Sorry if someone has said this already but I was reading "allie"s letter a way back and she mentioned "Bill Syke's" dog from the movie "Oliver" as a pit. arrgh! Pit bulls were bred from Staffordshires but they are two different dogs!!! Staffordshires have the long face and more squat bodies. Think the dog from "Our Gang" movies out of the thirties with the black circle around it's eye. They were originally bred to herd bulls in the same way as a bull dog (a shout out to the writer who has the bull dog mix - you're wrong about that dog's disposition and that he shouldn't exist). They were bred for the large jaw and muscular build AND also for they calm quiet but forthright disposition which was a must around bulls. They are not fighting dogs nor were they ever! When people got around to breeding pit bulls they used mixes of Staffordshire (for the strong jaw and muscles) and I believe Mastiffs for the aggressiveness (I'm not sure on this one) and then bred the lines for the aggressiveness and stealth. This is why none of the kennel breeding associations recognize them because they're not a real breed.

The thing is, Staffordshires are amazing people dogs. Calm and congenial and just sweet. They look like thugs. I knew some rastafarian drug dealers about 15 years ago who bought some thinking they were pits. These guys ran an afterhours club where friends of mine from college would go and hang out. The first time I saw the dogs on the back porch in the alley, I thought "oh shit" but they were the friendliest dogs. I got to know them over time and they were best dogs I have ever been with. Super intelligent and just loving and extraordinarily charming dogs. The rastafarians were somewhat disappointed in that they weren't the dogs they thought they were but they fell in love with them and hey at least they "look bad, mon". I wanted one so I started to research them and found the difference between them and pit bulls, etc and how they were used to breed pits. Unfortunately, they are expensive dogs and I never got one.

What bothers me is, as is stated in this article, is that people "assume" different dogs are pit bulls that aren't, including Staffordshire. Quite obviously, people also make the assumption that Staffies are bred for fighting, etc. also just because of how they look and their resemblance to pits. So, not only are pit's reputation smeared by bad people use of them but also it stains many otherwise "congenial" dogs that people judge also in their ignorance.

I do think pits have special needs in training and in socialization but this is true many breeds. It's dog owners responsibilities that need to change, not the dog. All owners and their dogs should be required to attend training and socialization classes when the dogs are puppies in order to have them. This should be included in the dog license requirement along with rabies tags. All dogs should be chipped for identification and be required to adhere to basic commands (sit,heel,stay). Owners should be required to proficient in being able to control their dogs and show it in order to keep them. People who give up their dogs to any animal shelter, sell their dogs, let them go stray, or breed their dog should be ready to pay a fee or a fine. Having and caring for a dog should be privilege and an earned responsibility.

When people have to take responsibility for owning dog or face the consequences, the breed of the dog will no longer matter.