“Aggravated animal cruelty is something that’s truly shocking. It demonstrates a malignant heart. This is a person who would be capable of many other crimes.”

The quote is by Sen. Doug Jackson (D-Dickson), talking about a bill sponsored by him and Rep. Janis Sontany (D-Nashville). The Tennessee Animal Abuser Registration, Tracking and Verification Act of 2008 will be the first in the USA if passed by the lower house and signed by the governor. The measure would create a registry of people convicted of aggravated cruelty toward animals, felony animal fighting or bestiality. Names, address and photos of abusers would be posted on a state Web site, similar to the list of convicted sex offenders. The senate has already approved it. (Click here to read the article.)

I wholeheartedly favor the enactment of this bill. Anyone who loves animals should appreciate a law that not only will give wrongdoers pause, but enable law enforcement and the rest of us to know the whereabouts of these terrible people. Dog fighting and cruelty toward dogs create vicious canines that make our streets dangerous. Additionally, people who are guilty of aggravated animal cruelty are frequently the ones who assault other human beings. If anyone like this moves into my neighborhood, I want to know, and this law will create a registry that I hope will someday include the entire USA.

53-year-old Bentley Collins is soon to go on trial for the involuntary manslaughter of 10-year-old Matthew Davis of Dillon, South Carolina. The boy died Nov. 3, 2006, after six dogs attacked him outside Collins' rural home.

This week, the defendant's attorney obtained the court's permission to withdraw from the case. He said that Collins was profane with the lawyer's staff, missed meetings, contradicted himself when telling his side of the story, and gave an interview on TV that will prejudice him at trial. (To see it, click on the photo.) The judge agreed, saying even Collin's lawyer should not have to put up with this type of behavior. (For the article about the attorney's statements in court, click here.)

I found it interesting that his lawyer was upset by the interview. When you view it, you will hear nothing but favorable statements from Collins. This means that what he said on TV was not what the rest of the testimony will be at trial. I will tell you from experience (and I emphasize this in my seminar for lawyers) there are two kinds of dog owner defendants: those who feel genuinely sorry for what happened and even want to help the victim and the victim's family, and those who will make up anything to protect themselves and their dog.

The most famous examples of the latter group of dog owner defendants are Marjorie Knoller and Robert Noel, the couple who owned the dogs that killed Diane Whipple in 2001. The jury completely disbelieved Knoller, who was the only defendant to testify at trial, because they concluded that she lied about everything. For that, they convicted her of second degree murder. Like Collins' lawyer told the court, Collins needs to stop talking. The court agreed, and issued a gag order for the man's own protection.

Although it is thought of as a liberal state, New York's dog bite laws are almost exactly the same ones that were created in the 17th century by British judges for the quaint English countryside. In this state, the courts have ruled that there is no such thing as dog owner negligence. (See New York for details.) New York is almost alone with that interpretation because, in the past 300 years, there have been changes just about everywhere else in the USA.

I was quoted accurately in Newsday as saying that these changes have been escalating around the USA. (Click here to read the Newsday article.) It makes sense because in the 1600s there were no pit bulls, the practice of dog fighting had not been invented, there was no insurance industry to spread the risks, and there was no USA with its focus on fairness and human rights. All those things have changed, and that is why dogs have lost their right to bite in most states.

The news is that New York's highest court is, once again, faced with a disfigured dog bite victim who needs to make an insurance claim, but who cannot unless the laws are changed. The judges have another shot at getting it right. Let's see how they rule, in the next few months. (To read about the case, click on the link in the prior paragraph.)

Maryville, Tennessee, animal control Officer Kenneth Crowder was helping the county with two dogs when he was attacked. The owner and dogs are now in custody. (Click here for the news report.) Now, contrast this with what happened after Jennifer Lowe was brutally killed by pit bulls. In her case, prosecutors just shook their heads and said sorry, there will be no prosecution of the dog owner because no crime was committed.

Can it be true that killing a woman isn't a crime, but biting an animal control officer is? That is how things appear in Tennessee. This terrible impression is unavoidable. The authorities have forgotten the truism that the appearance of justice is as important as justice itself. Anyone who felt that Jennifer Lowe and her family were deprived of justice will conclude that the authorities seem more concerned with protecting their own than with caring for the community that they serve. That is very bad news.

17-year-old Paul Hicklin III of Fontana, California, has been charged with two counts of assault with a deadly weapon, because he ordered his pit bull to attack an 8-year-old boy, and the latter was mauled. Hicklin has pleaded not guilty. (Click here to read the article.)

In the article linked above, I was quoted accurately as saying, "Throughout the country, there are dog owners that face criminal charges for their actions almost every day. But it is distressing that it is not happening more often."

In some cases, dog owners are punished appropriately. Yesterday, for example, Christopher Ownbey of Independece, Montana, was sentenced to one year in jail because his bull mastiff mauled Steven and Kristi McBee as they were taking a walk. (Click here to read the article.)

Much of the time, however, dog owners receive merely the proverbial slap on the wrist for these crimes. Two days ago, Thomas O'Halloran of Towson, Maryland, the owner of a pit bull that mauled 9-year-old Scottie Mason and 11-year-old Dominic Solesky -- severing a major artery, lacerating the boy's face, and inflicting life-threatening injuries on him -- got off with a five-year suspended sentence and two years of probation. The charge was reckless endangerment of a minor. (Click here for the article.)

Because dog bite law is a combination of state, county and city law, there are many permutations that lead to inconsistent results in the criminal as well as the civil courts. One of my goals has been to establish some uniformity throughout the USA so that people and dogs are treated fairly and will know what to expect, no matter where they find themselves. After all, dogs will be dogs, regardless of where they live.

A suspect who was fleeing from policemen and their canine unit is reported to have bitten one of the officers and two of the dogs.

Last month in Johannesburg, South Africa, police came upon a man who was sleeping where a stolen trailer was found. In his sleep, the man was clutching some keys. The officers awoke him and soon began fighting him. He bit one cop, then stripped naked and ran into the bushes. At this point, two nearby police dogs which had remained idle during the battle took up the chase. Upon finding the man, he bit one dog and then the other. After that, he was captured. (Read the entirely uncritical news account by The Times.)

Is this an illustration of the old saying, "let sleeping dogs lie"? Or does it illustrate something entirely different?