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Workshop Topic: Canine Profiling

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By STEPHEN HAMMILL, The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 14, 2007

ROCKY POINT - Dog fighting. Animal attacks.

For many citizens, the two hot-button issues share a common thread: pit bulls.

As parents express fears about pit bulls in their neighborhoods, saying they pose a threat to children, some experts want to alter those perceptions.

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and No More Homeless Pets in Hillsborough County will host a workshop on breed-specific legislation and the human-animal bond Sunday.

The free workshop, from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Doubletree Guest Suites, 3050 Rocky Point Drive, will feature a presentation by Ledy VanKavage, the ASPCA's senior director for legal training and legislation. She will present alternatives to animal profiling and breed-specific legislation.

An expert on animal-welfare legislation, specifically canine profiling and dangerous dog legislation, VanKavage joined the ASPCA in 1999.

"The vast majority of fatal dog attacks come from animals that are not spayed or neutered," VanKavage said. "The dogs are often not maintained as pets, and are typically isolated from family and regular human contact."

In 2005, the ASPCA began Mission: Orange, an adoption, expansion and behavior assessment program that targets individual communities. Hillsborough County was chosen as a partner community for the program this year.

"We targeted Hillsborough County as a site for Mission: Orange to bring educational programs like this to the public," said Sherry Silk, executive director of the Humane Society of Tampa Bay.

Silk said VanKavage will explain why breed-specification legislation is a bad idea.

"First of all, it doesn't work," Silk said. "There are laws on the books to protect the citizens. It's also very hard to enforce it."

She added that bans tend to push certain breeds, such as pit bulls, underground.

The ASPCA says specific breed bans amount to dog discrimination, which takes the focus off owners.

"Canine profiling simply doesn't protect people," VanKavage said. "What it does is rip friendly dogs from their loved ones."

She cites problems in Miami-Dade County, where pit bulls were banned in 1989 and where large numbers of stray pit bulls are found and killed every year. Similar legislation has been proposed in dozens of U.S. cities to ban the breed.

VanKavage works in the drafting of ordinances targeting owners.

"Reckless owners are involved in most of these bite cases," she said.

Bill Armstrong, director of Hillsborough County Animal Services, echoed her sentiments.

"We do not support the banning of one breed because of irresponsible owners," he said. "These problems need to be solved by the community. It's a team collective."

"A lot of people get dogs that are smart and active and throw them in the back yard," Silk said. "They need proper training and activities, but the most important thing is spaying and neutering."

Organizers expect dozens of lawyers and policymakers to attend the workshop.

"We try to pick topics with these events that will be helpful to the pet owners here," said Mary Key, president and co-founder for No More Homeless Pets in Hillsborough County, a volunteer organization dedicated to reducing euthanasia in the county.

According to No More Homeless Pets, nearly 30,000 dogs and cats are destroyed in Hillsborough County every year due to overpopulation.

Armstrong said animal adoptions in the county increased 25 percent for a 12-month period ending in September over the prior year, and euthanasia rates dropped more than 8 percent. He credits the ASPCA's Mission: Orange, its programs and workshops for the turnaround.

"It's definitely getting better, but we can do more," he said.

Space for the workshop is limited. To R.S.V.P. call the ASPCA at (813) 876-7310.

Reporter Stephen Hammill can be reached at (813) 865-1523 or at shammill@tampatrib.com.

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