[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1013 Introduced in House (IH)]








109th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 1013

 Encouraging municipalities to adopt and enforce effective protections 
               against dog bites, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 14, 2006

Mr. McCotter submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
                      the Committee on Agriculture

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Encouraging municipalities to adopt and enforce effective protections 
               against dog bites, and for other purposes.

Whereas the Congress has sought to protect the public from all safety hazards 
        including dangerous dogs;
Whereas there are over 74,000,000 owned dogs in the United States;
Whereas the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention concluded dogs bite 
        nearly 2 percent of the United States population (more than 4,700,000 
        people annually) and 800,000 bites per year are serious enough to 
        require medical attention;
Whereas over 3,000 United States Postal Service mail carriers are bitten by dogs 
        each year, along with an unknown number of meter readers, police 
        officers, and other door-to-door professionals who have regular exposure 
        to numerous dogs;
Whereas the average cost of a dog bite (or other attack) resulting in a claim 
        for medical treatment equals $336;
Whereas the Centers for Disease Control determined that over 70 percent of dogs 
        involved in attacks are unneutered males;
Whereas the Centers for Disease Control, the United States Department of 
        Agriculture, and the American Veterinary Medical Association have all 
        determined the chaining or tethering of dogs continuously is an inhumane 
        practice and creates dogs who are at significantly greater risk to bite;
Whereas communities across the country provide subsidized pet sterilization 
        services; and
Whereas communities across the country have enacted legislation that bans or 
        restricts the practice of chaining dogs for the purpose of addressing 
        dog bites and dangerous dogs: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved,  That it is the sense of the House of Representatives 
that--
            (1) dog bites and dangerous dogs are issues which must be 
        addressed by each community for the sake of community safety 
        and, when addressing these issues, municipalities should 
        consider the many factors contributing to a dog's temperament 
        and enact model programs and legislation addressing these 
        multiple factors; and
            (2) dogs who are continuously chained, and male dogs who 
        have not been neutered, are more likely to pose a threat and, 
        therefore, these factors should be a priority for communities 
        addressing dog bite and dangerous dog issues.
                                 <all>