Cincinnati officials have been under pressure to address a growing problem with Pit Bull attacks and issues in several area neighborhoods. The City has had legislation for decades (1984) regarding this issue, but the problem continues.

It seems the most recent attempt to improve the problem is to get several police officers trained to recognize Pit Bulls. The officers would then be able to remove the dogs from owners that have not registered and/or insured their dog per the City's laws.

Cincinnati may feel improving Pit Bull identification is a solution, but it's not an easy thing to do. Check this link to see how well you can "find the Pit Bull". Additionally, breed specific laws unfairly penalize responsible owners and increase burdens on shelters - read more here.

Getting serious about vicious dogs means getting serious about the cause - irresponsible people breeding or raising problem dogs. Yes, laws can help, but only when they target the source instead of the symptoms.

The Franklin County Dog Shelter will be conducting a low cost rabies immunization clinic on May 16th from 09:00 am to Noon. Immunizations will be offered for $5.00 (cash) and microchipping for $10.00 (Cash). You can get further details on their website at franklincountydogs.com or by calling 614-462-3411.

A Police K9 was killed yesterday in a shooting incident it PA. The Police K9, named Aulf, was 6 years old and was assigned to an officer who is a 12-year veteran of the police bureau. According to police, the incident began when a Pittsburgh Police Officer attempted to stop a man believed to be holding a weapon. The Officer saw a gun and released the dog who the suspect shot. Further gunfire was exchanged and the suspect was killed. The dog was taken to a a local vet clinic but died of his injuries.

Pittsburgh Police report their K9s receive 3-4 injuries per year in the line of duty.

A NC Trooper has been fired after video was taken of him kicking his dog. While the video below shows disturbing footage of abuse that should not be tolerated, there are a few other points that deserve some discussion here.

First, the story indicates that the Trooper was trying to get his dog to release a toy that was provided as a reward during scent detection training. I would question why rewards beyond verbal praise by a handler are being used. This common practice with a lot of Police K9s is entirely unnecessary. A well trained dog that respects its owner/handler will be more than satisfied to work hard for only verbal praise. If that's not the case, then the dog doesn't have the greatest respect for the owner/handler IMO.

That lack of respect can cause a lot of problems when training any dog, but especially working dogs. If this dog wouldn't release a toy, how reliably will it release a suspect that it has taken down? Any Police training that focuses on heightening a dog's drive to attack without concurrently establishing strong control and releases is asking for trouble.

Certainly this Trooper's conduct appears "over the top", but the story also notes this dog was due for retirement (and actually retired) after this incident. So here we have a dog that's been on the street for any number of years and won't release a toy when the handler tells it to release. Perhaps the NC State Police should reconsider their training practices, as well as acceptable levels of performance and reliability from dogs they have working in the field.

IN a bizarre story noted here, the Animal Welfare Board of India has sent a legal notice to Vodafone asking them to pull a popular advertisement showing a pug running after a bus (trying to deliver a tie to its owner).

The Board states it will take legal action if the advert is not pulled, and is upset Vodafone did not get their permission to air the advertisement. Makers of the commercial state the dog enjoyed making the commercial and was in no way stressed.

Have we really come to this, where having a dog run is considered cruel?