[ SHOWGSD-L ] Worse problem than Hunte in Texas

  • From: Patricia Evans <patsgsdpups@xxxxxxxxx>
  • To: showgsd-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx, epil-k9@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, gsd911@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Tue, 13 Feb 2007 16:20:41 -0800 (PST)

Please help us stop this idiot!   Thanks, Pat Evans  PLEASE CROSSPOST!
  For Immediate Release
February 9, 2007 
Contact: Margaret Patterson - (210) 826-7800
    Dog bite bill would put a leash on irresponsible dog owners 
  by Jeff Wentworth 
State Senator, District 25 
    In past legislative sessions, Texans I represent have had suggestions for 
new laws, and this session is no exception. 
  On February 1, I filed Senate Bill 405 in response to a request from two 
sisters who came to my office after their 76 year-old sister, Lillian Lorraine 
Stiles, was attacked and killed by six mixed-breed dogs while riding her 
lawnmower in her own front yard.
  Because there is no leash law in the county where Mrs. Stiles was killed, the 
dogs' owner could not be held criminally liable for her death. Mrs. Stiles' 
sisters asked me to strengthen Texas' dog bite laws so that owners would be 
held responsible, and I promised them I would file a bill to do so.
  Currently, owners are responsible for their dog's actions only if they know 
the dog has previously bitten or attacked someone and has been determined to be 
a "dangerous dog." Senate Bill 405 would do away with the "one free bite" law.
  My bill would hold an owner criminally responsible if the owner's dog makes 
an unprovoked attack on a person that causes bodily injury. Anyone who is found 
guilty under the bill's provision would be held criminally liable, and the 
court would order the dog put down.
  Dog owners or anyone who is responsible for a dog must restrain their dog at 
all times on a leash or in a secure enclosure, according to the bill. There are 
provisions in the bill for animals being used as assistance dogs, search and 
rescue dogs or for law enforcement purposes, such as guard dogs or drug dogs, 
and for dogs playing in a designated dog park.
  Senate Bill 405 also takes into account veterinarians, peace officers, people 
employed in animal shelters or who deal with stray animals for a government 
entity. 
  The bill is not breed specific. I don't care if a dog is a pit bull or a 
cocker spaniel; if it is dangerous and attacks and injures humans, the owner 
should be held responsible.
  While keeping a dog on a leash or within an enclosed area applies only to dog 
owners living in incorporated areas, those who live in unincorporated areas 
could be required to register their dogs with the county after the animals 
reach the age of six months.
  If a county adopts the registration policy as provided by the bill, dogs will 
be required to wear county-issued identification tags. Counties and/or cities 
may place additional requirements or restrictions on dogs as long they are not 
specific to one or to several breeds of dogs. 
  Senate Bill 405 does not discourage dog ownership; however, it does encourage 
responsible dog ownership, and it fulfills a promise I made more than a year 
ago to two grieving sisters.


 
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