Animal Owners Devoid of Constitutional Rights?

Recently I have begun to wonder if the United States has somehow amended the Constitution to exempt animal owners from certain "rights" which other citizens enjoy. For example, the the 5th Amendment which says "no person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law." However, every day laws are being passed which allow cities to take dogs (aka property) from their owners without the due process of a trial. The alarming rate with which this questionable practice is spreading has lead me to this idea. . .

Perhaps the United States of America no longer views animal owners as having equal rights afforded under the Constitution.

There are many examples in today's society of this phenomenon from breed specific ordinances to so called "dog fighting investigations." What they have in common is simple, the government and private organizations support of violating the Bill of Rights in favor of Animal Rights propaganda over real public safety and animal welfare considerations.

To many people who have not witnessed this firsthand it may seem far fetched. So, let me give you a short test . . .

TRUE OR FALSE?

1. Pit bulls are owned only by drug dealers, gang members, criminals and DOG FIGHTERS!

2. Pit Bulls have locking jaws which will never let go of an animal or person they are biting

3. Treadmills are only used by dog fighters

4. Weight pull and conformation shows are cover for dog fighters

5. Pit bull bans do not affect any other types of dogs

6. Shelters are greatly over crowded with pit bulls and mandatory spay/neuter laws will fix this

Thought it over? Well, you may be shocked by the real answers.

1. FALSE. People from all walks of life enjoy owning athletic, short haired, loyal dogs (which includes the pit bull breeds) and many famous people have and do own pit bull dogs. For example, Rachael Ray, Frankie Munez, Benjamin Franklin and Helen Keller.

2. FALSE. There has never been a study to confirm this. However it has been properly disproved. As explained below by Dr. I. Lehr Brisbin of the University of Georgia.

“The few studies which have been conducted of the structure of the skulls, mandibles and teeth of Pit Bulls show that, in proportion to their size, jaw structure and thus its inferred functional morphology, is no different than that of any breed of dog. There is absolutely no evidence for the existence of any kind of “locking mechanism” unique to the structure of the jaw and /or teeth of the American Pit Bull Terrier.”

3. FALSE. Treadmills have been used in the dog show world for years to keep dogs of all breeds fit and healthy. Many veterinarians and dog trainers also advocate their use.

4. FALSE. Weight pull and conformation, along with many other dog sports and acitivities are undergone by many fanciers of different breeds. Some enjoy the bonding with their dogs and fellow fanciers, others compete in order to test a dogs structure and athletic ability which they want to breed.

This is a myth created in order to cast doubt on innocent dog owners so that certain groups could continue to blemish their reputation in the court of public opinion.

5. FALSE. There are 75 breeds of dogs currently being targeted somewhere in the United States by BSL. They range from the Labrador retriever to the Boston Terrier.

"BSL Pandemic" by Scot E. Dowd Ph.D of the Canine Research Institute suggests that by the year 2022 at least 25 additional breeds will join that list. This would effectively make owning the majority of popular dog breeds illegal in the United States.

6. FALSE. Nathan Winograd's Redemption has blew the lid off the pet overpopulation myth, proving that a more active role in animal sheltering can effectively reduce the number of animals killed in American shelters each year. Additionally, mandatory spay/neuter laws have been seen to actually raise shelter populations because many people surrender dogs or have them confiscated as opposed to complying with these laws, not to mention they violate your rights just as much as BSL does.

If you were surprised by the factual answers to the above questions you have been the victim of media biased. You have watched news stories, read articles and heard tall tales for years about evil pit bull owners and how BSL would save children and kittens from being eaten. Fact is, that's a load of crap.

The reason you may find it hard to swallow that dog owners are having their rights violated every day in this country is because most of those dog owners are pit bull owners. Even when the evidence is overwhelmingly stacked in their favor the pit bull owner has a hard time getting a fair shake with the media.

Here are some facts for you to ingest. Breed specific legislation is a growing problem. It in no way solves the problems which cause a danger to the community like irresponsible ownership and violation of existing fair laws. What it does accomplish is to criminalize innocent people based on information supplied by biased sources and verified by other biased sources which has no factual basis.

Dogs are the property of their owners. Seizure of a dog based on breed and without trial is a violation of both the 4th and 5th Amendments.

Fair and reasonable laws can be created to uphold public safety. All it takes is intelligent legislators with constituents who do not buy all the media bull. The Responsible Dog Owners of the Western States has created the Model Dog Owner Regulations for this purpose. If implemented it could drastically change the climate of a community, leading to responsible ownership practices and a drop in dog bites and other animal control issues.

On a whole other topic, and yet the same problem, is the recent string of high profile dog fighting busts. I know when I say "dog fighting bust" you most likely think Micheal Vick. But, for a moment, wipe that overplayed memory from your mind and envision instead your neighbor. Any neighbor. Because today there is a $5000 reward for dog fighter information. ANY information, true or not. Any person who owns "pit bulls" and has angered a neighbor or acted "odd" can fall victim. You may be thinking that there is no way an innocent person would be raided for dog fighting. But you have been proven wrong by numerous cases recently.

Where dog fighting is concerned it is a huge cash cow to donations for groups like the HSUS. Many times warrants are given for people who have never broken the law, simply on "suspicion" of dog fighting thanks to helpful tips the HSUS supplies to local law enforcement agencies. This is thanks to a little something called the "patriot act" which basically allows warrants to be written entirely from spectulation. Fourth amendment anyone?

Many times dog fighting trials also violate the 6th amendment as well. As in the case of Floyd and Guy Boudreaux who were acquitted after THREE YEARS of stalling from the prosecution. Turns out they were stalling because they had taken 50 dogs in violation of the 4th and 5th amendments, killed them within a few days time and had no evidence to tie the Boudreaux's to ANY illegal activity.

Another recent example of this blatant violation of the Bill of Rights is the case of Pat Patrick and Emily Dennis. Not only were all of their dogs seized and killed before trial and without evidence to back up the warrant written for them, the prosecution was also pushing for forfeiture of their home in order to pay civil penalties for "cruelty." After the prosecution presented the pathetic "evidence" collected against the couple it was obvious to the judge that this case was also a witch hunt without the broomsticks and the couple was acquitted. Of course, their dogs are still dead.

Don't think it stops with pit bull owners either in Arizona recently Wanda and Bill Jones were indicted for what the HSUS describes as "Hoarding" small dogs and birds. Although the animals were well taken care of and not confined to small cages as some reports have said the HSUS and other Animal Rights Extremist groups want this couple punished for what amounts to a love of animals. The couple had a lot of dogs and birds, that is true, but even video released by the Humane Society of Southern Arizona does not show one SINGLE dog in a cage or looking unhealthy/abused.

Before the HSUS got involved the couple had been visited by Animal control without incident. Now, they are facing criminal charges. That can be called an interesting turn of events for sure.

What this all amounts to is a clear problem in America. Dog owner's are being criminalized, violated and ignored on a daily basis. Meanwhile, "Humane organizations" are overstepping their bounds (legally speaking) and supplying bogus information to law enforcements agencies in exchange for media coverage which results in donations. Directly resulting from these acts of pure greed are the deaths of innocent animals, the ruined lives of innocent dog lovers and the wasted taxpayer money which is used to arrest these people, harass these people and then lose in court to these people.

Perhaps the citizens of the United States should stand up for their rights under the 4th, 5th and 6th amendments and ask that laws to "protect" the public be fair and without breed stereotypes, that police actually have evidence before storming homes, killing dogs and wasting taxpayer dollars and that some "humane organizations" are held accountable for the lies they feed the public and the cops in the name of fund raising.