News from City of Belvedere

As many of you are aware, a neighborhood in Belvedere has been the focus of recent unfortunate incidents involving a neighborhood dog and the death of two cats.

The cats and the dog are beloved pets of local Belvedere residents and the occurrence has created a very difficult situation for all concerned. As a result of the incidents, the 16-month old Malamute (Jackson) was evaluated by the Marin Humane Society (MHS) and judged to have a heightened predatory instinct toward cats. The owners of the dog have provided a copy of that evaluation and it can be obtained via the following link: MHS Evaluation.

Information on the Malamute breed and its characteristics can be found via various breeder and information websites. These sites provide basic information on the breed, its characteristics, and needs.

Excerpts from the MHS Evaluation indicate that Jackson is a friendly, social dog, who likes to interact with people. Very much a puppy, Jackson has behaviors that need to be inhibited and needs a great deal of structure and some strict rules to help him become an adult.

The behavioral expert further states that "Jackson's main problem is predatory behavior. It is important to delineate the difference between aggression and predation. Dogs and cats are predators, even though they are our pets. In nature, all predators would, of necessity, kill to eat. Our pets no longer have to do this, as we do it for them, but the instinct is still there. This instinct is triggered by movement (which is why prey animals tend to freeze in the presence of a predator). As we discussed, Northern breeds like Malamutes and Huskies tend to be more predatory than many other breeds. Predatory behavior is not linked with any emotion - in fact, it originates in a completely different part of the brain than emotions. This is why behaviorists do not call predatory behavior "aggression," though it can lead to the same outcome. Dogs learn early on in their lives to identify what is and what is not prey. Since Jackson did not learn early that cats are not prey, he reacted instinctively to the cats he came across. It is tragic that the cats were the victims, but this behavior was not done
because Jackson had malicious intent."

The MHS behavioral expert recommended that Jackson go through behavior modification and that steps be taken at home to restrict his movement. Behavior modification should entail management, including appropriate fencing and leashed walks, plus obedience training, plus the use of an electronic collar as an aversive (teaching Jackson that cats are actually scary). While Jackson was evaluated as dangerous to cats, he is not dangerous to people or other dogs.

Since the MHS Evaluation, Jackson has been through cat aversion therapy and has interacted socially with cats on several occasions. Jackson's owners have taken all steps recommended by MHS to include the successful aversion therapy, socialization, fencing, and leashed walks in other areas. Additionally, the owners have created an indoor and outdoor tether system for Jackson to further prevent any accidental escapes. Since the incidents, Jackson has not been allowed off the property unsupervised.

While the City is not directly involved in the management of the incident or the recommendations of MHS, the City has worked with the MHS to ensure that discussions occur with all involved parties and MHS. The owners of the cats are very concerned that further incidents not occur and that appropriate steps are taken to ensure proper disposition of Jackson; and the owners of Jackson are very concerned about the course of events and have cooperated full with the requirements and recommendations of MHS.

If incidents such as this occur in the future, the first point of contact should be the Belvedere Police Department to file an "incident report" - even though there may not be a physical crime report, an incident report will attempt to preserve information that can be used later. The second point of contact should be MHS to investigate the incident and the pets involved.