Dogsbite.org Making Victims of Victims?

By WhoIsColleen

Updated: January 31, 2014

If the mountaine will not come to Mahomet, Mahomet will go to the mountaine.    ~ John Owen, 1643

We’ve touched on the exploitation of victims that Dogsbite.org members have displayed.  But today we have another (dis)advantage point to share.

What happens to the victim of a serious dog attack that doesn’t want to partake in the Dogsbite.org groups?  As we have covered in other articles, some are demonized the same as the alleged pit bull or its owner when the victim doesn’t blame the dog and join the witch hunt.

But what about the victim of a serious dog attack that just wants to focus on healing?

We’ve had stories repeated to us over the years, and have witnessed it personally behind the closed doors of Dogsbite.  The way the group members berate the victim or the victims family for not taking up their cause is best outlined in the Michael Cook case, or the little dog that prompted Arizona’s dangerous dog law known as Fabian’s Law, or Charles Hagerman’s case.  While Dogsbite.org does post the stories as though the families support them, it has been witnessed that when the victim or family choose to manage their grief and pursue other avenues to accomplish change, Dogsbite.org’s member in fact do not provide support.

Michael Cook‘s family suffered the devastating loss in 2011 after their mixed breed dog attacked him.  Because the family suggested the dog was in pain after a neuter procedure Dogsbite.org and it’s members had little compassion for them or regard for Mr. Cook.

After using Mr. Cooks story to further the image of dangerous pit bulls, even though the breed of the dog was undetermined by DNA testing, the First (and only) Victim’s Walk planning was underway when he was again mentioned by newer members who didn’t realize their was more to Dogsbite than what one might see at just a glance.

Members not only mocked the family and the victim, but escalated to name-calling.  Like the old “telephone game” the story grew from speculation and name-calling to something more libel.

Fabian’s Law champion’s Richard and Sally Andrade were chastised by Colleen Lynn for going away from breed-specific-legislation to breedless dangerous dog law that would hold any type of dog owner accountable.  During the planning of the 2012 Walk in Tucson, the Andrades left a long and detailed message on one of the many promotional blogs.  It prompted a heated rebuttal by those more seasoned members including Colleen.

*Note: The entire conversation, including the now deleted comment from the original article, is available here.

Perhaps the best example of victim victimization is the case of Charles Hagerman of Chicago.  Police leaked a photo of Mr. Hagerman that washighly criticized by his family.  Even though his family’s outrage and plea to have the photo removed from the internet was well publicized by media, Dogsbite.org’s members decided to use the graphic image as a Facebook meme.

NOTE: Whoiscolleenlynn.com blurred the image in effort to protect the Hagerman families request. We are displaying this image strictly for the purpose of bringing the real DOGSBITE.ORG nature to light.

In the most recent example of Dogsbite.org’s members victimizing victims, a mother reached out to Jeff Borchardt to ask him to remove an image of her daughter that depicted wounds from a dog attack.  The mother also contacted Dogsbite.org requesting the organization’s assistance to have the image removed from the site and pages Borchardt has created.

Dogsbite.org’s answer?  Forward the personal plea on to Borchardt.  The email , along with the name and personal contact information was then promptly shared by Bordchardt with other members.

EMAIL PLEA FOR ASSISTANCE TO DOGSBITE.ORG:
After spending some time on your website, I admire and respect the efforts put into your cause. Pit bulls attacks had not been on my radar since my southern California city has strong ordinances regarding specific dog breeds and dogs in general. My husband has been a mail carrier for many years so I do understand the dangers of dog attacks especially since his job puts him at higher risk then most.

My daughter became victim to a pit bull attack less then two weeks ago while visiting a friend’s home. Her face was severely damaged and she will required extensive reconstructive surgery. Both the physical and emotional trauma has been extremely difficult. Since she is a young adult, I fear that it will be a slow recovery process for her.

The reason that I’m writing is that my own cause and profession has always been victim’s rights, specifically the rights of sexual assault victims. I am hoping that you can address the issue of pit bull attack victims and their rights to heal and recover in a private way and some of the psychological processes they may be experiencing. Unfortunately, there are groups out there that reference your website, but are exploiting and demonizing victims as they try to further their agenda.

I had taken a photo of my daughter’s injuries and posted it on Facebook for only relatives and close friends to see. The photo appeared on her Facebook page as well with limited viewing options. This photo was not publicly posted on Facebook or anywhere else. Somehow a person got access to this photo who knows the dog owner. This photo was then posted on The Pit Bull Propaganda Machine Revealed Facebook page for public viewing. My daughter is not only devastated at how horrific her face looks, but now has to deal with her picture being posted publicly.

After numerous requests by myself being the author of the photo, friends, family and my daughter to remove the photo, she was quickly demonized and accused of being a pit bull supporter on this website. When a person goes through a traumatic event like this, there’s a process similar to grief. Time is required to process it all such as handling the physical injuries, legal processes, emotional healing and go on living not to neglect financial and family obligations. It’s a very similar to the process a sexual assault victim goes through.

Ironically, the father of the victim in your feature story on Daxton Borchardt has been the biggest offender. He reposted my daughter’s frustrated request that she sent him via message to take her photo down, reposted the pictures of her injuries again without permission from myself or her and then proceeded to mock her and her supporters that also requested the picture be taken down to respect her privacy. As a mother, my primary concern is my daughter and her well being. She needs time to come to terms with what has happened to her before being the face of a controversial issue.

Would we demonize and exploit a victim of sexual assault though we know she may not want to immediately condemn her perpetrator? I encourage you to read the comments on their page https://www.facebook.com/groups/240277562791489/ and consider writing a piece on encouraging support for pit bull attack victims. This whole experience has been really negative, but I’m hoping through your good work you can help educate people on the psychological healing that is critically important for pit bull attack victims. My hope is that my daughter will share her own story/pictures with you when she is ready.

Thank You,
Crystal’s Mom
The Pit Bull Propaganda Machine Revealed
Unmasking the world’s most dangerous dog and those that protect, own, advocate, …

Instead of respecting a victim’s wishes to remove an image they were using without permission, members made the following comments:

John Tawaroa wrote:

 I got this*NAME WITHHELD TO PROTECT VICTIM*

I appreciate your concern. I am the mother of the victim. This occurred while she stopped in to visit a friend on her way to a family Christmas dinner. She doesn’t have frequent contact with the owner of the dog. Neither her, nor I live locally to the dog owner. I have never met the dog owner but trust the authorities will make the best determination on what needs to happen to this dog. She is an adult and all I can do as a mother is protect her privacy, advise and support her as she tries to recover. Ultimately though, she makes her own decisions.

Regarding the re-posting of the photos, I have a large network of support of friends including law enforcement and my husband works for the federal government. We are trying to locate and have the pictures removed as they are located. Having these photos put up on sites without her being comfortable with that or giving consent is just an additional stress that she really shouldn’t have to deal with right now.

Jaime Brunkan added:

This lady should be thanking her lucky stars that her daughter wasn’t killed…too bad she is wrapped up in her picture being shared and not advocating to teach others. I think all FB users know that once we ‘upload’ a picture; we have no control over where it goes. Sorry you are having to deal with this.
4 hours ago · Like · 2

You read that right!!  Jaime is sorry that Borchardt is having to “deal with this!”

Even more astonishing is Velvet N Dewayne Rouse’s curiosity to see the picture, still no concern from a Dogsbite.org member for the victim or her families wishes.

Was this ever a online report? I would like to see what picture is so bad she is doing all this….I think she is full of it!!! 

We don’t think it could be said any better!  This mother summed it all up in one single post, and with this article we hope to allow other victimized victims the strength and knowledge to stop internet harassment.

Each website has policy for complaints, or at least they should, such as WhoIsColleenLynn.com’s Legal Notice, the three most popular social network information is provided below.

FACEBOOK:  How do I request the removal of my image for privacy law reasons?

GOOGLE:  Remove an image from google search results

INSTAGRAM:  Report Something

WhoIsColleenLynn.com welcomes any personal experiences from individuals that would like their story shared in effort to raise awareness to this behavior.

Dogsbite.org Exploitation of Victims

Dogsbite.org Exploitation of Victims

By WhoIsColleen

Updated: January 27, 2014

Outsiders. Creating an aura of specialness that must be protected from outside influences is how cult leaders keep their members in check. It takes a good deal of mind control to turn mass sucker-dom into a bragging point.

Due to our research on cults, present and past, articles come across our alerts regularly.  But when we read these lines from a recent article by Fromma Harrop, the truth in it resonated with Dogsbite.org.

Now, as has been stated in our articles pertaining to Dogsbite.org’s possible qualifiers for cultism, we are not experts.  With that reiterated, it’s not a far leap from identifying the similarity of those words to the realities of Dogsbite.

They are a closed group, secretive, and exercise often a degree of elitism.  They consider anyone that has not been attacked by what they identify as a pit bull as unworthy.  And even if you have not been attacked by a pit bull, inclusion is only permitted if you have experienced an incident with a dog that can be misidentified as a pit bull or considered a “bully breed” so that their statistics can be padded.

Colleen Lynn and her supporters are victims of separate dog attacks.  Some members have themselves been bitten, some have had a child or grandchild bitten, some have had a pet bitten, and some have suffered the greatest by losing their loved one whether two legged or four.  We do not deny that, nor make any attempt to disguise it as anything less than what it is.

However, when a person considers the fact that approximately 4.7 million people (not including any other type of mammal) is reported as suffering a dog bite, and of those 4.7 million people, approximately 800,000 require medical attention each year you must ask the most obvious question of all,“Why is this select group of people making it a life-mission to eradicate dogs that have a particular appearance?”

No where is there evidence of Colleen Lynn herself, nor any of her members, lobbying for any type of dangerous dog legislation at any level of government except for breed-specific-legislation.  She has never promoted public safety to the masses, instead focuses solely on the “bully breeds” (and in case you are asking why we keep putting that phrase in quotation marks, be patient).

Take for instance Douglas Wolf, a Texas resident whose granddaughter was attacked on Halloween night while trick-or-treating in 2010.  He first campaigned for legislation that targeted pit bull dogs, but due to Texas statute 822.047 prohibiting breed specific legislation he attempted a loop-hole campaign by pursuing any dog over 30 pounds rather than breed-specific-legislation.  But even Wolf’s proposal, at face value, appeared more broad brushed than Colleen’s legislation proposals.  When Wolf first began working under Lynn as a supporter of Dogsbite, his proposal was dissected piece by piece as Colleen would point out why his push was not the direction to take his campaign.

It should be noted that this writer has been embedded in the Dogsbite group for several years.  The first-hand observations have been more than enlightening as to how Colleen operates.  She and Carol Miller have both, at times, caused me to question if their position may infact be the best position.  You may wonder HOW an advocate for common sense laws that targets reckless owners of any type of dog could make such a statement.  It’s not because I buy into pit bulls being different from other dogs or requiring eradication from this earth, but instead it’s testimony to how mind-controlling they are.  They are well practiced at ‘reading’ people, knowing how and what to say in effort to bring them into their campaign.  So imagine when a vulnerable, emotionally erupted individual who has witnessed or experienced a dog-attack could easily be swayed to ‘see things their way’.  It is extremely easy for them to take advantage of an individuals’ suffering.

This very small group of individuals, especially when comparing the more than 800,000 people nationwide that suffer dog bites severe enough to require medical attention, vets their members with a stringent list of qualifiers.  A new member must show a high degree of angst toward a specific type of dog.

Take for instance, Jeff Borchardt.  He was a typical American blue-collar worker and entertainment DJ on the side.  His young son Dax was attacked and killed at a friend and babysitter’s home in March of 2013.  Shortly after the attack, members of the secretive group expressed their suspicions anddisapproval of Borchardt.  Alexandra Semynova particularly shared vile comments about Mr. Borchardt and his ‘nutter friends’ while talking up the fact that Borchardt seemed indifferent to pit bulls attacking chihuahua’s.

Alexandra goes on with her accusating attack of Borchardt:

However, once Borchardt posted a status on Facebook that clearly showed his frame-of-mind to be understandably weakened and lost, Colleen excitedly instructed another member to friend him.  She could see he was an easy target, and in the right ‘place’ to use as a tool to further her agenda.

And it worked!  Today Mr. Borchardt has started a non-profit educational site designed to further Dogsbite.org’s position on breed-specific-legislation.  With several link backs to Dogsbite.org, Colleen has succeeded in spreading further the brand name that has catapulted her into “greatness.”

This tactic is repeated with Angela Rutledge from Atlanta Georgia after her son died from a dog attack and has now started a separate foundation as well as her own site*.  And of course, Colleen claims that Dogsbite.org authored an Amicus Brief for the High Court of Maryland on behalf of Tony Solesky that successfully influenced a ruling that finds “pit bulls” inherently dangerous.  The brief was actually authored by Don Bauermeister, Assistant City Attorney at City of Council Bluffs.   Don later made a prediction on Wolfe’s (apparently abandoned) blogtalk radio show claiming that in the next 10 years 220 people are going to be killed by pit bulls.

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This prediction was straight from Colleen Lynn’s Quick Statistics, who has already shared with the world that she is a fortune teller.  Solesky went on to “author” an online e-book, which has been criticized by many that are familiar with his writing style, accusing that he only penned his name to the propaganda and suggest that in fact it is a tale spun by no other than Colleen.

Colleen appears to be a master of one thing, and that is simply manipulating people that are either angry or experiencing severe grief.  She takes advantage of these individuals in my opinion, and rather than permitting these few individuals to go through the mourning process, she and her closest ‘tech priests’ appear to swarm a victim or family member of an alleged pit bull attack, seizing the opportunity to fill them with falsehoods, padded statistics and horror stories designed to insight a greater level of fear and anger so that such victim is prompted to take upon themselves an assigned work-order to further Colleen Lynn’s climb to fame.

Outsiders. Creating an aura of specialness that must be protected from outside influences is how cult leaders keep their members in check. It takes a good deal of mind control to turn mass sucker-dom into a bragging point.

By creating this guarded circle of supporters she has created an ‘outsider’ mentality, an “us versus them” deception that for some eventually wanes, but for a very select few it generates an inability to complete their grief process.  It promotes a level of PTSD, which is one of the groups common core tools for building the relationship between experienced members and newer members.  “We get it!”  “We understand!” “We are angry for you!” “We support you!” “We care!”  Join these messages with “Cut out the negative people!” “I had to delete friends and family from my life that don’t get it!” “They are pit apologists and have no place in my life!” that black and white message becomes a tool of mass control over people that are emotionally struggling with tragedy.  According to Dr. David Mc Dermott’sMind Control Manual Understanding Cult Psychology;

Black and white, good versus evil

Cults typically reduce things to black and white. Shades of grey are not allowed. After all if they have the ultimate Truth, (with a capital T) then every other group must be wrong, which leads to an ‘us versus them’ mentality. You’re either with the group or you’re an outsider. (This is often as aspect of the paranoia of cult leaders, too) 

This goes part of the way to explaining how group members end up distancing themselves from family and friends. They are made to believe that outsiders (i.e., those not in the group) are a bad influence and are stopping them from growing, evolving, progressing in some way.

The cult psychology of black and white thinking extends to many other areas, too. You are fully committed or not, you accept everything the leader says or not. You are sexually liberated or you are not (how’s that for powerful manipulation?!?).

Words like ‘never’, ‘always’, ‘everyone’ are used frequently.

The pattern is repeated with nearly each new prospect.

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, researchers believe PTSD is inherent and most people that experience tragedy will not develop the disorder.  In fact, no more than 3.5% of the population will experience this level of fear and anger and reaction.

Who Is At Risk?

PTSD affects about 7.7 million American adults, but it can occur at any age, including childhood. Women are more likely to develop PTSD than men, and there is some evidence that susceptibility to the disorder may run in families.

Anyone can get PTSD at any age. This includes war veterans and survivors of physical and sexual assault, abuse, accidents, disasters, and many other serious events.

Not everyone with PTSD has been through a dangerous event. Some people get PTSD after a friend or family member experiences danger or is harmed. The sudden, unexpected death of a loved one can also cause PTSD.

Why do some people get PTSD and other people do not?

It is important to remember that not everyone who lives through a dangerous event gets PTSD. In fact, most will not get the disorder.

Many factors play a part in whether a person will get PTSD. Some of these are risk factors that make a person more likely to get PTSD. Other factors, called resilience factors, can help reduce the risk of the disorder. Some of these risk and resilience factors are present before the trauma and others become important during and after a traumatic event.

Risk factors for PTSD include:

• Living through dangerous events and traumas
• Having a history of mental illness
• Getting hurt
• Seeing people hurt or killed
• Feeling horror, helplessness, or extreme fear
• Having little or no social support after the event
• Dealing with extra stress after the event, such as loss of a loved one, pain and injury, or loss of a job or home.

Resilience factors that may reduce the risk of PTSD include:

• Seeking out support from other people, such as friends and family
• Finding a support group after a traumatic event
• Feeling good about one’s own actions in the face of danger
• Having a coping strategy, or a way of getting through the bad event and learning from it

Being able to act and respond effectively despite feeling fear.

With such a small percentage of individuals likely to suffer PTSD, it greatly narrows Dogsbite’s supporter base, and when one factors in the even smaller percentage that meet the vetting process of the group (must be a pit bull attack or a dog that can be identified as a bully breed; the victim or family of a victim must blame the dog; the victim or family member of a victim must speak out publicly so there is media proof that the incident did actually occur) it stands to reason their support numbers do not grow rapidly.

Others in the animal welfare community have long ignored the group as a whole, recognizing their agenda as crackpot-politico.

However, WhoIsColleenLynn believes this is a matter of deeper association than just a political agenda.  It has a strong appearance of something much darker, and certainly more dangerous. According to John G. Clark Jr., an assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at the Harvard University Medical School  one common response a ‘mark’ can display is that they adapt to the situation, and accept the ‘answer’ or ‘solution’ to the crisis that the cult furnishes them with. To survive, they re-identify with their surroundings, and accept the dogma of the group.”

Our purpose remains to reveal the whole truth and maintain that we don’t have to make this stuff up!  

Dogsbite.org Member, Model Citizens?

By WhoIsColleen

Updated: April 29, 2014

If you are ever in the Philadelphia area, you may want to exercise caution when choosing an over 21 establishment. You could wind up featured on a Facebook page, similar to the “People of Walmart”. One Dogsbite.org member, a bartender by trade, appears to enjoy serving his customer a drink, or two, or maybe a few too many.

Once his customers are passed out inside of the bar, he makes sure to document the poor intoxicated soul, and then, somehow the pictures get loose and make their way onto a Facebook page. Don’t get me wrong, I was one a bartender too, back in the day, but not only did this WhoIsColleenLynn writer grow up and got a real job, I also performed my duties as a bartender responsibly. Even more importantly, as a responsible bartender I recognized the risk of over-serving patrons of the bar, risks such as possible alcohol poisoning; drunk drivers that kill innocent families; and of course the blatant violation of state liquor licensing laws….such is Pennsylvania’s.

Section 493(1) of the Pennsylvania Liquor Code prohibits licensees from selling, furnishing or giving any liquor or malt or brewed beverages or to 
permit any liquor or malt or brewed beverages to be sold, furnished, or given to any person visibly intoxicated, or to any minor [47 P.S. § 4-493(1)]. 
Licensees may be strictly liable for violations of the Liquor Code and/or Board Regulations which occur on the licensed premises without regard to 
who provides the alcoholic beverages. Pennsylvania Liquor Control Bd. v. TLK, Inc., 518 Pa. 500, 544 A.2d 931 (1988); Pennsylvania State Police, 
Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement v. Goodfellas, 850 A.2d 868 (Pa. Cmwlth. 2004). The potential penalties for violations of the Liquor Code or 
the Board’s Regulations range from a fine to license suspension or revocation, or both. [47 P.S. § 4-471(b)].

However, civil liability is separate from liability under the Liquor Code. Section 497 of the Liquor Code provides that no licensee shall be liable to 
third person on account of damages inflicted upon them off of the licensed premises by customers of the licensee unless the customer who inflicts the 
damage was sold, furnished, or given liquor or malt or brewed beverages by the licensee or its agents, servants, or employees, when the customer was 
visibly intoxicated. [47 P.S. § 4-497]. With respect to liability of the establishment in case of injuries or damages associated with service to a 
patron, this office is unable to provide any guidance and it is suggested that you contact a private attorney who specializes in civil liquor liability issues 
in order to assess the potential for liability.

Now one can only assume he is behind the Facebook Page, “Billy the Bartender”. But if you take a look at the decor, tacky and outdated in this writers opinion, is the one and only Oscar’s Tavern.

Take a look from a google perspective…notice the “doggy” poster on the wall?

Compare to some of the patrons passed out, at Oscar’s Tavern, as posted on “Billy the Bartender” page, and….well, a familiar tacky and outdated haunt depicted here too.

Remember that doggy poster? See anything that looks familiar on the wall?  The page, “Billy the Bartender” claims the page is “just for fun”.

We ask, is it fun, to get customers so drunk they pass out? Perhaps it is a joke, but how the owner, Harry Chotak, feel about his patrons being treated so irresponsibly?  Or the Pennsylvania State Police, Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement for that matter.

   

But that doesn’t stop “Billy” and another Dogsbite.org members in making the Oscar’s ‘just for fun’ Facebook page an outlet for hating Pit Bulls. Doesn’t anyone respect their workplace or their bosses anymore?

Our readers know WICL publishes only articles backed by facts and conclusive evidence, so we check, and we double-check, and we confirm what we suspect. Indeed, William Johnson, is “Billy the Bartender”. The “proof” is in the pudding, why would other known Dogsbite.org members “like” the page if there wasn’t a member-attachment? The self-important Dogsbite.org member Tony Solesky?  The man that testified numerous times before the Maryland Legislature while lobbying for responsible dangerous dog laws and currently running for the BALTIMORE County Executive seat. How can a man feel so strongly about community safety ‘like’ a facebook page that promotes such dangerous (and far more common) practice of public intoxication?  Maybe Baltimore County residents will question if Solesky really is the WRITE candidate for the position.

As supporters of community safety, we wonder how many accidents have happened after these people leave Oscar’s in such a drunken state? Or how many innocent people were placed at risk, or worse were injured? Do these people know their pictures have been taken, then shared on Facebook?  Does Harry, the owner, know his establishment is being misused and violating state laws which could result in fines, suspensions or revocation of his license?  Does Harry know what patrons of his bar are saying? Take a look at some of the reviews.

And on Google?  What are patron’s of Oscar’s saying about the staff?

No respect for the people in his community, his boss and the owner of the bar, nor the citizens of Philadelphia. This is a Dogsbite.org member. This is a person claiming to be an advocate for dog bite victims, for community safety, and for responsibility. Not exactly a model employee, and an especially poor example of a responsible citizen advocating public health and safety in the opinion of this WICL writer.

UPDATE:  In the hours since this article was published, William Johnson’s “Billy the Bartender” facebook page was unpublished, then edited and republished.  The page, now recognized as just “The Bartender,” has removed several pictures including those that are available in this article.  If any of our readers needed any further proof, ask yourself why an innocent man would feel the need to make such changes.  And, if we were wrong why would someone that wasn’t Johnson make such changes?

WICL has more revelations for our readers, and hope you’re enjoying learning “The Whole Truth!”

Busting the Myth – Domestic Animal Overpopulation

Posted on 01/08/2014

It has been a while since I have sat down and written. With my new radio shows and my health as well as caring for our large pack of misfit mutts, there is not enough time in the day for writing. Besides some days I feel as If I am beating my head against a stone wall, because the domestic animal overpopulation crisis in North America continues to get worse.

Go ahead, tell me it’s a myth, I apologize in advance for the necessity to laugh at those words as they come falling out of your face. No I am not being rude but I am being truthful. There IS a domestic animal overpopulation crisis, and the truth of the matter isn’t difficult to find.

So, still think there’s no domestic animal overpopulation problem? Okay, keep your blinders in place while I talk about how we got here.

We allow the selling of puppies and kittens in retail stores. This promotes puppy mills as most “pet shops” are supplied by puppy mills (even though they will vehemently deny it.)

People refuse to have their family pet fixed because it’s “too expensive” or they feel “junior needs to see the miracle of birth for himself.”(Really? Rent a video!) So their  unfixed pets become procreative and suddenly there are six to ten more unwanted animals that will more than likely end up in the rescue system.

Society somehow has gotten this idea that animals are disposable, like old couches or shoes. When we no longer want them we just drop them off at a shelter (the same way we drop our used clothes at the thrift store) and head on out and get a brand spanking new model. They do not see that dropping off their senior pet or pet with issues at a shelter is adding to the problem.  Add to that the number of unwanted litters dropped off at shelters by people who thought spay/neuter was too expensive, or who are now done with the “miracle of birth” but do not want to take responsibility for the product of that birth, and you have an overpopulation problem.

But it doesn’t end there. People dropping of pets at shelters is a big part of the problem, but it is just the tip of the iceberg. Think about the strays, those animals turned out of loving homes because they “came up” pregnant, or because they developed behavior issues. Add them to the mix and the problem grows exponentially.

But how do we solve this ever growing problem? The answers really aren’t rocket science. First we outlaw puppy mills. Then we ban retail sales of domestic animals in pet shops. Then we introduce a pet raising license, meaning that everyone who wishes to bring a pet into their home would have to take an animal care course and pass an animal care exam before being allowed to get a pet. (Personally I think there should be licensing to become a parent as well.)

Okay, okay! I hear you screaming about your rights and freedoms, and if we were talking about going shopping for shoes I might agree, but we aren’t, we are discussing the causes of and possible solutions to a major crisis. With millions of companion animals being euthanized each year in the US alone surely we can no longer afford ourselves the luxury of turning a blind eye and pretending the problem doesn’t exist.

The only ones who can solve this problem society has created, are society themselves.

Until Next Time Remember

WE ARE THEIR VOICE!

merrit oh merrit Girl, 12, mauled by three pit bulls in Oak Harbor | Corrected

Wallace said the incident is still under investigation, but the owner of the dogs could possibly face a civil infraction or even a misdemeanor criminal charge for failing to secure the dogs. He said there were no previous problems with the dogs reported to police.

The city of Oak Harbor abandoned its pit bull-related ordinance just over two years ago, but it appears unlikely that the controversial breed-specific ordinance would have prevented the attack. It required people to house pit bulls in a secure pen and muzzle the animals while on leash; the rule probably wouldn’t have prevented someone from having pit bulls in their home.

Yet South Whidbey resident Merritt Clifton, the editor of an animal-protection periodical called Animal People, took the opportunity to send the city administrator information about the prevalence of pit bull attacks. He said he’s been collating breed-specific dog attack data since 1982. He said his data clearly shows that pit bulls are consistently and disproportionately involved in fatal and disfiguring attacks, though critics have argued that such statistics are questionable because of the difficulty in identifying breeds.

“Pit bulls and close pit mixes have, since 1982, accounted for 45 percent of all U.S. and Canadian fatalities from dog attacks on humans, a total of at least 207; 51 percent of all dog attack disfigurements of children, a total of more than 850; and 66 percent of all dog attack disfigurements of adults, a total of more than 700,” he wrote in an editorial in his publication. “Since 2005, pit bulls have also accounted for 51 percent of all reported fatal dog attacks and disfigurements of pets and livestock.”

Clifton noted that Rottweilers also account for a disproportionate number of dog attacks.

Clifton said that the reason behind the prevalence of pit bull attacks is largely due to the dog’s breeding. The pit bull’s ancestors were bred to lack inhibitions in attacking larger animals, to attack silently and shake their victims.

“They were created in the first place to be dangerous,” he said. “They were created to fight.”

Clifton suggested that the city of Oak Harbor could look at Army and Marine Corps policies that certain breeds of dogs — including pit bulls and Rottweilers — are banned from military housing.

“The Army wanted to make sure that soldiers’ families were safe,” Clifton said.