Casa del Toro Pit Bull Rescue

A word from the Founder

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Founder

My Role at CDT:

My relationship with Pit Bulldogs started in the early 80's

I knew long ago that this is where my heart belonged. This breed is where my passion lies. To do anything other than continue to learn about the breed was not an option from that point on.

I began working at the local animal control as a kennel technician and year after year worked my way up to an Animal control field officer, It was there I learned the hard cold reality that loomed over this breed.

I was part of several cruelty investigations.   In one of the worst cases I had seen, we stumbled upon 2 baby pit bull puppies.   Their ears severed off at the skull with a pair of dirty office scissors, the horror of it was hard to bare.

Months & months had turned into a year, as the year went by we finally got a conviction. Finally, the case was over and the pups both found refuge in my home.

After that experience, I had decided to take my Pit bull rescuing efforts a step further. I founded Casa Del Toro Pit Bull Rescue in the year 2000.

Starting a pit bull rescue wasn’t easy by any means. It took longer time than I ever thought possible. The days were long, the nights even longer and financially I found myself always in the red.   I also realized that I had a lot to learn, despite my dedication and passion I DIDN'T know everything about the breed.

I remember reading an article on “starting a pit bull rescue”. Reflecting on that article, I thought to myself, "Wow. They must really NOT want anyone to start a rescue.", but after investing years in rescue , I know exactly why that article was discouraging in nature. Rescue isn’t something a person should ever enter into lightly. Filling your home with cute dogs that are on death row isn’t doing anything to help this breed, nor is it ethical.

There is a code of ethics that all animal rescuers should live by. It was never in me to stand by and do nothing. This is hard work and for anyone out there who thinks it is a cake walk, I welcome them to spend a day in my shoes. Join me walking down the isles of many dogs, most of which are great ambassadors to the breed, but when you have just 1 space available, try to keep your emotion in check.

My role in this rescue operation is not a simple one. I founded this rescue on the vision that I can and will make a difference. I can dive into the trenches, rolling my sleeves up and cleaning a dirty kennel, or in a court room helping justice be dealt to a dog fighter. I am at home in a classroom educating children on animal issues and have traveled hundreds of miles to sleep on a dirt floor as a volunteer lending a hand in the aftermath of a disaster. Service comes in a variety part for me. I do this because this is what I do, this is who I am.

There are others who’s unselfish deeds far out weigh anything I have done, but together we all make a difference. We all have seen things that are hard to imagine in your most hellacious of nightmares.   we have been brought to our knees from the magnitude of the issues we face. Ultimately, there’s a common thread that binds us all together , that thread is the soul of the Pit bull Terrier.

Laurie A.
Casa Del Toro Bully Breed education & Rescue

Recently I was asked a a few questions by local Animal Magazine on who we are, where we began and my views on BSL, below are the questions followed by my answers, The philosophy of this my answers are soley that of Laurie Adams.

How big of a threat/problem is Breed Specific Legislation specifically in Indiana at the time?

Currently in Indiana the following areas either have BSL in place or have heavy restrictions for certain breeds, such as the Pit bull type dogs& the ROTTWEILER dogs:

There was a recent proposal in Marion County #494 regarding Breed Specific Legislation. The City-County Council received a proposal to amend Chapter 531, Animals, of the Revised Code of the Consolidated City and County. The amendment to the Dangerous Dog section in the municipal code would identify breeds as dangerous dogs:

Rottwieler, American Pit Bull Terrier, any Pit Bull Terrier, Staffordshire Bull, or American Staffordshire Terrier, or any mixed breed of dog of any of the aforementioned breeds

This proposal was tabled and has not been presented again as of this date.

· Having an excellent open line of communication with your local officials is a positive step in the right direction, no one gets anywhere unless we help each other educate each other and come up with an effective solution.

With BSL popping up in many of Indiana’s surrounding states like Ohio, Illinois, Kentucky & Michigan. Dog owner or not , one needs to understand what BSL is ,what it means and how it effects the community.

What Breed specific Legislation is:

Breed specific legislation can be taken literally. It is legislation that makes it a law to either severely restricts ownership to certain breeds of dogs or completely forbids the ownership of them altogether in certain areas.

The strict guidelines can range from requiring the dogs to be muzzled while in public while on a very short leash, to requiring owners to carry at least $50,000 to $200,000 of insurance on the dogs.

The problem with BSL is :

It simply doesn’t work. Many of communities, cities and government agencies which have imposed BSL have later repealed it and have done away with it, have found it to be very costly and ineffective. Why did BSL fail? The very root of the problem was left unaddressed, the problem with irresponsible owners.

The tax dollars and manpower required to implement BSL is huge. A lot of the responsibility tends to fall on animal shelters’ staff. The problem with that is, currently the majority of the Animal control facilities are already short staffed and under funded.

When officers are unable handle to volume of calls and animals they have on a daily basis, adding such legislation to their already overloaded daily schedule only ensures that both jobs will be done at a lower quality, if at all. It is unreasonable to add this task to their already overloaded schedule.

Having worked as an animal control officer, I have seen first hand the real problem, irresponsible pet ownership. I have seen many dogs with known owners that were picked up by animal control for running loose. Repeatedly irresponsible owners simply opt to leave their dog at animal control, their loyalty to their animal vanishing out of sight. They failed their dog only to repeat the process again with another dog, in another area with nothing more than a small fine to pay. Does a small fine accomplish any thing in cases like this? The answer is a resounding no. Such fines paid weren’t even enough to warrant the cost it took to even write the citation.

Proper identification another problem with breed banning.

The Pit bull for instance, has at least from 11 to 20 other different breeds of dogs that are often miss identified as a pit bull.

There are few people who can accurately identify breeds correctly ,this is where the actual bite statistic records break down. Look at the Pit bull for instance, with so many different other types of breeds that can be mistaken for the pit bull to be able to report that it actually “WAS” or “wasn’t” a pit bull dog a person would need to be very familiar with all of the other breeds that closely resemble the pit bull dog, as well as be able to know the traits and behaviors of each.

*Bite Statistics are inaccurate for so many reasons, including pit bull are not a breed, but a term for 3 breeds. So when looking at the report the number of pit bull bites should be divided by 3 immediately to be remotely fair. { www.understand-a-bull.com }

Alternatives to Breed Specific Legislation

Without laws that target irresponsible ownership and jump straight to BSL, only wastes thousands of tax dollars that could be more effectively put to use in programs such as bite prevention education, Spay and Neuter programs and tougher restraint and neglect laws.

The public doesn’t know that male dogs are 6.2 times more likely to bite than females, intact dogs are 2.6 times more likely to bite than unaltered.

Mandatory Spay and Neuter programs for repeat offenders of dogs that run at large is more cost effective then our animal control officers picking them up on a regular basis. Affordable Spay & Neuter OUTREACH programs that make it possible for ANYONE to have their animals altered are a far better and more effective solution.

Implementing more effective restraint laws and dangerous dog laws that covers the entire realm of the canine kingdom is a much more effective place to begin. It would give the Animal control agencies a more effective tool to control and protect the public while ensuring the owner to take responsibility for the actions of there animals in a case by case basis.

The Ryan Armstrong Law is a good example because it targets a potential problem at the very beginning for ANY breed not just certain breeds. It holds the actions of the animal to the owner on a case by case basis and does not define ALL dogs or certain breeds of dogs as dangerous or vicious but instead hold each case on its own merits. When a dog under this law is found to be vicious or dangerous it is required to be altered and micro chipped BEFORE it is released back to its owner. For more details on this law see : www.ilga.gov Public Act 093-0548

From a Tax payers point of view, I would want to know that if my tax dollars are going towards something that would makes sense. We need something that would produce an EFFECTIVE result, not the short term supposed quick fix that Breed Specific legislation ultimately amounts to.

We need something more then a band aid to the deal with the real issue of irresponsible ownership.

I believe it was Einstein who said “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result” which is what is happening by placing breed bans.

So let’s do something that works. Some said that the spay and neutering programs wouldn’t make a difference. How wrong they were. Can you imagine what the animal population would be today had spay and neutering programs not been started? They have made an astronomical difference because they focused on a logical solution, not a rash reaction.

Enforcing the current restraint laws already in place is a good place to begin along with encouraging legislation to support Educational Outreach programs.

The enforcement of the restraint laws lies in the hands of the animal control officers in handing down citations without hesitation and even stiffer penalties for anyone who has purposely trained or encouraged their dogs to act aggressively.

The only effective way to enforce a law is to allow your local animal control to “enforce it”. Not to overload them with impossible tasks and handing down unwarranted judgments on good and responsibly owned animals.

You can show your local Animal Control that you are a responsible owner by making sure your dogs, no matter what breed, are kept in a responsible secure way. They would be tagged correctly, spay and/or neutered, properly socialized, trained and certainly not allowed to roam the streets is where this begins.

BSL is a threat to the community at large. As long as any government entity is considering putting it in place, instead of opting for more effective alternatives, it should always remain a concern.

Interesting facts:

From www.understand-a-bull.com

Dade County Florida has had a ban on Pit Bulls since 1988 and as of 2002 there were an estimated 50,000 pit bulls living in the county.

The American Temperament Testing Society does temperament testing throughout the year at breed clubs and complies the statistics. The 2002 statistics show APBTs, AMSTAFFs, and Rottiweilers in the 82 percentile. Golden Retrievers, Bichon Frise 77%, Chihuahua 71%, Greyhound 81%, Lhasa Apso 71%. These test results are available at www.atts.org

Organizations against Breed Specific Legislation:

ο American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA)

ο The American Kennel Club (AKC)

ο The United Kennel Club (UKC)

ο American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA)

ο Dog Legislation Council of Canada (DLCC)

ο American Temperament Testing Society (ATTS)

ο National Animal Control Association (NACA)

ο Maryland Veterinary Medicine Association

ο Humane Society of the United States (HSUS)

ο American Canine Foundation (ACF)

Source : www.pbrc.net