On June 23rd the Sycamore Park District Board had their monthly meeting.  During the public concern time Colleen Edwards brought up the need for a dog park and the idea was received enthusiastically by the board.  We were told that it was already on the agenda for the Citizen's Advisory Committee and Colleen was asked to sit on the committee to share her excitement regarding this topic.  We are all very excited and Collen has plans for a fund raiser to aid in the cost of the Dog Park.  Keep an eye on this blog and our website for further information.

The new building is still a slow go as I do believe the heavy equipment was just a tease.  I will keep you all posted and we are still hoping for an opening date of September or October.  Classes are going along well, but on nights like last night we sure are wanting a nice cool building to do our exercises in!  Many more classes will be added once we are in the building and I personally can not wait.

I would like to get some feed back from my visitors regarding a topic on Bully Breeds.  If you were to had the opportunity to listen to an expert speak about Bully Breeds what would you most be interested in?   Is the general misconception and discrimination foremost in your heart or is it the Breed Specific Legislation that really gets your blood pumping?  Would you like to learn about the origins of Bully Breeds and how we got to a case like Michael Vic and the most recent one in Michigan or is the horrific pit fighting and why, what you would like to learn?  There is also the aspect of Bullies in shelters and animal control agencies, there are still organizations in this country that will not take Bully Breeds as they have special needs when confined and over stimulated.  A topic could be Bullies in shelters, before - during - and after, with follow ups on successful adoptions.  You can post comments directly on this blog or you can email me privately at    christyb@petperfection-behavior.com    Your feed back on this is greatly appreciated.

        

There has long been a need for a dog park in the DeKalb area.  That need is now being addressed thanks to a citizen who brought it to the attention of the Sycamore Park District.  She and others have been working diligently to prepare for the long awaited Park Board meeting where the issue of a need for a dog park will be added to the agenda this coming Tuesday night, June 23rd at 7:00 pm.  If this is something that is important to you I am asking all parties to show their presence at this Board Meeting.

 


Where:    940 E. State Street in Sycamore ~ next to the Recreation Area

When:      Tuesday June 23rd, 2009 at 7:00 pm

        

On June 12, 2009 the Falcons officially announced they will be releasing Michael Vic.  I personally hope that his career is over.  Some sports fans may believe that his conviction is excusable, but i do not.  Read the full article here:

http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sports/falcons/stories/2009/06/12/falcons_release_vick.html

   This is Luna, a pit that just recently got adopted through TAILS Humane Society.  I had the pleasure of meeting this lovely girl who truly is an ambassador of the breed.  I watched as she carefully hugged a 5 year old child.  Brought tears to my eyes.  She then went into a foster home where she lived peacefully with another dog and a cat.  Her new family loves her to pieces!

The weather here is finally summer feeling and training classes are going great.  Enrollments are up and I just love to see those little puppies learning with their new owners.  I am just beside myself with excitement as I see flags and some heavy equipment on the TAILS campus in preparation for the new building.  This is going to open up so many possibilities for Pet Perfection and pet lovers in the area. 

Check out the new section on our front page of the website.  Whats "News" with pets!  It will be updated weekly with different news items pertaining to all pets.  If you have a suggestion, send it to me    christyb@petperfection-behavior.com    I have also updated the Bully page with some new photos.  Keep the photos coming along with stories, I will post them.  You can find us on Face Book at  www.fbook.me/petperfection   Become a fan!  Post photos, questions or stories.

        

   The heavy equipment has arrived!!  The ground breaking will be soon.  I can't even express how excited I am about the new building going up on TAILS campus.  It will have a space large enough to accommodate a full size Rally O ring and many other fun and exciting new classes.  We are still looking at September or October for the Grand Opening ~ just in time for winter classes.  No more being crowed in the lobby.

Along with the training area there will also be Doggy Daycare, a grooming salon and the On-Staff vet for TAILS will have a surgery suite to accommodate the growing numbers of the low cost spay/neuter clinic.  Thank you so very much to Michelle who is making this all possible.  So very excited!

Among other news, the mayor of Highland Park has officially retracted his statement and will not be proposing a breed ban on Pit Bulls in the city.  Thanks to the global response via email the city board received opposing this movement.  Lair Scott was a huge part in this effort.  Thank you Lair for all you do and did for this movement!

Saturday classes will be starting up soon.  We will be offering additional Levels 3 & 4, a AKC Canine Good Citizen class, Adventures with TAILS (an advanced class with outings to local parks) and soon a Rally O Drop-In class.  Also going on in the community is a movement to propose a Dog Park in Sycamore.  You can find this information on Face Book to join and support the cause. 

 
The DeKalb Area is in need of a
dog park. Currently there is not anyplace for owners to take there dogs
to run and get exercise. Being an obedience instructor I can't express
enough how important this is. Some dogs really thrive on the social
interaction while others would benefit from the socializing. Please
join!   apps.facebook.com/causes/293256/47136758?m=5ec6990d

        

 

I would like to take the liberty of inviting you to a cause that may be close to your heart.  Mayor Michael Belsky of Highland Park is proposing a breed ban of Pit Bulls after a 14 year old girl was bitten.  Legislation states that Illinois is one of 11 states with a law that prohibits any regulation or ordinance that is specific to breed.  Yet state Rep. Karen May (D-Highland Park) said she believes home-rule communities such as Highland Park can legally ban a breed of dog, based on an informal opinion in a letter from the office of Illinois Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan.  The letter, addressed to the general counsel for the Department of Agriculture and dated March 16, 2007, states that under appropriate circumstances, "a home-rule unit is not prohibited ... from regulating or banning the keeping of specific breeds of animals."

 

This type of legislation is prejudice and devastating to families who have Pit Bulls as a part of their family.   I fear it will start precedence in Illinois that I have personally experienced watching tearful owners being relocated because of the economy, relinquishing their beloved Pit Bulls due to BSL in other parts of the country.  These Pits typically turn out to be terrific pets and were obviously cared for from the relinquishing family.  According to the study Which dogs bite? A case-control study of risk factors, Gershman, Sacks & Wright 1997 the predominant breeds that bite are:  Chow chows, German Shepherd Dogs, Labrador Retrievers and mixes of the these breeds.  These types of racial profiling against Pit Bulls makes me wonder if a Labrador had been involved in this particular instance, would a BSL against Labrador Retrievers be proposed.

 

On June 22^nd at 7:00 pm during the town’s counsel meeting when the BSL will be proposed there will be a rally out side of city hall, 1707 St. Johns Avenue. Highland Park, Illinois 60035.  I am asking Pit Bull owners to attend this rally to show this breed our support.  This will be a peaceful demonstration to simply show Mayor Belsky the number of people opposed to BSL.  I would also like to see a presence of Pit Bulls that are Ambassadors of the breed at this rally. 

 

I will be attending representing my animal behavior consulting business, Pet Perfection.  If you have any questions please feel free to contact me at christyb@petperfection-behavior.com

        

Terrific news!  I now have an "inside" connection to the Highland Park Breed Ban issue.

'Here is an email directed to Lair Scott, who has spearheaded all efforts to prevent a ban from happening in Highland Park, Illinois.

"The staff has not been directed to place a Pit Bull (or any breed-specific ban) on Monday’s agenda, or any agenda in the future." Patrick Brennan, Deputy City Manager of Highland Park states and adds that, "I made the offer to contact you if any future action took place so you did not think that there was a conspiracy to place the matter on the agenda a few months later when the issue may have dropped off your radar." More news on this issue will be released on Monday, May 11, 2009.'

"I'm waiting for Tribune reporter, Lisa Black, to interview the mayor again and see if he'll retract his statement that the Pitbull is "lethal", but an official email was sent to me that they will NOT be placing any sort of ban on city council tables." This also from Lair Scott - Oak Park, IL

        

Please check out my Group/Cause on Face Book, "Pit Bulls ~ The Other Good Dog".  If you are on Face Book please join.  A topic that is very close to my heart.  Being in the Animal Sheltering world I am privileged with seeing many Pits/Bullies, some good, some great and some not so.

It is not the breed or the owner's training or lack there of.  It is merely what the breed was intended to do and the ability of the owner to manage that.  Petey from The Little Rascals (I know, I am dating myself there) was a Pit Bull.  This is the general temperament of the Pit ~ very social with people, what Petey portrayed.  It is just a matter of if they are dog tolerant or not.  Join my group and start a discussion, post photos or pose a question!

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/group.php?gid=59684217460&ref=nf

You can also find us on MySpace, check it out.    http://www.myspace.com/petperfection_behavior

        

Spring is here!  And with that comes new puppies & kitties and Obedience classes outside.  While we are waiting for our building to even break ground, it is nice to finally have classes outside and have a bit more room ~ and more distractions for the pups.  Distraction training is really the best way to get good, reliable results, it is pretty frustrating for the owners though.  Getting the owners to be more exciting than the "butterfly" is always a challenge.  But, I never back down from a challenge!

TAILS Humane Society just had a big adoption event this past weekend, so we are anticipating an increase in enrollments in the coming weeks.  Puppies got adopted and thankfully a handful of adult dogs too.  Kittens are coming so there were a few adult cat adoptions that happened.

A troublesome event happened over the weekend also.  A young girl got bitten in the face and arm by a alleged Pit Bull.  The mayor of Highland Park is now contemplating a Pit Bull Breed Ban for that city.  This is a very sad situation.  According to the study Which Dogs Bite? A case-control study of risk factors (Gershman, Sacks & Wright 1997)  .The predominant breeds that bite are:  Chow chows, German Shepherd Dogs, Labrador Retrievers and mixes of the these breeds.  It makes me wonder if it had been a Lab Mix, would the mayor still be ready to take such drastic action?

Enjoy the photos and give me your thoughts and comments on the situation in Highland Park.

                                                

        

Meet our Instructors!  Amanda, Adrienne and Nancy have all been with us since the beginning when we started dog obedience classes at TAILS back in 2004.  It has been a great ride and it is about to get better!  TAILS will be expanding soon and we will have our own dedicated space for classes.  We are all very excited about this collaborative effort.  Keep an eye on our website for up coming information!


             

Amanda, Senior Instructor                      Adrienne, Instructor                         Nancy, Assistant Instructor

        

We have now added additional Levels 1 & 2.  You can now attend these two levels on Thursday evenings!  Level 1 is at 7:00 pm and Level 2 is at 8:pm.  So options are opening up.  You can enroll on-line directly from our website.  Once enrolled you have the option of coming to Monday nights or Thursday nights for Levels 1 & 2.

Coming May 16th on Saturday mornings will be Levels 3 & 4 added.  AKC Canine Good Citizen and Drop-In Rally O will be available soon.  Keep an eye on the website for more information.


             


             Diamond & Shannan                             Shadow & Dave                              Joey & Nancy