A few words about pitbulls…
August 29th, 2007
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Anyone who knows me personally knows that one thing I have a real soft spot for is dogs. Some of my best friends have been dogs, and that might make me a bit less than objective but damn do I love dogs.
This includes a breed of dog which people just seem to love to hate: The American Bull Terrier. Or commonly known as the Pitbull. To many people the very word pit bull congers up the image of the most killer, vicious, terrorizing monster imaginable. There are areas where pit bulls, as defined as dogs which meet the majority of requirements for being considered an “American Pit Bull Terrier” or “Staffordshire Bull Terrier,” are illegal to breed, own, play with, walk and so on. For example, in Denver Colorado, anyone found with a pitbull will have the animal seized and immediately put to sleep (AKA: slaughtered). Strays and pit bull puppies are given equal treatment.
Needless to say, this has been opposed by many, including those who own and love these dogs. Now honestly, and again – speaking on a personal note – I can say that there is nothing I could imagine NOT doing to save the life of my best friend, even a dog, if authorities came to kill him for his breed. And much as I respect the rule of law, laws like those in Denver, as far as I am concerned should not be followed, because they are a crime perpetrated by the state and violating universal jurisdiction and with unjustified taking of life.
Here, I get attacked by a big mean pit bull at the animal shelter:
But why would a government go to such extreme measures as to destroy dogs of a certain breed, even if they never attacked anyone? Pits get a bad rap. Atrocities like Michael Vick’s don’t help. Part of the problem is they do indeed have very strong jaws and they are quite muscular. A group of them could take down most people and even a single one could badly injure or kill a child. (then again, so could many people.) Pit bulls individuals, just like any other dog. Their personalities are not dictated entirely by their breed, but they tend to be inquisitive, very affectionate, curious and extremely eager to please. Like most dogs they are very social, but pitbulls tend to love people even more than most breedsBut that is part of the problem. Such social animals really do not do well when neglected and denied the affection and interaction they deserve. Due to their eagerness to please and their large powerful jaws, they have become very popular amongst the gangs, drug dealers and dog fighters. They are common amongst violent, idiotic guys who think they are tough. The kind of people who you see being arrested on cops, not wearing a shirt and acting like complete idiots. Lowlife scum loves the pit because they try so hard to please, even if it means fighting others and dying. They are abused, mistreated, neglected and killed like no other breed.
As someone who does a lot of volunteer work with stray and abandoned dogs (my other passion besides science), I can personally say that pit bull terriers are about the most common type of stray dog and they are, at times, very hard to get adopted because of their reputation. They are powerful, and thus when they first come into a shelter, one needs to be cautious. But those which have not suffered at the hands of lowlife humans are often the most friendly dogs around. Some pitbulls are shy, if you yell at them they cower. Other pitbulls are so fantastically happy to meet anyone they’ll jump on your lap and give a big sloppy lick. One of my late dog Timmy’s best friends was Nola, a young pitbull who was gentle and loved to play with him.
Because of their strength and commitment, pit bulls are commonly used for illegal and … absolutely atrocious dogfighting. This has sadly come into the news once again when Michael Vick was charged with illegal dog fighting. This man… as far as I am concerned, there is no torture so brutal and barbaric as to be just for Vick. It’s probably good that I am not the judge in his case, because I can’t think of any punishments that wouldn’t be unconstitutional under the whole “cruel and unusual” restriction. People like Vick fought dogs often to the death. They would starve and torture the animals to make them aggressive. Those which survived fights were often beaten to death, drown or electrocuted. Vick’s dogs may not be put down, because the years of torture and abuse have left these poor dogs so traumatized or anguished, that their stability cannot be assured. Mister Vick, however will almost certainly live… which is really too bad. Because someone as worthless as him would be small price to pay, to make an example that would possibly help stop this. (such as burning alive on TV as an example to those who might consider dog fighting as a good sport to get involved with.)
Well obviously, and in full disclosure, the idea of hurting dogs is something that I am not exactly objective and scientific about. But one thing that is relevant about it: Singling out a single dog breed for destruction, without evaluating whether all individuals are aggressive or unsafe is some very very bad science. Denver and other areas, as far as I am concerned should not be considered legitimate governing bodies, because of the unacceptable policies and actions they have taken. In other words, if one failed to get the law overturned by all other means, it would be considered, if necessary to topple the government by force. But I don’t encourage that. I’m just saying if that had to be done, IMHO it would be okay. But that’s not saying you should do it, because I’m sure as hell not the most objective authority on this. But that’s a moot point since it would not help anyway. And those like Vick, as far as I am concerned, are far less deserving of life than any of the dogs he tortured.
This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 29th, 2007 at 9:47 pm and is filed under Bad Science, Culture, Politics, media. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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August 30th, 2007 at 10:57 am
i love dogs too
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August 30th, 2007 at 2:10 pm
The Boulder animal control regulations, http://www.bouldercolorado.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1856&Itemid=655 , don’t say anything about pit bulls, but have sections on agressive animals and fighting/betting with animals. However, they have a bunch of sections protecting a disease carrying rodent – the prairie dog. The sections on dog ownership, an owner is described as being a “guardian”, is a curious bit of legalese.
PS: my Great Pyrennes could squish your pit bull if he wasn’t such a gentle giant : )
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August 30th, 2007 at 6:53 pm
I wrote about this a couple of years ago, when Toronto was debating banning Pit Bulls: Dog Bite Statistics.
One of the comments spawned by that article went like this:“Don’t get me wrong I love animals. But there’s just an image I get of a pit bull named Killer, governed by an owner named Bubba…not enough chainlink fence in the world for me to place between me & mine when it comes to this type of breed.”
My response:“Do you think that if Bubba was not allowed to own a Pit Bull, whatever dog he did choose to own would be any safer to be around? The very point I’m trying to make is the problem is not with Killer. The problem is with Bubba. If Killer was prohibited by law from being a Pit Bull, he would be a Rottweiler, or a Doberman. In fact, twenty years ago, he would have been a Rottweiler. Thirty years ago he would have been a Doberman, and twenty years from now, he’ll be some other breed of dog. But he’ll be just as dangerous, because he’ll still be owned by Bubba.”
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August 30th, 2007 at 7:14 pm
Exactly. A Rottweiler? Ban those? A Doberman? Ban those? A German Sheppard? I’ve been with many of dogs of all those breeds and many have been wonderful. What do you do? Ban them all until all that is not sentenced to death is a miniature poodle?
I don’t mean to start with the “class-est” style, but the shelters I’ve done volunteer stuff at: it seems like the inner cities and such are really a nasty place for these poor animals. Bubba’s the problem not the pit.
Seriously, if you want a dog to make you look tough, don’t get a dog. If you take yourself too seriously to get on the floor and roll around with a dog, don’t get a dog. If you think you’re too tough to talk to the dog in a stupid voice and get big sloppy licks on your face, don’t get a dog. If you think you’d be a pansy if you try to comfort a dog if it runs under a table when it hears thunder, don’t get a dog. If you think there’s something uncool or unmanly about rubbing a dog’s belly, don’t get a dog.
Dogs are social animals and the domestic dog was breed to love humans and thrive on companionship. If you show a dog that they matter to you they will be your friend for life and want nothing more than the feeling of knowing they did something to please their best friend..
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September 3rd, 2007 at 2:07 pm
Furthermore, if they’re going to ban some dog breeds for being dangerous, why not ban all dangerous dog breeds? (http://www.dogbitelaw.com/breeds-causing-DBRFs.pdf)
Oh, what’s that? You don’t want to ban the cute, adorable Huskies, Malamutes, and Chow Chows? Hmm… I think someone bias is showing.
And how do these bans work? Do they DNA test the dogs? Or do they just kill the dogs that look like certain breeds?
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September 3rd, 2007 at 5:13 pm
Bubba ain’t listening, men. He ain’t gon red this and he don like his dog, his family or hisself. He’s a fearful, messed up human variant. We can’t talk him right and we can’t kill him. You can hit these guys and they come back like DeNiro. I wonder how we could get their attention?
If society takes away the right to own a pet, any pet, after a single conviction of abuse or irresponsible ownership and enforces it, that could work. But who is going to pay? Thats the rub. The cops are flat out on “serious” crime. I wonder if a reasonable estimate of the cost is knowable? Cost to enforce exiting law vs. cost not to.
**That was the man, Buck devined, the next tormentor…**
-Call of the Wild, Jack London
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August 5th, 2010 at 1:47 pm
#1 most aggressive and lethal dogs
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August 5th, 2010 at 2:39 pm
dog attorney said:
Without which you’d be out of business, ambulance chaser.
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September 27th, 2010 at 12:59 pm
DV82XL said:
Without a lot of freak accidents, a lot of people would be out of business.
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