Save Pit Bull Duke from death row! Urgent action needed!

Duke’s story gave me goose bumps. The pit bull was accused of biting a dog and a horse three years ago and is going to be put to sleep. I was shocked to find out that there is such law in New York – euthanasia for dog biting another dog.

In some ways, legal experts say, Duke represents a new class of death-row dog. New York is among a dozen states that have changed laws over the past 10 years to make it possible to seize dogs from their owners and order them euthanized for biting other dogs.

Ledy VanKavage, director of legislation for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, said the stricter provisions reflected several factors: the rising numbers of pet dogs in American households, a growing concern about highly publicized vicious dog cases, and what she called the “evolving human-animal bond.”

“The thinking goes: ‘My dog is a member of my family. If you attack my dog, you are attacking my family,’ ” she said.

But Ms. VanKavage said this was flawed logic, noting, “Dogs are predators, after all.”

Duke has his last chance in court this month. Please write letters in his support.

Here is my letter to Appellate Division:

Good afternoon,

I am writing in support of Duke and the Appellant Denise Menendez.

I just learned about Duke’s trial from news stories. I was shocked to hear about existence of law that would order animal be put to sleep for biting another animal. Have you ever seen dogs playing in the dog run? Bites happen all the time – that’s what dogs do – they play bite and bite if they feel threatened.

Now, I can’t say who is right or wrong in this particular case. Could Duke’s owners have been a bit more careful or do they have a neighbor that dislikes them so much that they would find pleasure in this punishment, one can’t tell without actually witnessing the incidents, but to punish Duke so severely seems way to harsh.

As an owner of adopted dog who does not get along with other dogs at all, I would love my dog to be given a second chance in similar situation. We are really careful about her not getting near dogs, but we can not control everything (like dogs being off leash when they are supposed to be on) and accidents happen, and as long as they are not serious, I hope to find understanding and compassion from dog owners.

I did blog search about the case and was happy to find http://titanicbugle.blogspot.com blogged about this also.