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Project Pit Bull Asheville

Asheville Humane Society’s Project Pit Bull Campaign  Begins with Community Forum on June 19

Asheville Humane Society kicks off its Project Pit Bull Awareness and Action Campaign on June 19 at 6:30 p.m. with a community forum. Deirdre Franklin, founder of Pinups for Pitbulls, owner of Darlings Asheville and author of Little Darling’s Pinups for Pitbulls will lead the discussion, “What is BSL and Can It Keep Us Safe?” The forum is the first of the campaign’s free services for pit bull owners, community resources, and other events.

Tracy Elliott, Asheville Humane Society’s new executive director explained the importance of the campaign. “It is our hope that in creating a conversation with citizens of all ages including homeowners, tenants, landlords, neighbors, pit bull enthusiasts and even the pit bull wary, we can grow a compassionate, conscientious community that promotes responsible pet ownership and no longer discriminates against breeds. We want Asheville to remain a dog-friendly city and evolve into a no-kill community. Yet in order to accomplish this, its citizens need not only resources for proper training and care, but also places to live and happily coexist within the community with their beloved pets.”

In addition to invited government officials, landlords and insurance companies, the public is encouraged to attend. Complimentary pizza will be served. In addition, beer will be donated by Asheville Brewing Company. Recent celebrity, Roscoe the pit bull puppy will make an appearance. Beemer, from BMW of Asheville, will also be a featured guest. After the forum, Deirdre Franklin will hold a book signing. Members of the community wishing to attend should RSVP to events@ashevillehumane.org

Who:  Asheville Humane Society and Deirdre Franklin of Pinups for Pitbulls
What:  Project Pit Bull Awareness and Action Campaign Kickoff Forum
When:  Friday, June 19 at 6:30 p.m.
Where:Asheville Humane Society, 14 Forever Friend Lane
Why:  To remain a dog-friendly city and evolve into a no-kill community

About Asheville Humane Society

For over 30 years Asheville Humane Society has been saving homeless Buncombe County animals. Today we operate both our own state-of-the-art Adoption and Education Center and the County's only open door shelter where no local animal is ever turned away. We rescue, reunite, rehabilitate and re-home abandoned, abused, injured and lost animals. We provide education, training and support to keep pets in their homes. Asheville Humane Society has earned the highest rating of Four Stars from Charity Navigator, a designation achieved by only 25% of all charities nationwide. Our nationally recognized innovative programs and partnerships are steadily moving Buncombe County toward a no-kill community.

17 comments

  1. kayholmes99@gmx.com'

    I can’t believe ya’ll haven’t really looked into Pinups for Pitbulls. The charity is about SELLING tee shirts and crap! The website has NO useful information. This charity is about ENRICHING Deirdre Franklin. Let’s us her charity’s IRS 990. In 2014 they raised $92,301. They paid the board of directors $86,818! Of that amount $64,020 went to her! Then there is the sales tax on the crap they sell! SHE ISN”T PAYING IT. Not just in NC but in several other states for a number of years! Open your eyes. If you don’t believe me! Look it up!

  2. When will people learn that these mutant dogs are not pets? They are wild animals capable of killing grown men…. kids don’t stand a chance when attacked by one of them unless someone nearby has a gun. Pit bulls are dangerous dogs that should be banned everywhere.

  3. An example of the failure that is breed neutral legislation:

    In Calgary, by Bill Bruce’s own admission and documentation, pit bulls lead the serious bite count with 13% of the city’s serious bites attributable to pit bulls, yet pit bulls account for less than 1% of the city’s dogs.

    In fact, pit bulls are responsible for nearly as many serious bites (13%) as the ENTIRE sporting breeding category (15%), which includes all of the most popular breeds (Labs, Goldens, Poodles, Spaniels, etc) and houses 70% of Calgary’s dogs.

    Why aren’t these breeds attacking in the face of irresponsible ownership?
    An example of why leashing and licensing laws don’t work to solve the breed-specific problem of pit bulls:

    Pitbull supporters always point to Calgary Model as the perfect solution when dealing with dangerous dogs. The city introduced its responsible pet ownership bylaw in 2006.
    Calgary’s bylaw department emphasizes responsible pet ownership through intensive licensing, hefty fines and owner education.

    In Calgary, the largest city in Alberta, “confirmed aggressive dog incidents” and related criminal charges tripled in 2013, and in mid-2014 were up 15% more.

    Has their model worked? The statistics from the past four years would indicate a resounding “NO”. For the past four years dog bites have risen steadily every year, and over 350% in the past 4 years, from 58 in 2009 to 203 in 2012.

    And In 2010 Pit bulls led the ‘bite’ count. Meanwhile in Toronto, four years after implementing Breed Bans, dog bites were down 32%, from 486 to 329.

    Bites in Toronto blamed on the four banned breeds fell sharply, from 71 in 2005 to only six in 2010.

    Considering these breeds regularly inflict the most serious damage, this is an undeniable win for the citizens of Toronto.

    There were 400 dog bites in Calgary in 2013 and 500 in 2014.

  4. 773% rise in fatal & disfiguring pit bull attacks from 2007 to 2014

    Steep rises in all categories of attack
    The number of pit bulls involved in fatal and disfiguring attacks has risen since 2007 from 78 to 603;

    the number of child victims has increased from 30 to 264;

    the number of adult victims has increased from 23 to 279;

    the number of deaths directly inflicted by pit bulls is up from 13 to 31,
    one short of the high of 32 reached in 2012; and the number of disfigurements has soared from 37 to 451.

    Another 120 people were injured by pit bulls in 2014 but not killed or disfigured in attacks in which someone else was killed or disfigured.

  5. Best Friends, ASPCA, HSUS

    2007 was the year that the Best Friends Animal Society, American SPCA, and the Humane Society of the U.S. ramped up pit bull advocacy in response to the arrest and conviction of Michael Vick on dogfighting-related charges.

    Even before 2007 the frequency of fatal and disfiguring pit bull attacks had risen explosively for 25 years.
    In the entire decade from 1982 to 1992, 104 pit bulls attacked
    44 children and 60 adults, killing 18 of the victims, disfiguring 36.

    Fifty victims escaped without fatal or disfiguring injuries in attacks in which others were killed or disfigured.

  6. Pit bull type dogs Half or more of all dog attack fatalities since 1844

    Retrospective data collection has established that pit bulls have accounted for half or more of all fatal dog attacks in every 10-year time frame since 1844.

    However, fatal dog attacks––even when rabies remained uncontrolled––were until recently an extreme rarity.
    Only 15 fatal dog attacks are known to have occurred in the entire span from 1930 through 1960, including nine by pit bulls, two by Dobermans, and four by unidentified mutts.

  7. Year of Shelter/Rescue Dog Attacks

    Not surprisingly, 2014 was also the Year of the Shelter/Rescue Dog Attacks.
    At least 37 dogs in custody of shelters or rescues, or rehomed by shelters or rescues, killed or disfigured someone in 2014.

    Thirty of those dogs were pit bulls.
    Only two of the attacks by dogs from shelters or rescues killed someone in 2014, down from the high of five in 2012, but that was a matter of luck, as the number of fatal and disfiguring attacks by shelter and rescue dogs has more than doubled since 2012.

    By comparison, there were no fatalities involving shelter or rescue dogs from 1858 through 1987.
    The first two, both involving wolf hybrids, occurred in 1988 and in 1989. No more occurred for another decade.

  8. 24% of all the disfiguring maulings on record by
    shelter and rescue dogs came in 2014 alone.

    There were three fatalities involving shelter or rescue dogs from 1990 through 2009, involving a pit bull, a Doberman, and a Presa Canario.

    But there have been 36 fatalities involving shelter dogs from 2010 to present, involving 28 pit bulls, seven bull mastiffs, two Rottweilers, a Lab mix who may have been part pit bull, and a husky.

    Also of note, there were 32 disfiguring maulings by shelter dogs from
    1858 through 2009, 19 of them involving pit bulls.

    From 2010 to present, there have been 122 disfiguring maulings by shelter dogs,
    80 of them involving pit bulls.

  9. Simply put, border collies do not herd sheep because they are raised on sheep farms; rather, they are raised on sheep farms because they herd.

    In addition pointers point, retrievers retrieve, and mastiffs guard, all because those traits are part of their breed expectations, meaning strong and continuous selection in the underlying breeding program ”

    Pit bulls do not attack because they are raised with dog fighters and drug dealers, dog fighters and drug dealers use pit bulls because they attack!

    It is their nature, their genetic truth and reality.!!

    It is not how you raise them rather it is simply what they are.!!

    Just like sled dogs run and pull, it is just their nature.!

    A pit bull type dog is what it is and does what it is.You can no more alter it genetic makeup then you can a collies to herd, a hounds to track, a retriever’s to retrieve, a labs to swim, a pointers to point, a sled dog to run and pull.

    They do what they are and a pit bull type dog is a mauling violent killer that has been bred to be a land shark, nothing you do can change that, even if you have them from birth.

    No matter if you love them, or how you nurture, train, rehabilitate, raise them optimally as normal dogs from birth, you can not change their Genetic reality to Kill, Maul, Maim, Disfigure, Dismember, cause Life Flights or trips to the Intensive Care Unit.

    For over 800 years the current pit bull type dog was brought into being through careful selective genetic breeding to create the most violent murderous fighting dog possible

  10. There were two fatalities involving shelter dogs from 1858 through 1999, both involving wolf hybrids, one in 1988 and one in 1989.

    There were three fatalities involving shelter dogs from 2000 through 2009, involving a pit bull, a Doberman, and a Presa Canario. There have been 36 fatalities involving shelter dogs from 2010 to present, involving 28 pit bulls, seven bull mastiffs, two Rottweilers, a Lab who may have been part pit bull, and a husky.

    Also of note, there were 32 disfiguring maulings by shelter dogs from 1859 through 2009, 19 of them involving pit bulls.

    From 2010 to present, there have been 122 disfiguring maulings by shelter dogs, 80 of them involving pit bulls. In 2014 alone, 37 shelter dogs killed or disfigured someone; 30 were pit bulls.

    For every human killed, hundreds of animals have been–about 6,800 animals killed by shelter dogs in 2013 and about the same number in 2014.

  11. BADRAP

    Oakland residents Tim Racer and Donna Reynolds in 1999 founded BADRAP, the other anticipated cauldron of opposition to Katz’ leadership at Oakland Animal Services, “to secure the future of the American Pit Bull Terrier as a cherished family companion.”

    BADRAP has promoted pit bull sterilization, and has decried the myth that pit bulls were ever a “nanny dog,” but has had difficultly persuading even BADRAP volunteers to follow the organization’s list of rules for keeping pit bulls safely. BADRAP volunteer Darla Napora, 32, was in violation of several of those rules when fatally mauled in her home in Pacifica, California on August 11, 2011 by her two-year-old non-neutered pit bull terrier Gunner, whom police shot at the scene.

    To blame BADRAP alone for the national trends pertaining to pit bulls since 1999 would be unfair. Also of note is that some of the most vehement pit bull advocacy critics of Katz’ tenure in San Francisco have assailed BADRAP too.

    Nonetheless, comparison of the post-BADRAP trends to Katz’s accomplishments in San Francisco may be instructive.

    When BADRAP debuted, about two million pit bulls were in U.S. homes at any given time, of whom about 700,000 would be surrendered to animal shelters or impounded for dangerous behavior within a year’s time, and about 630,000 would be killed.

    Currently, about 3.5 million pit bulls are in U.S. homes at any given time, of whom about one million per year are surrendered to animal shelters or impounded for dangerous behavior within a year’s time, and about 910,000 are killed.

    In 1999, pit bulls were about 3% of the U.S. dog population, but accounted for 17% of shelter dog admissions.

    Since 2000, pit bulls have increased to about 5% of the U.S. dog population, but were about 25% of shelter dog admissions and 50% of the dogs killed in shelters during the 10 years ending in 2009.

    Pit bulls since 2010 have increased to almost a third of shelter dog admissions nationally, and more 60% of the dogs killed in shelters.

    In the 17 years before BADRAP debuted, 400 pit bulls had injured at least 175 children & 166 adults, resulting in 36 fatalities and 186 disfigurements.

    Post-BADRAP, more than 3,100 pit bulls have participated in injuring at least 2,300 people, including 1,200 children and 1,100 adults. These pit bull attacks have resulted in 258 fatalities and more than 1,900 disfigurements.

    In the year 1999, when BADRAP debuted, 791 pit bulls were seized in dogfighting cases nationwide, up from 365 in 1998 and 95 in 1997. The post-BADRAP annual average is close to 1,000.

    http://www.animals24-7.org/2014/11/01/oakland-hires-former-sf-animal-control-chief-rebecca-katz-to-face-nathan-winograd-and-pit-bull-advocates-in-their-lair/

  12. larrytatet@aol.com'

    BADRAP

    Oakland residents Tim Racer and Donna Reynolds in 1999 founded BADRAP, the other anticipated cauldron of opposition to Katz’ leadership at Oakland Animal Services, “to secure the future of the American Pit Bull Terrier as a cherished family companion.”

    BADRAP has promoted pit bull sterilization, and has decried the myth that pit bulls were ever a “nanny dog,” but has had difficultly persuading even BADRAP volunteers to follow the organization’s list of rules for keeping pit bulls safely. BADRAP volunteer Darla Napora, 32, was in violation of several of those rules when fatally mauled in her home in Pacifica, California on August 11, 2011 by her two-year-old non-neutered pit bull terrier Gunner, whom police shot at the scene.

    To blame BADRAP alone for the national trends pertaining to pit bulls since 1999 would be unfair. Also of note is that some of the most vehement pit bull advocacy critics of Katz’ tenure in San Francisco have assailed BADRAP too.

    Nonetheless, comparison of the post-BADRAP trends to Katz’s accomplishments in San Francisco may be instructive.

    When BADRAP debuted, about two million pit bulls were in U.S. homes at any given time, of whom about 700,000 would be surrendered to animal shelters or impounded for dangerous behavior within a year’s time, and about 630,000 would be killed.

    Currently, about 3.5 million pit bulls are in U.S. homes at any given time, of whom about one million per year are surrendered to animal shelters or impounded for dangerous behavior within a year’s time, and about 910,000 are killed.

    In 1999, pit bulls were about 3% of the U.S. dog population, but accounted for 17% of shelter dog admissions.

    Since 2000, pit bulls have increased to about 5% of the U.S. dog population, but were about 25% of shelter dog admissions and 50% of the dogs killed in shelters during the 10 years ending in 2009.

    Pit bulls since 2010 have increased to almost a third of shelter dog admissions nationally, and more 60% of the dogs killed in shelters.

    In the 17 years before BADRAP debuted, 400 pit bulls had injured at least 175 children & 166 adults, resulting in 36 fatalities and 186 disfigurements.

    Post-BADRAP, more than 3,100 pit bulls have participated in injuring at least 2,300 people, including 1,200 children and 1,100 adults. These pit bull attacks have resulted in 258 fatalities and more than 1,900 disfigurements.

    In the year 1999, when BADRAP debuted, 791 pit bulls were seized in dogfighting cases nationwide, up from 365 in 1998 and 95 in 1997. The post-BADRAP annual average is close to 1,000.

    http://www.animals24-7.org/2014/11/01/oakland-hires-former-sf-animal-control-chief-rebecca-katz-to-face-nathan-winograd-and-pit-bull-advocates-in-their-lair/

  13. Julie_eyrich@msn.com'

    Asheville Humane Society who partners with the ASPCA, re-homed a pit bull that savagely killed an innocent child. Either AHS absolutely fails at assessing the dogs in their shelter, or they have to admit there is currently no accurate way to assess pit bull type dogs. At any rate, they need to stop pushing pit bulls onto the naive public.

    Asheville Humane Society claims the pit bull passed their 7-point temperament test, yet it still was aggressive? Did they just admit that their temperament test is meaningless? Or are they lying about the results of the temperament test. They want to educate the public on how safe it is to adopt a pit bull from them, yet their “temperament tested” pit bull kills a child shortly after being adopted…..either their temperament test is meaningless, or they are misinterpreting/ignoring the results when dogs fail. AHS has proven they put pit bulls before human life. I would think all pit bull advocates would take pause after an incident like this: http://www.blueridgenow.com/article/20150709/articles/150709880?tc=ar

    Asheville Humane Society should be charged with ‘Negligent homicide’ –(is a criminal charge brought against people who, through criminal negligence, allow others to die.) Do they comprehend because of their actions a child is dead. These families trusted AHS to rehome a safe dog for the whole neighborhood. The family, friends and community who lost this child will forever be shattered and some will suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

    If this pit bull would have been a beagle or I could name 200 other dog breeds, this child would be alive with or without supervision. This child had played with this dog before on several occasions. There was no reason for the families to think this pit bull would kill this child, that is why pit bulls are so dangerous. Both families trusted that AHS would re home a safe pit bull for their neighborhood. The pit bull owner did not have a fool-proof fence and left the ‘safe’ ticking time bomb unsupervised in his backyard. Even if there was someone supervising, it is next to impossible to stop a pit bull mauling.

    From 2005-2015, 218 children and people killed by pit bulls. http://www.dogsbite.org/dog-bite-statistics-fatalities-2014.php

    Here is a incident list of Shelters who re-homed dangerous dogs: http://safetybeforebulldogs.blogspot.com/2014/05/list-of-pit-bulls-recently-adopted-from.html?m=1

  14. This project that they were so proud of killed a 6 year old child. ASHVILLE HUMANE stop pumping fighting breeds into our communities! You are killing our children.

  15. dogbird00@gmail.com'

    Great project! 6 year old just killed by neighbor’s pitbull recently adopted by owner in Henderson County.

  16. Congratulations to Asheville HS for what sounds like a wonderful program. I hope many more organizations in your state follow your example.