Day 235/365

     Friday/day 235's belated post is a product of me driving around Saginaw and knocking on some more doors for the "dangerous dogs" ordinance story that I shot photos for last week, (I posted one of them for day 225). The story actually launched today on MLive here, and will have other viewpoints/opinions/side stories  throughout the next week or two. The "dangerous dogs" ordinance passed in June 2011 and requires owners of designated breeds, (like pit bulls, rottweilers, German shepherds, etc.), to register their pets at the City Clerk's office for $20, post a "dog on premises" sign on the front of their home, and keep their animals either on a leash or within a 4-foot-high fenced area or kennel. Personally, I follow the mantra, 'there are no bad dog breeds, just bad people who raise them that way,' so I had a great time playing with the different pit bulls and the German shepherd that I took pictures of. The photo for day 235 is of Diamond, a 7 month-old pit bull who has to be one of the sweetest dogs I've ever met. 

Day 225/365

     Yesterday/day 225 was one of the craziest work days I've had in a while. My boss and one of the other photo interns were out for the day, so it was just one other photo intern and myself covering anything that happened between the Saginaw and Bay City coverage areas. We got a lot of nasty weather compliments of Hurricane Sandy, which meant lots of car accidents, (including an overturned semi hauling corn!), so those kept us pretty busy, on top of other assignments that we had already. There were definitely some interesting ones, like a new stroke prevention tool that one of the local hospitals is now operating thanks to one of its doctors being its champion, or the ride-along another reporter and I did with an arson watch group last night. 

     I think the assignment I was most interested in though was the one about dogs, ( go figure). Apparently the city of Saginaw passed an ordinance last summer called the 'dangerous dog ordinance.' Anyone with dogs that have had past aggressive or violent behavior that's on file had to pay a fee to get a 'dog on premises' sign to hang on the front of their home. That part I understood. The part I wasn't so sure of was any dog owner with a certain dog breed, typically those with the 'aggressive breed' stigma, (pit bulls, German shepherds, dobermans, rottweilers, etc.), also had to get these signs, regardless of whether or not their dogs have ever had any problems. A reporter and I went knocking on the doors of some of the houses with the signs posted, and ended up talking to a really nice lady who had two pit bulls, (along with another dog and four cats). Her dogs were sweethearts, and were extremely photogenic!