Huge Precedence Set in BSL Case.....

The convoluted history of Louisville's dangerous-dog ordinance took another turn on Friday when a federal judge upheld most of the law but declared one part unconstitutional.


The Louisville Kennel Club and other groups — including veterinarians, pet owners and businesses — sued Louisville metro government over its animal-control ordinance passed in December 2007.
They alleged that various sections of the law were unconstitutional, vague, required forfeiture of pets without adequate due process and allowed illegal warrantless searches and seizures of property.
U.S. District Judge Charles Simpson III upheld most of the law in his 25-page ruling, except for one part that allows the city to keep a dog that has been seized because of inhumane treatment — even if the owner is ultimately found to be innocent of the charge.
The wording in that section of the ordinance seems to be “poorly drafted and does not properly represent the intent,” the judge wrote.
“Presumably most of the animals kept under this ordinance have to be euthanized. … Consequently we must hold that the portion that would permanently deprive a pet owner of his property, absent a finding of guilt, is unconstitutional.”
The judge also faulted a provision that allows the city to take away dog licenses for any state or federal crime, even crimes not related to animals.
“This section is more problematic than those discussed above, because it appears to allow the director (of Metro Animal Services) to impose a civil punishment for any reason at all, leaving citizens unaware of what actions might constitute grounds for license revocation,” the ruling says.
Bill Patteson, a spokesman for the Jefferson County attorney's office, said his office is pleased because the judge upheld “about 95 percent” of the ordinance. He said it's possible that the ordinance might have to be tweaked by the Louisville Metro Council to reflect the judge's ruling.
For the most part, “the constitutionality of the ordinance was affirmed,” Patteson said.
The groups suing the city were equally pleased.


Jon Fleischaker, the attorney representing the Louisville Kennel Club and other groups, said the ruling is helpful because now his clients have a standard they can use to judge how the ordinance is being enforced.
“That's a big plus for us,” Fleischaker said. “If metro government applies enforcement the way the judge interpreted it, then it solves a lot of problems, one of which was nobody knew for sure what it meant. Nobody knew for sure how the city would enforce it.”
If the government enforces the ordinance in a way that's different from the judge's interpretation, “then we can go after them and deal with that on a case-by-case basis,” Fleischaker said.
“I would rather win every point, but having said that, we are not unhappy with the ruling,” he said.
Donna Herzig, president of the Louisville Kennel Club, said her organization was “very pleased.”
“What he's done is define the way these provisions should be interpreted,” Herzig said of the judge.
The animal control ordinance was originally passed by the Metro Council in December 2006 after a contentious meeting that lasted until 4 a.m. The law was then changed slightly in April 2007.
But even that version didn't satisfy some council members, who in the summer of 2007 formed an ad hoc committee that spent three months studying the ordinance and hearing testimony from animal-behavior experts from all over the country. Those meetings resulted in the current ordinance, which was passed in December 2007.
The lawsuit was originally filed in state court, but the city asked for it to be moved to federal court because it involved the constitutionality of the ordinance, Fleischaker said.
Councilman Kelly Downard, R-16thth District, chairman of the ad hoc committee, called the ruling important but said the council needs to know more about how the ordinance is being enforced from Animal Services Director Gilles Meloche.
“I think the ruling shows that most of the changes we made were the right changes,” Downard said.
Reporter Dan Klepal can be reached at (502) 582-4475. Reporter Sean Rose can be reached at 582-4199.
http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009910020371

Family pet

Cut and paste this link ---- http://www.yourdailymedia.com/media/1152360540/Dog_Wins_A_Game_Of_Simon_Says

WWW.STOP-BSL.COM

Owners, Breeders and Dogs Against Breed Discrimination
What we're all about. . .
Some may ask what is Owners, Breeders and Dogs Against Breed Discrimination and where did it
come from?
To answer that question, it is a non profit organization which was started in the interest of not only the
APBT but also the game dog fancier. Unlike most anti BSL groups ran by rescuers or kennel club
affiliates we were started with the dog breeder and preservation of the breed in mind. The whole idea
started online with people who felt their best interests weren't represented in the Anti BSL community.
They felt that too many groups supported spay and neuter measures because they don't support
breeding. Also, they feared that many innocent breeders were being targeted as of late and had no
one to speak on their behalf.
These people called out into the void and asked who would help with this problem? Three people
answered. Those three people started www.Stop-BSL.com and from there built a non profit
organization that has reached out to people across the United States.
Through the platform of www.Stop-BSL.com we have been able to distribute information and hold
raffles in more than 10 states at different breed club and dog sporting events. We have helped
orchestrate petitions in multiple cities and personally written to hundreds of councilmen and mayors.
We have helped research the underhanded deeds of groups like the Humane Society of the United
States for individuals who were wrongly accused of dog fighting in order to further the animal rights
agenda of breed extermination.
And, In our second year of existence we are registered as a non profit with the Washington Secretary
of State and applying for 501(c)3 status with the IRS. We hope to reach out to more
communities and make an indelible mark on the dog world for the better. To that end we publish three
separate blogs which can be found through our website.
Currently, we are working towards a fund raising goal of $1000.00 for 2009. We are more than 60%
there. This goal will see the launch of the “Campaign to Expose the HSUS.” A separate website, which
is supported by our organization, dedicated to exposing the extremist goals and tactics employed by
the HSUS against everyday pit bull owners. This campaign will begin with a website including written
and visual information. It will be supported by an ad campaign in both radio and print ads. This is your
chance to get the truth about BSL and the groups that support it out to the masses!
If you are wondering how you can help this wonderful breed beat the odds and survive please visit us
online. Something as small as displaying our banner on your website or blog can help us inform the
public and gain support. Something as simple as buying a shirt, bumper sticker or button can help us
towards our goals and help you start the anti BSL conversation in your community.
I hope that you have a better understanding of our organization now and can take a moment to find
out more by visiting us online or even emailing your questions to us. We are always happy to help.
Allie Renar
President, Owners Breeders and Dogs Against Breed Discrimination

BSL Opposition - Poor Job by Local Media

http://www.clipsyndicate.com/video/play/922413/let_it_rip_pitbulls_part_2 http://www.clipsyndicate.com/video/play/922412/let_it_rip_pitbulls_part_3?cpt=8&wpid=1277 - these are the types of people we face at bsl cases. i fought in allen park where the council women is from. she sits fartheset right on stage, she is who the attack occured against and pushed bsl out of fear. the irresponsible ownership ,being lack of proper restrant, were dogs loose from a adjoining city. in allen park council meetings it was a completely bias forum for that case. these council people had their minds made prior to any of our oppisition. (i.e friends, some good guys and gals from several orgs and most importantly allen park residents) huel perkins is also a bias host and the medias take is suppose to be a neutral 1 as you can see it is far from it. please get involved, as they pass in more cities its just that much easier to get passed in your towns using this citys bullshit model of bsl as a guide and theirs is insane. we were able to stop a total ban but the hoops these pitbull owners have to jump through are more than unfair. the study they are doing is far from accurate but will be used as gospal, stand up and fight as this fight is a battle. watch vids a couple times it'll piss you off.

Friends to the End....

This a great picture taken by a very talented young lady, showing the true nature of pitbulls, thank you. www.stop-bsl.com works very hard at exposing the the criminal organizations (HSUS and PETA and other corrupt local agencies) for what they are and supporting our breed with the help of other responsible owners. Please get involved, do not be afraid to make yourself heard. We as american citizens STILL have our rights and it is up to us to fight to maintain our rights and defend our friends who look at us through a collar.

Helpful Donations Needed!!!!!!!!!

Stop-BSL.com has long been researching and trying to get ads run which will help inform the general public not only about BSL in general but about which groups they shouldn't give their support to, like the HSUS. We have run ads in the NW Pet Gazette and the Southern Fighter News (MMA) using your donations.

Now, however, we are focusing on raising money for a radio ad campaign. Radio campaigns reach a relatively large number of people and are pretty cheap compared to print ads. Also, the station will produce the ads for free, helping keep costs down.

The HSUS has long been running ads using sad looking pit bulls to raise money which they in turn use to wipe out our breed little by little. It is time to use this tactic against them. They run radio ads telling about the mythical $5000.00 reward for dog fighting info making responsible owners the target of greedy neighbors. They also run news paper ads telling about their "accomplishments," like the recent ad touting their so called succcess in Arizona. For more info on this check stop the lies blog.

We can make a difference in this way! So many people beleive everything they hear on tv and the radio, it's time we start being what they hear. Owners, Breeders and Dogs Against Breed Discrimination has a page set up where you can donate, copy our donation meter for your website and track our progress.

http://stopbsl.chipin.com/stop-bsl.com

Thank you to those who have donated and to those of you who are considering donating, any and all donations are greatly appreciated big or small.

Official Statement to Slander from Dogsbite.org

Here's the slanderous post and email, showing the lack of knowledge of our org.. It does show we are being noticed and our efforts have made the attentions of our targeted focus. One of our main goals is to combat the insane lies and misinformation they (HSUS) brainwash the general public about pitbulls. Our official response follows, please read and notice the manner in which they try to criminalize my friend, our ACCUSED friends, and our org. www.stop-bsl.com


I saw that you are linked to the web site www.stop-bsl.com as a sponsor. That web site purports to be for opposing pit bull bans, but actually the money they are raising is being used as defense money for dogfighters.

Please see http://www.dogsbite.org/blog/2008/12/anti-bsl-organization-stop-bslcom-gives.html for an expose on that.

I hope you will end your affiliation with this group. There are legitimate organizations fighting against pit bull bans, like the Humane Society of the United States. Groups like that deserve your support. Unfortunatley, www.stop-bsl.com is just a front to raise money for dogfighters facing criminal charges.
---------------------------------- To whom this may concern,

A recent internet slander article has drawn our attention at Stop-BSL.com. The website dogsbite.org has decided to "oust" Owners, Breeders and Dogs Against Breed Discrimination founder, Allie Renar, as a "dog fighter supporter" or something of the like. This gross misrepresentation of the facts has lead us to address you here. This email is being sent to anyone I think it may concern and will be posted on our website shortly for visitors.

Several things were written about Allie and Stop-BSL.com which are much less true than they are blatant lies.

First off the claim that this organization is some sort of cover for dog fighters is absurd. Allie has never supported dog fighting and has never said that she does. The truth is that some funds have been routed through Stop-BSL.com and donated from Allie herself to help support ACCUSED dog fighters who were beleived innocent. The supposedly great thing about American society is how you are innocent until proven guilty. In the cases which Stop-BSL's reasearch dept has taken time to find information to help the defense and money has been sent all parties were beleived innocent and had been illegal searched, violationg their Consitutional Rights. All money which went to these people was sent with the request that it reach them. It was sent through Stop-BSL.com to avoid posting personal addresses on the internet. No general donations were routed to these people or used for this cause.

The outcome of these trials and investigations has shown us why we felt we should be involved. Thus far one person plead guilty (due to threats of losing his home which he is currently investigating appealing), four were acquitted, one had his dogs returned without charges being filed and one plead no contest with no jail time served. With these type of statistics it is very hard to believe that these people did not deserve their day in court. Out of over 150 charges the HSUS and local law enforcement had come up with for seven people total only one person has plead guilty to anything. That one person plead to INTENTION TO FIGHT A DOG, which is NOT the same as ever having done it. We know many of you who do not know the background of these cases or know in depth what the HSUS and groups like dogsbite.org are doing will not understand this. For that we are sorry. However, this issue cannot be ignored. The HSUS is trying to make America a country where simply owning a dog allows them to barge in your home without a warrant. They use false allegations and missing evidence to get warrants, kill dogs and then blow it off like it never happened when no one is found guilty of anything. This issue falls squarely in the realm of our mission. We help only those people we feel are innocent from either looking at the evidence presented or from speaking to character witnesses who are willing to bet their lives these people are innocent. Five out of seven times we were right in a court of law.

We fight BSL every day and know that the number one reason it passes is fear. The HSUS and other organizations have long perpetuated the myth that only dog fighters, drug dealers and criminals own pit bulls. They continue to raid innocent dog breeders in order to further perpetuate that myth. These groups know that the acquittal will not warrant much press and the initial media frenzy is all they need to bump up their donations and get more politicians on board with BSL.. We make countless phone calls, orchestrate petitions, inform the public of REAL statistics and yes, we support innocent people with information and some funds in order to help stop the spread of this stereotype.

A largely ignored and forgotten part of fighting BSL is stopping the proponents from polluting the media any more than they already are. And, that is what we did in these cases. We provided information that John Goodwin is adimittedly not an expert on dog fighting or trained in any animal service or care field. Additionally, we provided evidence that Goodwin is a high school dropout with airtight connections to a domestic terrorism organization. This got him removed as an expert witness in several cases because he is not an expert. We helped innocent people prove that they were innocent- that is all. Those parties who were acquitted are not "known dog fighters" as dogsbite.org and the HSUS would like you to beleive. They are dog breeders who had their lives taken from them and slaughtered by pit bull hating fearmongering people and in the end were found to have done nothing wrong.

Groups such as dogsbite.org actively advocate for unfair pit bull restrictions and breed based laws. It is no wonder they would decide to slander a young non profit who is trying to stop them from perpetuating lies and passing useless laws which kill innocent pets. The Humane Society of the united states also advocated sterilizing all pit bulls and is actively offering rewards of $5000 for any information (true or not) which may lead to the senseless killing of more innocent dogs owned by good people.

We truly feel that our organization has been making waves and we have been doing more with getting people to act than we have done to raise money. This is complete retaliation to our blogs and our efforts in which have helped people at least get a fair day in court. Stop-BSL has been around about a year now and this recent attack happens only after the HSUS was embarrassed by it's own ignorance and ill preparedness in court.

As it stands we have not raised a lot of money. What we have done is created a lot of awareness and convinced a lot of people to become active in their communtiy. That is our ultimate goal. To stop BSL at it's roots, in your communities and in the minds of the public. As far as the alleged advertisement in "Scratch Back" we did not pay for this ad. It was donated by someone who saw our site and believed in our mission. As a group that does not have a war chest of money we do not turn down ads offered to us. We do not subscribe to this magazine or know the details of it's contents. Apparently the people at dogsbite.org do have the connections to the "dog fighting" world that our founder is being accused of having.

Sincerely,
Owners, Breeders and Dogs Against Breed Discrimination

Pitbulls Working and Having Fun...

Alot of stories are spread about the types of equipment pitbull owners use to train their dogs. Treadmills, now labeled dog fighting paraphernalia, when actually there is no better way to get miles of walking done without all the time it takes. When with families, work etc., owners wouldn't have time for. Pitbulls, once use to using a treadmill love it as it's fun for this breed to work, great for conditioning them for shows and weight pulls. Other long use items used to entertain and help condition pitbulls are hides, due to it's ability not to be torn up in seconds as other toys can be, and spring poles and flirt poles with the use of tugs, ropes and hides provide great exercise and enjoyment of work to keep them happy, healthy and in great show shape. It's a shame that toys these dogs love to play with are now being used against innocent citizens in witch hunts across the country. Hell, Cesar Millan, uses treadmills as do many other breed owners but are automatic guilty charges of being a dog fighter pertain to them? NO! Doesn't make sense does it? dog toys make you a criminal???????? These toys are just different, stronger, made to take more abuse then toys for other breeds, pitbulls just like to play a little harder because they simply enjoy it.

Kenneling and housing responsibly....

There are many ways to responsibly house and contain pitbulls, I personally have 6ftx 6ft inside housing kennels that go out to 6ft x 10ft and 12ft outside runs for each dog. The barrel houses I use work great year round and are almost indestructible. Packed full of fresh straw frequently in the winter the dogs stay warm and cedar with a bit of flea/pest control agents during the summer keep them warm at night when temps drop and helps control fleas and other unwanted pests. i have since constructed a temp roof over the 3 kennels in the back that keeps everything nice and dry. Now the house on it's roof was a toy that this dog would beat up and kick around her kennel so I let her, kept her busy for a while.I have seen very impressive kennels set ups and yards with proper chain set ups ,using hardware appropriate for retaining a pitbull safely,that are spotless and just as nice as kennels if not nicer. Key is do right by your dogs, contain and house the right way and accidents can be avoided.

Vicious pitbulls

The 2 yr old female playing with the 10 pups running around is not the mother or related but treats them like they are hers. Hard to say they're naturally blood thirsty killers when all these pups bite her face, paws, etc., to no reaction at all. Other adults were also let out to play with the pups ranging from 10 on down and the dogs act just people when kids are around, just get to playing. Thanks P for being a responsible breeder/ owner, best of luck with the pups.

Unfortunate Pitbull Reality......

Though most of us who own pitbulls do the very best we can to care, house and educate people about our dogs, there are some who neglect and abuse their animals, no only pitbulls. This is used against the breed in the media to brainwash the general public to believe that all who own pitbulls are scum criminals. This could be no further from the truth. I take serious offense to this label. I, myself, have meet more honest, hard working, educated people since I got into these dogs 12+ years ago than the media hyped, stereotypical criminal type. Yes, these dogs are owned by criminal types - yes, raids happen and drugs and pitbulls are found- yes, incidents happen that people are hurt or killed by these dogs but the common denominator is always IRRESPONSIBLE OWNERS. The press never mentions any of this when reporting, why, because pitbull attack sells not irresponsible owner..... . These dogs are not the vicious man biters they are labeled, these dogs need responsible owners, period. Most attacks happen because of lack of proper restraint, also because the dog is abused and teased from very young so when loose, well, we all know the rest. This is another fact the media leaves out. We at www.stop-bsl.com work hard to help educate lawmakers and the general public when pushing for breed specific legislation (bsl) because bottom line there are no bad dogs just bad owners.

Kids with their friends.......

Awards

One of the many positive outlets we do with our dogs are condition them for the show ring and weight pull events. There are many classes the dogs are shown in and even a jr. handler class where kids get involved in showing their friends. These shows are a great time to talk dogs, see friends you haven't seen in awhile, meet new friends and just enjoy a positive day or two with like minded folks having a good time. The AADR, SDR and ADBA all have clubs who put on shows in several different states and then hold nationals at the end of the year, ribbons, trophies, plaques, and other prizes are awarded to the winners.

Boy's Best Friend

My son and his dog. Lucky is 22 days older then my boy. Funny how all the negative press you hear makes no sense when you really know. Vicious huh?

Not Such a Bad Dog

Soulful Images

The beginning

Welcome, this blog is solely a showcase and support of responsible pitbull owners showing that not everyone that owns, shows, and breeds these great dogs are not criminals. On our site, www.stop-bsl.com , the picture gallery has some great pictures of some of our dogs at the shows and weight pulls under local pitbull clubs and registries. Just starting this blog so check back soon, info provided will support our breed and owners as most that own pitbulls are smart, dedicated, hardworking good people that just share the same love of the breed.