Pit-Bulls: Dead or alive

Imagine a police officer arriving at your door and asking you what breed of dog you own? Your first thought might be that someone made a complaint or your dog got loose and is having a grand old time digging holes around the neighborhood. The last thing you would expect is that your response could mean the life or death of your dog. Answer wrong and your puppy (yep even puppies) could be carted away to a shelter eventually to be euthanized, because a new law now makes it illegal to own a pit bull in your town. This has and does happen in many cities across America.

An estimated 1 million pit bulls are euthanized every year in America. To give you the standard visual perspective, that is over 19 Yankee stadiums during the World Series (in other words filled to the brim). Pits are now the most numerous breed in America and occupy around 60% of all dogs in the pound (an old term but aesthetically appropriate in my opinion).

Pit bulls have become feared in modern times and are in no small part due to the news and its inaccurate portrayal of the breed. With headlines like the “Viscous Dog Attacks” and “Killer Pit bull!” the media would have you believe we are under attack by wild predators; circling our homes just waiting for the moment to strike. Often times headlines like these manifest from a non-event that would barely break you’re stride had you seen it in person. Add to this that dogs cannot tell their side of the story and that the facts of the event are often inconsistent and vague therefore malleable by ambitious journalists. They present the perfect opportunity for the media to grab a quick and captivating headline. These stories mislead the public with incredibly rare and exaggerated stories which are grossly inaccurate statistically, historically, and in reality. The truly horrific stories are usually due to the dog’s upbringing in the dog fighting world and most of these cases involve dog-on-dog aggression, NOT dog to human. That can be understood when look at the trainer with scrutiny. If you beat and mutilate a child and train them to be cruel to other humans there is a good chance they will grow up to be an atrocious adult. Dogs are no different.

The truth is that the pit bull breed is often no more at fault then the victim of the attack. The breed is naturally eager to please and goes to the extremes to achieve this. That in pair with their tolerance for pain and their size to strength ratio makes them the perfect gladiator for the dog fighting world. We don’t euthanize the biggest and strongest of humans just because they have the potential to harm. So does it make sense to cast away an entire breed because a select few humans exploit their natural abilities for profit? Given these unfortunate circumstances the pit bull (once called “America’s dog” and the “nanny dog” because it was incredibly good with children) is now the unwanted monster of the pet world.

I am not posting this to advocate changing the laws, even though they are obviously ludacris in some cities and you should check with local regulations prior to adapting, or increasing penalties for dog fighting (again, something I would love to see), but rather to spread the word that pit bulls are not beasts to be avoided but, happy, loving, loyal, dogs in desperate need of adaption.

So if you are in the market for a new dog please at least consider a pit bull. Be responsible, do some research, ask around, and go see a few before settling on a breed. You won’t regret it. That’s a promise.

On a side note, I hope you also consider adapting from a kill shelter (aka pound) for obvious reasons. Most of these dogs are there due to no fault of their own and have no behavioral problems. They are not as simple-minded ad you would think. When you take a dog out of a shelter they are aware you have lifted them out of a wretched place and are grateful. That gratitude is apparent and immeasurable and will last a lifetime. Don’t let that stop you from asking questions while you are there no matter what breed you get and be honest with the staff. They will likely try and pair you with the perfect companion given your lifestyle.

Below are some good websites and articles for more info if you are interested. Most of my stats and info came from them though there are dozens, maybe hundreds like them. They have abundant statistics. They analyze the situation more thoroughly, and do a better job of explaining the circumstances at length with facts. And some are just adorable…

http://saveabullmn.org/pit-bulls-and-euthanasia-rates/
http://www.realpitbull.com/reality.html
http://www.globalanimal.org/2015/07/10/pit-bull-discrimination-a-people-problem/?gclid=CNeZ_rTI49QCFZGEswodX9AC7Q
http://cute.barkpost.com/good/most-common-breeds-in-shelters-2015/
http://dogtime.com/trending/30095-5-pit-bulls-saved-owners-lives
http://bestfriends.org/resources/pit-bull-facts-and-myths

Forgive the roughness of this post. I am new to Steemit, but wanted to say this now.
The pictures above were found on google. The ones below are mine.

This is Maggie. Since this picture she has passed away of natural causes. The little one is my sisters dog Aries. She is still with us.