Finn’s Proposal to Regulate Dogs Draws Howls From All Sides

Pacoima mail carrier David Nicholson was walking his appointed rounds three weeks ago, stuffing postboxes with letters and magazines, when two snarling 60-pound pit bull dogs appeared from nowhere. They lunged at him, and Nicholson blacked out from fear.

Nicholson’s right leg was punctured. His nose was ripped open. The 29-year-old mail carrier was covered with blood.

Two weeks later, after plastic surgery to repair the injuries, Nicholson was back at his job. He said he was treated like a returning war hero.

“The older carriers rolled up their sleeves or pulled up their pants to show off their scars,” the Canyon Country resident said. “I was a member of the club.”

In the past fiscal year, 129 mail carriers in the San Fernando Valley joined the same club. Sixty of the carriers required stitches.

Feel the Bite

Postal employees aren’t the only ones who feel the bite. An average of three Los Angeles Department of Water and Power meter readers are bitten every month.

There are about 20,000 dog-bite incidents a year in Los Angeles, a number that has remained constant for five years, said Robert Rush, general manager of the city’s six animal shelters. However, he said, the severity of dog-bite wounds has sharply increased over the same period as more people buy vicious and attack-trained dogs.

Under a proposal introduced two weeks ago by Councilman Howard Finn, dogs that are attack-prone would be required to wear special tags and be confined to secured areas separate from mailboxes and utility meters. Warning signs would also have to be posted alerting passers-by.

“It may not be the total answer, but something has to be done,” Finn said. “Some of these dogs are downright terrifying.”

Finn, a cat owner, said he expects the City Council to vote on his proposal by mid-January. In the meantime, the plan is causing howling protests from some dog trainers--who say it goes too far--and from some animal protection groups--who believe it doesn’t go far enough.

Damage From Dogs

“I’ve seen lips torn off, ears pulled apart, children mauled,” Rush said. “It never was as bad as it is today. Dogs have a tendency to keep plastic surgeons very busy nowadays.”

He said crime-prevention efforts--as well as a macho mentality--has meant an increase in the demand for certain breeds.

“We’re talking about Dobermans, pit bulls or Rottweilers, dogs that are primed to attack an intruder,” Rush said. Also, he said, such breeds are often used to intimidate law-abiding citizens.

“We’re seeing whole neighborhoods terrorized by one or two people with brutal animals. They go walking around with these fierce dogs just to scare people,” he said.

Gang members, he said, now routinely patrol their turf with dogs--something they seldom did in the past.

Some dog trainers, though, think Finn’s proposal places certain breeds on a “hit list.”

Attack Dogs Singled Out

While the proposal doesn’t mention specific breeds, it would require that all dogs trained to attack be registered. Since most trainers enroll only certain breeds--such as German shepherds, Dobermans and pit bulls--in their classes, the proposal is seen as a way to eventually ban those breeds.

“The whole idea is silly. Cocker spaniels can be as dangerous as Dobermans,” said Michael Kamer, owner of Kamer Canine College in North Hollywood.

“Dobermans are as loving as any other breed but because they are black and fast, people don’t trust them,” said Kamer, who has trained more than 12,000 dogs in the past 25 years.

He suggested that utility meter readers make appointments before they go to a house and that mail carriers leave letters and packages in areas away from attack-trained canines.

Dog trainer Gunter Liedtke, owner of All-Stars Kennel in Sun Valley and Burbank, said: “All it’s going to do is get more money for the city. It’s a hit list designed to make ownership of certain breeds more difficult.”

Liedtke, who moved from Berlin in 1958 and specializes in obedience training of German shepherds, says registration of such breeds isn’t the answer.

“Has registration of cars reduced accidents? Has the registration of guns reduced crime? Registration of certain dogs isn’t going to prevent them from biting or attacking,” he said.

“The problem is poorly bred dogs, and that’s where breeders come into the picture. We care about our animals and where they come from.”

Registration, he says, is not enforceable. “It would be ridiculous to register every German shepherd. Do you think policemen will come to a dog owner’s home to arrest him if his protection-trained dog is not registered?”

Barbara Toth, president of the Animal Lovers’ Legal Action Humane Society in Canoga Park, said Finn’s proposal doesn’t go far enough.

‘Walking Time Bombs’

Toth proposes a ban on inbreeding--the mating of mothers and sons, for instance--which, she said, results in “violent genetic monsters, walking time bombs that are ready to pounce on anything that moves.”

Surrounded by her six German shepherds--Fish, Prince, Durga, Tiger, Rajah and Shadow, which have a combined weight of 520 pounds--Toth says Finn’s proposal is just a beginning. If she had her way, she would require that all dogs in the city be temperament-tested, with mentally unstable dogs destroyed.

Such an ordinance would not be unique. The City of Hawthorne requires special permits for attack-prone animals such as pit bulls. Rancho Palos Verdes and Palos Verdes Estates have ordinances that require impoundment or revocation of a dog’s license if it attacks a person.

The only requirements in Los Angeles concerning potentially dangerous dogs are that they must be kept on a leash when in public and that owners of specifically trained guard dogs must post a sign where the animals are penned.

Finn says his proposal is a step in the right direction. “If we don’t pass this law, then there may be a move to ban certain breeds entirely in the city,” he said.

‘Any Dog Will Bite’

That’s exactly what Linda Barker, who heads the Staffordshire Bull Terrier Rescue Assn., is worried about.

“Any dog will bite,” she said. “But only after he bites should he be specially tagged. To do it before is discrimination.”

Barker admits that some pit bulls are “fighting machines” but says most are like her puppy, J. R., who is “very macho” but runs away from her cat, Midnight, when intimidated.

Rush, of the animal control department, heartily supports the Finn proposal.

“Dogs, like human beings, have deficiencies,” he said. “Some are violent, some are passive. What we need is a way to determine which dogs are potentially dangerous. That’s all the proposal would do.”

‘Battle Zone Out There’

Postal carriers see Finn’s proposal as a welcome beginning.

“It’s a battle zone out there,” Postal Service District Manager Hector Godinez said, shaking his head. “It’s an ambush situation for our people.

“We’ve got people who quit the service because of anxiety. They tell me they can’t take the stress any longer. I don’t blame them.”

Godinez, who was bitten once 30 years ago while delivering mail, considers himself lucky.

“Most carriers get bitten much more often,” he said. In fact, Godinez, who oversees about 240 post offices, said he knows of no career carrier who hasn’t been bitten at least once.

“The mental anguish is terrible,” Godinez said. “You’ve got to be brave to serve as a postal carrier.”

To combat such incidents, mail carriers and meter readers arm themselves with an aerosol repellent of cayenne pepper in a mineral oil base.

But, said Postal Service spokesman Joseph Breckenridge, “it doesn’t work all the time. If a dog is mad and he wants you, nothing’s going to help.”

PROPOSED DOG CONTROLS Special registration of specific breeds or animals trained to be dangerous. Special, easy-to-identify tags for designated animals. Specific signs warning of such animals. Utility meters and postboxes easily accessible and separate from areas occupied by the animals. Such animals not allowed to leave a secured area without supervision. Increased license fees for potentially dangerous animals. Special registration revenues used to fund regular inspection by animal regulation officers of safety precautions instituted by owners.