Thu, 06/12/2008 - 11:31am

To: Sun, 6/8/2008 - 7:38pm :
The print edition clearly states that this is NOT Sheriff's Officer Brunell. I have no idea why the on-line article failed to include that, although I have my suspicions. I know SO Ed Brunell very well, and he is a very responsible and community-minded individual.

Tue, 06/10/2008 - 11:55pm

The police use viscous dogs to track offenders and bite them. No one ever complains when a teen is nabbed by a police dog and scared for life. Don should send a trained police dog in to arrest wild pit bulls.

Tue, 06/10/2008 - 7:04pm

PIT BULLS SHOULD BE OUTLAWED

Mon, 06/09/2008 - 10:56pm

"Having Pit bulls as pets is as sensible as taking your KIDS on a VEGAS VACATION!!!"

You are able to write, but must not be able to read! The Border Collie was the attacking dog. There is no mention of the pit bull mix being involved in the attack - only the foolish and unfounded assumption that particular breeds can be assumed dangerous. Do you know what happens when you assume something?

Check American Temperament Testing and you will see that the breeds that are commonly referred to as "pit bulls" rate as high as Golden Retrievers - better than many common pets. There are reasons that some of these dogs are indeed dangerous and those reasons need to be addressed. It is inefficient to pursue an entire breed when it is not the breed's temperament that is a problem. Go to the source of the problems and resolve those - the 2 legged monsters who are allowed to create 4-legged monsters and unleash them on our communities.

First, we have to set aside the prejudice and educate to eliminate the ignorance that is seen when pit bulls are criticized for an attack that is actually perpetrated by a border collie. Without my pit bull service dogs my life would be lonely and difficult, but these are wonderful dogs who are trained to do a job that they love. Temperament testing proves that they are not born as dangerous dogs - it requires work on the part of human beings to create a dangerous dog and that's who we need to go after - with a vengeance!

Mon, 06/09/2008 - 10:29pm

Potentially dangerous dog? I've read through this article several times and I cannot see where the pit bull type mix was involved in the attack. I fully understand why the owner should be fined for allowing the dogs to run loose - that's not safe for man nor animal, but why is the pit bull type mix being referred to as "potentially dangerous dog?" If a dog is truly a potential danger and sees an attack going on, that dog is certainly going to join in on the attack. Is this just another case of calling the animal a potential danger based upon nothing more than his/her breed?

First, the problem with banning "pit bulls" is that most people don't know what type of dog they are really talking about. The dog people want to have banned are the dangerous dogs with large heads and huge muscles that have been turned into 4-legged monsters by 2-legged monsters. People KNOW they are "pit bulls" because the news and other people tell them they are pit bulls. The most obvious problem is apparent in this story - the attacking dog was not a pit bull type dog. The border collie is not usually lumped in with what is regarded as dangerous dogs when judging by breed only - oops!

The pure bred pit bull type dogs are recognized as Staffordshire Bull Terriers, American Pit Bull Terrier, and American Staffordshire Terrier. If you talk about “bully” type dogs, then you are taking in even more breeds including American Bulldogs.

When you listen to professionals - vets, vet techs, animal control officers, those who show dogs and have trained and handled canines for years - they agree - THERE ARE NO DANGEROUS BREEDS. Dangerous dogs are created and you will not get an argument from me or most owners of any bully breed that our breed is being tortured and abused so that 4-legged monsters are being created by 2-legged monsters. One of the reasons that professionals would rather deal with one of the properly raised bully breeds is because of their well-documented temperament. Go to American Temperament Testing and see for yourself. You can see that of the 703 Golden Retrievers who were tested, 503 passed, 111 failed, with a temperament rating of 84.2% - mellow, eh? Then here is my gentle giant an American Staffordshire Terrier where 548 were tested, 457 passed, 91 failed, with a temperament rating of 83.4%. There were 586 American Pit Bull Terriers tested, 494 passed, 92 failed, with a rating of 84.3% just above the Golden Retriever! The Bull Terrier where 63 were tested, 58 passed, with only 5 failing and that gave a rating of 92.1%. There were 151 American Bulldogs tested, 127 passed and only 24 failed, giving a 84.1% rating. The last of the bully breed group is the breed of my present service dog, my sweet little Phoebe who has her own fan clubs throughout our town because of her great personality. They tested 80 Staffordshire Bull Terriers with 71 passing and only 9 failing which gave this group a rating of 88.8%. Are you beginning to get the honest truth that when it comes to pet pit bull type dogs, the owners know that we can wear tee-shirts saying, “Forget the dog, worry about the owner.” Mankind is the most destructive creature on earth and it’s mankind who destroys dogs by forcing them to be dangerous and that includes pit bull type dogs. Left to their breed attributes, they are excellent, sweet, family dogs just as they have been for decades before the criminals began destroying them.

So far, I've only compared the bully breeds to the Golden Retriever because you can go to the site and find for yourself that the miniature Poodle earned a rating of 76.6%, Lhasa Apso 69.2%, different types of dachshunds rated from 70.2 to 86.4%, Chihuahua 70.3%, and Cocker Spaniel 81.7% - coming in below any of the bully breeds. These are facts, not hysterical hype, these particular tests are dated December 2007. I'm tired of having all this criticism of a really great dog breed (and those who own and love them) by folks who base their "knowledge" on the mainstream media that caters to a middle school level education. Dig in, get the actual facts and stand up for what is right, not for what is hype.

These hysterical stories that have been stirring up communities are first of all about a very small minority of the breed and, worse yet, when you really pay attention, the responsible dogs are often mis-identified because of all the recent publicity. However, when they finally get around to announcing that the offending dog was NOT a pit bull, it's a week or two later and the announcement is absolutely not on the front page where the story was printed, but buried towards the back of the paper. This is an absolute fact, yet too many people are still jumping up and down believing that every vicious dog attack is perpetrated by a pit bull type dog. Go to either or both of these sites to play "Find the Pit Bull." All pictures are of pure bred dogs, no mixes, and they are all identified so you will know what breed you have picked out. Most people are VERY surprised to discover that it is not easy to identify the pit bull type dog and that's why this breed is blamed for so many attacks - it's simply too easy (and lazy) to say it was a pit bull and who is going to argue with you? Find the Pit Bull Game or Find the Pit Bull Even though these games consist of breeds that look similar to pit bull type dogs, news reports that fail to properly identify the dangerous dog of an attack story have often misidentified dogs that look nothing like a pit bull type dog and later admit that the perpetrator was a Labrador or even a much smaller dog. However, once the report has been made that it was a "pit bull," the damage has been done by poisoning people's minds.

Then there is also this persistent, but totally false idea of pit bulls "turning mean at some unidentifiable time in the future." Why do people actually fall for something so incredible? Go ask the experts before you start throwing around such bizarre ideas. When you read a report of some owner who "swears" his dog never before showed any signs of aggression, also notice that somewhere in that report there are absolute "red flags" that we have to be intelligent enough to pick up on. The owner mentions that the dog has been happily chained in the yard for the past 2 years with no problems. Swell - CDC and other authorities cite chaining as one of the problems that can lead to dog bites - by any breed. Chaining, intact dogs, unsupervised children and dogs, all these lead to much higher possibilities of dog bites. Pay attention to the reports. Many times the news article does not bother to mention that the animal was intact or that there was another dog in heat in the area that led to agitation. All these things create an atmosphere where biting is much more likely to occur. It is NOT because the dog just turned mean out of the blue!! If dogs are intact, hopefully it's because the owner is a professional breeder and knows how to protect the dog and people from situations that will stress the dog and possibly put people in danger. If you have people, ignorant people, handling these animals, then everyone is in danger. It's actually very sad that an animal is likely to lose it's life just because an owner doesn't realize they are putting everyone in a dangerous situation when the animal is doing nothing but being driven by natural instincts.

When I worked in law enforcement the only pitties I knew belonged to criminals so I had little interest in any of the actual breeds even though I knew enough to understand that these dogs were the exception to the rule and were created to behave horribly; they were not born to behave with so much hostility. Later, I had the opportunity to research the bully breeds and eventually adopted two sisters. I was so thrilled at the excellent family dogs they were that I have never looked back and I certainly have understood why they have been such popular dogs in American culture and even heroes. When I found myself in need of a service dog, I was thrilled to discover that I could use my American Staffordshire Terrier as my service dog and she was my 24/7 partner until the day she died of a stroke. The next answer to my prayers was a smaller bully, my Staffordshire Bull Terrier, but again, a wonderful, loving partner who not only assists me, but makes friends everywhere she goes because she not only adores children, but loves cats, other dogs, birds, and horses.

My pitties, even when they are senior citizens with diabetes, arthritis, and other reasons why they might become cross or grumpy as many other dogs do, remain just the same as they have always been - they have a happy smile as soon as they see that my eyes have opened, they are still the "wiggle, giggle" kids because their joy goes beyond just wagging their tails and takes over their entire body, they are still content to allow kids to hang off their ears or put their hands in their food dishes (my recent girl who was rescued after being abused by criminals for the first year of her life passed her temperament test when my grandson walked up behind her, grabbed her tail, and CHOMP - bit right down on her tail - she looked at him like, "Hmm, cannibal!" then she came wagging over to cuddle with me and my oldest grandson - yes, that scared me, because I had not raised her from a pup, but she behaved as the typical family pet pit bull type - completely tolerant of children), and still love being "pillows" to any cats in the house. That's another thing you don't see the papers reporting, but take a poll of pet pit bull type dog owners and you will find that the majority of them love cats and are very gentle and tender with them.

Anyone who is interested in the FACTS about more pit bull type dogs who are working dogs can start with these sites: Diane Jessup’s LawDogsUSA, she provides American Pit Bull Terriers to law enforcement agencies to work as narcotics and explosives detection dogs and is now expanding to include a variety of odor detection (such as wildlife). Due to their inherent "people friendly" nature, she does NOT offer American pit bulls as "biting" (patrol) dogs. LawDogsUSA offers sweet natured, friendly detection dogs only. Go to: LawDogsUSA Also, For Pits’ Sake where they train and provide search and rescue dogs and therapy dogs. And, TheraPits

I understand why you are scared about what you read in the news or see on the TV news. It's horrible and shocking when we see man's best friend turn into a true beast and destroy or damage life - especially when it's a child, a senior, or another innocent animal. Just think how those of us feel who love these breeds and have our gentle giants cuddled up to us right now - because these dangerous dogs have been created by 2-legged monsters, we have people wanting to destroy our families and kill our darlings and in cases such as mine, kill our partners. There are people who are not interested in getting actual facts, but just want to tell me that I'm supposed to "get my head sewed on straight" or go live someplace else - all because I love a breed of dog who serves me with love, humor, loyalty and tenderness, dogs who are gifts from a loving God. When I know that there are towns that I can't even safely travel through with my service dog without risking the danger of having her taken from me and killed, I already feel as though I'm more in Hitler's time and place than the USA.

Do any of you who want all bully breeds eliminated actually believe that those of us who own and love our gentle giants are somehow not afraid for the safety of our dogs and ourselves when it comes to these damaged, dangerous animals? However, there's a difference in thinking when it comes to actually dealing with facts or becoming hysterical over myths and non-issues. Even though we see many reports and headlines screaming about PIT BULL ATTACKS, you need to go beyond the headlines and find out the truth. The truth is that you are much more likely to be hit by lightning than to be attacked by dangerous dogs. Yes, bully breeds are popular, but the dangerous dogs are in the minority. Part of the trouble exists because of the breed bans themselves. These dogs who attack are not our family dogs that we are bragging about, do you for one minute honestly believe these are family pets who have gotten hungry and turned wild? No, these are incredibly unfortunate canines who, because of their physical traits, were taken by 2-legged monsters and beaten with chains, tortured with water thinking they were being drowned, given electrical shocks over and over (trying to comprehend what they had done wrong and how they could stop the torture), they were shot full of drugs that alter their personalities and make them insanely thirsty and hungry, and every step of the way, the humans they looked to for love and companionship were urging them to fight, fight, kill, kill, kill - that being the only time they heard one word of praise. These horrible crimes start with the 2-legged monsters who completely destroy the personalities of these dogs who have been valued as canine clowns, loyal nannies, heroes, gentle giants who love kittens and are known for their ready smiles. Now the criminals turn them loose in the streets instead of paying fines or facing jail time or if the dogs don't earn them money any more, they dump them instead of feeding and caring for them. These problems can never be resolved unless all responsible citizens work to report anything that might be related to dog fighting - these nonsense excuses about not wanting to get involved will NOT cut it. Law enforcement personnel do NOT go out and tell the bad guys who gave them the information. If you wait for "someone" else to get involved, you can't complain when things go wrong - you are part of the problem.

For all the stories you hear from those of us who love our bully breeds there is not one of us who want to take our gentle giants out to the streets and face these damaged, unfortunate beasts. My little Phoebe would probably try her best to protect me, but she is timid if she hears a loud noise - my little girl is all about love, laughter and play - she is not prepared to fight for her life nor mine. Believe me, I don't want these damaged dogs on the street either. Yet, I certainly am not going to remain silent while unthinking individuals demand that I loose my civil rights as an American citizen and not be allowed to choose the breed of dog that I want for a companion. I will stand beside anyone and demand that our local governments pass reasonable laws that will go after those criminals who should never again own and destroy dogs. Laws that will hold humans responsible to pay for any damage that their dogs do; send them to jail where they won't continue to endanger our society. However, don't think that I'm going to sit quietly by and have some hysterical, non-thinking person tell me that I have to have my head sewed on correctly, have to leave my home, or give up my companion just because you can't figure out that you've been fed a bunch of bull by the media - AGAIN! Our elected officials make many promises while they are asking for our votes, but it’s time for us to finally insist that they not just take the easiest solutions, but work to find the best solutions that will work long term. If you ban one breed, you still have to deal with how many other breeds that are causing problems and are downright dangerous? What has really been resolved? It’s not a good solution, just an easy one.

Every community deserves better laws than to simply declare specific breeds as dangerous - it's expensive, almost impossible to truly enforce, it destroys happy families who present no danger to anyone, and it doesn't protect the community from more than a small segment of the danger. Laws that actually work to protect communities from truly dangerous dogs, of any breed, and from dangerous people are working in other towns. Why settle for the most expensive, least efficient solution?

Mon, 06/09/2008 - 6:40pm

Having Pit bulls as pets is as sensible as taking your KIDS on a VEGAS VACATION!!!

Mon, 06/09/2008 - 4:48pm

There are alot of Top Guys who work for Lower Township. They all do a great job too!

Mon, 06/09/2008 - 10:41am

Just because a dog is a certain breed does not make it dangerous. Many of the so called "potentially dangerous" dogs are gentle animals. This ordinance is just the first step to a dictatorship & punishes responsible, loving owners. Eventually certain breeds will be outlawed completely. Watch out all you dog owners who are praising this. Your animal could be next.

Mon, 06/09/2008 - 8:37am

Don and Ed are good guys. Really I would call them Top Guys.

Mon, 06/09/2008 - 7:25am

He does a fabulous job!

Sun, 06/08/2008 - 8:16pm

Are you all Don's family???

Sun, 06/08/2008 - 8:10pm

Don takes animal control to its highest level. Thanks, Don, for all the good work you do.

Sun, 06/08/2008 - 7:38pm

Is the dog's owner the same Ed Brunell the same as the county K-9 officer who was
given the job to beng in the top man at the county animal shelter

Sun, 06/08/2008 - 2:20pm

Don is the best!!

Sun, 06/08/2008 - 11:41am

Its about time .This is long overdue ! I told people about this problem and nothing was done .Why do they wait for a tragic accident to take action!!!

Sun, 06/08/2008 - 10:15am

Don Montgomery is one of the best employees in the Township....keep up the good work!