This needs to STOP! 127 Sent to Death!!!

[VTBeggaBulls]

Sent: Tuesday, February 17, 2009 3:53 PM
Subject: court-order kill 127 American pit bull terriers—60 puppies


Stop BSL



Court Order Issued to Euthanize Seized Dogs



February 17, 2009 : 11:58 AM

North Carolina residents urged to contact legislators to make sure this does not reoccur

By Barbara Williamson, Best Friends staff

A coalition of animal welfare groups has formed to protest the court-order to kill all the 127 American pit bull terriers —60 of them puppies—seized from the Wildside Kennels in Wilkesboro, North Carolina.

Led by Best Friends Animals Society, the coalition includes BAD RAP (Bay Area Doglovers Responsible About Pit Bulls), Animal Farm Foundation, Villalobos Rescue Center, and Downtown Dog Rescue.

Monday’s Wilkesboro Superior Court order announced by Judge Ed Wilson would put all of the dogs down after their owner, Ed Faron had been sentenced to jail for 8-10 months. The dogs were seized Dec. 10, 2008 during a raid on Faron’s Wildside Kennels.

Ledy VanKavage, an attorney for Best Friends Animal Society said, “With Faron’s conviction North Carolina’s law enforcement and judicial system sent a strong message that dog fighting will not be condoned in their state. We applaud their courage. Now, we ask them to show the same courage when it comes to innocent victims of dog fighting, the dogs themselves. We have ample evidence that the dogs from these situations should not be stereotyped and deserve an opportunity to be evaluated for potential adoptability.”

The coalition is urging North Carolina, and other states, to let go of old, discredited policies that assume all such dogs are inherently damaged or dangerous. The most publicized example are the rousing successes of the dogs seized from Michael Vick’s dog fighting operation: many of those dogs are now honored members of family, therapy dogs or making great strides with their rescue groups.

Best Friends is urging citizens to contact their state legislators to change North Carolina law and delete the clause in the law that makes it possible for dogs harbored for fighting to automatically be deemed “dangerous” dogs.

“Dogs should be judged as individuals,” VanKavage said. “Their adoptability should be judged on their behavior and not their breed.”

“Our experience has shown that every custody case reveals highly adoptable individuals that do not reflect the tragic circumstances into which they were born. Without evaluations, these dogs are lost,” said Donna Reynolds Executive Director BAD RAP.

“Some of these dogs are mere puppies and there is absolutely no reason to destroy them,” said VanKavage. “Why should an innocent puppy, born into this type of situation, face automatic death because of its breed?”

The groups point out that dogs raised for fighting shouldn’t be summarily doomed. For example, 22 of the Michael Vick dogs at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, BADRAP, and other organizations have made great progress with dogs from the Vick fighting bust. Some of these dogs were condemned by other national humane organizations to be the most violent dogs in America. Now many have their Canine Good Citizenship and some are therapy dogs.

Rebecca Huss, the court-appointed Special Master in the Michael Vick dog fighting case involving Bad Newz Kennels said some of the dogs have undergone transformation and are serving others, some are in foster homes, and a few have been adopted.

“It is consistent with public safety concerns to evaluate each dog as an individual to determine whether they can be placed in the community,” Huss said. “It is my opinion that every dog should be evaluated on an individual basis. The Bad Newz Kennels case shows there is no reason for euthanizing dogs merely by their breed or location where it was seized.”

HOW YOU CAN HELP:

► Please do not let something like this happen again. Residents of North Carolina are urged to contact your state Senator, Representatives, and Senator Stan Bingham to request a redraft of North Carolina Statute NC 67-1 - 4.1 (a)(1).

Ask that the law be made stronger; however, insist on striking "b" from the definition of “Dangerous Dog” (remove “Any dog owned or harbored primarily or in part for the purpose of dog fighting, or any dog trained for dog fighting”).

Remember, all dogs are individuals and should be evaluated as such, not lumped together by group or breed.

Senator Stan Bingham
16 W. Jones Street, Room 2117
Raleigh, NC 27601-2808
Phone: 919-733-5665
E-mail: Stan.Bingham@ ncleg.net

Find out who your state legislators are here, by inputting your zip code + 4 (scroll down page, right hand column).

For more information:
• Time Is Running Out For Dogs Seized In Dog Fighting Case

Posted by Jennifer Hayes, Best Friends staff
Photo credit: taken by Clay Myers, Best Friends photographer

[VTBeggaBulls]

Final Update
127 DOGS DEAD-HSUS SUPPORTS & ENCOURAGES BREED BIGOTRY


Dogs Seized in Dog Fighting Raid are Dead...SEE BELOW

* C J NOTE....

HSUS SUPPORTS & ENCOURAGES BREED BIGOTRY

JUST MY OPINION BUT AS LONG AS THE HSUS

"continues to call for the euthanasia of dogs seized from dog fighters...."

LEGISLATORS, LAW ENFORCEMENT AND ANIMAL CONTROL OFFICIALS

WILL HAVE AN EXCUSE TO MASSACRE PERCEIVED DANGEROUS BREEDS

& NOT SUFFICIENTLY PROSECUTE & PUNISH THE TRUE DANGER

BREEDERS & OWNERS

* c j NOTE- ..

JUST MY OPINION ....I WILL NEVER DONATE AGAIN

AND WILL ENCOURAGE OTHERS NOT TO DONATE AS WELL

TO THE HSUS OR ANY OTHER GROUP THAT SUPPORTS

BREED SPECIFIC LEGISLATION, EUTHANASIA AND BIGOTRY



"HSUS and county officials had handled the dogs

and said that even the puppies were aggressive,

and the dogs would kill other animals."



Dogs Seized in Dog Fighting Raid are Dead

Posted Feb 17, 2009 by lauraallen

o Dog Fighting

o Breed Bans



Update Feb. 17, 2009: All of the dogs are now dead.



As long as HSUS continues to call for the euthanasia of dogs seized from dog fighters, it is unlikely local officials will evaluate each dog individually and give them a chance at a life free of abuse and fighting.



This is no different than judging all dogs by breed. In fact, it is judging them by their breeding, predicting future behavior from what is assumed to be their breeding and maybe a few minutes of interaction with some of the dogs.



For more on this and the position of HSUS as articulated by John Goodwin, manager of animal fighting issues, read Animal Law Coalition's report below.



Original report: Wilkes County, North Carolina Superior Court Judge Ed Wilson today ordered the deaths of 127 pit bull type dogs seized in a raid. The dogs were owned by Ed Faron, a breeder who used and sold the dogs for fighting.



At a hearing today to determine the dogs' fate, prosecutors and other Wilkes County officials as well as the Humane Society of the U.S. argued that the dogs are dangerous and would pose a risk if adopted.



HSUS and county officials had handled the dogs and said that even the puppies were aggressive, and the dogs would kill other animals.



A number of people and animal welfare organizations including Bad Rap, had offered to adopt the dogs. The dogs that belonged to Michael Vick were evaluated and placed with several organizations and some are now in homes.



John Goodwin, manager of animal fighting issues for HSUS, said, "I saw these dogs, and in fact handled many of them while they were being evaluated. These dogs would most certainly kill any other dog they could get to.



"It is very sad that people are also missing the bigger story, that our work has shut down one of the top breeders of fighting dogs in the United States. Dogfighters are seeing their heros go to prison. This is having an effect, and many dogfighters are leaving that world behind as they recognize the cost of doing business is too great. HSUS is the only organization in the United States that has an entire campaign that works full time on animal fighting issues.



"I support pit bull rescue, but there has to be a group that goes farther and hits at the root of the problem. That is what we are doing by putting leaders in the dogfighting criminal underworld out of business.

"Lastly, Wilkes County euthanizes 3,000 healthy, adoptable animals a year simply because there are not enough good homes opening their doors to these needy animals. I find it disturbing that the groups clamoring for media attention over these 127 dogs raise no fuss, and offer no assistance, for the other 3,000 dogs put down in that county each year."



Goodwin also cited the cost of rehabilitating the Vick dogs - more than $1 million - and noted most are still in individual runs in shelters and not in homes.



Dog fighting is a Class H felony in North Carolina, and that includes owning, possessing or training a dog for use as bait or for fighting and spectators and anyone who "instigates, promotes, conducts, is employed at, provides a dog for, allows property under the person's ownership or control to be used for, gambles on, or profits" from using a dog for bait during a fight or fighting dogs. N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-362.2



Faron has pleaded guilty to 14 counts of felony dog fighting and was sentenced to 8 to 10 months in prison. His son, Donni Juan Casanova,

18, pleaded guilty to one count of felony dog fighting and was given a suspended sentence of 6 to 8 months.



Amanda Grace Lunsford, 25, the third and final defendant in the case, pleaded guilty today to a misdemeanor count of cruelty to animals. Lunsford was sentenced to 45 days, which was suspended for 24 months of supervised probation.



For information about a dog fighting raid in Texas that resulted in the deaths of hundreds of dogs simply because they were "believed" to be dangerous.



Also read about the efforts made to save the Vick dogs including an amicus brief filed on their behalf in the forfeiture case.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

Please take a few minutes and make calls to the following. Let them know each dog is different and should have a chance, not written off and killed simply because of breed or some belief he may be dangerous. These dogs were not evaluated for a sufficient period of time, and these victims of dog fighting were not given a chance at rehabilitation. Unless we fight this, governments will continue to make decisions based on the myth that breed and breeding is a predictor of behavior.



Wilkes County Board of Commissioners
110 North Street
Wilksboro, NC 28697
Phone: 336-651-7346
Fax: 336) 651-7568

Wilkes County Attorney Tony Triplett
Vannoy, Colvard, Triplett & Vannoy
922 C Street
P.O. Box 1388
North Wilkesboro, NC 28659
Phone: 336-667-7201
Fax: 336-838-7250
E-mail: ttriplett@ vannoylaw.com

District Attorney Tom Horner
500 Courthouse Drive Suite 2022
Wilkesboro, NC 28697
Phone: 336-667-6361 or 667-2994
Fax: 336 667-7999

Find out about hotlines you can call to report suspected animal fighting

[BRANDON BOND]

http://www.allornothingtattoo.com/in...b=greatpitball

[Cure Dusk]

After reading this thread...First of all, my blood was boiling...
It said it all in the opening post!
Look what happened to the family & look what happened to the dogs!
WTF???
Brandon, thanx for EVERYTHING you do to help the animals!
And Raven & Rockstar & everybody else who helps out...
This is an IMPORTANT cause!

[VTBeggaBulls]

That is why we just purchased 3 VIP tickets to go to VEGAS BABY. I am bringing my 80 year old Father on this trip with me. I am trying to get my brother to come as well, just get more money for the event. We have to come together to stop this this BS. We could not miss out on this, it is for the best face lickers on the planet...... Tricia

[Nicole]

AWESOME! LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU THERE!