Letters to the Editor
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If your temperment was tested....
What I think has gone unnoticed by the pessimistic readers is that pits were not always trained as killers. In fact, they were quite the opposite. It's unfortunate that their natural gifts of strength, speed, and tenacity have been turned against them in recent years. What is funny is that the media doesn't often mention the breed of dog associated with an attack, unless it's a pit, a Rottweiler, or any of the "feared" breeds. What I also find interesting, the woman in France who had the first face transplant because her dog mauled her face, this happened by her 7-month old black lab.
For the most accurate information you will find, and authored by a 3rd party, is the American Temperment Test Society: http://www.atts.org. Click on "Breed Statistics" and you will find 8 pages of various breeds, and their passing scores for each. You will notice the APBT does much better than most...even the Golden Retriever.
Also keep in mind, that when pits are trained to fight, they are trained to fight other dogs. They are trained so that during a fight, when the owner grabs him from the ring, he will not bite his owner. If you have a human-aggressive pit bull, think about why that would be...
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Here's some hypocrisy
Take a look at the ads section in the back of Dog Fancy magazine. Note the names of some of the breeder kennels, and note what types of breeds they offer. Yes, pit bulls.
There is no doubt what they are selling. It ain't dogs to become the family pet, folks.
Dog Fancy and other magazines for loving dog owners should hang their head in shame for taking the money from these animals. I am talking about the two-legged ones.
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Guns don't kill people...
Guns can be owned and used responsibly. The problem is that sometimes they're not. And, used irresponsibly, they kill. That's why we regulate them and ought to ban some, like handguns and assault rifles.
Ideally, a pit bull could be no more dangerous than any other dog. But, the world isn't ideal. Even though its owner is really at fault, an abused pit bull is much more capable of killing than most other breeds.
True, all large dogs can kill or maim. But, its proper public policy to start with the worst, even if that leaves other dangerous dogs on the street. If other breeds need regulated, that can be done separately.
My kid shouldn't lose his life because a chain breaks, a door isn't latched, or he walks through the wrong yard. Pit bulls are the assault rifles of the canine world.
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Hey let's just kill all the dogs!
So everyone can live peacefully and free from all harm. Then we can ban all moving vehicles so that no one ever dies or gets injured in a car accident and we'll all be in great shape too!
If you ban pits, those who want vicious dogs for protection or to be "cool" will just move down the line of breeds. Ban pits, they'll move onto boxers, mastiffs, dobermans, german shephards, chows, akidas, and different breeds of large terriers.
I've known lots of pits, rotties, dobermans, ect. They can be mean or they can be sweet and cuddly. I have a welsh corgi, we trained him with a trainer, we took him to dog parks, I have used water guns, firm no's, he gets walked until he can't walk anymore, he was neutered as soon as we got him. He's a vicious little bastard when it comes to seeing another dog anywhere near his home. When he goes into another dogs home, he's perfectly polite.
He barks, he's never bitten anyone, but we would never take him out without a leash or leave him alone in a yard. Our other dog, sweetest thing ever, rarely barks and never goes after other dogs, cats or children.
Usually when you hear about dog attacks, a dog was in a yard and breaks out. I don't think dogs should be left alone out in yards, ever. A dog can hold it's urine long enough for 3 walks a day. Us apartment dwellers know this. You take your dog out before work, you get home, walk it again. You walk it again before bed. Sometimes there will be accidents, like if the dog is sick. But people who leave dogs outside all day because they don't want to fit their schedule around walking the dogs, well they just shouldn't have dogs. If dogs are kept inside the home, they can't break out to bite, attack or kill another person's pet or child. Everytime a dog is taken out it should have a leash on.
Except for dog parks, I get so sick of seeing people walking their dogs without leashes. I've had to get their noses out of my groceries, stop them from jumping up on me to lick me and I've had them not leave my little dog alone until the owner comes over and has to pry their dog away while I'm trying to control mine and sheild him from the other dogs barks and nips.
Oh, but my dog obeys me and is so nice and friendly, that may be true, but other dogs and people aren't under your control and I've had plenty of problems with dogs who won't leave my dogs alone and don't listen when their owner calls them.
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Your love has blinded you to something
In densely populated areas, it doesn't make sense to keep companion animals that can kill people should they decide to do so. Dogs in general are unlikely to decide to do this unless a combination of nature and nurture (or anti-nurture) disposes them to it, but the fact is that my 30-lb terrier mix (RIP), although she could've bitten me fiercely if she'd wanted, would've had a hard time actually killing me or any of my neighbors. She was too small, and it wasn't in her nature. We have laws controlling handguns because we understand that they are lethal, even though a handgun can't do anything without a person's pulling the trigger. An animal can act of its own volition to harm humans, even against the wishes of its owner. Pit bulls and some other breeds have been bred to kill, and although they may also have sweet demeanors if they are treated nicely, keeping one is like having a gun that could pull its own trigger if it felt like it and you've got only partial control over whether or not it's loaded.