this week, about 50 pit bulls were in kennels there, and at least 18 pit bulls and pit bull mixes were in Humane Society kennels one day this week. Some were strays; some were puppies.
"Is this just the tip of the iceberg?" Wohlfeil asked.
"Thousands of pit bulls were euthanized in Pima County last year because there are simply not enough available homes for them," she said.
Wohlfeil defended the breed, which she said has "a somewhat unjustified reputation" because it has been bred for blood sport.
"Pit bulls that are trained and well cared for can be wonderful companion animals," she said.
Two young men were indicted in February on animal cruelty charges for allegedly shooting a pit bull they believed was vicious but "didn't know what else to do with it," authorities said at the time.
The dog, renamed Bullet, survived and is recovering in a foster home arranged through the Humane Society.
Bullet's mother and three siblings were returned to the family's home because they showed no signs of abuse.
Kenneth Hutchison, 78, and his 11-year-old German shepherd Sabrina were attacked by two pit bulls while walking in his central city neighborhood in July. Sabrina was on a leash.
The dogs had been left in their backyard a few blocks away.
"They saw my German shepherd and charged her," Hutchison recalled this week. "They chewed my dog up, knocking me down in the process."
The dogs were euthanized by the Pima County-run center.
Sabrina is "getting along pretty good now," Hutchison said, but he lost the tip of one finger and one of his arms was damaged. He required weeks of physical therapy, and his last surgery was in January.
The Pima Animal Care Center does not offer pit bulls for adoption "because of a history of severe bites caused by pit bulls in the past," Janes, the director, said.
"We don't know their background. We don't know what they were trained and raised to do," Janes said. "We can't discount their reputation from our evaluation. It's a breed we prefer to turn over to a pit bull rescue group or to the Humane Society."
There, trained individuals determine whether the dog can be retrained, socialized and adopted.
Stray pit bulls not suitable for adoption are euthanized.
"A lot of pit bulls coming into our shelter are not spayed or neutered," Wohlfeil said. "We don't want to see these dogs roaming and just fending for themselves."
Tomorrow, pit bulls delivered to Leal's office will be taken on a first-come, first-serve basis beginning at 7 a.m.
"If more than 24 show up, we'll put them on a waiting list. We'll try to accommodate everybody that shows up," Wohlfeil said.
The dogs will receive free vaccinations and free identification microchips. The owners will get $20 when they pick up the dogs at Leal's office between 4 and 4:30 p.m.
The Humane Society welcomes donations to keep offering free or low-cost spay and neuter services, Wohlfeil said.
Comments on this Story 15 Total Comments — See All Comments (http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/comments/index.php?id=9228) 1. Comment by Paul W. — April 13,2006 @ 8:34AM
Breeding ground for needlessly vicious dogs
Humane Society paying to neuter pit bulls
SHERYL KORNMAN (skornman@tucsoncitizen.com)
Published: 04.13.2006
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Don't blame pit bulls. Blame the humans who fail to care for them properly or, worse, breed and train them to fight.
A growing number of aggressive and unadoptable pit bulls in the Tucson area has spurred the Humane Society of Southern Arizona to pay some dog owners $20 each to have their pets neutered.
Tomorrow's Pay Day for Pit Bulls marks the first time the nonprofit agency has targeted one breed for free sterilization.
The procedure will be available for 24 pit bulls delivered tomorrow to City Councilman Steve Leal's office, 4300 S. Park Ave. Another 24 will be picked up and sterilized for free April 28.
The Humane Society wants to help pit bull owners from low-income neighborhoods on the South Side who can't afford the neutering fee, which can run to about $100, said Jill Wohlfeil, the society's community relations manager.
Free neutering along with the $20 incentive will also be offered to residents of Marana and Sahuarita over the next couple of months, Wohlfeil said.
Unrestrained pit bulls that have not been socialized can be a threat to people and other animals and can produce unwanted litters.
Pit bulls are popular pets for protection or as symbols of status or power, but owners can't always control them or don't always take the precautions they should to keep them contained, animal advocates say.
Pima County Sheriff's Detective Mike Duffey, a full-time animal abuse investigator, said pit bulls bred by unscrupulous "backyard breeders" for aggressive tendencies end up in the homes of unsuspecting families who want a companion dog.
Pit bulls have also become the dog of choice for illegal fighting, Duffey said, and pit bull fights have become the favorite form of entertainment for people involved in methamphetamine use. People who engage in the blood sport often breed the dogs and also steal them from people's yards to use them as training bait, Duffey said..
"We can't really say how many pit bulls are out there," said Kim Janes, director of the Pima Animal Care Center.
Earlier this week, about 50 pit bulls were in kennels there, and at least 18 pit bulls and pit bull mixes were in Humane Society kennels one day this week. Some were strays; some were puppies.
"Is this just the tip of the iceberg?" Wohlfeil asked.
"Thousands of pit bulls were euthanized in Pima County last year because there are simply not enough available homes for them," she said.
Wohlfeil defended the breed, which she said has "a somewhat unjustified reputation" because it has been bred for blood sport.
"Pit bulls that are trained and well cared for can be wonderful companion animals," she said.
Two young men were indicted in February on animal cruelty charges for allegedly shooting a pit bull they believed was vicious but "didn't know what else to do with it," authorities said at the time.
The dog, renamed Bullet, survived and is recovering in a foster home arranged through the Humane Society.
Bullet's mother and three siblings were returned to the family's home because they showed no signs of abuse.
Kenneth Hutchison, 78, and his 11-year-old German shepherd Sabrina were attacked by two pit bulls while walking in his central city neighborhood in July. Sabrina was on a leash.
The dogs had been left in their backyard a few blocks away.
"They saw my German shepherd and charged her," Hutchison recalled this week. "They chewed my dog up, knocking me down in the process."
The dogs were euthanized by the Pima County-run center.
Sabrina is "getting along pretty good now," Hutchison said, but he lost the tip of one finger and one of his arms was damaged. He required weeks of physical therapy, and his last surgery was in January.
The Pima Animal Care Center does not offer pit bulls for adoption "because of a history of severe bites caused by pit bulls in the past," Janes, the director, said.
"We don't know their background. We don't know what they were trained and raised to do," Janes said. "We can't discount their reputation from our evaluation. It's a breed we prefer to turn over to a pit bull rescue group or to the Humane Society."
There, trained individuals determine whether the dog can be retrained, socialized and adopted.
Stray pit bulls not suitable for adoption are euthanized.
"A lot of pit bulls coming into our shelter are not spayed or neutered," Wohlfeil said. "We don't want to see these dogs roaming and just fending for themselves."
Tomorrow, pit bulls delivered to Leal's office will be taken on a first-come, first-serve basis beginning at 7 a.m.
"If more than 24 show up, we'll put them on a waiting list. We'll try to accommodate everybody that shows up," Wohlfeil said.
The dogs will receive free vaccinations and free identification microchips. The owners will get $20 when they pick up the dogs at Leal's office between 4 and 4:30 p.m.
The Humane Society welcomes donations to keep offering free or low-cost spay and neuter services, Wohlfeil said.
Comments on this Story 15 Total Comments — See All Comments (http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/comments/index.php?id=9228) 1. Comment by Paul W. — April 13,2006 @ 8:34AM