Stupid, stupid law

[bunn]

This dog , who is a boxer x staffy, fits the measurements for 'pit bull type', and has only escaped being put to sleep because the owner went to court over it and pleaded guilty.

He had to plead guilty because his dog is a 'pit bull type' according to the legal requirements, which do not consider breed or temperament, only shape. It's like owning a firearm without a licence: you're automatically guilty of a crime if you own one, even if you don't know how to fire it and didn't actually know what it was.

Look at him! He's a perfectly nice boxer cross! This law is totally nuts!

The conditions the poor beast was held in don't bear thinking of either. Unheated concrete cell, no bedding, dog lost a third of his body weight (god alone knows what they fed him). Apparently the 'kennels' where the poor beast was held were cleaned by being hosed down *with the dogs still in them*. Thank goodness it's summer.

Incidentally, I'm fairly confident that was a nice friendly family dog before he was seized. Now, I really think he could be classed as an abuse case, and as such, likely to need more careful handling. I still can't quite believe the police and authorities are seizing people's pets, starving them and keeping them in appalling conditions for several months, and this is supposed to make things SAFER?

I haven't written to my MP up to now, because it's not happening in my area, but I think I shall now. Seems like the only thing I can do.

Comments

[bunn.livejournal.com]

Quite. Magistrates put a court order put on that dog while it was in kennels to say that it was evidence, and should be kept safe and looked after, because there were, apparently, concerns it might die before the trial came up.

We need a court order telling police to give basic care to a healthy, friendly one year old dog???

Well, yes, apparently they do:
http://www.k9magazine.com/viewarticle.php?sid=15&aid=2186
http://www.k9magazine.com/viewarticle.php?sid=15&&vid=0&npage=&aid=1779

The RSPCA should not have to waste their limited resources chasing the bloody authorities for using kennels that (I am told by a local kennels owner) would not pass inspection as commercial boarding kennel premises. It's insane. It makes me angry. You may have noticed!

[chainmailmaiden]

It really is criminal that by their actions this dog might never be able to live a normal life with a family again, if it has been so traumatised by it's experience. Now if it does bite anyone there'll be cries of "See we told you it was a dangerous dog!", when it probably wouldn't have done that prior to being hauled off by the cops.