EDUCATION:
EDUCATION
Number one is education.
Many people know nothing about the danger of pit bull type dogs in their own communities. Many people know someone with a pit bull or mix and because the dog has so far shown no aggression and appears just like other dogs – loving, tail-wagging, pals of their owners it is hard for them to believe the genetic traits of the breed that make them unpredictable, dangerous dogs.
Encourage people to follow dangerous dog attacks by setting their Google alerts or following various Facebook pages that regularly post attacks. They will soon learn that dog attacks and fatalities happen much more frequently than they ever thought and attack numbers are led by pit bull type dogs.
There are a number of community events and activities where you can have a presence to speak on the dangers of pit bull type dogs in your communities, while at the same time, meet like-minded people to grow your “army of activists”. Have business cards to hand out with this site web address and your email address. Ask for any like-minded person’s card or contact information. (Vistaprint has inexpensive cards with all kinds of templates.)
For example:
– Attend city and township Council meetings and County Commissioners Meetings. You are allowed a certain amount of time to speak during public comment on an issue and give out literature to your council and commissioners.
– Attend your state legislatures events – town hall meetings and coffee clutches where you have a chance to talk one-on-one and provide literature and try to discern if a representative would be willing to introduce legislation.
-Stop by a Senior Center. Many have weekly lunches that are paid for by the County and allow speakers of various topics of interest to the community.
And seniors vote.
County Fairs. County Fairs always have booths of various natures including political parties.
Your political party’s events. Political Parties on a local and state wide basis have multiple events and State Conventions allow booths that disseminate information on policy.
Schedule your own event. Many communities have either a small newspaper, a section in the newspaper or online about communities events. You could schedule your own event and send it to the paper or look for events that give you an opportunity to speak or have a table/booth.
You may want to have your own event at your State Capitol.
ALWAYS HAVE AN INFORMATION SIGN UP SHEET WITH YOU to include name, zip code, phone# and email address
POLITICAL
Introducing BSL legislation and Fighting anti-BSL preemptive legislation:
Identify legislators who would be open to introducing pro BSL legislation. Attend Committee Hearings, send letters to the editor in the local paper, call Committee members, call YOUR Rep, use social media, do a press release.
You may say you are representing the local chapter of “Responsible Citizens for Public Safety” in your press release.
How to Write the Best Press Releases
When Should I Send a Press Release?
Establish relationships with members of the media so you can call them. You can talk to the media “off record” to give them the “inside scoop” you do not want to make public.
When the bill is being heard in Committee
This is an opportunity for your voice to be heard
1. Testify during the Committee hearing on bill _____
2. Send an email to Committee members AND the Committee Clerk and request that the Clerk enter your email into public testimony.
BE SURE TO INCLUDE YOUR NAME, CITY OR TOWNSHIP AND ZIP CODE AND CC THE COMMITTEE CLERK REQUESTING YOUR EMAIL BE ENTERED INTO THE RECORD AS PUBLIC TESTIMONY
*Contact the Your House of Representatives Or Senate Committee that the bill has been referred
Tell them to OPPOSE Bill ______ in the interest of public safety.
Tell them you want our legislators to protect public safety, not dangerous dogs.
Tell them you want local control, not power grabs, not government overreach.
SAMPLE EMAIL
THIS LETTER IS TO OPPOSE AN ANTI-BSL PREEMPTION BILL, HOWEVER IT COULD BE “REVERSED” TO ENCOURAGE YOUR CITY COUNCIL OR STATE REP TO VOTE FOR A BSL LOCAL ORDINANCE OR STATE BILL
Dear Committee members,
Please OPPOSE BILL/ORDINANCE _______
It compromises public safety and strips local governments of their authority to protect their residents.
Both the Michigan Municipal League and Michigan Township Association OPPOSE this preemption bill.
Waterford, Ypsilanti and the other communities in Michigan that have them, want to keep their breed safety ordinances. Their ordinances have been successful in keeping their residents safe from serious dog attacks for many years.
Local governments should have the legal right to make public safety laws that they think best serve their citizens. It should be up to the individual local governments to decide if breed safety laws are affordable and enforceable for their jurisdictions.
More than 225 children have been killed by pit bull type-dogs. http://www.fatalpitbullattacks.com/children-killed-by-pit-b…
You should be erring on the side of safety for Michigan’s children. When a consumer product causes injury and/or death to children, and generates comparable liability history, that product is taken off the market. Communities have every right to feel safe. If one type of dog is committing a disproportionate amount of violence, then it is reasonable to take preventive action. Reactive laws don’t prevent victims; someone gets hurt before anything is done.
The purpose of a breed specific ordinance is not to prevent bites, but to prevent maulings. Bites require band-aids or a few stitches; maulings require amputation, plastic surgery, rehabilitative therapy, or possibly caskets. Supporting breed specific legislation will increase public safety, decrease pit bull breeding and decrease the number flowing into and being euthanized at shelters.
13 Medical peer-reviewed studies that prove pit bull type-dogs are dangerous as pets. Level 1 trauma center dog bite studies from all geographical regions in the U.S. are reporting a higher prevalence of injuries from pit bull type dogs than all other breeds of dogs. In many cases, the studies (2011 to 2018) also report that injuries from pit bulls have a higher severity of injury and require a greater number of operative interventions. https://www.dogsbite.org/dog-bite-statistics-studies-level-…
Pit bulls have been bred for centuries to kill. They are the #1 canine killer of people, pets and livestock. They have a genetically inbred trait for unpredictable explosive aggression that cannot ever be trained out of them. They were bred to be lethal and they are — every day. Pit bulls kill more than ALL other breeds combined! We need breed safety laws to keep our communities safe.
Pit bulls are also the number one canine killer of our pets. Did you know that 38,000 domestic animals are killed every year by pit bulls?(For comparison: 10,000 people are killed by drunk drivers every year.) Our pets are getting slaughtered in our neighborhoods. These devastated people who lose their pets suffer from PTSD. Absolutely nothing is being done about it by our elected officials.
FOLLOW for one month: https://www.facebook.com/pitbullskilledmypet/
Shouldn’t our legislators be protecting the safety of Michigan residents instead of dangerous dogs?
Thank you for your attention to this serious matter,
Name/Address/Phone Number
CITY COUNCIL OR TOWNSHIP MEETINGS
IF a BSL ordinance is being considered, work the issue in the community with above suggestions. Call/email members show up to speak at the meeting bring literature and business cards.
If anti-BSL ordianace is being considered do the same excpet of course you are opposing the passage.
Make yourself and the issue known in your community!
Fund Raising
Here are a few methods for rising money for your activities.
One is to always have a donations receptacle at any event you attend.
Don’t be afraid to pass the hat!
Garage, crafts and bake sales also provide an opportunity to have fliers handy to pass out.
Online auctions were items and services can be donated
We will continue to add to this section. Email mail us with questions and we will do our best to offer any assistance we can.
