Today Texas became the harshest state for irresponsible dog owners, while continuing to abandon the dog bite victims themselves.

If you own a dog that injures people, or if you chain or tether a dog at night or near a school or at a time of extreme weather conditions, you face a jail sentence. For more, see Texas.

On August 20, 2007, a US postal letter carrier was attacked and mutilated in Torrance, CA, as he walked past a residence where a pit bull was playing behind only a 4 foot fence. The dog jumped the fence and went after him in a savage frenzy. The carrier's lower lip was split in half, and he also suffered other puncture wounds to the face; at one point the victim was in critical condition, breathing through a tube.

In Torrance it is illegal to "cause, permit, or allow" a dog to run at large on public or private property, unrestrained by chain or leash. (Torrance Mun. C. sec. 41.1.5.) The law applies to the owner and anybody "having charge, care, custody or control of any dog."

Anyone familiar with pit bulls knows that they can easily jump over a 4 foot fence. Putting such a dog behind a 4 foot fence is the equivalent to allowing it to run at large. (Click on the link below for the longer, more detailed version of this post.)

Today Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick filed paperwork in court that admitted he funded a dogfighting operation and caused the deaths of at least six dogs. (Click here to read the court document that summarizes what Vick admited to.)

After the court filing, Commissioner Roger Goodell of the National Football League suspended Vick indefinitely without pay. Click here to read the article.

Vick's actions as well as his character have been almost universally condemned. Click here to read quotes from nearly every authority in dogs and sports.

The controversy over pit bulls grows once again, with this particularly horrific story from Tacoma, Washington. Running loose through the neighborhood, two pit bulls got into a woman's house and mauled her in her bed. They then killed another dog that challenged them during the attack. The woman is now listed in critical condition. (To read the story, click here. For today's follow-up stories, click here.)

What could be worse than this? Well, perhaps two pit bulls going into a baby's bedroom, taking him out of bed and killing him. On November 4, 2006, one-year-old Allen L. Young died after he was mauled at home by his dad's four pit bulls, which took the boy from his bed at night.

I continue to take the position that breed banning would not end the dog bite epidemic, but I also believe that these powerful fighting dogs should not be owned by the wrong people, kept in the wrong places, or allowed to be in the wrong situations. For details about prevention, see Preventing Dog Bites. To read more about breed bans, read Breed Specific Laws.

On August 18, 2007, 15-month-old Elijah Rackley was killed by a chained family dog in McMinn County, Tennessee. It was a female Chow-mix that just had puppies. The death occurred in the backyard and apparently happened when the child was unsupervised for only a minute. (Read more about this death.)

The Rackley accident is yet another instance of a chained dog killing a young family member. More and more jurisdictions are passing anti-chaining laws because they protect children and encourage humane treatment of dogs. (Learn more about chaining and dog bites.)

In the USA this year, there have been 19 canine homicides. Only 4 have been in the states that reject the British one-bite rule. Tennessee had an opportunity to repeal it this year, but amazingly passed a new law that explicitly re-enacted it for residential killings. In other words, as far as the law is concerned, nobody was responsible for Elijah Rackley's fatal mauling (it happened at a residence). No responsibility means no vigilance, and no vigilance means Tennessee will see more such deaths -- as will all the other states that fail to repeal this old English law.

With 3 deaths since the beginning of 2007, Tennessee is now among the top three states in fatal maulings (Georgia has 3 and Texas leads with 6). The Tennessee legislature must revisit its dog bite law next year and eliminate the one-bite rule from state law. This law obviously is one reason why there are so many fatalities in the great state of Tennessee.

Falcons Quarterback Michael Vick has agreed to plead guilty to crimes related to his dogfighting operation. I have commented extensively on his criminal activities (see the posts below), so I would like to quote some others who spoke today:

“Mr. Vick has agreed to enter a plea of guilty to those charges and to accept full responsibility for his actions and the mistakes he has made. Michael wishes to apologize again to everyone who has been hurt by this matter.” -- Billy Martin, Vick's defense lawyer.

“We totally condemn the conduct outlined in the charges, which is inconsistent with what Michael Vick previously told both our office and the Falcons.” -- National Football League.

“We believe the criminal conduct to which Mr. Vick has pled guilty today cannot be condoned under any circumstances. Speaking personally, as I have previously stated, the practice of dog fighting is offensive and completely unacceptable." -- Gene Upshaw, Executive Director, NFL Players Association.