National Canine Research Council

Snickers the service dog to be reunited with retired police officer

December 28, 2011 By Joanne Brokaw 5 Comments

James Sak and his service dog, Snickers. (Photo courtesy Animal Farm Foundation)

Here's some great news: Snickers is going home! You may remember that just before Christmas, retired Chicago police officer James Sak was ordered by the town council in Aurelia, Iowa, to surrender his pit bull service dog, Snickers. Aurelia has breed specific legislation that makes owning a pit bull - even a mix - illegal. In November, Sak and his wife Peggy moved to Aurelia to be near her 87-year-old mother. Snickers went with them. The pit mix is James Sak's service dog, giving the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Animal behavior, Animals and the law, Animals in the news, Dogs Tagged With: American Pit Bull Terrier, breed specific legislation, dog bite statistics, Jim Sak, National Canine Research Council, pit bull 5 Comments

Retired cop forced to give up pit bull service dog – do you care about Breed Specific Legislation now?

December 22, 2011 By Joanne Brokaw 18 Comments

According to Breed Specific Legislation, our dog Bailey would be illegal if our community adopted BSL.

Folks involved in animal rescue know all about Breed Specific Legislation (BSL), but many average dog owners don't understand what it really means when communities adopt laws banning dogs of specific breed or physical characteristics. Then a story like this one hits the front page: retired police officer James Sak is being forced to get rid of his service dog Snickers, just because the five-year-old is a Pit bull-mix. Sak was a police officer in Chicago for 32 years, almost … [Read more...]