BREEDISM IN AMERICA
BLAME THE DEED NOT THE BREED
It seems that no matter what station you watch on television, which newspaper you read, or what radio station you listen to that when it comes to PIT BULLS, many people think that it is a vicious breed of dog, and should be banned. Breedism in America is real and what is behind the move to ban an entire breed of dog. In my opinion, this breed is the victim -- not the criminal that they are often made out to be in the press.
In almost all of the pit bull attacks that I have researched the, dogs were running loose, abused, used for fighting, starved or just treated horrendously. To me this says that it’s these irresponsible owners, not the breed of dog that needs to be banned.
Some people say that it’s the strength of these dogs that have them worried; it’s the fact that their jaws are so powerful. Well, should all men over six feet and two hundred pounds be banned because they can potentially do more harm than a less powerful man?
In Denver they recently banned all pit bulls from the city, and have forced people to turn in their beloved dogs and more than 200 have already been killed by the city. Do they really believe that the person who is dealing crack on the corner is concerned about being cited for illegally owning a pit bull? Alternatively, perhaps, will they turn to another breed?
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS? SHOULD THERE BE A BAN ON SPECIFIC BREEDS OR ARE WE ALL STARTING TO SOUND LIKE ARCHIE BUNKER’S CHARACTER WHERE IGNORANCE BREEDS HATRED?
posted by Warren @ 11:27 AM
15 Comments:
Our adopted pit bull, Bruno, was found tied to our vets door at only 8 months of age, afraid of his own shadow...at least the previous owner had the decentness to not take him to the animal shelter. Now our family member, for 6 years Bruno has only known love and respect and has returned the same to us, friends/relatives, our other 4 dogs, and several cats; including fosters. Pets are a product of their environment; it is not fair to punish the Pit Bull breed because, due to no fault of their own, they fall under the ownership of some irresponsible people who do not have respect for the animal and people alike.
No I don't believe any breed of dog should be banned. I live in Kansas and so far there have been 3 or four cities that have banned pit bulls, although they haven't gone to the HORRENDOUS extremes those whiney liberals in Denver has. And if it were me I would get those people together in Denver that this has affected and file a class action lawsuit against the city of Denver because I'm sure that they have violated these peoples constitutional rights in some way or another. I have owned pitbulls and they were nothing if not the sweetest dogs I ever owned and I'll never own another breed other than pits.
Some animal breeds are genetically more violent than others. You wouldn't have a tiger as a family pet because they are dangerous. You wouldn't keep an alligator or poisonous snake either for the same reason. Pit bulls are bred to be the way they are. Sure the people who keep them and abuse them and train them to be even more violent are part of the problem but even with the best training, the dogs are unreliable and can turn into a killing machine without any warning.
They should definitely be banned as a household pet. Anyone who would want one because they are so violent needs help too. Anyone who owns one (or any other animal) and abuses it deserves some prison time.
You have to understand that not all dogs are good just like not all people are good. A set of human parents can have a bunch of kids all raised the same way with the same opportunities where all of the kids grow up to be well adjusted happy individuals and one becomes a mass murderer. It happens. It's no fault of the parents.
A breed of animal whether naturally or with our help evolves into a mean violent animal. They are dangerous and the people that abuse them don't help but they ARE dangerous. Stop thinking they can be trained to be something they are not. They can't.
Dear Anonymous;
Pit Bulls or any other breed don't "turn" for no reason or without warning. Please point me to the SPECIFIC DOCUMENTED STUDIES that confirm those statements THAT PIT BULLS TURN FOR NO REASON WITHOUT WARNING. You will see that the warnings are the owners and the way the dogs re treated. Using your analogy we need to ban ALL humans also; we sure have not only the physical capability to kill but also the mental capability to plan it out ahead and without warning.
Thank you for the accurate assesment of the Pit Bull situation. In my neighborhood in Pasadena, CA, I know of one Pit Bull and it is owned by questionable owners. But, so far the dog as not been anymore aggressive than any other dog in the neighborhood.
What the city of Denver is doing is draconian and does not address the problem of the type of owner that aquires a Pit Bull. Humane Society's must be tough in the screening process and OWNERS should be held accountable. After all they are the ones that are suppose to love and care for the dog(s).
Although I have never owned a Pit Bull, I would not be opposed to having one in the future.
Governments need to address the real problem, not the animal that has no say in how he or she is raised and trained.
I am sure the above "anonymous" (ie the genetic expert) means well but they obviously did their homework on the 6 o'clock news.
APBTs, despite being an abused breed, still score statistically higher on standardized temperment tests than most breeds. (see http://www.atts.org/)
Furthermore, the Alababama Supreme Court recently agreed and dealt a blow to BSL in this country based on considerable scientific expert testimony and not knee-jerk politicians.(See http://www.dapbt.org/alabamacourtruling.htm)
Marc (dad of Kousa , see guest wall)
PS..if safety truly is a concern then all breeds over 30 lbs should banned...oops...I hope one of those idiot politicians isn't reading this.
I have owned dogs all my life. I have heard a lot of bad reports on diffrent breads.I have always found that it was the owner and the dogs training at falt.Not the bread of dog. I have seen poodles that were mean and pit bulls that were the biggest wimps on the block.
Hey Warren-
I've been volunteering at my local Humane Society as a dog walker. I never had a dog and was really nervous about the different breeds and was shocked that they had pitbulls there. It only took one meeeting with a pitbull to fall deaply in love with the breed. They have been among the kindest most loving breeds I've been able to walk. It is so unfortunate that they have such a bad rap.
I can't agree with you more. It's bad enough bad animal owners get away with so much. Now we're letting a few bad apples kill the tree. What's next...German Shephards?
When I was seven, I was walking my granmother's German Shepard. I stopped in some grass, not a block away from home, when two guys with pitbulls sent their dogs to attack mine. It was and still is the most disturbing and upsetting experience of my life. I'm 19 now and the day still plays out in my mind every once in a while. When they let the first dog go, it went after me. My dog saved my life that day and nearly lost his. And after all this, I don't hate pitbulls. They only did what they had been trained to do. It's ussually the owner's fault when a dog attacks. It also depends strongly on the situation. I barely hear anyone mention how many children who are attacked are teasing or hurting the dog. And ANY dog can be dangerous. As a matter of fact, the only dog that has ever bitten me was a Chihuahua.
My next-door neighbor's dog, Diesel, is sooo sweet. When my cats get treats, I buy his treats, 2. He has ignored is master's call just to say hi to me. I'm a cat person; yet, I'm hooked on Diesel the Pitbull.
I should've proofread. ..."is" shold be "his". Oops.
I blew it again. "shold" should be "should".
Tammy,
As a member of the baby-boomers crew, I can tell u that G.S. were the dogs 2 fear back-n-the day.
I've got an 8-month-old pit bull, she's a sweetie. We love our pit pull named Penguin.
Banning and exterminating Pit Bulls is no more a solution to stopping dog attacks than banning and exterminating minorities is a solution to gang violence.
people shoulden`t banned cuz its not not there fault. these poor puppys have to suffer and then they kill them or hurt them. its mean tottally cruel and mean
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