chicobandido.com

In January 2002, my life was irreversibly affected by the entry of an 8-month old puppy.

Because of her, I am now intimately involved in dog training, canine legislation, court cases fighting breed-specific legislation, politics, media, science, statistics, and research.

I have been on television, radio, and in newspapers more than I could have imagined. I have become much more aware of discrimination and hatred in their many forms, as well as human rights, citizen’s rights, and governments’ constant attempts to find ways around them.

The purpose of this blog is to report on media, politics, and legislation pertaining to dogs and dog ownership. Breed-specific legislation (BSL) is obviously a large part of this, but BSL is actually a symptom of a general trend among lawmakers to treat dog owners, as an entire group, as a problem, as something to be managed, legislated, and segregated.

This blog’s objective is to remind legislators, and the media, that the vast majority of dog owners are upstanding, VOTING citizens of society who are responsible, law-abiding, and respectful of others. They do not need to be painted with the same brush as the occasional owner who allows their dog(s) to interfere with the enjoyment and safety of other people and/or their pets.

This blog is dedicated to Brooklynn and Star. My name is Steve Barker and I can be contacted at blog02 @ chicobandido.com (without the spaces).