[ SHOWGSD-L ] San Diego Padres ban GSDs
- From: Erynbrook@xxxxxxx
- To: showgsd-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 25 Aug 2010 11:52:37 EDT
Please Note: Do not blame PETCO for this year. If you read all the way
through, they attempted to get the policy changed. It will be interesting to
see if PETCO sponsors this event NEXT year.
German shepherds, other breeds banned from dog event - By _Michael Stetz_
(http://www.signonsandiego.com/staff/michael-stetz/) , UNION-TRIBUNE
Originally published August 20, 2010 at 4:27 p.m., updated August 20, 2010
at 6:44 p.m.
(http://www.signonsandiego.com/photos/2010/aug/20/214444/)
Ted Lew's dog, Joey, can't attend a dog-related event at Petco Park
because he is a German shepherd.
Rin Tin Tin is not welcome at Petco Park. The German shepherd breed is one
of as many as 15 that canâ??t take part in the San Diego Padresâ?? annual Dog
Days of Summer promotion at the ball park.
Ted Lew learned this the hard way. He owns a German shepherd named Joey. He
planned to take him to the event, which will be held next Friday.
He struck out, though.
At first he had no idea why. He had signed up early. His credit card had
been charged for the ticket. The teamâ??s explanation, which came in a form
letter, was this: overwhelming demand and limited space.
That was hardly the truth.
It turned out that Lew was denied because his breed of dog is blacklisted
by the Padres. It was only after Lew made several calls to the Padres that
he learned about the ban.
The Padres say the breed restriction is for safety reasons, but they wouldn
â??t say just which breeds are off-limits. They would only say the number is
between 10 and 15.
The list is part of an â??internal document that weâ??re not at liberty to
release,â?? Mark Guglielmo, vice president of ballpark operations for the
Padres, said Friday.
Lew doesnâ??t get the ban because people who attend have to sign a waiver
saying theyâ??ll assume all risks if their dogs go all Cujo on anyone.
â??Itâ??s like signing your life away,â?? he said.
Heâ??s also angry because thereâ??s no mention of certain breeds not being
acceptable in any of the promotional materials for the event. In addition, the
application only asks for the â??predominant breedâ?? and whether the dog has
shown aggression toward people or other animals.
Lew, who lives in Ramona, calls 3-year-old Joey a â??100-pound teddy bear.â??
He even bought Padres doggy gear for him to wear.
â??And now he doesnâ??t have a game to go to,â?? Lew said.
He had tried to get into last yearâ??s event, but filled out the application
too close to the deadline. He figured thatâ??s what cost him a ticket. So
this year, he signed up in June to be among the first participants.
Dog Days of Summer is presented by Petco, the pet store chain. But Petcoâ??s
marketing and public relations department didnâ??t know of the Padresâ??
policy, which it doesnâ??t support, said spokeswoman Jenie Altruda.
Petco officials spoke with the Padres on Thursday after receiving a
complaint from Lew. They were under the impression that the policy was amended
recently. Petco even went as far as to offer Lew tickets to the game, thinking
Joey was cool to get in.
But the company had to rescind the offer after the Padres said they were
sticking to their ban.
Guglielmo didnâ??t know why Petco thought that any policy change had been
made. The team had reviewed the breed restrictions and decided to keep them in
place.
The criteria date back to 2004, when the team started the promotion. This
year, 500 dog and dog owners are taking part, up from the 250 in past years.
Thatâ??s because the event is growing more popular all the time.
As to why the application makes no mention that certain breeds arenâ??t
allowed, Guglielmo said, â??I donâ??t have a good answer for that.â??
He said the organization should review the omission to avoid pet owners
confusion in the future.
The Padres simply want to make certain that people attending the event are
safe and even though dog owners sign waivers, the organization might still
be held liable if someone gets hurt, Guglielmo said.
â??This is our event. Weâ??re responsible for running it,â?? he said.
David Coleman, president of the San Diego German Shepherd Club of San Diego
County, said any breed of dog can be trained to be aggressive. German
Shepherds have a reputation for being that way because theyâ??re large and
used
for police work. But theyâ??re â??not vicious dogs at all,â?? Coleman said.
He plans to take his, named Toby, to a senior citizen home next week so the
residents can see and pet him.
But at Petco Park?
Toby would be shown the door.
_michael.stetz@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
(http://us.mc820.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=michael.stetz@xxxxxxxxxxxxx) â?¢
(619) 293-1720 â?¢ Twitter @sdutstetz
Susan Casey
Front Range German Shepherd Rescue
Erynbrook German Shepherds
============================================================================
POST is Copyrighted 2010. All material remains the property of the original
author and of GSD Communication, Inc. NO REPRODUCTIONS or FORWARDS of any kind
are permitted without prior permission of the original author AND of the
Showgsd-l Management. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Each Author is responsible for the content of his/her post. This group and its
administrators are not responsible for the comments or opinions expressed in
any post.
ALL PERSONS ARE ON NOTICE THAT THE FORWARDING, REPRODUCTION OR USE IN ANY
MANNER OF ANY MATERIAL WHICH APPEARS ON SHOWGSD-L WITHOUT THE EXPRESS
PERMISSION OF ALL PARTIES TO THE POST AND THE LIST MANAGEMENT IS EXPRESSLY
FORBIDDEN, AND IS A VIOLATION OF LAW. VIOLATORS OF THIS PROHIBITION WILL BE
PROSECUTED.
For assistance, please contact the List Management at admin@xxxxxxxxxxx
VISIT OUR WEBSITE - http://showgsd.org
NATIONAL BLOG - http://gsdnational.blogspot.com/
============================================================================
Other related posts:
