On Wednesday morning, a dog named Lennox was put to sleep in Northern Ireland for looking like a pit bull. This has drawn worldwide attention to the issue of BSL, or Breed Specific Legislation, and some of the debates have become quite heated. To me, one of the most horrifying parts of Lennox's story is that people fail to see that BSL is alive and well in many parts of the United States, too. Lennox's story can be seen all over the internet. Here is one of many articles.
I am not here to discuss Lennox, specifically. Though the entire rescue community has been deeply effected by this well publicized loss, and the two years leading up to it, I am here to talk about what Breed Specific Legislation really means, and how it could effect you.
When you hear the term 'pit bull', what comes to mind? For a lot of people, it's an image of a growling, lunging, aggressive dog. Something to steer clear of, protect your children from, and avoid at all costs. Thankfully, more and more people are getting to know the REAL pit bull- a loving family dog who, with proper training and responsible ownership, will be your guardian, your jester, and your best friend.
The truth is, 'Pit Bull' is not even a legitimate breed of dog. It is a classification for a grouping of dogs, including the American Pit Bull Terrier, the American Staffordshire Terrier and the Staffordshire Bull Terrier. At Bully Breed Rescue, we see and rescue many dogs who would be judged at pit bulls, but who in reality may be a good mix of any of the above breeds. My personal dog, Precious, is in reality probably a mix of American Bulldog, Dogo Argentino, and maybe Lab. For all I know she could have Jack Russel or Beagle in her. That didn't stop people from breeding and fighting her, though, and you bet that if she turned and bit someone (which she wouldn't, because I am a responsible dog owner and she is a good dog), the media would jump all over it as a 'Pit Bull Attack'.
Point being - Breed Specific Legislation is not only ineffective, it's inaccurate. There is a great website, www.understand-a-bull.com, that further details information regarding BSL and bully breeds. One of my favorite parts of their site is this game, and I encourage you all to give it a try.
Can You Identify The Pit Bull?
How many tries did it take you to pick the right dog? Admittedly, I got it wrong on the first try. Now, click through the different dogs shown in the game, you will see what breeds they actually are. Note, none of the dogs shown are mixes, they are all photos taken from breeders and are considered accurate representations of their breed. Do any of you have pets the same breed as some of the dogs shown? Well, hold tight to them, because if BSL ever came our way, they'd be effected.
Breed Specific Legislation varies. It can call for anything from requiring certain breeds to be muzzled at all times, to certain breeds being completely illegal. This means owners, no matter how responsible, can incur fines for illegally housing these dogs or failing to muzzle them when leaving the house. It also means, in some areas, that your family pet can be taken from you and killed. Just for what he/she looks like. Animal Control and/or Police Officers are given a checklist of characteristics to look for when defining a dog as a pit bull.
Here is a sample checklist- this is the list used in San Francisco. If your dog meets 5 out of the 8 characteristics listed, he/she is deemed predominantly a pit bull.
- Head is medium length, with a broad skull and very pronounced cheek muscles, a wide, deep muzzle, a well-defined, moderately deep stop, and strong under jaw. Viewed from the front, the head is shaped like a broad, blunt wedge.
- Eyes are round to almond shaped, are low in the skull and set far apart.
- Ears are set high. Un-cropped ears are short and usually held rose or half prick, though some hold them at full prick.
- Neck is heavy and muscular, attached to strong, muscular shoulders.
- Body is muscular, with a deep, broad chest, a wide front, deep brisket, well-sprung ribs, and slightly tucked loins.
- Tail is medium length and set low, thick at the base, tapering to a point.
- Hindquarters are well muscled, with hocks set low on the legs.
- Coat is a single coat, smooth, short and close to the skin
Do you know what a 'well-definied, moderately deep stop' looks like? How about 'rose or half prick'? Or 'deep brisket'? Are these officers moonlighting as AKC judges? I certainly don't think your average officer or citizen identifies with these terms. Dog owners, do your dogs have round or almond shaped eyes? High ears? Muscular bodies? Medium length tails, tapering to a point, and smooth short coat? I can think of more than a few breeds who that applies to, and I'm sure you can too.
See what I mean by innacurate? This issue could be debated for an eternity, but for me, the bottom line is as follows:
A good dog is a good dog, no matter the breed. An irresponsible, wreckless or cruel person can take a dog of any breed and train it to be dangerous. So why are we blindly punishing innocent animals instead of punishing irresponsible owners? Instead of enforcing BSL (and taking happy, well loved, well trained dogs from appropriate homes), enforce responsible ownership. Make it law that dogs be spayed/neutered, unless you are a licensed breeder. Require owners of the breeds deemed dangerous to take them to obedience classes, teach them how to be responsible for their pet. Punish animal abusers, dog fighters, and backyard breeders to the full extent of the law. People are the problem, here, not dogs.
For more info on BSL, please visit www.stopbsl.org, or simply google Breed Specific Legislation.
For info on our adoptable Bullies and mixes, please visit www.bbrinc.org.
We all have individual stories. They are called anecdotes. What one should look at is studies on dog bites. What percentage of what breeds account for all attacks, provoked attacks, unprovoked attacks, fatalities, etc. Like it or not, there are only a few breeds that dominate and the so-called pit bulls are at the top of the list, both in attacks and in damage they wreak. I grew up with a Dalmation. He never attacked or bit anyone. What a surprise it was to me as an adult to find that Dalmations are more prone to attack people than many other breeds. Does the fact that *my* Dalmation never bit anyone mean that the statistics are wrong? "Mauled to death" is a phrase. "Attacked to death" is not. I know full well that every breed has members that will attack, some individuals more than others. But only some breeds were bred to be capable of mauling. I am dismayed that you equate a small dog attacking/injuring with the damage/killing that can be executed by a dog designed for the task.
Me ignorant? A Bichon Frise runs 7-12 pounds, not 25-30. So my statement stands. Can YOU cite us a case where a BF mauled a kid to death? I guarantee I can find several such stories regarding “pit bulls”. "If a dog attacks unprovoked, then the fault does not lie in the dog, etc”. Your statement is untrue and irrelevant. What happens as a consequence of a dog attack, the damage done, is what is important. Beating someone up = the instinctive attack of a dog? You’re kidding, right? Better: my child steps on a yellow jackets' nest, with the attendant consequences. He tries to get away and slams into your kid knocking him to the ground. In that situation, no, I would not feel that I "had screwed up", even if your kid were hurt. Nowhere in my post did I say that a small dog was harmless nor did I recommend the "extinction of an entire breed of animal". I said breeders of purebreds should be exempted. Note: the English Bulldog, American Bull Terrier and Staffordshire Bull Terrier are considered "child-friendly" breeds.* Who should be ashamed? I did not demean Ms Mulligan. I politely differed with her opinion on the "pit bull" type of dog. YOU on the other hand, saw fit to denigrate ME with name-calling instead of just stating your point of view or better yet, proffering citations to prove your opinion has more validity than mine.
While it's true that bulldogs were bred for bull baiting, & that APBTs & Staffies come from a combinaiton of Old English Bulldog & Old English Terrier (terrier for fighting purposes), not every single pup born wants to fight. Considering the overwhelming population of "pit bulls" in the US, if even 10% of them were vicious we'd have people dying left & right. Based on a 2012 joint study by the National Center for Health Statistics, National Safety Council, & World Health Organization, we are more likely to die from being struck by lightning, stung by a bee, or legal execution than from a dog attack. If you like statistics, the National Canine Research Council does very careful analysis of dog bite fatalities & the like. While they are admittedly anti-BSL, I think their data is objectively presented, much more so that Dogsbite.org. They report that after 20 yrs of BSL, Denver still leads CO in dog attacks. Miami, with similar BSL, has seen a dog attack decrease significantly lower than the national average, which includes states without BSL. I'm running out of space here, but one more helpful resource, imo, is the Lockwood-Rindy study on "pit bulls." It contains scientifically presented data & concludes that handling, not breed, is the causative factor in "maulings."
Pitbulls are dogs and like any other dog reacts to situations based on their perception of it, some are fearful some are non stop wiggle wags even at the vets office. Dogs ALL have a few basic behaviors that can be generalized working at a shelter and an animal hospital I found the most common behaviors were wiggle wagged through the entire appointment, sometimes they were scared and tried to climb over you to get away ,others were scared stiff .The least common were fear biters and aggressive dogs (those aggressive were aggressive towards people that were unfamiliar) Dominant dogs were the most rare all the year never got bitten by any dogs the smaller ones were a bit more nervous sometimes but hey if I was that small I would be too! It is not as much about understanding Pitbulls as it is understanding dogs. Fighting can be done with any dog, Boston Terriers were used in Boston for as pit dogs, people use Roosters for cock fighting whatever they can get their hands on to make money. People are also responsible for understanding the behavior of their individual dog they should be held accountable for their dogs actions that goes for any breed mix shape or size. It should be a privilege to have a companion animal given to those who truly desire one, not based on financial privilege, privilege for those who can love and value them as they deserve.
The problem really is bad dog owners. For pits it is usually because they belong to some moron drug dealer or low life who keeps one because they saw it in a rap video and think its cool. I've had several pitters and will never own another breed. They are simply the most fun and personable dog you can own.
The last thing that should happen is punishing responsible dog owners, with well-trained and innocent dogs for the sins of a criminal element of society. Responsible Pit bull owners spay and neuter their dogs, license them with the towns they live in, socialize them, keep them on leash unless in a fenced area, and provide proper vet care.
I have rescued many breeds - Pit bulls, ShihTzus and Chihuahuas to name a few - from squalid and abusive living conditions, some chained outside their whole lives. To this day, I have never been bit by a dog over 20 lbs. And being bit did not make me dislike the breed of dog (Fox Terrier to be exact). Unfortunately, the Pit bull is this nation’s most maligned breed of dog – thanks mostly to the thugs who misuse their loyalty and take advantage of their love for humans, but also in great part to the media hype and headline grabbing sensationalism. This makes those of us who are truly animal-lovers fight even harder to change the misconceptions people have about Pit bulls. Those of us who love Pit bull class dogs are in good company - many famous folks have owned Pit bulls. Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, General, George Patton, Helen Keller, Jamie Foxx, Rachael Ray, Jon Stewart, Jessica Alba, Ken Howard, Jessica Biel, and Pink to name a few. Locally, Senator Bob Duff adopted a Pit bull from Bully Breed Rescue.
Having owned a Doberman-mix, a Labrador, a Mini Schnauzer and now a Pit bull, I can say - the only thing fierce about Pit bulls is their loyalty. Their devotion to their humans is unparalleled in comparison to any breed (or breed mix) I’ve ever known, and I have been rescuing dogs of all breeds, as well as cats for almost 10 years (I know, that’s anecdotal, so be it). My Pit bull was left tied to a fence with two ruptured mammary glands in a city here in Connecticut. In pain, she had every reason to bite anyone who approached her, whether they were trying to help her or not. But she never did. Her road to physical recovery was not easy, and as it is evident she was bred many times before she made her way to my home, I can only imagine how sad her past life was. But true to the forgiving spirit of a Pit bull, she has soaked up the love in her new life with every ounce of her being. She is tremendously affectionate, rarely leaving my side and loves to sleep on a pillow, with her best friend – my 11 pound cat.
GLEN
More info at http://www.cdc.gov/HomeandRecreationalSafety/Dog-Bites/dogbite-factsheet.html and http://positively.com/2011/05/04/dog-bite-prevention-part1/ has an interesting perspective from a veterinarian on dog bite prevention.
In the case of Vick, who was convicted of running a dogfighting ring, 47 of the pit bulls from his kennel were taken to animal sanctuaries or adopted. One rehabilitated dog named Mel, who moved to Dallas with a new owner, even received an edible key to the city. As a family dog: Helen Keller had a pit bull. Laura Ingalls Wilder, who wrote "Little House on the Prairie," owned one, too. And Petey, the mascot pup with the black eye patch in "The Little Rascals?" Pit bull. Over time, the breed, which was also bred to battle bulls and fight other dogs, picked up a reputation for a nasty nature. Cesar Millan, the "dog whisperer" who is around the breed every day, says it's people who should be blamed, not the breed. He writes on his website, "Pit bulls get a bad rap because of irresponsible owners." Responsible owners include Jon Stewart, Alicia Silverstone, Jamie Foxx, Jessica Biel, Jessica Alba and me. Unfortunately, my pitbull Lulu has now gone over the Rainbow Bridge due to illness, but she was a wonderful girl who was loving and loyal and I miss her every day. I have had pitbulls in the past and they, too, will have a place in my heart forever.