Tails in the news
Local organizations assist pets, people in emergencies
Jennifer Mitsch doesn’t mess around. As a detective for the Cincinnati Police Department, she can be counted on to get things done in a timely and efficient manner. So when she realized the department she was working for needed a search and rescue dog trained in both looking for human remains and searching in the wilderness, she tackled the project herself, joining up with Cyndi Smith and her Dutch Shepherd, D.D., to start Cincinnati Area K9 Search Team (C.A.S.T. K9). The all-volunteer group now includes nine human members and 11 canine members who work together to assist in search and rescue operations in the Cincinnati area.
Mitsch initially became involved with search and rescue after she adopted her first dog, Moxie. “She made it very clear to us that she needed a job and had a nose that could find anything,” remembers Mitsch. “I met some people through obedience classes that were involved with search and rescue and they began to show me the ropes. Moxie became a tracking or trailing dog—one that will follow a persons footsteps like you may see a Bloodhound do in the movies.”
After Moxie passed away, Mitsch knew she wanted another dog that would be a great searcher. She adopted Ripley, a Labrador from Lab Rescue of Cincinnati in Eastgate. “Although my first dog was purchased from a breeder, I knew I wanted to adopt a dog this time,” she says. “Many great search dogs are given up because people don’t know how to handle them.” Since adopting Ripley, Mitsch has trained him to become a wilderness search dog—the type that goes off leash to find a missing person in the wilderness. She says the organization is always looking for new members, but warns that it takes an extensive amount of work to train a dog for search and rescue work, and that is it best to start training your pooch before her third birthday.
While C.A.S.T. K9 works with dogs on a search and rescue team, another area group, the Tri-State County Animal Response Team (Tri-State CART), knows that sometimes it is the animals themselves that need rescuing. The organization was formed after local pet lovers saw the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina on the New Orleans pet population. Its mission is to make sure that in the event of a disaster, there is preparation, planning, and manpower in place for the welfare of all affected animals.
Chris Puls, the president of Tri-State CART, says that in case of an emergency or disaster, people need to consider their pets’ needs too. “The [Federal government] recommends up to a week of supplies because they now recognize it could take that long to get help to a heavily hit area,” she says. “In the Ohio Valley, a single severe ice storm could cause such a need.” Puls suggests people keep copies of their pet’s records, collapsible feed and water bowls, bedding, ID tags, and photos showing unique markings or features (in the event the pet gets lost).
Joining Tri-State CART is the Emergency Animal Rescue Service (EARS), a national organization that also works on behalf on animals in the event of an emergency. In addition to offering disaster preparedness resources on their website, it also has a group of 3,300 trained EARS volunteers who can be deployed to anywhere in the U.S. or Canada when a disaster strikes.
For more information:
CASTK9.org • TriStateCART.com • UAN.org
New Pit Bull ordinances in Cincinnati and Southgate call for
police training
Pit Bulls in Cincinnati just can’t catch a break. The breed, already banned in the city, was the topic of discussion at an August Cincinnati city council meeting. On the table was legislation that would give Cincinnati Police Officers more training on how to identify Pit Bulls, which would
theoretically help them enforce the ban.
The current ordinance, passed in 2003, prohibits Pit Bulls in the city, unless they were registered prior to 2003. Opponents of the ordinance say the ban is difficult to enforce and costly for taxpayers, and that Pit Bulls aren’t the violent and vicious dogs they have been portrayed as in the media. On the other side, the city says the police training is necessary to better serve the community; with additional training on how to identify the dogs, the police will have more tools in their arsenal to enforce the ban.
In other Pit Bull related news, the Southgate, Kentucky city council voted in August to strengthen their existing Pit Bull ban. The previous ban applied only to purebred Pit Bulls, which the council defined as American Pit Bull Terriers or any variation of the Staffordshire, American Staffordshire, or American Pit Bull Terriers. The new measure is extended to include Pit Bull mixes.
The renewed look at the ordinance came after a spring case, in which a Southgate Pit Bull mix was involved in a confrontation. The police couldn’t technically capture the dog, since it wasn’t a purebred, so they had to wait for a public works employee to lasso it and carry it away. According to authorities, if the dog was a purebred Pit Bull, it would not have been an issue.
In addition to Southgate, Ludlow, Dayton, and Fort Thomas also have bans on Pit Bulls.
Local park hosts canine happy hour
The incidence of Multiple Sclerosis in greater Cincinnati is higher than it is in other parts of the country. Fight this debilitating disease and spend time with your four-legged pal at a canine happy hour on Saturday, Sept. 8, from 3 to 6 p.m at Anderson Park District Dog Field. Pups will receive a goody bag and treats, while their guardians enjoy a cash bar, food stations, and music by local bands. Last year’s event welcomed 162 dogs and 200 people and raised $5,000 for the Accelerated Cure, a national non-profit organization dedicated to curing MS by determining its causes. Some proceeds from the event will also be put toward park maintenance and improvements at the Anderson Park District Dog Field. For more information, visit AcceleratedCure.org.
