Advocating for pit bull Keating.pptx - Best Friends Animal Society

Advocating for Pit Bull Terriers: The Surprising Truths Revealed by the Latest Research – Jean Keating

No More Homeless Pets National Conference October 10-13, 2013 1

We came, we cried, we collaborated, and we conquered.

Jean Kea'ng  Special education teacher/trainer

 Founded the Lucas County Pit Crew

 Co-Founded the Ohio Coalition of Dog Advocates

 Bachelor’s degree in Developmental Psychology

 Master’s degree in Education

 Green Bay-Chicago-Buffalo-Sylvania



Sharing the Journey

UnWelcome In Ohio  The only state where you can own lions, tigers, and bears, but not pit bulls! OH MY!



Despera'on Time  What do you do when discrimination comes to your

hometown?  Scared---Angry---Moving!

Why me?  Keeping a low profile  Hiding under the cover

of night  Not willing to accept

that I was needed  This was not my fight  Why did I move to this

forsaken land



Mo'va'on

I realized that I had to do something to make the world a safer place for my family

Stand Up, Speak Out, Teach Tolerance



Sylvania  Best Friends

Toolkit  Blend and

Observe  Organize  Formulate a Plan  Attack with Fact  Media, Media,

Media

Let The Facts Speak For Themselves   "Arguments against breed

discriminatory legislation suggest there are significant difficulties determining breed, and breed type, based on appearance, thus, any breed ban inevitably results in the creation of subjective, arbitrary factors to determine breed type. There are many contributing factors to most dog bite incidents, including poor breeding practices, inadequate socialization and training, health or behavioral issues and inadequate supervision and/or control of the dog. Bylaws that are breed neutral and ensure that aggressive dogs (regardless of breed) are not a continued threat to public safety and are the most consistent and fair approach."

Breed neutral dangerous dog laws that target reckless dog owners keep communities safe.



Toledo

He Who Shall Not Be Named  Along every journey one encounters stumbling blocks.

You can either climb over, go around, or simply bulldoze through. Turning around is never an option when lives are at stake.



It Had To Be Done

Money Talks  Keating v Lucas County  Toledo v H Smith



Cleveland

Cincinna'  Invite others to

join you  Know when to

step back  VOTE!  VOTE!  VOTE!



It’s OK to Rest  Sometimes we become so single focused that we

lose ourselves  Celebrate success

Wendy Visits the State House

State Representative Barbara Sears



Note to Self  Terminology is the

ticket to dialogue  This was never

about pit bulls, it was about public safety, individual rights, and the waste of animal control dollars

Embrace Collabora'on  Ask the experts for

help  Engage your

opposition in dialogue  Don’t waste time

reinventing the wheel  Motivate the animal

lovers to get on board  Emphasize money

and safety



Pivotal Moment  Representative Weddington’s

assumption: “obviously your dog comes from a great background and has specialized training”

 Wendy is everybody’s dog, and she exemplifies the true nature of mixed breed dogs all over Ohio, and all over this country. She is America’s dog.

Right Place-‐Right Time  House Bill 366 Never Give Up!  House Bill79  House Bill 14



AQer 25 years-‐-‐-‐SUCCESS!

Celebrate!



Celebrate Life!

What Does This Mean?  Law went into effect

5-22-12  Since then we have

gone from only 1 dog pound adopting out pit bulls to almost half either adopting out directly to public or transferring to rescue

 All the major cities have gone breed neutral



Lucas County Transfers

Numbers?  Montgomery County  May 22, 2012 to

September 30, 2012 they saved 573 pit bull type dogs

 Lucas County has saved over 600 in that same time period

 Cleveland began a year ago and their numbers are doubled



Thousands

No More Homeless Pets  Celebrate our success, share our story with others,

and remobilize to take the final step towards becoming a no-kill state



Support the change  Lucas County Pit Crew  Cincinnati Pit Crew  Pit Bull Zen

Educate, Advocate, Adopt, Support



Outreach  Free Clinics  Free Training

Cleveland 27  The impact that

the law has had will not be measureable for years.

 It is changing the way pit bulls are perceived all over the state.



Join Us  Lucas County Pit Crew  Ohio Coalition of Dog

Advocates

[email protected] I thought I rescued a dog and saved his life. Truth is he rescued me and taught me how to truly live.

Advocating for pit bull Keating.pptx - Best Friends Animal Society

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