The message that follows was sent to the owner/webmaster/administrator at a site called Stop Pit Bull Attacks I just thought I would take it upon myself to inform him or her of the possible implications the breed specific bans they so fervently support could have on their community, the lovely area of Independence, Missouri. Ignorance is inexcusable.
“To Whom it May Concern, I really hope you read this email, and I hope even more that you have the mental capacity understand what I am going to try to tell you.
The only thing promoting breed specific bans is going to do is cause Pit Bull breeding and ownership to go underground. This will actually make Pit Bull ownership more appealing to people who want to own these dogs for all the wrong reasons, while responsible owners are forced to give up their companions and be prevented from owning Pit Bulls in the future. The only thing your petition is going to do is hurt caring owners that love their well-behaved and wonderful animals. BSL is just going to lead to more violence and abuse of an already mistreated breed. You think Pit Bulls are a ‘fad’ breed now, wait and see what happens when every drug dealer and dog fighter NEEDS to have one due to the fact that they are no longer allowed in public. Your petition is singlehandedly making it more likely for hundreds of thousands of Pit Bulls to endure mistreatment at the hands of these unsavory types of people. I do not think that is something a self proclaimed “dog lover” would stand behind.
Breedism is no different than racism, and after reading your site ad nauseum, I have to assume that you are the kind of person who thinks its ok to have black people and white people still drinking out of separate water fountains. Since when is it ok to punish an entire race of anything for the actions of a few? Did you ever stop for a minute and think that maybe all of this negative Pit Bull press exists because you want it to, because you want to be afraid of Pit Bulls? Yes, you may have been convinced by the media that they look scary, and I have personally met very few Pit Bulls that enjoy the company of cats or other small animals, but human aggression is NOT a normal trait of a Pit Bill. I am sure if you took a closer look at the extenuating circumstances in place during all Pit Bull attacks you would see that these incidents were not unprovoked, but instead came as a result of people being irresponsible and ignorant. I am truly compassionate for people that have been involved in dog attacks, no one should have to endure something as traumatizing as that. But at the end of the day it is the owner that should be punished for not properly training and taking care of a dog that they probably already knew was aggressive – most dogs involved in these attacks have actually been trained to attack humans. On the off chance that the whole story is given when a Pit Bull attack makes the news I can guarantee you will see what I am talking about.
Case in point:
London Free Press – Girl Bit in Face By Pit Bull
In this Pit Bull attack the child was LEFT ALONE with the dog while the dog had a bone. The child was obviously not yet old enough or never told to not try to take the dog’s bone away, and do to the mother’s irresponsible choice to leave her baby alone with the dog, the child was hurt. This dog did not just snap and bite the child for no reason, it did what most dogs will do when not properly trained to allow their toys to be taken, it tried to get the toy back. Just one of the many cases of a careless owner that eventually led to the euthanization of an innocent Pit Bull and more negative media attention.No dogs should ever be left alone with children, even a Jack Russel can kill a child. If you are doubting me, read the story yourself – WKYT, Kentucky
All dog owners need to be committed to properly taking care of their animals and making sure incidents like this do not happen. Instead of wasting all of your energy trying to ban, and inevitably abuse more, Pit Bulls, why don’t you shift your focus to responsible ownership? I am all for a petition calling for dog owners everywhere to take proper precautions to make sure they are raising a well-balanced and non-aggressive canine.
As for the Siegfried and Roy incident that you mention on your site – where do you get off comparing a dog to a TIGER?! You are really grasping at straws here buddy.
If you wish to contact me back regarding this matter I would love to hear your response, I also have a website of my own that I encourage you to visit in your leisure. Unlike your website, I welcome comments from anyone who wishes to leave them, even if their opinions are different than my own. I will be featuring this correspondence as well as a link to your site as today’s post.
Best regards,
Mandie S.
Founder, Save A Bull
FACTS (in case you missed them):
- Since 1998, the breed most involved in fatal attacks has been Rottweilers (sorry to rat you out guys).
- Over the 32-year period from 1965-2001, Pit Bulls have been blamed for/accused of an average of 2.48 human fatalities per year.
- About 40 people (children) per year die by drowning in 5-gallon water pails – maybe we should ban those too??
- Approximately 50 children in the US are killed every year by their cribs.
- Approximately 150 people are killed every year by falling coconuts. You are more than 60 times more likely to be killed by a palm tree than a Pit Bull.
- Each year, 350 people drown in their bathtubs.
- Every year, more than 2,000 children in the U.S. are killed by their parents or guardians either through abuse or neglect. A child is more than 800 times more likely to be killed by a caretaker than a Pit Bull.
- The average Number of people killed by a Pit Bull each year is 3.
- It can be estimated that for every Pit Bull who kills, there are 10.5 MILLION that DON’T!
This country wants to ban/destroy 10.5 million innocent dogs for the actions of 0.94% of its category?
Ban Bathtubs, Not Pit Bulls.
Loree says
i know a couple of pit bulls, and they are nice, smart dogs. My only questions is this: It is true, isn’t it, that pit bulls were bred for fighting, (back in the day?), well, if you can make my lab. (who was bred to be a retriever), stop fetching, i will believe you can take the breeding out of your pit bull, too. and i’m not trying to “diss” your dog breed, but I just don’t believe you can take the breeding characteristics out of any animal.
Abbie says
I think that Loree should be informed that pitbulls were originally bred to be bull baiting dogs. (hence the name) And actually were initially considered “America’s Dog”. The dog from the Little Rascals is actually a pitbull. And although there are some ignorant irresponsible people who are breeding pitbulls for fighting, they are bred for fighting other dogs. Never are they bred for human aggression, otherwise these people wouldn’t be able to handle their own prize fighting dogs. I’d also like to inform her that my pitbull also likes to play fetch to the point of obsession, and guess what… she wasn’t bred to be a retriever.
kristen says
I currently own three beautiful blue APBT (american pitbull terriers for those who are just as ignorant to the name as they are to the breed). Two males and one female. My 18 month old daughter plays with all three, gives them treats and even falls asleep with them. She has grown up around them as well as I have. Never in the ten years that I have owned APBT have I ever been growled at, snapped at, or bitten. My daughter has never been growled at, snapped at, or bitten. An AMAZINGLY, believe it or not, neither have any of my friends or family!! WOW!! Hhmm…if they were all bred to attack humans I wonder what happened to mine?? I guess I got all the dummies out of the litters who didn’t know what they were supposed to do!! However they all know how to sit, lay down, fetch, roll over, even play dead. So maybe just maybe…they do know what they are supposed to do, because they are not bred to attack humans. They are bred to be loyal, loving, intelligent dogs. And that is exactly what they are. So I am sorry for all of you out there that are incapable of reading and comprehending to know that not only a Collie but also a standard size poodle both score lowewr on the temperment tests. Not an APBT… funny huh?? you would think that since they are bred to kill humans they would fail. Im a proud pitbull mommy. I love my babies no matter what you say. But just remember that the stupid things that come out of your mouth only make you sound that much more ignorant yourself. If we believed everything in the media we would live in a crazy world…Elvis would still be alive..aliens would really be living here..and Oprah would really only have two more years to live. The media is full of lies..it was designed to deliver news..now it is up to the intelligent to decifer the difference between fact and fiction. Can you??
Emily says
I was bitten in the face by a cocker spaniel as a toddler. As a teenager I was attacked by a Chesapeake Bay Retriever, and it was one of the most vicious dogs I’ve ever encountered. Of all the dogs my family had growing up, the only one that EVER bit a human was our little Bichon. It’s about the individual dog and the dog owner, not the breed in general. My pit bull loves people. I’m so tired of this argument.
Doc Norman says
I had my pit bull, Cooter, for seven years before he had to be euthanized (inoperable heart tumor). My wife was afraid of pit bull terriers before we got him. She was furious when I brought him home as a pup! However, over time, she came to know and love the breed. Most folks don’t know the history of this breed in America. Many are surprised to learn, for instance, that they were used as “nanny dogs” in the late 19th & early 20th centuries. Now, if you believe the press, pit bulls eat children. Like all responsible owners, I could tell many positive stories about Cooter. My favorite, however, is Cooter the Dog Park Cop. Cooter was trained not to fight. I confess we amended this policy after a third $181.00 trip to the vet incurred by yet another dog owner who could not control his (non-pit bull) dog off-leash or get it to break an attack. I then did permit Cooter to defend himself, but for some reason, this almost never happened afterward. Anyway, when Cooter was at the dog park, if one dog was hassling another dog and the situation was building to a fight, Cooter would charge in, position himself between the larger/ aggressive dog and the smaller/meeker dog and “bow up,” as if to say, “OK, you want this little guy, you gotta go through me.” Cooter was a respectable 86 lbs. and the aggressor dog would invariably respond as if to say, “Nah, I’m good,” and wander off. Cooter had a lot of little dog buddies.
I scattered Cooter’s ashes on the lake at the dog park as the bagpipes played in the background (although he preferred Techno/Trance). Many of the regulars wept.
We are almost ready to get another dog. My wife, however, does not want another pit, simply because she doesn’t want another dog people are afraid of. How sad!
And how many of you have already guessed she’s going to be furious with me again…?
Doc Norman says
To Loree: Let me see if I can clear up some misunderstandings for you. Dogs aren’t bred for specific behaviors. I can no more breed a dog and have it exit the womb a fighter than I can breed a monkey to teach English Literature. Over time, dogs have been bred to enhance natural traits. For example, most terrier breeds have, as a trait, courage and fearlessness, and were once bred to be trained as “ratters” (dogs that would pursue vermin into their holes and kill them) for use on farms. (And if you don’t think it takes courage to trap, corner and kill a rat, you try it!) So a breed may have certain expressed characteristics that are easily shaped into a certain behavior, but this does not mean that behavior will necessarily express itself naturally without that training. Just as you, for example, may have a build and a brain hard-wired for balance and orientation in space that would be easily shaped into championship gymnastic ability. But if your parents don’t start you out in the gym at an early age and diligently encourage your talents, there’s no gold medal in your future.
Conversely, a breed trait can be discoraged or even extinguished entirely through application of behavior modification and shaping. You can train an animal to do ANYTHING. B. F. Skinner trained squirrels to water ski. And I assure you those squirrels weren’t born saying, “Which way to the beach, dude?” So you can train a pit bull to fight… or NOT to fight. You can train a human to be an assassin or a pacifist. You can train George W. Bush to… OK, you can’t train Bush. Let’s just say he’s the exception to the rule.