Yes. I own a pitbull. (Okay, so his mom is at least pitbull but overall he is a total bastard of a dog because we don't know who is father was..). We actually rescued him from the evil reach of the breed specific legislation passed in Denver. Breed specific legislation is a quick-fix solution that completely fails to address the fundamental problem: people not being responsible. Michael Vick = not responsible. People need to take responsibility for their dogs and be held accountable. Dogs learn behaviors. It is a cheap cop-out to blame a breed and not the person. No area that passed breed specific legislation has ever seen a decrease in number OR severity of dog bites. Fear and ignorance drives this kind of legislation. In turn, dogs that are cherished members of families, a part of peoples' lives are confiscated and killed. This. is. not. right.
If you feel like making yourself depressed / upset, check out this YouTube video:
Anywho. So mom got my feathers riled up because her ignorance is infuriating. She even pulled the "my grandkids" card (btw, there are no grandkids).
Some facts: Stubby, the most decorated dog in American history, is a pit bull; Helen Keller and Teddy Roosevelt owned pit bulls as did Michael J. Fox and Madonna; they are superb service dogs working with the elderly and handicapped; they support members of our armed forces and law enforcement agencies (one of the top drug-sniffing dogs); their reputation with kids is so great that they are frequently referred to as 'nursemaids'; in tests conducted by The American Canine Temperament Testing Association, pitbulls have the fourth highest ranking of all breeds for passing the tests, with 95% of pitbulls passing compared to 77% for all breeds on average.
Stop turning my dog into a villian.
2 comments:
Your "vicious" pitbull is the biggest weenie I have ever met. Let's all recall that he gets dry humped by every male dog he comes across and he totally cowtows to anyone with a big voice. He was also the squirmiest and sweetest puppy I have ever cuddled and your experience with him makes me want to get one. I admit I had fear of pit bulls before I met yours, but I have totally come around to the notion that any dog can be made into a bad dog if the owners are assholes. The problem is abuse and poor training, not the dog's temperament. Utah and I will give your puppy lots of kisses and belly rubs this weekend.
I'll admit it, I'm a little afraid of Baxter. Only because he tried to eat my arm at last year's Labor Day Field Day. Lesson learned: Don't play fetch with Baxter, because he will eventually mistake your arm for the stick.
By the way, my super-secret new blog has finally launched!
http://oblivioustomelody.wordpress.com/
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