Some dog owners can't get insurance

Four years ago, I wrote an op-ed piece for the Los Angeles Times. In it, I stated, "Outlaw the English mastiff, the pit bull, the American Staffordshire terrier and the Rottweiler, and soon it will be the springer spaniel, the Boston terrier and the Old English sheep dog. Eventually, we will legislate some of our best friends into extinction. Aggressive behavior in dogs is not a dog problem. It is a people problem."

It saddens me to say, "I told you so," but that's what I must do. United Property and Casualty, a company that covers Florida and Georgia, has added the cocker spaniel to its do not insure list, which also includes, among others, any pit bull breed, Doberman pinscher, Rottweiler, German shepherd, keeshond, Great Dane, chow chow and Akita. Are you outraged? Is your blood pressure rising? If you are the owner of a Ccocker Sspaniel, do you feel like slamming your fist into a wall? Probably.

Is the anti-breed list illogical? Of course it is. It will not solve the aggressive dog/dog bite problem, because aggression is not breed specific. There are aggressive dogs in all breeds just as there are nonagressive canines in every breed. And if you think about it in those terms, the same applies to race in humans.

Dear Uncle Matty: I am an insurance agency owner in Merritt Island, Fla., and have read your commentary about insurance companies and risks relating to dogs. In your article titled "Take a stand against insurance companies," you asked to hear from folks who have experience with insurance companies and dog issues. I am an agent who writes policies for homeowners with dogs located on their premises every day. Obviously, there is a difficulty in getting many companies to accept dogs under their company underwriting guidelines, but there are also a few companies that will take a homeowners risk when a dog is present. For those folks who have found resistance to acquiring insurance when a dog is present, my advice is call around and check with at least four independent agencies. Independent agents represent several companies while the captive agencies like Allstate, State Farm, Prudential, etc. usually are only quoting with one source.