Letter to Florida House Committee on Agribusiness Regarding Rep. Thurston’s HB 101 Which Would Overturn State Prohibition of BSL
March 12, 2008
P.O. Box 1406 Newport, WA 99156
Web Site http://www.povn.com/rdows E-mail US rdows@povn.com
Blog https://rdows.wordpress.com E-mail List http://groups.yahoo.com/group/rdows
Judy Schreiber, Assistant to the Chair,
Director at Large, rdowsdirectoratlarge@chevalier-bullterriers.com
Elizabeth Pensgard, Executive Secretary, Illinois Director, bpensgard@yahoo.com
Hermine Stover, Media Liaison, Director at Large, CA, hermine@endangeredspecies.com
Mary Schaeffer, Finance Director, finedogs@hotmail.com
Arizona Director, John Bowen, johnalldogs@sprintmail.com
California Director, Jan Dykema, bestuvall@sbcglobal.net
Indiana Director, Charles Coffman, candkcoffman@comcast.net
Iowa Director, Leisa Boysen, rdows_iowa@yahoo.com
Mississippi Director, Dan Crutchfield, farmer1@telepak.net
Nevada Director, Ken Sondej, 4winds@viawest.net
Tennessee Director, Gina Cotton, ginacotton@msn.com
Texas Director, Alvin Crow, crobx@austin.rr.com
To:
Rep. Denise Grimsley, Chair
Rep. Bryan Nelson, Vice Chair
Rep. Debbie Boyd
Rep. Bill Galvano
Rep. Bill Heller
Rep. David Martin Kiar
Rep. Carlos Lopez-Cantera
Rep. Ralph Poppell
Rep. Juan C. Zapata
Dear Chairwoman Grimsley, Vice Chair Nelson, and esteemed members of the Agribusiness Committee:
It was with great disappointment that I first learned that the state of Florida is considering overturning its prohibition of breed-specific legislation per Rep. Thurston’s HB 101, a bill which is currently in the Agribusiness Committee. Allowing municipalities to pass breed-specific legislation in Florida is fraught with many complications and following are just a few of them: Read the rest of this entry »
EXPOSING DOGSBITE.ORG
January 17, 2008
Colleen Lynn has organized another group called Families & Dogs Against FightingBreeds
She has called a meeting for;
Tuesday, February 12th
6:45-8pm
Uptown Cafe
2504 4th Ave (4th & Wall)
206-441-1084
“An open meeting of Families and Dogs Against Fighting Breeds (FDAFB) will take place on February 12, 2008, in the meeting room at the Uptown Cafe from 6:45-8 pm.
She says that it is an open meeting, so all of you Seattle dog owners be sure to attend. Since the name of the group includes “dogs” we wonder just how many dogs are members of her little group. Will the dogs be welcome at the meeting?
http://www.dogsbite.org/blog/2008/01/arkansas-group-appeals-to-federal-court.html
Having been a recent target of the Dogsbite.org blog, I decided to do a bit of research to find out who, and what is the driving power behind this radical website. It is the brainchild of Kory Nelson, Assistant District Attorney Denver Colorado who feeds biased information to Ms. Colleen Lynn of Seattle, who is a graphic designer, and website builder. Apparently Kory Nelson researches the same news articles that I, too research.
Ms. Lynn was bitten by a dog while jogging in June 2007.
http://www.kirotv.com/news/13541159/detail.html
There was another recent article depicting Ms. Lynn’s plight http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004112928_brodeur08m.html?syndication=rss
I found a whole lot more background when researching Ms. Lynn, she is quite the self promoter, and far from being unable to work at her chosen profession, she is now the mouthpiece for “Kill ’em All” Kory Nelson. Her business Vain Notion lists her clientele, and it is available to anyone running a search engine.
It is a tragic fact that Ms. Lynn was bitten severely while jogging. It is another fact that her bite originated from one dog, not everyone’s dog. One wonders if Ms. Lynn understands that breed specific dog laws do not prevent dog bites?
Great Britain passed nationwide BSL in 1989. The dog bite statistics remained the same. That is indicative that dog bites have nothing to do with dog breeds, but rather with negligent owners.
Responsible Dog Owners of the Western States recognizes that neither “Dangerous” Dog Laws, or Breed Specific Dog Laws protect the public. That is why RDOWS Model Dog Owner Regulations were developed. RDOWS Model Dog Owner Regulations are applied to the human factor in the human/dog equation. Of the two, only the human being has the capacity to understand, and to function to law. Only human beings have rights, and are expected to respond accordingly to the attendant responsibilities that come with those rights.
When legislators focus their legislation on animal behaviors, and mete out punishments to animals, they have taken American juris prudence back to the dark ages. Laws must be written for human beings. We look to the Constitution of the United States as being the foremost authority for laws in these United States. There isn’t one mention of animals, as our founding fathers knew then that animals were, and would always be the property, and thus the responsibility of their human owners. I will attach the letter that I sent to Kory Nelson, and cc’d to Colleen Lynn.
Cherie Graves, chairwoman
Responsible Dog Owners of the Western States
P.O. Box 1406 Newport, WA 99156
http://www.povn.com/rdows/donations.html
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/UAOA
http://www.unitedAnimalownersalliance.com
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RDOWS
Having continued to research Colleen Lynn I’ve discovered some very interesting ommissions. The owner of the dog that allegedly bit Ms. Lynn has never been referenced in print. The dog was allegedly immediately euthanized, which is unorthodox, as most dogs that cause severe injury are held in quarantine, and then ethanized and the head sent for rabies testing. I have not yet been able to find a police report of the incident. Ms. Lynn has not filed suit against the dog’s owner in Seattle, or King County. Instead, Ms. Lynn would far prefer to cause harm to all of the dogs that were not involved in her alleged bite, and to all of the owners of those dogs.
——————————————————————————–
From: Cherie Graves To: kory.nelson@ci.denver.co.us ; colleen@vainnotion.com
Sent: Thursday, January 17, 2008 12:28 PM
Subject: Dogsbite.org
Kory Nelson, Assistant District Attorney, Denver Colorado
Kory Nelson,
I smell your foul stench behind Ms. Colleen Lynn’s Dogsbite.org blog. I’m sure that you directed her attention to my kennel’s website. Have you also revealed to Ms. Lynn that you are a minion of the animal rights movement whose sworn goal is the eradication of pet ownership?
Have you advised Ms. Lynn that breed specific dog ordinances set a legal precedent that allows the enacting body to add any, or all other breeds of dogs, and even all domestic species of animals?
Watch TRUTHS FROM RDOWS blog as I publicly expose your evil deeds once again. I have the courage of my convictions. I use my real name. You hide behind victims to plot against the ownership of animals, and you used your position to persuade Colleen Lynn to create her blog.
If Ms. Lynn is subpoenaed into Court, would she state that you initiated contact with her, and that you suggested that she use her computer skills to fight your war for you?
Shall we test the waters?
If Ms. Lynn were struck by a Ford truck, would you encourage her to work toward banning all Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury products? Of course not. How dare you put Ms. Lynn into such a precarious predicament, if not to appease your own ego driven obsession?
I’ve got you pegged, you are truly a pathetic piece of work.
Cherie Graves
CC: Colleen Lynn
Cherie Graves, chairwoman
Responsible Dog Owners of the Western States
P.O. Box 1406 Newport, WA 99156
OPPOSITION STATEMENT TO WASHINGTON SB 6315
January 17, 2008
RESPONSIBLE DOG OWNERS OF THE WESTERN STATESP.O. Box 1406 Newport, WA 99156Web Site http://www.povn.com/rdows E-mail rdows@povn.comBlog https://rdows.wordpress.com E-mail List http://groups.yahoo.com/group/rdows Cherie Graves, Chairwoman, WA, (509) 447-2821Judy Schreiber-Dwornick, Assistant to the Chair, Director at Large, rdowsdirectoratlarge@gmail.comHermine Stover, Secretary, Press Liaison, CA, hermine@endangeredspecies.comMary Schaeffer, Finance Director, finedogs@hotmail.comCalifornia Director, Jan Dykema bestuvall@sbcglobal.netIllinois Director, Elizabeth Pensgard bpensgard@yahoo.comIndiana Director, Charles Coffman candkcoffman@comcast.netIowa Director, Leisa Boysen rdows_iowa@yahoo.comMississippi Director, Dan Crutchfield farmer1@telepak.netNevada Director, Ken Sondej 4winds@viawest.netOhio Director, Tiffany Skotnicky ohdirrdows@yahoo.comOklahoma Director, Jade Harris aadrlegislation@yahoo.comTennessee Director, Gina Cotton ginacotton@msn.comTexas Director, Alvin Crow crobx@austin.rr.com OPPOSITION STATEMENT TO WASHINGTON SB 6315
Responsible Dog Owners of the Western States was formed October 15, 1989 to protect the rights, and interests of dog owners.
Responsible Dog Owners of the Western States stands in opposition to SB 6315 – 2007-08 Including a wolf-hybrid in the definition of a “potentially dangerous wild animal.” Sponsored by Senator Bob Morton, R, Orient. The Canine Genome Project proved with DNA testing that all domestic dog breeds are derivative of Canis Lupis Familaris, a sub-species of the Gray Wolf. In other words, all dogs are wolf-hybrids. SB 6315 has the potential of creating the unintended consequence of causing all dogs to be considered “potentially dangerous wild animal”(s) in Washington state. Dog ownership has been archaeologically traced back more than thirty thousand years. Tradition gives animal owners legal standing to own dogs. All animals are the ancient property of human beings. Animal husbandry is among the most ancient of professions. We, the people expect our legislators to protect our rights, and our property, not to remove those rights, and that property. Responsible Dog Owners of the Western States respectfully requests that Senator Bob Morton withdraw SB 6315 from consideration.
BALTIMORE COUNTY COUNCILMAN VINCE GARDINA SPINNER OF URBAN MYTH & PURVEYOR OF HATRED
October 10, 2007
Baltimore County Councilman Vince Gardina who was elected to serve the 5th district is using his position to attempt to target certain dog owners. Unfortunately he isn’t targeting the negligent, or irresponsible dog owners he is targeting owners of specific breeds of dogs, and owners of dogs having a certain physical appearance. Yes!! You guessed it Vince Gardina is targeting the mythological monster “pit bull”.
Since “pit bull” isn’t a breed of record, Councilman Gardina has decided to target low density, low population breeds, that to the best of our research and knowledge, finds that the Staffordshire Bull Terrier as a breed has not been involved in one bite incident in North America since their recognition by the American Kennel Club in 1972. The American Staffordshire Terrier has three bites to its record since its recognition by the AKC in 1936, and no fatalities, and the American Pit Bull Terrier has only one record of a pure-bred registered dog being involved in a fatal bite incident it was in the 1980’s, and involved an unsupervised toddler. These breeds and their owners are being singled out for extraordinary treatment under the law for incidences done by undocumented dogs of questionable background. All provably pure-bred dogs have documented proof of registration, and of pedigree. Any dog that has no documentation is not provably pure-bred.
Councilman Gardina is quick to spout urban myth as truth, and to embroider upon it by comparing living, breathing flesh and blood animals to inanimate firearms. Mr. Gardina apparently believes that there is such a thing as a supernatural dog. A dog that is more cunning than the drooling idiot, genetic genius breeders are capable of out-thinking, controlling, or containing.
And who could blame him when newspapers, and media reports are full of the stuff of which myths are created? The dogs that appear out of nowhere, that can disappear that can “lock their jaws”, that can escape like Harry Houdini, that are larger than life, and evil incarnate. It is interesting that media reports concerning “pit bulls” take on a sinister quality that surrounds no other breeds of dogs even when they are involved in a human fatality. “Pit bull” articles always play up the “dangerousness” of the dogs even when it is supposedly a positive article.
Councilman Gardina take a tip from Mark Twain, it is as true today as when it was written; “It has become a sarcastic proverb that a thing must be true if you saw it in a newspaper. That is the opinion intelligent people have of that lying vehicle in a nutshell. But the trouble is that the stupid people–who constitute the grand overwhelming majority of this and all other nations–do believe and are moulded and convinced by what they get out of a newspaper, and there is where the harm lies.”
– “License of the Press” speech
Councilman Gardina prefers the myth to the truth. Responsible Dog Owners of the Western States among other national organizations has sent reams of factual, useful, and sound information to Councilman Gardina’s office. Councilman Gardina is blissfully wed to his Pit Bull Bill. Although he knows that there wont be enough vote to pass it. Councilman Gardina will take his Bill to a vote October 15. It is really a stunning shame that Councilman Gardina doesn’t want to apply equal treatment for all dog owners, and equal protection from all dogs to his Bill. He would rather discriminate, and pass arbitrary legislation that is based simply upon his personal bias, and has nothing to do with reality, or legality.
Cherie Graves, chairwoman
Responsible Dog Owners of the Western States
BREED SPECIFIC LEGISLATION LEADS TO UNSPEAKABLE CRUELTY
September 29, 2007
Great cruelty always follows upon the heels of any sort of ban. A perfect example is the inhumane treatment of the confiscated dogs in Denver, Colorado. The mindset behind the cruelty is, that the targeted breed/type of animal, or race/ethnicity of human being, is considered unworthy of life, it becomes a target for debasement, torture, even starvation, and eventually death. It starts with individuals, and ends with genocide. The target is no longer considered to be a member of it’s species, but an aberration that must be annihilated. Breed specific dog ordinances are today’s legalized hate crimes.
Breed specific ordinances utilise very same tactics are to be found in every instance of prejudice that lead to abominable hate crimes. This time the targets are dogs that have been so vilified that they are no longer considered to be dogs, but some sort of mythological beasts. Breeders are portrayed as evil Dr. Frankenstein-like genetic manipulators. How is it that only the breeders of the targeted breeds are capable of mass producing cookie cutter-like monsters? That concept is incredibly absurd, yet it is promulgated throughout society, and the media, it runs like a sewer through the thought patterns of otherwise intelligent people. Nobody ever questions the absurdity of the statements, or the belief system that foments breed specific legislation.
Euthanasia is accepted way to dispose of unwanted animals in our shelter systems. When euthanasia is ordered by law to be performed upon dogs that are loved, and wanted by their rightful owners, and is performed with a mindset of hatred, bordering upon obsession it becomes a societal illness. Lucas County Ohio Dog Warden Tom Skeldon is an example of a person who has placed himself into a position that has allowed him to feed his overpowering need to annihilate all dogs that he determines are “pit bulls”. His excuse is that it is his job. The truth is, that it is his obsession, and when he thought that his evil avarice was about to be curtailed, he went over the edge of sanity, and reason. Kory Nelson is the Adolph Eichmann of Denver dogs. His obsession has flowered like a contagion of hatred. He is spreading his vile disease of hatred across the continent. If either of these twisted individuals did not have animals to act out their murderous tendencies upon would they target human beings? People do not just fall into their professions. People choose the professions that bring them satisfaction.
Behind every dog is it’s owner. We all must become acutely aware that we are the true targets of this hatred. Society generally accepts that it is okay to target our dogs. It is strange, that those people who love their animals cannot conceive of the fact that we who own the targeted breeds love our dogs, too. Why are people open to believing that our dogs are not as worthy as their dogs? Why is it that people do not understand that we owners of the banned breeds have the same deep intense feelings for our animals, as they have for their animals? How is it in that our animals are unfeeling, unloving, ravening monsters, while their animals are loving pet?. We are being excised out of mainstream society by our elected officials based solely upon the breed of dog that we choose to own.
The dog owners in Denver, or Ohio, or any other place that has enacted a breed specific ordinance will tell you that their lives have been ripped apart. They have been violated beyond their wildest imagining. This ban is no less an assault on their lives, than would be a rape, the murder of a family member, the invasion, and vandalism of a home, a violent attack upon their person. These victims of breed bans feel as though they have lost all control over their lives. They certainly feel that they have been the victims of cruel, and unusual punishment.
How can it possibly be legal for government to assault it’s citizenry for owning a certain type of dog? Is there not enough crime that our legislators must create a whole new class of criminal, the dog owner? We cannot allow breed specific legislation to stand. Legislators who remove the rights of the citizenry should be recalled for violating the Constitutional rights of the citizenry. There is the argument that we do not have a Constitutional Right to own dogs. It does not hold up to scrutiny. All our laws are based upon English Common Law, and upon tradition. The Constitutions of the U.S., and of the fifty states do not enumerate all of our rights. It would be an impossibility. The IX. Amendment – Rule of construction of Constitution: The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people. The X. Amendment – Rights of the States under Constitution: The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people. The more government is allowed to take through the quiet acceptance of the people, the more it will take, until we are enslaved. The ownership of dogs is a right retained through tens of thousands of years of tradition.
It is important support the efforts of the Responsible Dog Owners of the Western States. RDOWS helps to set up RDO groups in each state to effectively fight breed specific legislation, mandatory spay/neuter legislation, and any other laws that adversely affect responsible dog ownership. RDOWS was founded in Washington state October 15, 1989 following upon the heels of the American Dog Owners Associations loss in the Washington Supreme Court. The Chief Justice Keith Callow wrote the decision to uphold the breed specific ordinances in Yakima, Buckley, and et,al. Chief Justice Callow’s term of office was near, and he would be running again in the November 1989 election. RDOWS rallied dog owning voters across the state. Voter registration booths were set up at dog shows. RDOWS threw its support behind a young attorney named Charles Johnson. He owned a Rottweiler, and he only had a $1,000.00 war chest. Charles Johnson was the dark horse in the list of candidates for the Washington Supreme Court. Charles Johnson, and RDOWS only had one month to defeat the sitting Chief Justice of Washington’s Supreme Court. Election day dawned. At the close of the polls Charles Johnson was the clear winner. Shock waves ran through the state, and the media. The Wall Street Journal covered the story. They declared it a fluke that Charles Johnson won. It was not a fluke. He is still sitting on the Washington Supreme Court. Dog owners comprise approximately 65% of the population. We are a strong, but untapped voting block. RDOWS has proven effective in combatting poorly concieved laws that have been introduced by overly zealous elected officials.
Cherie Graves, chairwoman
Responsible Dog Owners of the Western States
http://www.povn.com/rdows
TRUTHS FROM RDOWS 