Letters to the Editor
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Existing laws
If you think existing laws aren't working very well, why do you think that new laws will be more effective?
Can laws really stop people from being a-holes? We both know it's not possible. Breed-specific is just dumb and unsupported by experts (HSUS, ASPCA, et al)
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@ awesome-o
Here is just one link (there were a few) on banning the lab:
http://caveat.blogware.com/blog/_archives/2006/8/23/2257176.html
Germany has banned several breeds last I checked, including the Rottweiler. They could not bring themselves to ban the German Shepherd dog even though the breed is implicated in lots of dog bites. That is because the German Shepherd is their national breed, so you can see that politics often enters into these things.
A few years back there was all this emotionalism about "retriever rage" and talk about banning them -- including America's favorite dog, the Golden. Different areas have tried to ban different breeds usually to no avail. Why? Because dog owners fought back and with good ammunition. It isn't the breed but the irresponsible owners.
Here's an example in my mother's neighbor: Her Golden Retriever tore her little Chihuahua to bits. She knew that I knew a bit about dogs and wanted me to diagnose the problem and if the dog was salvageable. (A responsibility I didn't especially want. However, their local vet only understands horses.) I got on the Internet and did some research and there was all this stuff about "retriever rage" and some sort of epileptic type thing wrong with retriever brains. My god, people were in panic! Several cities had proposed bans on retrievers. (Did they even have any idea how many types of retrievers there are?)
Well come to find out that true "retriever rage" is a relatively rare condition. What was the problem with retrievers? Over popularity! Over breeding! Puppy mills! Owners who had no idea how to treat and train their breed! I asked this neighbor if she had ever attempted to train the dog. No. Was the dog ever indoors around people? No. Did the dog get much human attention. No. Did the dog ever get to leave the backyard. Rarely.
Desperately, I asked, "Has anyone ever attempted to train this dog at all?" Answer: "Well my husband has tried, but I don't think he is good at it. He always ends up hitting or kicking her." Now that's an answer. Take an ill bred dog whose population has suddenly increased, mix in ignorant owners with a cruel streak, avoid all socialization and training, and you have a recipe for disaster.
I tell you, it is not the breed(s); it's the owners!
This is exactly what has happened to pit-types. The fact that dogfighters use them and gangsters like them has only added to the hysteria.
People do not understand that the dogs that they buy from puppy mills and pet store -- even when registered -- are often nothing like the breeds that they see on dog shows on television. For example, really well-bred German Shepherds all look pretty much alike. However, the appearance of poorly bred German Shepherds can produce a great variety of head shapes and body types. Add to this unregistered dogs and it is any one's guess whether or not these are really shepherds at all. The same with labs. In dog shows they used to look much leaner. Now there is a preference for a heavier, more muscled look. Ironically lab mixes are often mistaken for pit mixes and vice versa. A neighbor had a dog that was a hound/pit mix -- a lovely dog except he has a slight cow-hocked look in the rear -- and most people thought he was all pit.
Given all of this, you cannot predict how any dog will act based upon looks alone. The registered American Pit Bulls and Staffies are not usually the ones causing the trouble. When the popularity of pit-type dogs dies down, this too shall pass.
In the meantime, why kill a bunch of animals that are in every sense innocent and traumatize a lot of children because of the loss of their pets.
Breed bans in particular and BSL usually do nothing but soothe an ignorant public. Better to ban puppy mills instead.
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Just to add:
In very densely populated areas where people routinely pass within a foot or so of each other on the sidewalk, I do favor muzzles. These protect pedestrians and protect dog owners from liability. These can be removed at dog parks and other places that are more dog friendly. In the burbs, where people have more room to move around and move away, muzzles should only be required for specific animals known to be people and/or dog aggressive -- not by breed, but by the history of the particular dog's behavior.
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Criminal liability
Dogs that were bred for fighting are not appropriate pets. These dogs were bred for specific qualities that make them unsuitable for being around other dogs and kids.
But breed-specific legislation is impractical.
The solution is to make all pet owners criminally liable for the actions of their pets. In the case of the Dianne Whipple mauling in San Francisco, I believe that the prosecution had to prove that the owners were aware that that their dogs posed an imminent danger to others. I think this standard is too high. The law should be changed so that all dogs are automatically presumed to be dangerous, so if a dog (whatever breed) kills or injures someone, the owner is automatically criminally liable as if that owner had attacked the victim him/herself. If it is really the owners, and not the dogs, who are the problem, then dog owners should have no objection to this.
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And leash your dog, okay?
I am soooo tired of unleased dogs, or dogs that are leashed but allowed to go "nose to nose" with other dogs.
My dogs mind their own business. They don't start fights. But the second your off-leash dog lips off to my leashed dog, we now have a problem.
Not all dogs can mix with other dogs, and that's why we have leashes and fences and those things.
Now, my dogs are ALWAYS waggy for kids and babies ... that stuff we love. It's not okay for kids to indiscriminately pet dogs, but I can always trust my staffordshire bull terriers with kids. I trust them with kids but not other dogs.
There is a saying with bully owners:
I trust my dog with all people.
I don't trust all people with my dog.
My dogs CRY to try to make kids come pet them. The love love love it. Nothing cuter than a little hand on a big bully head. True love from both sides!
Anyone that wants to come meet my "vicious pit bulls" is welcome. We're on Grand Ave in St Paul many Saturday mornings. I think you would all be surprised to find the wagging tail, kissy tounge and little dogs the size of overfed cocker spaniels.