system: You are Avrama Gingold, a caller on a 1990s BBS posting in the Dogs message echo. Write like a real BBS user of the era — plain, direct, in your own voice, no modern polish.

user: You are replying to All about "Legislative Update".

They wrote:
A>
A>
A> HOORAY FOR OUR SIDE!
A>        NEW YORK STATE has passed a Dangerous Dog
A> Bill that places the onus and responsibility where it
A> belongs--on the owner.  State Senate Bill #4749/Assembly Bill #3028
A> was signed into law September 3rd by Gov. Pataki.  This is a
A> dangerous dog law, not a dangerous breed law, and dog owners
A> will face fines and/or jail time if their dog makes
A> unprovoked attacks on people.  Before anyone gets upset about
A> whether or not a dog can protect its owner, the law states
A> that the owner is not liable if the dog injures or kills a
A> person who was trying to commit murder, robbery, burglary, rape,
A> sodomy, arson, or kidnapping.  A "dangerous dog" is defined as
A> an animal that poses a serious and imminent threat to people
A> or, without justification (vide supra), attacks a person and
A> causes injury or death. In a show of logic, the penalty is
A> greater for the owner when a dog bites or kills >after< it has
A> been deemed dangerous.
A>      The Long Island Coalition of Dog Fanciers, to whom credit
A> is due and owing, has asked that good dog stories--stories showing
A> our dogs (esp. the so-called "dangerous" breeds) in a good light--
A> stories about dogs and children, dogs and the elderly, search &
A> rescue dogs, therapy dogs, etc.--be sent to them for submission
A> to the media.  We need good P.R. for our dogs.
A>
A> Now back to business as usual:
A>
A> CANADA: Sherbrooke in Quebec has amended a law to permit "pit
A> bulls," Staffies, Mastiffs, Bullmastiffs, and Rottis currently
A> in the city to remain but no new dogs of the breeds will be
A> allowed.  The resident dogs will have to take an obedience
A> course, and their owners to purchase liability insurance.
A> "Pit Bulls" and Staffordshire Terriers will have to be
A> castrated or spayed and wear muzzles when in public.
A>
A> A BAS LA FRANCE:   According to newspaper reports, "pit bull
A> terriers" and other "attack" dogs have been banned from French
A> public housing as of July.  The Public Office for Planning
A> and Construction gave residents until July 23rd to remove the
A> dogs, or they would face eviction.  Other breeds specifically
A> mentioned included Rottweilers and Dobes.
A>
A> MASSACHUSETTS:
A> SPRINGFIELD: The Mass Federation of Dog Clubs and Responsible
A> Dog Owners has convinced the city to remove its breed-specific
A> ordinance and replace it with a generic law!
A> HOLYOKE: A breed-specific law is pending.
A> TAUTON: THe proposed ordinance requiring Dobes, Rottis, and "pit
A> bulls" to wear muzzles in public remains in the Ordinance
A> Committee.
A>
A> NEW MEXICO: Officials in LOS LUNAS are putting a proposed breed
A> specific dangerous dog law on hold for the next few months.
A> Instead, they are mailing a survey to all city residents to
A> obtain their views on the city's animal control problems.
A> Once the surveys are returned and tabulated, the Director of
A> Animal Control plans to implement an animal advisory board to
A> go over the survey results and make recommendations to improve
A> existing local laws.
A>
A> NEW YORK:
A> NEW YORK CITY--newspaper reports say that the NYC City Council
A> Health Committee will be scheduling hearings on dangerous dog
A> proposals in October.  So far, no direct word.
A>
A> COHOES: Breed-specific legislation was introduced at a City COuncil
A> meeting in late Aug.  Tabled, and to be brought up later.  Meanwhile,
A> the AKC is in contact with city officials, and working with area
A> dog fanciers.
A>
A> PATCHOQUE: was also considering a breed-specific dangerous dog lkaw,
A> targeting 'pit bulls' and Rottis.  Area dog owners had indicated
A> that there had not been any injuries or attacks to cause the
A> proposal, but the mayor of Patchoque looked at it as a preventative
A> measure.  Residents who have spoken to the mayor say he has
A> agreed to revise the proposal to remove the breed-specific
A> component for the hearing on the issue on September 22nd.
A>
A> ASPCA is holding a summit meeting on Sept. 22-23 to develop
A> specific strategies for municipalities to deal with the problems
A> of dangerous dogs.  The summit is supposed to bring together
A> experts in the fields of veterinary medicine, animal behavior,
A> law enforcement, and animal control and public administraiton,
A> to create effective, reasonable, and enforceable methods to
A> safeguard the public that are fair to all, including dog
A> owners.  The summit is an invitation-only event, but the
A> AKC has been invited to participate and will be represented
A> by the Canine Legislation Dept.  Other agencies that will be
A> represented by staff include the National Animal Control
A> Association, American Veterinary Medical Association,
A> Westchester County, NY District Attorney's Office, and
A> the New York City Center for Animal Care and Control
A> (NYC CACC).  (P.S. At least one person who has been involved
A> in Schutzhund has been invited.)
A>
A> OTHER (Anti-Dog) LEGISLATION:
A>
A> WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS has passed an ordinance that prevents
A> people from walking their dogs in any city park or on
A> any city street in the downtown area.  (This means that
A> people living in the downtown area can not keep dogs.)
A> Representatives of the Mass Federation of Dog Clubs and Responsible
A> Dog Owners attended a meeting AUg 19th to discuss the ramifica-
A> tions of the new law.  The city seems to be willing to work
A> out either an amendment or an exemption to allow
A> the major dog shows held in the city to continue. [Question:
A> if the AKC has refused to hold shows in municipalities
A> that ban specific breeds, shouldn't it be equally unwilling
A> to permit AKC-sanctioned events to be held where dogs are
A> effectively forbidden?]  No firm details set as yet. Voting
A> on any changes was deferred at the meeting, and an advisory
A> committee was formed to discuss them.  A MassFed director is
A> on the committee.  The City Manager, however, did not indicate
A> that they would entertain any other changes other than those to
A> permit dog shows or dogs in other large exhibits such as a
A> circus.
A>
A> ===============================
A>
A> The summer is over, and so are summer breaks for government
A> bodies.  Legislation that has been dormant since May or June
A> may come back into play.  The AKC does have a lot of material
A> available from the Canine Legislation Department, free for the
A> asking: (info@akc.com,  attention: Canine LEgislation Dept.)
A>
A> Dangerous Dog Legislation Information packets
A> Preventing Breeding Restrictions packets
A> Legislative Liaison Network Directory
A> Canine Legislation Policy Statements booklet
A> Reading Resources brochure
A> Make Your Contact Count brochure
A> Preparing for Action brochure
A> Disagree Diplomatically brochure
A> Canine Legislation: Taking Command video
A>
A> just call 1-800-AKC-TELL and leave a message to
A> get any of these materials.
A>
A> ************************************************************
A>
A> New Yorkers:  Dog Day Afternoon III will be held tomorrow,
A> Saturday, September 12th, in Madison Square Park.  Anyone
A> who lives in NYC should come (Niki, do bring Shiva: Shomer
A> misses her).  And we shall report on the afternoon tomorrow
A> evening.
A>         Avrama & Shomer
A>         avrama@moondog.com
A>
A> ... nfx v2.7 [C0000] How often do angels kiss our dogs?
A>

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assistant: ... nfx v2.7 [C0000] God give me by grace what You give to dogs by nature.