Saturday, December 6, 2008

Over 100 Pitbulls Seized in OK

A self-described "dog lover" was arrested in Oklahoma Tuesday on 106 counts of animal cruelty and dogfighting:

Kay County Undersheriff Steve Kelley said his office followed up on an anonymous tip Tuesday afternoon and discovered 96 pit bull terriers in poor health at the property. The dogs were found tied to metal posts on 3-foot chains and in a barn on the property.

[...]

On Wednesday, officials searched a house on the land and found 10 puppies locked in dog carriers. One puppy died while police searched the house, and two others were taken to a local vet and euthanized.

Naturally, I'm wondering what will happen to all these abused dogs. Hopefully they won't get the Houston SPCA deluxe Pitbull treatment.

A veterinary board investigator is expected to evaluate the dogs today and give an opinion on what should be done with them.
Is this investigator a canine behaviorist, trainer or in some other way experienced with evaluating Pitbull temperaments? I'll go out on a limb and guess NO.

"The problem is not that these dogs are pit bulls,” said Kelley.

"It’s that these dogs are skin and bones and many of them have been taught to be aggressive.”

Right. That is exactly the problem - for the abuser. Because he's the one charged with the crimes here. The problem for the dogs is that they are in need of vet care and someone qualified to determine their suitability for adoption. I hope they get it. Every dog deserves a fair evaluation.

2 comments:

Hero said...

Gosh, don't these people GET IT?? With the right training and proper owners, aggression can be tamed. Dogs aren't naturally aggressive unless they are provoked, and hopefully these pit bulls will not receive the same fate as the Houston pit bulls...what happened in Houston is just a damn shame.

Caveat said...

Well, at least they said 'taught to be aggressive', not 'bred to be aggressive' so we're slowly making headway.

Let's hope this one gets more press than the Houston case did.

I mean for the dogs of course.