Can we even have dogs in Denmark??

Written by Charlotte Andersson

Translated by Birgitte Hansen

Jette’s case(the owner of the German Shepherd  Thor) is grotesque and shows once again that public security among Danish dog owners is non existing.
That dogs in between occasionally have a dispute is a known fact and most often this causes no major damages. Damage as seen in this case would earlier have been taken care of amicably and within the mutual insurance companies.

Thor. Private photo

Not alone do we see a flaw in our public security, but also a diminished tolerance towards other people and their dogs. The first to report gains revenge. The dogs have turned into a pressure tool to hit at each other, especially towards people one dislike.

The dogs in Denmark are now a day’s humanized, not alone among the police’s attorneys but also among dog owners. Many believe that their dogs should get along with any other dog, and if they can’t manage that, they should either be re homed or euthanized. Remember humans all love each other (irony present..)
Dogs are no longer allowed to react and an increasing amount of myths are rising, concerning natural dog behavior. 

In cases where the police state the reason for euthanasia, we have often seen statements like “we have not seen natural dog behavior, since big dogs can not be afraid of small dogs”!
The point in the case with Jette and Thor is that even the most elementary law and order within the dog law has been totally neglected.

This is indeed worrying and a huge flaw in our public security.
Can we even have dogs in Denmark? If so what do we expect from them?
Can they live up to our expectations?

BSL - Vigilante Police in Holstebro

Written by Charlotte Andersson
Translated by Michelle Otterstrøm Jensen

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I would like to make a personal appeal and bring a warning to owners of certain types of dogs,
who live in Holstebro, or who reside in the area of Holstebro police district – move to
another district as soon as possible!

Unfortunately, there is an officer in that district, who has not read the notes in the Law on
Canines, which clearly state that: “As stated above, the Ministry of Justice, emphasizes that
enforcement of the ban must be done in such a manner that there is no form of persecution of
dog owners”. Alternately, he may have a personal agenda in his battle to rid the district of
these dogs.

Sadly, we have had numerous cases from Holstebro. I, and others, are without a doubt in our
conviction that this is a case of persecution and harassment on the part of this particular
officer. In addition, the “evaluations/assessments” made by this officer, are ludicrous (i.e.
– the canine has a long and slender muzzle therefore it must be of the Amstaff breed). Owners
and proprietaries have time and again been backed into a corner, and have been made to sign a
document produced by the officer, which “allows” the officer to seize the dog and bring it
directly to a vet for euthanasia. There is NO legal basis in Denmark, for the use of such a
document, nor basis for compelling people to sign it.

Furthermore, in most of the cases I see, where this officer is involved, he will act as judge
and jury – making up his own rules and paragraphs which are not a part of the Law on Canines,
nor of any other law, for that matter.

We have, as afore mentioned, had a lot of cases involving this officer and/or district, and
the officer has admitted to us and the veterinarians that he, single-handedly, is responsible
for the deaths of 40 dogs, by euthanasia. I am not sure if he is aiming for a personal
record, or if there is some other reasoning behind the persecution that is so obviously going
on. However, on the background of the actions being taken in this district, I would sincerely
warn all dog-owners with dogs bigger than 15 cm in height and with a certain appearance, to
quickly move out of the district.

The notes also read:

“Police processing any case under the Law on Canines, must adhere to the proportionality
principle of Administrative Law, which prohibits actions more invasive than deemed immediately
necessary.”

The case about Chronic

UPDATE FEBRUARY 24, 2012

Translated by Heidi Burks


Chronic has been sentenced for euthanasia.


Not because he bit someone, but because he ran out of his yard twice, and he did not wear a muzzle!!


This should at the most give you a fine NOT euthanasia.


The case is being appealed

Here by the way is an answer from Nordsjællands Police regarding a question I had, related to a different case

It's the case, that if you own a illegal breed or a mix of these breeds - »§ 1 a - born before March 17, 2010 the dog when in public, must wear a leash and a secured muzzle. Breaking this general injunction - see § 3, part 4 and 5 - will be fined at DKK 3000,-
At this point in time there is no precedent for multiple infractions of this injunction.

As most of you in our dog community are aware of, another dog has been taken, even though it didn't do anything other, than to run outside the fence to great another dog.
There has been 2 situations, respectively in October and Novermber 2011.
Both times the gate had not been secured good enough, but the fence is legal, because it's 2m high.
Both times he ran out to greet the same dog.




Then what happens, is that the owner of the other dog contacts the police, and claims that Chronic has bitten her dog.
Neither of the times have the owners of Chronic noticed any bites, the dog seems normal and comes happily up to great the owners of Chronic, and likewise there has been no notice from the insurance company, where you would normally send the bill do to bites.
I would assume, that even with a small bite you would go to the vet, to get medication against any infections etc.
Both times by the way, it's the same story: that it ran out of the gate and unprovoked bit her dog.

The first time on the side, and the second time in the head, but the problem is that there are no damages, and no mention of mauling and it's only mauling that would cause the dog to be euthanized.

If it's only about some nicks, then a vast majority of the dogs where I live would have to be euthanized, because folks don't have control of them, and no it's not the banned breeds, it's labradors, shepherds, danish swedish terrier etc., but I don't hate them for that reason, and I know for sure that the police don't do anything about it in my area.


Regardless, the police choose to react, sending a notice where it stated the injunction to wear a muzzle and leash, due to the incident, but at no time did they write that they would come and take the dog. It states in the law already, that since he is an american staffordshire terrier, he must wear a muzzle and a leash being walked, but it IS an accident that he runs out of the yard, and he is not the only dog in Denmark who has done that.
Same thing happened with a labrador in 2011
Unfortunately this labrador killed the other dog.
Outcome leash law


Furthermore the police have NOT contacted the owners about wanting to pick Chronic up.
They just showed up and picked him up, and the owners weren't even home, when they picked him up.
This means, that she did not even have the possibility to prove her dogs innocence regarding the bite.
That's why we have the law of coercive measures.

Chronic is of no danger to himself or others, and therefore does not belong under the category, where they can just seize him.


IN ADDITION, I find it DEEPLY disturbing, that the police creates a case without evidence, and decide to pick him up.
Are you know to be judged in Denmark without proof??
Is the police to be outside the law and make stuff up?


Througout time I have read about many dogs, who got out by accident, and they where not picked up by the police, on the contrary they where returned if they where found....
That it happens so many months after, should make people wonder.


It makes me wonder!

source http://dyresnak.blogspot.dk/2012/02/sagen-om-chronoc.html

From Fair Dog a big thank you

Fair Dog Denmark would like to send our thanks and gratitude to everyone who has supported us and the dogs in Denmark, and specially in the case of Pako and Thor.
As most you already know, Thor is still alive and will be kept alive until the court in Odense has made a new expert opinion about Thor.
At this moment we don't know when that will happen, and if Thor will be allowed to live after the new examination. We hope he will and we will fight for him till justice prevails.
We would also like to state and emphasise, that the case about Thor is ONLY about the Danish dog act § 1a and b, NOT about Bite.
We are aware that the press and some others has written about an bite incident, but Thor's case is solely about his breed and that the police thinks he is a forbidden breed.
As soon as we know any further we will inform all of you at our facebook site https://www.facebook.com/Foreningen.Fairdog 

and on the sites of all of our cooperating groups and
organisations.
The cooperating groups and organisations are:
Andrea Kdolsky
Dogs Guard
WAHRO
Stop Killing Dogs
Initiativ mod diskrimination af hund e.V.
DOGnews
Muskelhundeskal forblive i Danmark
Menschen Tiere Werte
Protest imod hundeloven
Hundeloven en ommer
Charlotte Andersson
Chairman of Fair Dog Denmark

Berigtigelse - Sagen om hunden Thor
Foreningen Fair Dog vil for god ordens skyld gerne understrege, at sagen om hunden Thor udelukkende omhandler hundelovens § 1 a og b ( forbudt hunderace ).
Vi finder det yderst uheldigt at der florere så mange urigtige oplysninger omkring Thor's sag.
Sagen omhandler IKKE en bid episode/bid dvs. en overtrædelse af hundelovens § 6 stk 2 eller 5.
Vi har fuld forståelse for at Mariann Højsgaard gerne vil fortælle sin historie til TV 2 Nyhederne,
TV 2 Fyn og Fyens Stiftidende, og vi finder det beklagelig at hun føler at hun har oplevet en ubehagelig episode.
Men vi vil gerne understrege at sagen om Thor, på ingen måde omhandler en episode med hendes hund og Thor.
Sagen omhandler alene hunderace spørgsmålet, og derfor finder vi det rigtig ærgerligt at der sker en sammenblanding – Thor står ALENE til aflivning på grund af hundelovens § 1a og b.
Rigspolitiets afgørelse;
Charlotte Andersson
Formand for Foreningen Fair Dog

Politician Dennis Flydtkjær takes a stand

private note: his termination has been postponed. this is an article just before the decision to postpone it.

translation by Dorte Møller Jakobsen

the dog Thor must after a long time with disagreement , between his owner and the police has now come to an end. The police has today this afternoon at 14,00.desided to put Thor down. Thor came on 23 last September in a fight with the dachshund Mudi. Both dogs escaped unharmed from the fight, but the police took it as an attack from Thor's side, the dog was placed in custody for later to be put down. The police believes that Thor, was a mix dog with the genes of Amstaff mix - and therefore figures in the list of illegal dog breeds.

The dog's owner, Leslie Jorgensen, claiming that his dog is not a Amstaff mix. According to him, the dog is a mix of an Olde English Bulldog and a Mastiff Mallorca - and all three independent experts agree with him.

Society Fair Dog decided to send a request in to the Court in Odense to get court order to have an independent expert to examine whether Thor belong to the list or not. But the association has not yet heard from the court, and the police are not going to wait for answers. They still want to put the dog down as planned.

Animal welfare Rapport: It is a very unfortunate case

The Story of Thor has awaked many people - among Danish People's Party animal welfare spokesman Mr. Dennis Flydtkjær:

- I think it's a really unfortunate case when one chooses to say that a dog to be killed simply because it's the wrong race - and this despite the fact that three dogs experts unanimously say that this is not one of the dogs appearing on the list of illegal racing.

- If there is to be no legal certainty for dog owners, then this matter has to stop, so the dog will not be put down before the case has had final decision on what kind of dog actually he is, Mr. D. Fyldtkjær says to tv2.dk.

'Alarm bells should ring at the police'

Despite the fact that the current dog law indicates that the burden of proof lies with the dog owner if the police suspect that a dog belongs to the list of illegal racing, Mr. Flydtkjær think that the police need to wake up.

- When there are three independent dog expert who said that this dog does not belong to the list, so I think that there should ring some alarm bells with the police. At the same time there are running a court case, and the dog owner might win, then it's too late if he wins, as is the dog could already be put down.

Danish People's Party animal welfare politician believes that there are a number of challenges on the dogs act - and especially one of them he does not like at all:

- There are clearly a number of challenges by the dog ​​law, and therefore I would also urge the government to get it evaluated already now . One thing that does not work in the dog law is precisely that the law give no certainty for dog owners. It is worrying that you can not challenge his case in court before the police step in and kill the dog.

The Minister of Justice must get into action

He believes that minister of Justice Morten Bødskov (S) must be in on this case and its proceedings

- The Minister of Justice must send a message to the police that it is simply not ok to kill a dog while the case still going on. The Minister of Justice must, as the heads of the police inform the police that enough is enough , and the party stops now.

Dogs Act, which came into force in 2010, should be revised in the course of 2013

source: http://nyhederne.tv2.dk/article.php/id-62515242:df-aflivningen-af-thor-skal-standses.html

Hunden Thor skal efter længere tids tovtrækkeri mellem ejeren og politiet aflives i dag senest klokken 14.


Thor kom den 23. september sidste år op at slås med gravhunden Mudi. Begge hunde slap uskadt fra slåskampen, men da politiet opfattede det som et angreb fra Thors side, blev hunden sat i forvaring med henblik på senere aflivning. Politiet mener nemlig, at Thor, som er en blandingshund, er en Amstaff-blanding - og derfor figurer på listen over ulovlige hunderacer.


Hundens ejer, Leslie Jørgensen, hævder at hans hund aldeles ikke er en Amstaff-blanding. Ifølge ham er hunden en blanding af en Olde English Bulldog og en Mallorca Mastiff - og hele tre uvildige eksperter giver ham ret.


Foreningen Fair Dog har for at redde Thor valgt at sende en anmodning ind til Retten i Odense for at få rettens ord for, at endnu en uvildig ekspert kan undersøge om Thor hører til på listen eller ej. Men foreningen har endnu ikke hørt fra retten, og politiet har ikke tænkt sig at vente på svar.


Dyrevelfærdsordfører: Det er en meget uheldig sag


Historien om Thor har fået mange op af stolen - her i blandt Dansk Folkepartis dyrevelfærdsordfører Dennis Flydtkjær:


- Jeg synes, at det er en rigtig uheldig sag, når man vælger at sige, at en hund skal aflives alene fordi, det er en forkert race - og det på trods af at tre hundesagkyndige enstemmigt siger, at det her ikke er en af de hunde, der figurerer på listen over de ulovlige racer.


- Hvis der skal være noget retssikkerhed for hundeejere, så skal denne her sag stoppes, så hunden ikke bliver aflivet, inden der er kommet en endelig afgørelse på, hvilken slags hunderace der faktisk er tale om, siger han til tv2.dk.


'Alarmklokkerne burde ringe hos politiet'


På trods af at den nuværende hundelov angiver at bevisbyrden ligger hos hundeejeren, hvis politiet har en formodning om, at en hund hører til på listen over ulovlige racer, så mener Flydtkjær, at politiet skal vågne op.


- Når der er tre uafhængige hundesagkyndige, der har sagt, at denne hund ikke hører til på listen, så synes jeg, at der burde ringe nogle alarmklokker hos politiet. Når der samtidig kører en sag, og hundeejeren måske vinder, så er det jo for sent, for så er hunden jo aflivet.


Dansk Folkepartis dyrevelfærdsordfører mener, at der er en række udfordringer ved hundeloven - og specielt én af dem går ham på:


- Der er helt klart en række udfordringer ved hundeloven, og derfor vil jeg også opfordre regeringen til at få den evalueret allerede nu. En ting der ikke fungerer i hundeloven er jo netop denne her retssikkerhed for hundeejerne. Det er betænkeligt at man ikke kan få prøvet sin sag i retten, inden politiet skrider ind og afliver hunden.


Justitsministeren må banke i bordet


Han mener, at Justitsminister Morten Bødskov (S) må på banen i sagen:


- Justitsministeren må sende en besked til politiet om, at det simpelthen ikke er ok at aflive en hund, mens sagen endnu ikke er afgjort. Justitsministeren må som den øverst ansvarlige for politiet banke i bordet og sige, at nu stopper festen altså.


Hundeloven, som trådte i kraft i 2010, skal revideres i løbet af 2013.

For the sake of Thor

Translation by Jette Navntoft

The Danish dog Thor is supposed to be put to sleep today and that has caused a tremendios attention both among the danes but also abroad
The german princess and animal lover Maja von Hochenzollern has written a personal letter to the Danish Police force, begging them to save his life
She writes:
"please don´t start the new year by killing an innocent dog....his life is in your hands...
People from Denmark, Germany,Austria and all over the World has asked me to join this case...it touch my Heart deeply and I ´m begging you to save him
The Danish Union, Fair Dog is also fighting to save Thor`s life and they are extremly pleased that the german princess has joined the cause. The more attention this case gets the better says Charlotte Fabis the chairman of the union


In september last year Thor and a smaller dog had a fight...Instead of looking into what happend the police decieded that Thor is the wrong breed and should be put to sleep
They believe that some of the breeds in him should be the American staffordshire Terrier...a breed thas has been banned in Dk since july the 1st 2010. The owner claims the breeds are O E B and bull mastiff....three Experts in dog breeds has confirmed that

Thor was supposed to be put to sleep today at 2 pm, but due to all the attention this has caused ,the act is delayed...This is no longer "just about Thor" but also about the law and legal rights...the police is going to reconsider what`s goin to happen to him

source:

http://nyhederne.tv2.dk/article.php/id-62520995:tysk-prinsesse-lad-thor-leve.html

Mandag d. 7. jan. 2013 kl. 11:12 af Anne Schøning Christensen, ansc@tv2.dkfor TV 2 Nyhederne

Den tyske prinsesse og dyreven Maja von Hohenzollern. Foto: Facebook/privatfoto

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At den danske hund Thor risikerer at blive aflivet har i den grad fået opmærksom blandt danskerne.

Også i udlandet har sagen skabt debat, og nu melder den tyske prinsesse og dyreven Maja von Hohenzollern sig på banen.

I et brev beder hun det danske politi om at lade hunden leve.

- Jeg appellerer til Dem om at redde Thors liv. Lad Thor leve og begynd ikke det nye år med drabet på et uskyldigt dyr. Hans liv er i jeres hænder, skriver prinsessen i brevet.

- Mange mennesker fra Danmark, Tyskland, Østrig og andre lande bad mig om hjælp i Thors sag. Personligt er jeg også dybt rørt over denne hunds skæbne. Jeg beder jer derfor indtrængende om at lade Thor leve, skriver hun videre.

Hunden Thor. Foto: Privatfoto

For foreningen Fair Dog, der er gået i ind i Thors sag, betyder den tyske prinsesses appel til politiet meget.

- Det er ekstremt vigtigt. Jo mere opmærksomhed sagen kan få, jo bedre er det, siger formand Charlotte Andersson til tv2.dk.

Politiet tøver med aflivning
Thor kom den 23. september sidste år op at slås med gravhunden Mudi. Politiet opfattede det som et angreb fra Thors side, og hunden blev sat i forvaring med henblik på senere aflivning.

Politiet mener nemlig, at Thor er en Amstaff-blanding, og derfor figurerer på listen over ulovlige hunderacer.

Hundens ejer, Leslie Jørgensen, hævder at hans hund ikke er en Amstaff-blanding. Ifølge ham er hunden en blanding af en Olde English Bulldog og en Mallorca Mastiff. Det har hele tre uvildige eksperter givet ham ret i.

Det blev i første omgang meldt ud, at Thor skulle aflives i dag (mandag, red.) klokken 14.

Men politiassistent ved Fyns Politi, Niels Bo Søndergaard, siger til tv2.dk, at det ikke er sikkert.

"Det er lidt en prøvesag det her. Der er både nogle praktiske, men også juridiske ting, der skal vurderes igen, lyder det fra politiassistenten.

Hvornår og om aflivningen i det hele taget kommer til at finde sted, kan Niels Bo Søndergaard endnu ikke sige.