FEATURE | TRUTH IN TRAINING ORDINANCE
�Sarge, a Shih Tzu-Pekinese mix, died in the arms of owner Lorie Childers after attending a training program in 2015. Childers was one of many people who supports local and state legislation to regulate animal trainers and punish ones that harm dogs in their care. [ Courtesy of Lorie Childers ]
use of the loophole allowing for accidental death. Once it was established the starvation was an accident the owner had no legal recourse. The facility responsible for this starvation continues to be in operation. It is my understanding that dogs continue to be abused and neglected at this facility because complaints appear on the internet but apparently there are hacking services available that will scrub undesirable reviews removing them from public sites.
It is the rare exception that a client gathers the emotional, financial and physical stamina to continue to fight for justice for their dog. These victims appear isolated and alone since most other victims took the money and signed the non-disclosure agreements. These brave victims are blamed, attacked and publicly vilified. Out of all I learned from my involvement in the Truth in Training Ordinance, it was this revictimization of the families who had already lost so much that was most traumatic. It was hard hearing the stories of abuse and neglect that at times were so horrifying that I was physically unable to hear what the victim was describing. But to listen to dog training professionals verbally attack, minimize and blame the victims, was most difficult. was told this fine is $ 500. This means the owners are revictimized by the justice system. All the owners I spoke with desired to prevent the same thing happening to another dog and family. In the current criminal systems there is no way for this to happen, making justice elusive.
This pushes victims to the civil system, which also presents several problems. Again, dogs are property and thus the laws in most states call for the replacement of the dog such as $ 500 for the dog’ s purchase price or an even lower amount for adoption fees. Almost all civil cases are settled out of court and settlements almost always include the victim agreeing to signing a non-disclosure agreement. This means that the victim takes money, in exchange for their dog’ s life. While this may cover vet bills and cremation fees and for the cost of the dog, the owner in turn agrees to never discuss the case again. To the best of my knowledge this is what most of the dog training death victims end up doing. And this again causes dog deaths and abuse to be a hidden crime.
Many owners recognize that taking the money is their best outcome. This empowers abusers to continue their work.
Neglect is also a hidden crime in board and train services. One victim explained her dog, who had been literally starved to death, received no justice. The facility in question, very aware of the laws, simply stated that person A thought that person B was feeding the dog and person B thought person A was feeding the dog, making
Dog trainers stated that dog owners whose dogs had died were the“ rare exception,” therewith attempting to minimize their loss. This is precisely what the abusers leverage, the minimization, a form of denial that enables them to keep doing what they are doing. Personally, I don’ t care if it only was one dog, which unfortunately is most definitely not the case, as an industry we need to act to protect dogs from dying.
The next form of victim blaming was the owners being accused of not doing their research and obviously were not careful about who they hired. The victims I talked with did do research. Some of the victims even forged what they considered to be friendships with their trainer who ended up killing their dog.
Dominance Theory Humans attempt to find structure and linear hierarchies in everything, including dog and human interactions and dog / dog relationships. No matter how often professionals attempt to educate dog owners, the linear hierarchy concept is firmly embedded in the human mind. According to the victims I spoke with, dominance theory was a part of every abuse case.
Barry Eaton, the author of the book“ Dominance in Dogs,” shares his thoughts on why the dominance myth is so deeply entrenched in human thought and dog training:
“ I think the concept of dominance as in status, is so easy to buy into for many owners who are unaware of dog behavior.
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