Marty
06-23-2005, 09:11 PM
Ipswich, MA -- When I saw the photos theChronicle ran of the Wag 'n' Walk, I couldn't help noticing the sheer joy on the faces of the participants. To have such a relationship with another species that we genuinely care for as friends and travelers along the same life path is truly a gift and I am in awe of it daily.
I am fortunate to have been able to put smiles on the faces of hundreds of area elderly citizens with my therapy dogs, who act as volunteer ambassadors for SeniorCare's Pawsitive Connections Program. It is Sioux and Dancer, especially, who, many times, have helped me be able to use this program to also do my most important job, which is to introduce seniors to SeniorCare's other programs, which can help them live independently at home.
A good friend shares her life with Diesel, a Rottweiler therapy dog who helps young children "Read to Rover." I know a lovely American Staffordshire Terrier therapy dog named "Lula" who faithfully makes the rounds each week at a local nursing home, patiently soaking up the love that the frail, and sometimes forgotten, residents offer her.
But there is a group of individuals who would see these canine good citizens carted off to shelters to be put to death along with the dogs whose owners didn't have the decency to keep them under control in public. They are unable to adopt a common sense attitude about asking the citizens to bear personal responsibility for insuring that their dogs do not become a public nuisance, and if they get their way, they will attempt to pass something called "Breed Specific Legislation" (BSL), which will not discriminate between the ill-trained, un-neutered, un-socialized dogs belonging to drug dealers and miscreants from the well-trained canine good citizens I just described. In fact, dogs are being rounded up, and euthanized, in other jurisdictions, just based on breed, not because they are accused of viciousness or otherwise inappropriate behavior. It is nothing less than a canine holocaust.
To put the onus directly where it belongs, on the owners, so that dangerous dogs are not allowed to be a nuisance that continues unchecked, but also to insure that law abiding dog fanciers can continue to live with, and love, their breed of choice, Rep. Brad Hill has again filedsensible dangerous dog legislation for the commonwealth. I would urge all dog owners to support Rep. Hill's efforts, and let him know that you do not want to ban pets on the basis of their breed.
In some jurisdictions, it isn't only pit bulls that are in danger, it's Akitas, American Staffordshires, German Shepherds, Great Danes, mixes of those breeds, and others - any of our dogs could easily be next. In fact, most people can't even pick out the pit bull on this test: http://www.pitbullsontheweb.com/petbull/findpit.html.
# Please let Rep. Hill know that you do support legislation that introduces stiffer penalties for owners that allow their dogs, regardless of the breed, to become a menace to other dogs or people. I now have a sticker on my car that says "My Dog Votes" to let my legislators know that I support responsible legislation and am anti-BSL www.mydogvotes.com). In this case, my dogs (and I) vote for Brad.
Anne Springer
Lakemans Lane
Ipswich
I am fortunate to have been able to put smiles on the faces of hundreds of area elderly citizens with my therapy dogs, who act as volunteer ambassadors for SeniorCare's Pawsitive Connections Program. It is Sioux and Dancer, especially, who, many times, have helped me be able to use this program to also do my most important job, which is to introduce seniors to SeniorCare's other programs, which can help them live independently at home.
A good friend shares her life with Diesel, a Rottweiler therapy dog who helps young children "Read to Rover." I know a lovely American Staffordshire Terrier therapy dog named "Lula" who faithfully makes the rounds each week at a local nursing home, patiently soaking up the love that the frail, and sometimes forgotten, residents offer her.
But there is a group of individuals who would see these canine good citizens carted off to shelters to be put to death along with the dogs whose owners didn't have the decency to keep them under control in public. They are unable to adopt a common sense attitude about asking the citizens to bear personal responsibility for insuring that their dogs do not become a public nuisance, and if they get their way, they will attempt to pass something called "Breed Specific Legislation" (BSL), which will not discriminate between the ill-trained, un-neutered, un-socialized dogs belonging to drug dealers and miscreants from the well-trained canine good citizens I just described. In fact, dogs are being rounded up, and euthanized, in other jurisdictions, just based on breed, not because they are accused of viciousness or otherwise inappropriate behavior. It is nothing less than a canine holocaust.
To put the onus directly where it belongs, on the owners, so that dangerous dogs are not allowed to be a nuisance that continues unchecked, but also to insure that law abiding dog fanciers can continue to live with, and love, their breed of choice, Rep. Brad Hill has again filedsensible dangerous dog legislation for the commonwealth. I would urge all dog owners to support Rep. Hill's efforts, and let him know that you do not want to ban pets on the basis of their breed.
In some jurisdictions, it isn't only pit bulls that are in danger, it's Akitas, American Staffordshires, German Shepherds, Great Danes, mixes of those breeds, and others - any of our dogs could easily be next. In fact, most people can't even pick out the pit bull on this test: http://www.pitbullsontheweb.com/petbull/findpit.html.
# Please let Rep. Hill know that you do support legislation that introduces stiffer penalties for owners that allow their dogs, regardless of the breed, to become a menace to other dogs or people. I now have a sticker on my car that says "My Dog Votes" to let my legislators know that I support responsible legislation and am anti-BSL www.mydogvotes.com). In this case, my dogs (and I) vote for Brad.
Anne Springer
Lakemans Lane
Ipswich