Dog Bites A Constant Problem Across State. - The Monitor (McAllen, TX)

Byline: Sabrina Hamilton

Jun. 17--Esara Rubio grabbed Chico and huddled over her Chihuahua to shield it from a pit bull German shepherd that began barking at them.

The bigger dog charged toward 10-year-old Esara, who jumped on her and bit her on the back.

Esara started screaming. Fortunately for her, the dog's owner came running, yelling at the shepherd and hitting it with a newspaper.

She was lucky. The dog's bite marks did not leave major scars and she didn't bleed very much.

But the Pharr girl is one of more than half of all Texas children who are victims of dog bites by age 12, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services.

Even though last year's reported dog bite cases in McAllen and Edinburg do not reflect an increase in the summer, animal control supervisors and health officials say there are more opportunities to be bitten during this time.

Last year, 138 dog bites were reported to the McAllen Police Department. Forty-nine of those were between May and August. There were 64 dog bite incidences in Edinburg in 2005, and 14 of those were between May and August.

'Most (reports) are serious, but many (people) wait or don't report incidences,' said McAllen animal control Supervisor Chris Sanchez.

Walking, bicycling, barbecues and pool parties all increase outdoor exposure and interaction with animals.

'Dogs are more prone to bite or be aggressive during their mating season in February or March,' said Eddie Olivarez, Hidalgo County Health Department chief administrative officer. 'But there may be a higher incidence of dog bites in the summer when children are out of school and there are more opportunities for an encounter with a dog.'

In Texas, dogs bite approximately 400,000 people each year; 40 percent of severe dog bite victims are children. Children are almost five times more likely to be bitten by a dog than adolescents and adults, according to the TDSHS Web site.

Pit bulls, rottweilers and German shepherds are commonly considered violent dogs. Dog biting is based not on breed, but on how a dog is socialized, said Laural Powell, executive director for the Humane Society of the Upper Valley.

She said the chow chow is the state's leading breed reported for dog bites.

'Every year a different breed is bred for specific traits for those who are looking for aggressive types of dogs,' Powell said. 'Each dog breed gets a reputation for being a bad or aggressive type of dog.'

'The incidence of dog bites is directly related to the encroachment of space,' Olivarez said. 'The more open spaces in the country make it less likely for a dog bite to occur. The odds are more likely in town because there are more people interacting.'

Children often play with dogs, many times getting them too excited and get bitten, Sanchez said.

'Children are small and although dogs have been domesticated for years, dogs may still think of them as prey,' Powell said.

Puppies that are taken away from their mothers and littermates do not learn how to play, said Albert Gonzalez, pet trainer for PetSmart in McAllen. Owners are then responsible to teach their dogs when their 'play biting' is too hard. Learning proper bite conduct is essential to a dog's development.

Texas is a 'one-bite state,' where owners are not held responsible if their dog bites someone once, unless they are negligent. For each case after the first incident, the dog's owner is held responsible, according to dogbitelaw.com. McAllen, Mission, Edinburg and Pharr all have laws requiring dogs to wear identification tags and be on a leash or contained on the owner's property, according to local animal control supervisors.

Spaying and neutering dogs helps reduce aggression, but not protectiveness. Unaltered dogs are up to three times more likely to bite as those that have been sterilized, according to TDSHS.

'Unaltered males are more likely than neutered dogs because of their increased amount of testosterone,' Powell said.

There is not a major difference in bites between male and female dogs, but males tend to be a little more aggressive, said Joe Cruz, Mission's animal control supervisor.

Reporting dog bites ensures not only the affected individual, but the rest of the community, Olivarez said.

'Rabies is lethal in humans,' he said. 'It's rare that a person can survive rabies without the proper medical attention.'

Hidalgo County has a large population of coyotes, skunks, raccoons and bats and they frequently carry rabies.

'You have a greater chance of contracting rabies from those animals,' he said. 'But stray dogs that interact with these animals can contract rabies from them.'

----

Sabrina Hamilton covers general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach her at (956) 683-4463.

Copyright (c) 2006, The Monitor, McAllen, Texas

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business

News.

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BREEDER CHARGED WITH SHOVING SHELTER OFFICIAL - The Record (Bergen County, NJ)

JOHN CHADWICK, Staff Writer
The Record (Bergen County, NJ)
09-09-1997
BREEDER CHARGED WITH SHOVING SHELTER OFFICIAL -- WAS VIDEOTAPING AREA WHERE
DOGS ARE KEPT
By JOHN CHADWICK, Staff Writer
Date: 09-09-1997, Tuesday
Section: NEWS
Edition: 2 Star, Also in 5 Star, 4 Star, 3 Star, 1 Star

The dog breeder who had nearly 50 German shepherds confiscated by
authorities has been accused of shoving an animal-control officer while
trying to videotape the shelter where some of the dogs had been taken.

Bloomingdale Animal Control Officer Deborah Hoskins said that she
called police and filed harassment charges against Joseph Petracca. A
police dispatcher said Monday that a Municipal Court summons has been
issued against Petracca in connection with the incident.

Hoskins said Petracca showed up at the shelter Friday with a video
camera and became agitated when told he could not enter the area where
the dogs are kept.

'I asked him to leave, and he starting flaring up, cussing me and
the whole nine yards,' Hoskins said Monday. 'He then pushed me right out
of the way and proceeded to the back of the shelter.'

Petracca, of 116 Highland Ave., Riverdale, began breeding dogs 30
years ago, but admitted in court that he has become obsessed with
creating the perfect German shepherd. He could not be reached for
comment Monday afternoon.

Petracca had as many as 105 shepherds last month before a Superior
Court judge ordered that he give up his breeding business and turn over
all but four of his dogs to authorities.

Forty-nine dogs were seized on Aug. 27, and about five were being
kept at the Bloomingdale facility when Petracca showed up there on
Friday, Hoskins said. The rest were taken to other area animal shelters.

Hoskins said she believes Petracca was videotaping the shelter to
show the court that the dogs were better off in his care.

A lawyer for the Riverdale Board of Health said Monday that
Petracca has filed an appeal to the judge's last order, but there has
been no response yet from the court.

Hoskins said that, after Petracca shoved her out of the way, he
shot footage of the shelter and left before police arrived.

In court, Petracca has argued previously that shelters are nothing
more than 'concentration camps' for animals.

'I guess he is trying to make a case that his dogs were in better
care with him,' Hoskins said.

She said, however, that nothing could be further from the truth.

'We are feeding them twice a day, and walking them four times a
day,' Hoskins said. 'That is more than he did for any of them.'

Of the 49 dogs seized by authorities, all but 13 have been adopted,
said John Barbarula, the lawyer for the Board of Health. Five or six of
those are receiving medical attention, and at least two have serious
health problems.

Petracca still has approximately 20 dogs on his property, and has
until Sept. 18 to remove them. About 30 puppies were moved by Petracca
to a location outside Riverdale immediately after the judge's order was
issued, Barbarula said.

Keywords: BLOOMINGDALE. ASSAULT. ANIMAL. BUSINESS

Copyright 1997 Bergen Record Corp. All rights reserved.

At shelter, barking up the wrong tree. - The Baltimore Sun (Baltimore, MD)

Byline: John Woestendiek

May 15--As reporters, we're not supposed to fall in love with those we write about -- no matter how soulful a set of eyes they flash at you.

So sue me.

I was working when I first laid eyes on Ace, visiting the Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter, known as BARCS, on a Saturday in October for an article about people who spend their weekends volunteering.

He was enjoying some outside time with a volunteer; later, I saw him again inside as I walked down a row of pens. He was in the first one, and unlike the rest of the inmates, he wasn't yelping.

Back home, even once my article was done, I kept seeing him -- in my head. I spent the week debating whether I really wanted another dog and all the responsibility that entails.

The Saturday that the article on volunteers appeared on the cover of The Sun's Today section -- with a photo of Ace and a BARCS volunteer -- I headed back to BARCS, my mind made up. I left with a partner.

What exactly did I come home with, though? Then, as now, it was anybody's guess. His official shelter documents called him a 'hound mix.' Several workers at the shelter called him a 'shepherd mix.' On the Web site petfinder.com, where he had been viewed 302 times, he'd been listed as a 'Labrador mix.'

That confusion -- and the possibility that it could be scientifically resolved with a newly available DNA test -- is what led Ace and me back to BARCS 18 months later. It was Step 1 of my quest to trace his roots, a journey that would later include sending his DNA to California for analysis in hopes of finding out what breeds are in him.

First, though, I wanted to see if the shelter knew more about him than it told me at the time I got him, which was basically that he was a 6-month-old stray.

BARCS Executive Director Jennifer Mead was amazed at how big Ace had become in 18 months, and she was as stumped as ever over what breeds he might be.

'We had him down as a hound mix, but I kept thinking shepherd mix, too. He had a hound look to him,' she said. 'But looking at him now ... I don't know that I see the hound. He's so tall, and his ears are so short compared to most of the hound ears, and he's got such a big block head -- as thick as a Rottweiler head.

'If I had to pick two, I would say Rottweiler and something else for a bigger size and a curled-up tail ... either shepherd or Akita.'

AA[acute accent]A

ACEACE[From Page 1C]

When it came to Ace's history, it appeared that was going to be a guessing game as well.

Shelter records showed that he was a stray, found by someone who called animal control to come pick him up.

I asked Mead for the name of that someone, but she declined.

'I'm legally not allowed,' she said. 'But what I could do is call him and give him your number, and he could call you. Whether he'll know any more, I highly doubt it. He may have just found him that day and called us.'

We left it at that, with Mead promising to let me know when she reached him.

Ace was one of the 5,000 to 6,000 dogs -- who are found on the streets, abused, neglected or given up by owners no longer able or willing to care for them -- that end up at BARCS each year. Another 3,000 a year wind up at the private, nonprofit Maryland Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in Baltimore and thousands more at other local and regional humane societies and rescue organizations.

At BARCS, where up to 98 percent of the 10,000 to 12,000 dogs and cats that came through each year were euthanized in the past, about half now get out -- either they are adopted or turned over to rescue groups, Mead said.

Formerly known as the city animal shelter, BARCS, on Stockholm Street south of M&T Bank Stadium, took on nonprofit status in 2005. It is now operated by a board of directors headed by the city's health commissioner, is able to raise money to supplement its city funding and has put more emphasis on finding homes for pets.

Mead, who has two mutts of her own, said about 90 percent of dogs entering the shelter are mixed breeds.

'We don't get a lot of purebreds in, and pretty much any breed has a rescue group that's very willing to take them when they are purebred. There are not many groups that take mixed breeds.'

For Mead, though, mutts have a special appeal and a few advantages.

For one thing, crossbreeding seems to cut down on the genetic problems that can arise in purebreds.

All three breeds Mead mentioned as possibilities for Ace, for example -- Rottweiler, Akita and German shepherd -- have reputations as dogs that can, in some instances, be aggressive.

Ace, though he appreciates a good wrestling match, has shown no evidence of that.

'Not all Rottweilers are bad. Not all Akitas or German shepherds are bad. A lot of it is how they're raised, and some of it is genetics,' Mead said. 'But also I think when you start mixing them you don't always see the same concerns you do when you have a purebred.'

She added, 'Mixes are one of a kind, you'll never get another dog exactly like it. ... The majority of the world says, 'I want that look,' and goes for the purebred. But these guys, their personality, the mix of different things, it's fun. Like the puppy I got. I have no idea what she will look like in the end. Mixed breeds need to become more of a fad.'

I left BARCS not knowing much more than I did when I arrived, but with the hope I might still be able to get in touch with the man who found Ace and called to turn him in. Beyond that, there wasn't any more Mead really knew about Ace's background.

What she couldn't tell us, though, maybe his DNA could.

john.woestendiek@baltsun.com

Tomorrow: Testing Ace's DNA

Copyright (c) 2007, The Baltimore Sun

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

Ticks turning warm weather into neighborhood nightmare - The Beacon News - Aurora (IL)

Kandra Breyne of Aurora with her German shepherds Loki (left) and Odin. Odin contracted Lyme disease last year from ticks that have plagued her neighborhood.

AURORA -- Kandra Breyne and her neighbors are getting a little ticked off about ticks.Several residents of Andover Drive -- all dog owners -- say they are experiencing an infestation of the pesky parasites, which seem to have made a home of a ComEd right-of-way that backs up to their yards.The number of ticks here was unusually high last summer -- and seems to be again this spring -- prompting consternation in this quiet neighborhood on Aurora's far East Side.

Breyne, who has contacted her alderman and is waging a campaign to get rid of the ticks, is particularly worried because her German shepherd contracted Lyme disease last year.

DuPage County and Illinois public health officials say there is no cause for panic.

They advise the residents are most probably seeing the American dog or lone-star ticks. Not that these ticks are harmless -- they can transmit Rocky Mountain spotted fever, although cases away from the illness' namesake region are rare -- but they are not the same as the deer ticks (smaller in size) that can transmit Lyme disease. There are only isolated numbers of these deer ticks in the Chicago metropolitan region and collar counties, health officials say.

Nonetheless, the dog did test positive for antibodies to both Lyme disease and another tick-related illness ehrlichiosis, said Naperville Animal Hospital veterinarian Dr. Anthony Walley. While tests can be inaccurate, the dog also presented with clinical symptoms -- high fever and lethargy. Dog's don't get the characteristic 'bull's-eye' rash that humans with Lyme disease develop.

Breyne's dog, who had to be hooked up to an IV for a couple of days, is faring better now. And both her dogs are now vaccinated for the illness -- a precaution she encourages all dog owners to take -- along with applying tick preventative ointment to dogs as an additional measure.

Lyme disease rare

Still, Breyne remains concerned about catching the disease herself.

Again, county and state officials say not to worry too much.

There were two human cases of Lyme disease in DuPage County last year that were not traced back to out-of-state travel, as with other cases in the past.

Neither state nor DuPage County health agencies have received a large number of calls about animals dying of the illness, which would be a likely precursor to humans contracting the disease.

'It would be pretty big news if we had an established population of deer tick like in northwestern Illinois,' says Linn Haramis, an entomologist with the Illinois Department of Public Health. 'Although, it might be possible for a deer tick to fall off a migratory bird.'

Lorrie Nimsgern, an administrator at VCA Aurora Animal Hospital, adds that many dogs don't get Lyme disease because they have been properly protected by their owners with flea and tick preventive ointments. But they would be more prone to being infected by the few deer ticks around than would humans.

'If it is a hunting or a camping dog,' she said, 'then it is possible.'

Grass too high?

Lyme disease aside, the neighbors along Andover Drive say they are alarmed by the sheer number of ticks they are seeing.

'It is so bad that we have the dog on the prescription stuff for the vet, although she rarely goes out,' said another neighbor Melisa Raketic. 'They are crawling on our baby; they are crawling on me.'

Indeed, the folks at both Naperville Animal Hospital and VCA Aurora Animal Hospital have noticed it's a bad year for ticks.

Several of these neighbors are asking for the grass to be cut along the utility right of way -- and there is disagreement between some who believe in spraying pesticides and those who don't.

'(The problem) is huge and it is all because of the tall grass,' said resident Dave Burgeson. 'Also, people are dumping crap out there because they can.'

Aurora Alderman Leroy Keith contacted ComEd, which has referred the matter to its 'vegetation management' department.

Complicating the matter is that some of the residents say the grass was planted there five years ago and left to grow on purpose by ComEd as part of a prairie restoration project.

'I don't like the mowed suburban lawns,' said an undecided Suki Baldwin, also of Andover Drive, 'but the ticks are a great problem.'

Meanwhile, a ComEd spokeswoman was not able to find anybody who knew if the grass had been left to grow on purpose.

Anyone wanting a tick identified should call Rick Daugherty, environmental program manager for the DuPage County Health Department, at (630) 682-7979, Ext. 6111.

Tips for tick control

Wear light-colored protective clothing -- long-sleeved shirts, long trousers, boots or sturdy shoes and head coverings. Tuck trouser cuffs into socks.

Apply insect repellent containing DEET primarily to clothes. Apply sparingly to exposed skin.

Walk in the center of trails so weeds don't brush against you.

Check yourself and your children and family members for ticks. If your pets spend time outdoors, regularly check them for ticks, too.

Remove any tick promptly. Do not burn the tick with a match or cover it with petroleum jelly or nail polish. Do not use bare hands to remove the tick because tick secretions might carry disease. The best way to remove a tick is to grasp it firmly with tweezers as close to the skin as possible and gently, but firmly, pull it straight out. Do not twist or jerk the tick. If tweezers are not available, grasp the tick with a piece of tissue or cloth or whatever can be used as a barrier between your fingers and the tick.

Ticks can be safely disposed of by placing them in a container of soapy water or alcohol, sticking them to tape or flushing them down the toilet. If you want to have the tick identified, put it in a small vial of alcohol.

Make sure the property around your home is unattractive to ticks. Keep your grass mowed and keep weeds cut.

Monty's got his illness licked. - Birmingham Evening Mail (England)

A CANINE copper is back on the beat with a Midland police force after a wonder cure saved him from being pensioned off.

Staffordshire police dog Monty is now fighting fit just weeks after being diagnosed with a potentially serious illness of the pancreas.

Animal health firm Pharmacia and Upjohn Ltd came to the rescue and the police are now satisfied that Monty will remain in the peak of health as long as he keeps on taking his medicine.

The seven-year-old German shepherd is a crack member of the Staffordshire police dog squad and, with his handler Pc Chris Hewitt, has represented the force in regional competitions.

It was feared that the dog's police career was over when he became ill. But Chris Johnson, Midland sales representative with Pharmacia and Upjohn, heard of the problem and offered to supply suitable medication for the rest of Monty's working life.

He said: 'German shepherds are one of my favourite breed of dogs. After hearing of Monty's good track record with the police it seemed a shame not to help him to keep working.

'His condition is something to which German shepherds can be quite susceptible.'

'We are very grateful for the help that Monty is being given,' PC Hewitt said.

'He has never missed a day's duty, but without treatment he might have reached the stage where he would have had to retire early.

VETERINARIAN HELPS CANINES IN NYC RESCUE - The Boston Globe (Boston, MA)

BURLINGTON - Siri Dayton was prepared. A veterinarian with theBurlington Animal Hospital, Dayton went to the smoldering ruins ofthe World Trade Center last week knowing she would see some severecases of injured rescue dogs.

A graduate of Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine,Dayton served an internship at Boston's renowned Angell MemorialAnimal Hospital, 'which holds me in very good stead for this sort ofthing,' she said en route to joining her Veterinary MedicalAssistance Team in New York.

'Just about the worst of the worst kind of critical cases that youcan see in veterinary medicine came in on my graveyard shift,' Daytonsaid. 'There are some veterinarians who would be potentially a littleintimidated by what you might find, having to go in and amputate aleg in the field or something.'

Dayton has the skills, stomach, and heart for the work. Her owndog, a mixed breed named Ella, arrived in Dayton's care as a puppyabout eight years ago after the dog was severely beaten by its owner.'A neighbor brought her to Tufts,' Dayton said. 'I was the student onintensive care when she came in, and I nursed her through it and tookher home.'

The rescue dogs at work in New York, more than 95 percent of whichare German shepherds, are suffering from a number of maladies as theyhelp sort through the rubble at ground zero.

'Cuts, scrapes, dust, lots of foot injuries and lacerations,broken claws,' said Barry Kellogg, commander of Dayton'sveterinarians and technicians, a support team of the US Public HealthService on the trade center mission.

Kellogg said last week that as far as he knew none of theapproximately 300 dogs on the job had died, but Dayton said someserious problems could surface later. 'You can't put a respirator ona dog,' she said. 'So, I imagine there are going to be some serioushealth problems for these dogs down the line.'

Dayton's is one of four veterinary teams that serve the countryduring presidentially declared disasters. Her team is based in NewEngland, and the others are in Maryland, North Carolina, and SouthernCalifornia, Kellogg said.

Once a disaster has been declared, some team members go inimmediately while others remain on standby to rotate in and relievetheir colleagues as rescue and recovery efforts continue. Dayton wasscheduled to leave home this past Wednesday and stay for about aweek. She could return to New York in November.

'I've had this desire to do some sort of humanitarian aid, andthis seemed like the perfect opportunity to volunteer my time,' saidDayton, who got involved with the team three or four years ago. 'Iwas a very high-end emergency doctor at Angell Memorial, and this isa way of making use of the kind of skill that I have.'

The New England team, consisting of about six each ofveterinarians and veterinary technicians, arrived on the scene withintwo days of the attack. 'We were the closest in proximity and themost appropriate in terms of talent,' Dayton said. 'We happen to havesmall animal veterinarians on the team, which is very different thansome of the other teams that have some large-animal vets. They needsomeone who can go in and take a valuable dog and stabilize it.That's what I do.'

Dehydration is one of the biggest problems for dogs, and they canreceive fluids intravenously, according to Dayton. 'You can also givefluids just under the skin and they get absorbed more slowly,' shesaid. 'If the dog isn't very critical you can do that, and get themready for the next shift that they have to work.'

Leg and foot injuries are common, and pairs of padded dog bootieshave been shipped in by the thousands, according to Kellogg. Thebooties can be worn on flat surfaces but not in the rubble pile,Kellogg said.

Dayton added that without the unencumbered use of their paws tofeel their way around, the dogs can slip and sustain more seriousinjuries than pad lacerations.

Dogs and their handlers work 12-hour shifts, as do theveterinarians.

German shepherds are regarded as best for this type of workbecause they are highly intelligent, strong, durable, and easy totrain. 'They're often difficult to have as pets because they're sohigh-strung,' Dayton said. 'They have so much mental and physicalenergy.' When not working, German shepherds can resemble people wiredon caffeine, Dayton said.

The dogs, whether they are used for rescue or to locate corpses,can suffer from emotional stress and depression. 'They very clearlyknow death,' Dayton said. 'Animals' reactions to seeing people die issomething we couldn't possibly understand, but it's a very powerfulthing. It's really taxing for them.'

Monty's got his illness licked - Birmingham Evening Mail (England)

A CANINE copper is back on the beat with a Midland police forceafter a wonder cure saved him from being pensioned off.

Staffordshire police dog Monty is now fighting fit just weeksafter being diagnosed with a potentially serious illness of thepancreas.

Animal health firm Pharmacia and Upjohn Ltd came to the rescueand the police are now satisfied that Monty will remain in the peakof health as long as he keeps on taking his medicine.

The seven-year-old German shepherd is a crack member of theStaffordshire police dog squad and, with his handler Pc ChrisHewitt, has represented the force in regional competitions.

It was feared that the dog's police career was over when hebecame ill. But Chris Johnson, Midland sales representative withPharmacia and Upjohn, heard of the problem and offered to supplysuitable medication for the rest of Monty's working life.

He said: 'German shepherds are one of my favourite breed of dogs.After hearing of Monty's good track record with the police it seemeda shame not to help him to keep working.

'His condition is something to which German shepherds can bequite susceptible.'

'We are very grateful for the help that Monty is being given,' PCHewitt said.

'He has never missed a day's duty, but without treatment he mighthave reached the stage where he would have had to retire early.