PIT BULLS ATTACKING MENDOCINO LIVESTOCK

Pit bulls on the loose are wreaking havoc on livestock in rural
Mendocino County and the problem seems to be getting worse, animal
control officials said.

"They're a huge problem," said federal trapper Chris Brennan, noting
that the number of problem pit bulls has increased by about a third
from five years ago.

In the past 2 1/2 years, Brennan said he's killed 90 pit bulls caught
in the act of killing or chasing livestock, primarily in the remote
northeastern portion of Mendocino County.

Other pit bulls have been caught and turned over to animal control, he said.

"I have had days we had to deal with a dozen pit bulls on one ranch," he said.

Why the increase?

Law enforcement and agriculture officials suspect the spike in pit
bull attacks on livestock and wildlife is a byproduct of the growth
in marijuana production in the county.

Marijuana growers are suspected of bringing many pit bulls to the
area to guard the large number of pot gardens in the northern part of
the county; pit bulls are commonly found along with marijuana gardens
at rural residences in the area, officials said.

Many of the growers own or rent the property on which they cultivate
marijuana, unlike the Mexican cartels, which prefer to hide gardens
on public lands and rarely employ canines to protect their crops,
said Mendocino County Sheriff's Lt. Rusty Noe.

"It relates to marijuana," Agricultural Commissioner Dave Bengston agreed.

Medical marijuana activists say that's just a guess.

"That's an interesting theory. Never miss an opportunity to scapegoat
the pot growers," said Dale Gieringer, a coordinator for the National
Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.

Still, the evidence is compelling.

Reports of loose pit bulls and attacks on livestock tend to increase
in November and December, just after harvest season, when many
growers leave the county, and again in April, when they return, officials said.

"They still own the property. But you can't take a dog on the plane
to Cancun," Noe said.

Dogs have long been a problem for ranchers with livestock and
traditionally accounted for about half the dead livestock, Brennan said.

Mendocino County Supervisor John Pinches is among those who have lost
livestock to dog attacks.

In just one rainy night of carnage last winter, he and partner Debbie
Blundell lost 25 ewes. One of the attackers, a pit bull, was still on
the scene the next morning, she said.

Pit bulls also were responsible for the deaths of three miniature
horses two weeks ago in Willits, animal control officials said.

Pit bulls or pit bull mixes account for at least two-thirds of the
dogs caught chasing or killing livestock in the county, said Brennan.

Deaths caused by dogs are particularly gruesome, he said.

While wild predators tend to kill one animal at a time to eat, dogs
will kill or badly maim multiple animals for sport, Brennan said.

"They just shred them," Brennan said.

The livestock often don't immediately die, but the damage is painful
and irreparable so ranchers must kill them to put them out of their
misery, he said.

Although some pit bulls are bred to fight and kill, it's not their
fault they kill livestock, Pinches said.

"It's the people's problem, not controlling their dogs," he said.

It's all too common for people to move to the country with the
misconception it's OK for their dogs to run free, said Bliss Fisher,
Mendocino County Animal Care and Control Division administrator.

"Dog owners should be responsible and not let them roam free in the
hills," she said.

Trappers are funded through federal and county programs. Bengston
said he hopes some of the dog response can be handled by animal
control, but staffing and funding problems persist.