He who knows nothing is closer to the truth than he whose mind is filled with falsehoods and errors. Thomas Jefferson
Friday, May 27, 2011
part three of three
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Mortality, Mauling, and Maiming by Vicious Dogs
Meet LEDY VANKAVAGE, the senior legislative analyst (a paid lobbyist) for the Kanab, Utah animal rights group known as Best Friends. This attorney and life long pit bull owner feels qualified to lead the argument on public policy regarding dangerous dogs!
"During the one-year period between June 1986 and June 1987, 14 people were killed by dogs in the United States. Ten of those 14 deaths are attributed to pit bulls. Thus, 71% of the deaths during that period were attributed to a type of dog that accounts for 1% of the US dog population (8,10,22)."and
"Most breeds do not repeatedly bite their victims; however, a pit bull attack has been compared to a shark attack and often results in multiple bites and extensive soft tissue loss (3,10). Although the teeth of dogs are not very sharp, they can exert a force of 200 to 450 psi. Pit bulls inflict more serious bite wounds than do other breeds because they tend to attack the deep muscles, hold on, and shake (3,10)."
"With this trend and the increasing population of dogs in general, and in pit bulls in particular, the occurrence of cases similar to the one reported in this article may increase."
There are aspects of ring sport which put the bulldog at a disadvantage when competing against sheepdogs like shepherds and malinois. The sport requires the dog, at times, to bite and then quickly release and retreat - something no true bulldog is willing to do. Also, biting the leg, which is considered preferable, takes more training for a bulldog who will naturally shun the extremities in favor of the more "courageous" bites to the body. A bulldog is bred to grip the head of its prey - whereas a sheepdog nips the legs. Therefore sheepdog breeds have a natural advantage in this regard.
Another very real detriment to the sport are those few decoys, (so far I have found them only in Western Canada) who are so terrified of pit bulls that they treat them with prejudice.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Hypocrisy Nutter Style: The Ledy Vankavage Edition
Recently, a group of Texas trauma care surgeons, physicians and nurses published a study concluding that pit bull attacks are more severe on average, cost more and have a higher risk for death than attacks by other breeds. The additional risk is completely avoidable and unacceptable. They conclude that legislators should protect their citizens from this unnecessary and unacceptable added risk.
Of course the pit bull apologists and the pit bull pushers came out in force attacking these professionals from all sides. Ledy's attack oozes condescension. You can easily envision the curl of her lip as you read her words belittling the work of these concerned surgeons, doctors and nurses who have seen and tried to sew up the bodies her beloved pitties tore apart.
She feels these professionals' work is so shoddy and their study is so small that it's not research at all; it is simply embarrassingly blatant propaganda. Ledy muses that these professionals were so incredibly incapable they probably didn't find the magnificent research conducted by the illustrious Dr. Victoria Voith that allowed the good doctor to conclude "animal shelter folks" can only correctly identify the heritage of mixed breed dogs 25% of the time! You know if Ledy Vankavage relies on it, Voith's study (download the first pdf entitled ACVB AVSAB Dog Breed Poster) must have been large and impeccably designed. It must be work that would put the good doctors and nurses to shame.
Right:
The total sample of dogs was 40. Dr. Voith doesn't offer how the dogs were chosen, only that the sample represents the dogs that could "be there" on a given day. From the very huge sample of 40, they "randomly" selected 20 dogs.
Of the dogs selected, only 16 had been identified by breed mix by shelters when they were adopted. So, only 16 of the 40 dogs could be used (40%) to come up with their statement.
11 of the 20 dogs were less than 6 months old when the unknown rescue or shelter workers attempted to identify the heritage of the dog. Uncharacteristically, half these shelter dogs were adopted as puppies making Voith's "study" particularly useless to criticize the University Hospital study because presumably none of the attacking dogs were puppies under 6 months old when identified. (This can be verified because the researchers do have this information.)
The dogs in Voith's study had been identified up to 11.5 years prior to the "study" by unknown shelters, rescue groups, foster housing, animal control and other agencies. Because of this study's "design," we know nothing of the actual experience, training or education any of these anonymous people had or even if the owner's recollection of the assigned breeds is correct. Ledy wants to compare the expertise of unknown shelter workers trying to promote puppies to the expertise of AC officers, LE officers and veterinarians tasked with investigating a serious injury or death.
The Mars test used only has an 84% accuracy in first generation crossbred dogs. None of the dogs were identified as being a first generation cross, so there is no guarantee of accuracy for the test whatsoever and, because of this "study's" design, no way to verify whether the genetic test is correct. So we don't know if those Tibetian terriers, black russian terriers, and Nova Scotia duck-tolling retrievers get around as much as they seem to judging from these 20 dogs.
This is the kind of "study" Ledy uses to bash doctors and nurses who were motivated by what they see in the trauma room. This is the kind of "study" that Ledy uses to expose these professionals' "embarrassingly blatant propaganda."
I am still trying to imagine how Ledy envisions the conversation where doctors and nurses decided to propagandize:
Dr. to nurse during surgery: "Hey, if you're not busy for the next few months, would you be interested in concocting some propaganda to destroy the reputation of pit bulls?"
Nurse: Why do you want to do that?
Doctor: Just 'cuz.
Nurse: Sounds fun!
the mesmerizingly stupid educating the mesmerizingly gullible
Friday, May 13, 2011
Frankenmauler roundup
04/29/11: weekly frankenmauler round up - craven desires
04/22/11: weekly frankenmauler round up - craven desires
04/15/11: weekly frankenmauler round up - craven desires
04/08/11: weekly frankenmauler round up - craven desires
04/01/11: weekly frankenmauler round up - craven desires
03/25/11: weekly frankenmauler round up - craven desires
03/18/11: weekly frankenmauler round up - craven desires
03/11/11: weekly frankenmauler round up - craven desires
03/04/11: weekly frankenmauler round up - craven desires
02/25/11: weekly frankenmauler round up - craven desires
02/18/11: weekly frankenmauler round up - craven desires
02/11/11: weekly frankenmauler round up - craven desires
02/04/11: weekly frankenmauler round up - craven desires
01/28/11: weekly frankenmauler round up - craven desires
01/21/11: weekly frankenmauler round up - craven desires
01/14/11: weekly frankenmauler round up - craven desires
01/07/11: weekly frankenmauler round up - craven desires
12/31/10: weekly frankenmauler round up - craven desires
12/24/10: weekly frankenmauler round up - craven desires
12/17/10: weekly frankenmauler round up - craven desires
12/10/10: weekly frankenmauler round up - craven desires
12/03/10: weekly frankenmauler round up - craven desires
11/26/10: weekly frankenmauler round up - craven desires
11/19/10: weekly frankenmauler round up - craven desires
11/12/10: weekly frankenmauler round up - craven desires
11/05/10: weekly frankenmauler round up - craven desires
10/29/10: weekly frankenmauler round up - craven desires
10/22/10: weekly frankenmauler round up - craven desires
10/15/10: weekly frankenmauler round up - craven desires
10/08/10: weekly frankenmauler round up - craven desires
10/01/10: weekly frankenmauler round up - craven desires
09/24/10: weekly frankenmauler round up - craven desires
09/17/10: weekly frankenmauler round up - craven desires
09/11/10: weekly frankenmauler round up - craven desires
08/27/10: weekly frankenmauler round up - craven desires
08/20/10: weekly frankenmauler round up - craven desires
08/13/10: weekly frankenmauler round up - craven desires
08/06/10: weekly frankenmauler round up - craven desires
07/31/10: weekly frankenmauler round up - craven desires
07/21/10: weekly frankenmauler round up - craven desires
07/14/10: weekly frankenmauler round up - craven desires
07/07/10: weekly frankenmauler round up - craven desires
07/01/10: weekly frankenmauler round up - craven desires
06/22/10: weekly frankenmauler round up - craven desires
06/15/10: weekly frankenmauler round up - craven desires
06/05/10: weekly frankenmauler round up - craven desires
05/30/10: weekly frankenmauler round up - craven desires
05/24/10: weekly frankenmauler round up - craven desires
05/15/10: weekly frankenmauler round up - craven desires
05/08/10: weekly frankenmauler round up - craven desires
05/01/10: weekly frankenmauler round up - craven desires
04/23/10: weekly frankenmauler round up - craven desires
04/05/10: weekly frankenmauler round up - craven desires
03/22/10: weekly frankenmauler round up - craven desires
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Count me in as a "Hater"
Monday, May 9, 2011
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Jesse James
Friday, May 6, 2011
weekly frankenmauler roundup 05/06/11
05.05.11 UK gripping dog caught on video trying to please his owner by terrorizing a small herd of pregnant cows and calves. these hideous mutants have outlived their purpose, darwin needs to put their lights out. BE SURE TO WATCH THE VIDEO IN THE LINK.