I have been interviewed in the press and on the radio about the pet food recall. While the incident can produce some change in the law, the high cost of private actions for the injuries and deaths to pets will probably prevent their owners from being compensated. For details, see The Pet Food Recall.

If a pack of pit bull-Rottweiler dogs escapes from their pen, which is surrounded by only a three-foot fence, should their owner be convicted of criminally negligent homicide if they kill a person? Applying the law of Texas, a jury said no. Click here for Kenneth Phillips' analysis of the Lillian Stiles case.

This month, two people were killed by dogs in the USA.

On March 16, a 50-year-old woman from Friendswood, Texas, was found dead in her backyard, apparently the victim of her own dog or dogs, of which there were three. On March 23, a two-year-old Dallas-area girl was fatally mauled by her parents' dog at their mobile home.

Both deaths were in Texas, a state that still follows the one-bite rule. Under this ancient British legal doctrine, the owner of any domestic animal is not held responsible for the first bite, the first mauling, or the first killing by each and every one of his animals. (See The One-Bite Rule.)

Texas is in a minority of states that continues to salute the flag of Great Britain when it comes to dog bite laws. (For lists of states that follow or have abrogated the one-bite rule, see Legal Rights of Dog Bite Victims in the USA.)

If you are a citizen of Tennessee, and your House representative is Kent Colemand, Rob Briley, Frank Buck, Tom DuBois, Henry Fincher, Jon Lundberg, Janis Sontany, Eddie Bass, Rob Briley, Henry Fincher, Judd Matheny or Eric Watson, it is particularly important for you to contact him or her now.

The reason is that all of the dog bite reform bills are before committees that these legislators serve upon (the Civil Practice and Procedure Subcommittee, and the Criminal Practice and Procedure Subcommittee, of the Judiciary Committee of the House of Representatives).

Senator Doug Jackson introduced these bills, which will revise Tennessee dog bite law for the better. When enacted, the state's weak, antiquated English laws will be replaced by modern ones that promote responsible dog ownership, help to control dangerous dogs, and protect children.

You must tell the legislature that you want these laws passed. There is a quick and easy way to make your voice heard. Just follow the three short steps given on the Tennessee page of Dog Bite Law.

Today the California Supreme Court heard arguments in the Diane Whipple case. This is the lady who was killed in San Francisco by dogs that were owned by Marjorie Knoller and Robert Noel, two of the most irreponsible dog owners in the USA. A jury found Knoller guilty of murder but the trial judge threw out the conviction. The hearing was about whether the judge made the correct decision.

I was present for the mind-numbing debate about the so-called "objective test" and "subjective test" used in California to decide whether a homicide is simply accidental or reaches the level of second degree murder (i.e., homicide as the result of recklessness). The latter carries a penalty of 15 years to life in this state.

Six years after Ms. Whipple's gruesome death, I am sorry to say that this looks like an example of the old legal addage, "an easy case makes for bad law." Obviously Ms. Whipple's death cried out for the maximum punishment, but California prosecutors have been forced to try to fit a round peg into a square hole, because the necessary laws were not in place. Stretching the law to accomodate this prosecution requires the help of the California Supreme Court.

In other words, to make the punishment fit the crime, the crime has to be redefined. The net has to be widened because this state does not have a law that provides adequate punishment for dog owners whose reckless disregard of their neighbors' safety results in a neighbor's death.

Knoller's attorney said outside of court that if the ruling goes against Knoller, the case should be referred to a lower court for further proceedings. If those proceedings result in a murder conviction, then Knoller would have the right to appeal that conviction. She has not been appealing it all this while -- it was the district attorney who was appealing the ruling by the trial judge.

In other words, this is far from over. As the courts diddle with legal definitions, more people are getting killed by dogs each year. Wouldn't it be better to take all this energy and invest it in a clearly drafted, stronger law? This is a job for the California Legislature, not the courts. I have written about preventing dog bites, and am available in California, as I was in Tennessee last week, to get new, adequate, clearly written laws passed in the legislature.

Today the Senate Judiciary Committee of the State of Tennessee approved four bills introduced by Senator Doug Jackson which will go a long way to protecting children and others from dog attacks.

I testifed before the committee with regard to these bills. In addition to my legal analysis, the committee heard emotional, true-life accounts of dog maulings from three seriously injured dog bite victims and the daughter of a woman killed by dogs. Also, the District Attorney of the 12th Judicial District testified in favor of passing these new laws. (To read the news article about the laws and the hearing, click here.)

If you live in Tennessee and you want safer streets for children and everyone else, you should immediately tell your legislators to vote in favor of these laws. To make your voice heard, just follow the three easy steps by clicking here.