UK police keep dog in tiny cage for 2 years!

[Tobi]

Under Breed Specific Legislation, Stella, the pit bull mix is deemed to be a "dangerous dog". She has been taken from her loving caretaker by Devon and Cornwall police, and kept in a 3ft by 9ft cage for 2 years, with no access to the outside. No-one is allowed to enter her cage or interact with her in any way.

A former kennel maid, Laura Khanlarian lost her job as she refused to abide by these rules. Her short video of Stella seems to show that Stella is not only a tremendously brave dog and very strong to have been able to endure that kind of treatment for 2 years, but doesn't seem the slightest BIT dangerous!

Please sign the petition:
http://www.care2.com/causes/why-did-poli...years.html

....To have a chance of saving her from this awful situation, and have her shipped to Connecticut, by a Rescue group called "AnimalsRFamily", where there is no breed specific legislation.

[Catherine]

I signed!

The whole thing is ridiculous and unacceptable.
If you or I kept a dog caged like that for two years (or any length of time) we would be charged with animal cruelty.
So why doesn't the RSPCA charge the police with animal cruelty.

If they planned to kill her anyhow why did they keep her caged like that so long. Is the push to have her put down a response to the publicity.

The whole issue of breed bans is a mess. They do no good at all. Perfectly beautiful pets have been killed for no other reason than their breed. Dogs have been seized that were not really Pitbulls after all. It hasn't reduced the number of dog bites.

It would be better to spend the time and money on educating people about how to treat dogs. Children in school could have a visit from  a dog expert who could tell them about what not to do around a dog. Most bites are provoked by the person. Some of the real tragedies happen when small children are left with large dogs. Those things are preventable and not the dogs fault.

[LPC]

I signed, as well. Sadly, as the magistrates have already signed the court order for euthansia, it is unlikely that this latest rescue attempt will succeed. But we can live in hope....

[Tobi]

This is reminiscent of the case concerning Lennox, another BSL victim, who spent an even longer time incarcerated, and finally destroyed. He was a harmless and previously happy family dog too, from all accounts. His only fault was the breed he happened to be born into.

I can not understand why -if there is an 'escape route' for Stella to go to a country/state where BSL doesn't exist, and presumably all arrangements would be made by the Rescue Group, involving no British costs -the magistrates have to sign her death warrant.

It is terribly tragic. This dog is obviously a really nice character. I hope she will be happier on the Other Side than in this world, where something is very wrong.

But yes, the petition should still be sent.

I feel for Stella's caretaker who must be heartbroken. Sure, he should have thought twice about having a 'banned breed mix' in the UK....but then again, we can't always help who we fall in love with...

[Libby]

I signed.

The whole thing is infuriating and I've written several papers and speeches on the subject. BSL or Breed Specific Legislation is pointless. You can't judge a dog based on breed. The breed gives hints as to characteristics and temperaments a dog MIGHT have but it's not fool proof. Have you seen a hyper Basset hound? a Lazy boxer? Dogs must be given a chance based on their individual temperament, health and state of mind. Meaning you can't set the dog up to fail either. The dog needs to be exercised, fed, loved...ect. You can't isolate a dog deprive it from exercise and social interaction and expect it to be perfect. That's setting a dog up to fail. The problem is you have uneducated people making decisions and laws about things they shouldn't. Ask any dog trainer and they will tell you that yes breeds have temperaments associated with their breeds but that's ONLY a guide line.

You have to assess each individual dog because what dog A has been though and dog B has been though can be totally different back stories and can have totally different outcomes based on those experiences. One dog can be from a loving home and the other was tortured and beaten within an inch of it's life that was own by a dog fighter. Both are APBT and have never shown aggression or bitten anyone but both will be killed because of their breed and dog B will never be given a chance. It's the same story over and over again.

You have uneducated people trying to pacify the ignorant masses with a witch trial. When all it hurts is the law abiding citizens with loving dogs.

[Tobi]

(03-09-2016, 05:02 AM)Libby Wrote: You have uneducated people trying to pacify the ignorant masses with a witch trial.  When all it hurts is the law abiding citizens with loving dogs.

Yes that is exactly what it is all about, Libby. Blinkered legislation that isn't willing to either -get educated, or show compassion, or give an inch and examine the individual circumstances. In Stella's case this "law-abiding" is purely mechanistic, as the Rescue Group have already offered to ship her out of the UK to save her!
Now why can't they just let that happen?

Also....as Catherine mentioned earlier...the Devon and Cornwall Police are technically guilty of animal abuse and cruelty! If ANYONE treated a dog this way for 2 years, they would be in breach of the animal cruelty laws! What the heck is happening??

[Catherine]

Sadly a great many laws are made in response to public reaction to some event and are brought about by people who know nothing about the issue.

The public is forever reacting to things they know nothing about. Ask a random person about some issue and they will come out with nonsense. One dog bite and some people want to get rid of all dogs.
I don't know why pit bulls were the chosen scape goat. There are other breeds that have been involved in bite incidents. I suspect bites by really small breeds go unreported so it looks like they never bite. Once everyone "knew" that Pitbulls were dangerous banning them made politicians look good, like they are trying to do what is right for our well being.

We don't "know" that Pitbulls are dangerous. As you say Libby, you can't judge a dog by its breed. It is ignorance pure and simple.  Sadly Stella and her owner are paying the price.  Stella is a pit bull mix so her person may have thought she was legal.

If they planned to kill her, why did they keep her in isolation so long. Why not just do it. Why drag out the misery?

[Tobi]

I think what might have been at the root of this hatred of Pit Bulls, are a few things.
One of them is that these dogs can have a 'terrier' nature.....much like Jack Russells and other terriers -of which there are hundreds.... They love to grab things and pull, and shake them. They will have so much fun with a rope toy or other toy designed for this.
Other dogs apart from terriers will also do this, but terriers seem to enjoy that more (from what I've seen anyway.)

They very often have a higher pain threshold than some dogs. (Jack Russells are also like this.)

Pit Bulls have very strong jaws (you can see the build of their jaw muscles, and their faces are much squarer that some breeds.) They have more pound-per-square-inch of jaw pressure than some breeds. And they have a tendency for their jaws to 'lock' when gripping something.

Unfortunately over the years, these became the dog of choice for drug dealers, 'heavies' and other criminals. And then of course, they were subjected to bad breeding/training/brutalising to make them harder and more suited for these peoples' purposes.

And those, I feel are the causes of mindless prejudice. It is so sad that in most Shelters, this is the predominant breed of stray and abandoned dogs....except in the UK, where Staffies and Staffy crosses are predominant.

[Catherine]

When you explain it that way I can see how the breed got a bad reputation. From there a breed ban was the next step. But it is the wrong step.
Isn't it like finding drug dealers working out of a building and responding by blowing the building up.

Shouldn't we be working to rehabilitate the dogs and rehabilitate the breed.

Taking family pets away and killing them is not the answer.

Any of those big dogs could have become the problem breed. Some of each breed have caused problems. There were not that many pit bull incidents and they were not random. I am sure there was a history in each case.

When pit bulls or possible pit bulls or pit bull look-a-likes end up at shelters in Toronto, it is rumored that they take a short ride to a province where they are legal.  But you didn't hear that from me.