Pit Bulls on Planes to Pets In Divorce to Power of a Dog’s Nose with Karen Conti on WGN Radio

I can talk to the animals – but wish I could listen better. Our pets are always talking to us in some ways, but we’re not always aware that they are. I appeared with WGN Radio legal analyst Karen Conti on her show HERE.

Karen and Steve

Karen asked me about the pit bull attack in the new in Chicago, and I first explain we don’t even know what we’re calling a pit bull since pit bulls are mixed breeds. Also, it’s a dog attack, not a pit bull attack. The CDC stopped identifying breed in fatal dog attacks years ago because the breed was often misidentified, and breed is irrelevant. What’s far more important is what happened to perpetuate the attack in the first place. In this instance (and others), the dog was simply off leash and without adult supervision. And, what’s more, they don’t even know who the owner is (as of August 5 when the show was aired).

For many reasons, I suggest I hate using this example….but I do it anyway, as in Chicago just this year alone (and the year is hardly over) well over 300 murders. 

Annually, according to the CDC, around 12 to 30 people are victims of fatal dog attacks in the entire country. Of course, that is 12 to 30 too many, but do consider there are 70 million dogs in the U.S.

Dogs are safer to people than people are to people

I also talk about what Delta Airlines decided – banning any dog they call a pit bull on an airplane, even if the dog is a legitimate service dog. We also talk about service and comfort dogs and what they are.

I do express that it’s wrong that animals like peacocks and alpacas be considered service animals – they are not. 

I talk about the Winn Feline Foundation, the non-profit funder of cat health studies, that is how I landed recently in England for International Cat Care. And soon both these great organizations will be working together.

Karen wants to know about the power of a dog’s nose – and I do the best I can to describe, after all it’s 40,000 times better than ours.

About pets in divorce, we talk about how laws are changing.  I tell Karen about something really bad I did involving divorce and a dog.