Success of Denver Pit Bull ban debated

The number of recorded dog bites in Denver is decreasing, from 39 in 2005 to nine last year. Although Animal Control officials may want to credit the 2005 Pit Bull ban with the decrease, Pit Bull parents and rescuers think otherwise.

“There is no proof that any breed of dog is more or less dangerous than another,” says Sandra Tanzberger, president and founder of Colorado Pit Bull Rescue. “A properly managed dog is no threat to anyone
regardless of the temperament of the dog.”

Denver adopted an ordinance that made it illegal to own, harbor, transport, or sell a Pit Bull or Pit Bull mix in the city in 1989. It has been challenged several times and was suspended in 2004, when a state law prohibited breed-specific bans. In 2005 the city challenged the law and reinstated the ban. Last month three women tried to challenge the ban as unconstitutional, but failed. Denver’s neighboring cities of Aurora, Commerce City, Castle Rock, Lakewood, and Lone Tree all adopted similar restrictions. A lawsuit against Aurora’s ban is expected this summer, and a task force in Parker is proposing revisions to its town’s ordinance that would include incentives to guardians who have their dog spayed or neutered to limit aggression.

In some cities with Pit Bull bans, dog bite statistics have not decreased like in Denver. In 2004 (before the ordinance), Lakewood recorded 183 dog bites, 22 by Pit Bulls. In 2007 the city recorded 217 bites, 34 by Pit Bulls.

Tanzberger believes it’s the situation, not the breed, that causes dogs to bite.

“Any authority on dog aggression in general would tell you that incidents of dog aggression toward people are situational more than anything. People put dogs into dangerous situations,” she says. “Any ban of dogs by breed is absurd, unwarranted, ineffectual, costly to taxpayers, and unconstitutional.”
    
Tanzberger says that at any one time a quarter to a half of the dogs in her rescue program come from cities with bans.

“These dogs have all passed temperament testing with flying colors,” she says. “I can say without doubt these have all turned out to be exceptional dogs.” All of the dogs are either still in the program or have found forever homes.

Just because Pit Bulls are banned from Denver doesn’t mean they aren’t still living there. On first offense, the dog is microchipped, and the guardian must move the dog outside the city. On second offense, the dog is euthanized. From 2005 to 2007, the city euthanized 1,667 Pit Bulls. Tanzberger thinks the time and money used to implement the bans could be used to provide spay and neuter services, stop dogfighting, ban chaining, and educate dog guardians.

For more information, visit DenverGov.org or ColoradoPitBullRescue.com.

Pets Plus to head to court again

Pets Plus pet store and no-kill animal shelter in Loveland risks losing its licenses and paying thousands of dollars in fines the next time it heads to court. The facility was inspected unannounced back in December and had to pay $850 in fines. The owners requested a hearing to tell their side of the story because they believe the findings are wrong. They are appealing all failed inspections in the past year, which go back to May 2007. January 2008 inspection results have not been released.  

Dog survives building explosion

Springer Spaniel Lulu was rescued from the rubble of a Breckenridge building on Sunday, April 27, eight days after the building exploded. The two-story building housed Good Times Adventures, a snowmobiling and dog-sledding business. The owner of the building heard the dog whimpering and started digging frantically. Lulu was found 45 minutes later lying in a crawl space under 15 feet of debris. She suffered mild dehydration and some trauma to her left eye. She likely survived by eating food she found in the remains and drinking melting snow. Lulu’s guardian, Brian Mislanski, was critically injured in the explosion and had to have a portion of his leg removed. The cause of the explosion is yet to be determined.

City to notify citizens of park pesticide treatments

Does your pet enjoy a good romp in the park, but you’re concerned about pesticide exposure? Denver residents can be notified of the city’s pesticide application schedule by signing up for a notification registry. To sign up, Denver residents must provide their full name, mailing address, telephone number, and/or email address as well as the full name of up to three parks for which they are requesting notification. To place the request, call (720) 865-5417 or email sharon.armijo@denvergov.org. Knowing when and where the city is spraying will help residents keep pets away from the area temporarily.

Olympic clean-up effort involves extermination of cats

The world is well aware of the massive clean-up effort under way in Beijing prior to the 2008 Olympic Summer Games—but people may not know that ridding the city of stray cats through grossly inhumane means is part of this endeavour. The Chinese government is reportedly engaged in the extermination of hundreds of thousands of stray cats throughout Beijing. Officials, according to the UK newspaper the Daily Mail, are systematically taking cats from off the streets to “death camps,” where the cats perish from starvation and disease.

The government is exacerbating the presence of cats roaming city streets through a propaganda campaign claiming that cats carry several diseases contagious to humans, including the SARS virus. The campaign has created mild hysteria in the population. Animal activists say the fear of contracting diseases from their cats is prompting many guardians to abandon them. 

The government claims that citizens can adopt stray cats from 12 pounds throughout the city, but animal activists say that accessibility to these facilities is severely limited. A group that had adopted 30 cats from one compound reported that half of the cats subsequently died from disease. The government has since barred the group from entrance to the pounds.

An estimated 500,000 cats have been culled by the Chinese government thus far. —Melissa Wiley

Spotlight on: Elizabeth Bublitz and Pawfriendly Landscapes

With spring and summer in the air, flowers are blooming, and it’s time to get the lawn mower out of storage. While you may appreciate your finely manicured lawn and beautiful flower beds, chances are your furry friend doesn’t. When Fido digs, runs, and eats his way around the yard like a miniature furry Godzilla, Elizabeth Bublitz of Pawfriendly Landscapes can save the day (and your yard).

“We get the call that the dog ate the yard,” she says with a laugh. Bublitz started Pawfriendly Landscapes (then Home and Garden Landscapes) 10 years ago, back when the phrase “pet-friendly landscaping” drew funny looks. Operating Colorado’s only pet-friendly landscape company, Bublitz still gets a lot of questions, but her business is soaring—she’s currently booked through July and started taking on projects as early as February this year. Each project varies—some take hours, others weeks or months. As an animal lover and landscaper, Bublitz was saddened by how frustrated people were with their pets and knew she could help with a solution—pet-friendly landscaping. 
 
What makes Bublitz’s work so pet friendly?
   
“I design the yard based on the dog’s habits,” she explains.
 
Her clients come to her with pets who wreak havoc on the yard—from digging to peeing to escaping. Bublitz collects information about the yard and the pet and then creates a customized landscape that the client can either create herself or take to a contractor.
 
For example, if Fido is constantly digging for buried treasure in the grass and trampling on the sod, one practical and attractive solution is to install a flagstone walkway that encompasses the area in which the dog likes to dig. Other dogs are fond of running back and forth, which wears out the grass. Bublitz’s solution is to create a “runway,” either from mulch or flagstone. 

Pawfriendly Landscapes also uses pet-friendly materials like CMC Edging, which does not cut paws. Bublitz stays away from ornamental grasses, toxic plants, and bee-attracting plants for the sake of the pet’s safety. 

Bublitz estimates that 99 percent of her clients have dogs, though she does get calls from people who don’t have pets. As a parent to three dogs and three cats (all rescues), Bublitz gives a 5 percent discount to clients whose pets came from shelters.
 
“We really want to give back to the people who give to animals,” she says. Bublitz talks with an excitement that can only come from doing what you love.
 
“I have no complaints in life. I get to merge what I love—plants, landscaping, and pets. I’m probably the happiest person I know!” she says.
 
In January, Bublitz and veterinarian Judith H. Spurling published a book, Pawfriendly Landscapes: How to share the turf when your backyard belongs to Barney. The book is full of tips and techniques for home owners and landscaping professionals who want to cater their yard to their pet. Bublitz said the book is the result of 10 years of experience and a lot of trial and error. Some of the proceeds will go to Good Samaritan Pet Agency in Denver.
       
For more information and to see when Bublitz will be holding a book signing near you, visit PawfriendlyLandscapes.com.