JO STAATS

Founder WVs first and oldest pit bull rescueFormer Board Member FOHO WV 2010 - 2013Member WV Voters for Animal Welfare28 Years of animal rescue experience and legislative work Author E.A.S.E. Effective Animal Safety Enforcement and educational programs for law enforcement and public Co-created a national legal news and radio network WV Expert Witness in dog bite and abuse casesAnti -Breed Specific Legislation Advocate

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INDEEDITS NOT ABOUT THE BREED!

We identify nearly everything in life by visual ID, dont we? Whether its something as personal as our partners, or our vehicles, or the shirt we have on our back. Visual ID plays a large role in our personal decisions. Its how were programmed from early in life. Thats pretty! Shes blonde! Hes a big guy! That car looks fast!And, weve applied that same practice to identifying dogs, naturally.*

How Do WeIdentify shelter dogs?Identify breeds?Identify mixed breeds?

Shelter dogs may be of unknown origin if picked up as a stray, or if an owner relinquished dog, we may be told what breed the owner believes the dog to be. But, either way we ID the dog based on what breed we believe the dog most resembles.IDing breeds however is really only possible if: a) the dog comes with a pedigree; or b) a DNA test is performed.So, IDing a mixed breed dog is really just a big guess. While some are more practiced and more informed about the more than 600 known breeds. So how many in this room are regularly tasked with IDing a breed based on your visual inspection?*

NAME GAME

Name Game

NAME GAME

NAME GAMEEach of these dogs was given a blood-based DNA test to determine mix of breeds

MARS Wisdom Panel DNA Testing is over 90% accurate and currently maintains DNA samples of more than 200 breeds and types of breed (DNA) markers. Visual identification is based upon the observation of a handful of variable breed-associated physical traits, such as coat color, body size, skull shape and whether the ears or erect or floppy. These physical traits are found in many different breeds and are controlled by approximately 50 of the roughly 20,000 genes that create a dog. *

DNA RESULTSSignificant amount of Chesapeake Bay Retriever with some Chihuahua

Name Game DNA RESULTSSignificant Boxer with some Bulldog

DNA RESULTSIntermediate KeeshondIntermediate Boston Terrier

NAME GAME

DNA RESULTS25% Labrador Retriever25% Swedish Vallhund12.5% German Spitz12.5% Weimeraner

So, the eyes lie?Physical appearance is largely controlled by a small number of genes. These genes can have both recessive and dominant variants and the variants that are present determine the visible effect on physical traits seen. As a result the presence of various breed signatures does not guarantee that the dog will look like all detected breeds.

The DNA test is better than visual breed identification because it takes into account the pattern of genetic variation at many different regions across the dog genome to generate a "genetic snapshot" of a mixed-breed dog's ancestry. The resulting genetic evidence for what breeds make up a mixed-breed dog may or may not agree with visual observations, but they do agree with what scientists have discovered from two decades of sequencing and studying genomes. - See more at: http://nationalcanineresearchcouncil.com/breed-identification-1/#sthash.V1aSp20x.dpuf*

What about policy-making?How does breed labeling impact the rights of dog owners in your communities?

Breed Specific LegislationRegulations

Bans

Mandatory Spay/Neuter

Muzzles; Containment; Liability Insurance; Restrictions

Loss of property; Death

Enforcement

History of BSLThe first known form of BSL was enacted in May 1929 in Australia and remained until the mid-1970s.

The target breed?German Shepherd dogs.

The first known ban was enacted in May of 1929, and remained active until 1974. By the 1980s, areas in the U.S. were in full-swing in attempt to create community safety. BSL was and remains the result of knee-jerk reaction to: a) fear; b) misinformation; c) misID; d) pressure to react to a negative action, typically an attack which occurred due to human err or recklessness; and e) an inability by officials to effectively enforce current ordinances or worse, are not provided the necessary ordinances for enforcement.*

BSL Today18 States Prohibit local ordinances targeting dogs by breed/typeMore repeals and defeats of proposed local ordinancesAll professional animal welfare, training, and medical organizations oppose

As a result of 2 states this year joining previous states actions, plus a passage of a law repealing a High Court Ruling that classified pit bulls as inherently dangerous, and Missouri with a bill that could still be passed, were nearly half-way through the country in gaining support for breed-neutral, common-sense laws that are supported by all orgs in effort to create safer communities, but as importantly HUMANE communities.*

Is the battle over?WV currently has BSL in about 10 communities, ranging from local to county level governments2010 WV State Supreme Court ruled BSL is constitutionally soundInsurance discrimination remainsThousands of dogs are at risk

Handley WV currently has pit bulls (defined as 3 registered bully breeds Staff Bull Terrier; Am Staff; and APBT); Wolf-hybrids; but also Rottweiler, GSD, Huskies, Alaskan Malamutes, chows, Great Danes, St. Bernards and Akitas (Dobermans are noticeably absent). Depending on what homeowners or renters insurance company a dog owner contracts with dictates which dog breed or type of dog a person can own. *

BSL by Visual ID70% of animal shelter employees mis-IDd No universal definition of pit bullNo universally accepted method of VIDNo training available for VID of any breedVID proven unscientificCase law establishes VID invalid

INDEEDITS NOT ABOUT THE BREED!Animal behavior and ethology studies have demonstrated that we cannot reliably predict the future behavior of a purebred dog on the basis of its breed or breed mix

*We identify nearly everything in life by visual ID, dont we? Whether its something as personal as our partners, or our vehicles, or the shirt we have on our back. Visual ID plays a large role in our personal decisions. Its how were programmed from early in life. Thats pretty! Shes blonde! Hes a big guy! That car looks fast!And, weve applied that same practice to identifying dogs, naturally.*Shelter dogs may be of unknown origin if picked up as a stray, or if an owner relinquished dog, we may be told what breed the owner believes the dog to be. But, either way we ID the dog based on what breed we believe the dog most resembles.IDing breeds however is really only possible if: a) the dog comes with a pedigree; or b) a DNA test is performed.So, IDing a mixed breed dog is really just a big guess. While some are more practiced and more informed about the more than 600 known breeds. So how many in this room are regularly tasked with IDing a breed based on your visual inspection?*MARS Wisdom Panel DNA Testing is over 90% accurate and currently maintains DNA samples of more than 200 breeds and types of breed (DNA) markers. Visual identification is based upon the observation of a handful of variable breed-associated physical traits, such as coat color, body size, skull shape and whether the ears or erect or floppy. These physical traits are found in many different breeds and are controlled by approximately 50 of the roughly 20,000 genes that create a dog. *The DNA test is better than visual breed identification because it takes into account the pattern of genetic variation at many different regions across the dog genome to generate a "genetic snapshot" of a mixed-breed dog's ancestry. The resulting genetic evidence for what breeds make up a mixed-breed dog may or may not agree with visual observations, but they do agree with what scientists have discovered from two decades of sequencing and studying genomes. - See more at: http://nationalcanineresearchcouncil.com/breed-identification-1/#sthash.V1aSp20x.dpuf*The first known ban was enacted in May of 1929, and remained active until 1974. By the 1980s, areas in the U.S. were in full-swing in attempt to create community safety. BSL was and remains the result of knee-jerk reaction to: a) fear; b) misinformation; c) misID; d) pressure to react to a negative action, typically an attack which occurred due to human err or recklessness; and e) an inability by officials to effectively enforce current ordinances or worse, are not provided the necessary ordinances for enforcement.*As a result of 2 states this year joining previous states actions, plus a passage of a law repealing a High Court Ruling that classified pit bulls as inherently dangerous, and Missouri with a bill that could still be passed, were nearly half-way through the country in gaining support for breed-neutral, common-sense laws that are supported by all orgs in effort to create safer communities, but as importantly HUMANE communities.*Handley WV currently has pit bulls (defined as 3 registered bully breeds Staff Bull Terrier; Am Staff; and APBT); Wolf-hybrids; but also Rottweiler, GSD, Huskies, Alaskan Malamutes, chows, Great Danes, St. Bernards and Akitas (Dobermans are noticeably absent). Depending on what homeowners or renters insurance company a dog owner contracts with dictates which dog breed or type of dog a person can own. *