Anti BSL Rally in Towson, MD on Oct. 15

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Postby babyreba » October 5th, 2007, 2:59 pm

DATE: Monday, Oct. 15

TIME: 6 to 8 PM

LOCATION: Baltimore County Courthouse, 400 Washington Ave., Towson

DETAILS: We are gathering on Oct. 15 to show our opposition to County Council Bill 70-07, Regulation of Pit Bulls and Dangerous and Menacing Animals. We hope to hold a respectful, peaceful rally in front of the courthouse, as the Council will be voting on this bill at its 7 PM meeting.

Parking may be inconvenient--you can try to park on the street and walk to the courthouse and there are parking garages on Susquehanna Avenue as well. Be prepared to arrive early to find parking and perhaps walk a few blocks if need be.

Dogs: I am suggesting that most people do not bring their dogs, as the fewer dogs show up the easier it will be to manage keeping dogs in control and away from one another. If you feel you must bring your dog, ask yourself first: Is my dog 100 percent bombproof in all situations--no shyness, fearfulness, hackling, growling, stressing, aggression? Is my dog guaranteed to be comfortable in a crowd and around noises and yelling? Am I capable of keeping my dog in total control around excitement, lots of people, and other dogs? Am I an impeccable dog handler who will know how to respond to any situation that may arise?

Please remember to be courteous and respectful when dealing with others on this issue--we need to present ourselves as thoughtful and responsible members of the community.

If anyone on this board has any questions, please feel free to PM me and I will get back to you as quickly as I can.

Erin
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Postby TheRedQueen » October 8th, 2007, 12:00 pm

I sent you a PM...but haven't heard back yet.

I'd like more info on the 9th...if you know what's going on there too...
"I don't have any idea if my dogs respect me or not, but they're greedy and I have their stuff." -- Patty Ruzzo

"Dogs don't want to control people. They want to control their own lives." --John Bradshaw
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Postby babyreba » October 8th, 2007, 12:12 pm

oh weird, i never got your PM!

the 9th (tomorrow) the County Council meets at 2 PM to discuss the bill. the public is welcome to speak before the council on the legislation, and we are trying to PACK the house!

you have to sign up to speak, and the council secretary told me you need to arrive about 20 minutes before 2 to sign up.

the council meets in the Baltimore County Courthouse, and the address is:

The address of the courthouse is:

Court House
400 Washington Avenue
Towson, Maryland 21204
Phone: 410-887-3196


the more people who sign up to speak, the better.

we have also created an email yahoo list at:

http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/BSL-MD

feel free to sign up and catch up with others who plan to be part of this event!
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Postby babyreba » October 8th, 2007, 12:19 pm

After much agonizing and discussion, the organizers of the Oct. 15
rally have decided to ask that anyone attending the event not to
bring their dogs along.

Though most of our dogs are fantastic ambassadors for the breed,
dogs are dogs and can sometimes act up. Even a friendly dog that
decides to greet a stranger in too exuberant a fashion can be
misconstrued as being "out of control" or "lunging." This is a very,
very sensitive issue for all of us, and our dogs' welfare is at
stake should this bill pass so we cannot take the chance of anything
happening with a pit bull type dog at this event that could put our
breed in jeopardy.

So we ask you to please not bring your dogs out to the rally.

If you want to do some good PR work with your dogs, we do urge you
to go out into your communities in the days leading up to the 15th
and do meet and greets with your dog. Set up a BSL table at your
local park, hand out literature on BSL outside Home Depot, wear your
anti-BSL t-shirts to Petco and Petsmart, or organize small
informational gatherings in your neighborhoods.

Me and my boys will be doing that all week, but they will be staying
home on Oct 15 for their own good.

Thanks for your cooperation, and please do crosspost this to anyone
you know who might be spreading the word about this rally.
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Postby TheRedQueen » October 8th, 2007, 12:33 pm

We're gonna try and make it tomorrow night...thanks for the PM and the info here. We will have a dog both times (we're hoping to make it on the 15th also)...'cause Sawyer is a SD and goes everywhere. :) So if you see a guy in a scooter with a little red Aussie...come by and say hi!
"I don't have any idea if my dogs respect me or not, but they're greedy and I have their stuff." -- Patty Ruzzo

"Dogs don't want to control people. They want to control their own lives." --John Bradshaw
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I thought I lost my Wiener... but then I found him.
 
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Location: Maryland

Postby babyreba » October 9th, 2007, 7:17 pm

Just got back home after a long day! Today was the day the Baltimore County Council heard public testimony on Bill 70-07, Regulation of Pit Bulls and Dangerous and Menacing Animals.

I got to the county courthouse at 1:45 and it was already packed with people who showed up to oppose Bill 70-07! All the local TV news guys showed up, as did reporters from some of the print media.

The councilmen commented that this was a much larger than usual crowd for a council hearing, and as it turned out, there were 35 or 36 people signed up to speak--only 3 signed up to speak in favor of the bill. The rest were people who were opposed to it. The majority of the people who spoke were eloquent, clear, and convincing, and it was nice to have such a great group of people speaking out on our behalf!

We had representatives from the ASPCA, HSUS, Maryland Dog Federation, the Baltimore County Kennel Club, PBRC, and several local dog trainers . . . the last news report I caught online captured the fact that there was overwhelming opposition to the bill.

The sad part is that the parents of a child injured by a pit bull and the owner of a beagle killed by a neighbor's pit bull all spoke as well, and though they all were in favor of the bill, they all felt that the breed was not bad but that ownership of the breed has gone so far down the tubes that something needed to be done. It was hard to listen to the old man talk about his beagle being killed, and to listen to the parents talk about the injuries sustained by their child. They seemed very calm and rational, given that they could have let emotions rule their testimony. But it is certainly to their credit that they did not. But my heart went out to them--there is a special place in hell for the people out there who let their dogs run amok in the community and ruin the lives of others. At least I hope there is.

So we still have a vote on this bill coming on Oct. 15 at 7 PM so we will be holding our rally. But today's response to the legislation has given me some optimism!

On to the next hurdle!
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Postby TheRedQueen » October 9th, 2007, 10:00 pm

Sounds like it went well...we were planning on being there, but I had to run out and do an evaluation of a border collie for a rescue I volunteer for. The dog had nipped the child, and the relinquishing needs to be done quickly, so nothing more can happen.

I'm hoping to be there for the rally...I'll have to cancel my classes for that night...but it will be worth it! ;)
"I don't have any idea if my dogs respect me or not, but they're greedy and I have their stuff." -- Patty Ruzzo

"Dogs don't want to control people. They want to control their own lives." --John Bradshaw
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I thought I lost my Wiener... but then I found him.
 
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