The title of this post is directly taken from an article written by “journalist” Dan Rodricks, a man who apparently prides himself on perpetuating stereotypes and writes for The Baltimore Sun. In an unabashedly biased, non-factual report titled: “Pit bulls: Own them at your own risk“, Rodricks talks uses his experience as a judge at a costume event for animals as a pedestal to speak out against pit bull ownership.

I realize this article is written as a commentary and Mr. Rodricks is certainly entitled to his opinion. However, most leisurely wanderers of the internet will see this article’s placement on The Baltimore Sun’s website and mistakenly assume that what he has written is a factual account of the pit bull breed, instead of an admittedly skewed perspective.

Prejudice notwithstanding, Rodrick’s poorly constructed article misses the point. The fact that the recent findings of the Maryland Court of Appeals are in agreement with his negative opinion of the pit bull breed does not prove, or even suggest, that there is anything wrong with responsible pit bull ownership. The “if we get rid of the pit bulls no one will get hurt“, brand of logic has grown tired considering its serious lack of factual supporting data.

Want to know the truth?

In places where pit bulls have been banned, dog bite statistics and mortality rates have remained unchanged, as demonstrated in balanced and scientific studies done in Denver, CO, The Netherlands and Spain. Getting rid of the pit bulls didn’t solve the problem, but I guess Maryland wants to find that out on their own. [Read more…]