I've got to rant. Hopefully I won't scare anyone away from here. Just know that I take this very seriously, and I don't mean to offend anyone during this rant. But I will defend my dog and her kind til the death.
Michael Vick has been indicted by a grand jury on illegal dogfighting charges. While this makes me insanely happy that he might actually pay for his actions, I can't help but get riled up knowing what he's done to those dogs. The bodies of 7 dogs were dug up in the yard of the property he owns.
Tiger is an American Pit Bull Terrier/American Staffordshire Terrier mix. AmStaff's are essentially the "show dog" version of the APBT. The AKC doesn't recognize the ABPT, but does recognize the AmStaff. She's a pit bull. She looks like a pit bull, I can't pass her off as anything else. And if it wasn't for the extreme ignorance of most of this country, I wouldn't want to pass her off as something else. But too many ppl think "OMG How could you own a pit bull?? They're evil and will turn on your without wanring and eat children!" Insurance companies sometimes won't give you homeowners insurance if you have a pit bull.
Guess what people. It's a bunch of shit. Historically, any pit bull that attacked a human was culled (killed) immediately. In England, the AmStaff is known as the Nanny dog. Know why? Because these breeds are so incredibly loyal to their owners they will do anything to please them. They often slept in bed with children to protect them from harm. Sounds real vicious.
It wasn't until the past hundred years or so, that people started screwing things up. People who buy a dog, but don't want them to live in the house. So they chain them to a tree in the backyard and throw food at it every so often. Ever seen those Animal Cops shows on Animal Planet? Where dogs are so skinny they can barely stand? Where they have no food or shelter or clean water? THAT is the reason the pit bull has gotten a bad name. If you're never exposed to good people, and are only around people who mistreat you for youe entire life, would you be very friendly? Especially if you add in that you'd be starving and emaciated. You know what breaks my heart even more? Sometimes on those shows, the dogs are so wonderful, just stuck in a bad situation, that their whole body wiggles back and forth and they smile at the cops who are there to rescue them. Even though they've been mistreated their whole lives, and should be bitter and tough to handle, they just want some love and attention. I mean, does this face look like a killer?? :o)
Pit bulls are inherently dog aggressive. It's in their genes. I can not deny that. But they are NOT, I repeat NOT, inherently people aggressive. Are there documented cases of pit bull attacks? Yes. Are there documented cases of other breeds of dogs attacking? ABSOLUTELY! Remember a year or two ago when a woman was attacked by her pet dog and had to have the first ever face transplant surgery? Guess what breed that was? LABRADOR. Yup, you heard me. Labrador. The dog that every family wants.
Half of the problem is breed identification. People see a thick dog with a blocky head and automatically say "pit bull". If that's true, then try this game. If you can pick out the pit bull within 5 tries I appluad you.
Find the Pit Bull
Not all pit bulls are dog aggressive. Just like not all labs attack people. It's all in how the dog was raised by it's owners. If given a loving home, lots of attention (AND DISCIPLINE), it can do wonderfully. Just look at Tiger! She's the biggest mush you've ever met in your life. She's never met a stranger she didn't like, and she's fantastic with little babies. Just lays beneath them as if she knows she's there to protect them and love them.
Ok, this rant got a little long and off track. But I can only hope that I got through to someone somewhere reading this. That maybe the next time they see a pretty "pit bull" walking proudly down the street with their owner, that they'll ask if they can pet them. I can almost guarantee that they'll be rewarded with big sloppy kisses. :o)
If you're interested in learning more about pit bulls and the wonderful pets they can be, check out these sites.
Understand-a-bull
PBRC.net
The Unexpected Pit Bull
These are just cute videos of just how gentle pit bulls can be.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=m2OC5Z1Fii8
http://youtube.com/watch?v=7_PvlZVKLyE
http://youtube.com/watch?v=FDk3FPZLzA4
http://youtube.com/watch?v=3naWRGz5OQU
And this one I just like cuz it's a photomontage of pits doing fun things.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=FDk3FPZLzA4
If you have no idea what I'm talking about with Michael Vick and the dog fighting, here are some links to new articles. Read some of them and the details within, and tell me if you wouldn't get riled up by his actions too.
NFL.com
SI.com story
Yahoo News Story
Ugly Details of Vick's Indictment
Michael Vick has been indicted by a grand jury on illegal dogfighting charges. While this makes me insanely happy that he might actually pay for his actions, I can't help but get riled up knowing what he's done to those dogs. The bodies of 7 dogs were dug up in the yard of the property he owns.
Tiger is an American Pit Bull Terrier/American Staffordshire Terrier mix. AmStaff's are essentially the "show dog" version of the APBT. The AKC doesn't recognize the ABPT, but does recognize the AmStaff. She's a pit bull. She looks like a pit bull, I can't pass her off as anything else. And if it wasn't for the extreme ignorance of most of this country, I wouldn't want to pass her off as something else. But too many ppl think "OMG How could you own a pit bull?? They're evil and will turn on your without wanring and eat children!" Insurance companies sometimes won't give you homeowners insurance if you have a pit bull.
Guess what people. It's a bunch of shit. Historically, any pit bull that attacked a human was culled (killed) immediately. In England, the AmStaff is known as the Nanny dog. Know why? Because these breeds are so incredibly loyal to their owners they will do anything to please them. They often slept in bed with children to protect them from harm. Sounds real vicious.
It wasn't until the past hundred years or so, that people started screwing things up. People who buy a dog, but don't want them to live in the house. So they chain them to a tree in the backyard and throw food at it every so often. Ever seen those Animal Cops shows on Animal Planet? Where dogs are so skinny they can barely stand? Where they have no food or shelter or clean water? THAT is the reason the pit bull has gotten a bad name. If you're never exposed to good people, and are only around people who mistreat you for youe entire life, would you be very friendly? Especially if you add in that you'd be starving and emaciated. You know what breaks my heart even more? Sometimes on those shows, the dogs are so wonderful, just stuck in a bad situation, that their whole body wiggles back and forth and they smile at the cops who are there to rescue them. Even though they've been mistreated their whole lives, and should be bitter and tough to handle, they just want some love and attention. I mean, does this face look like a killer?? :o)
Pit bulls are inherently dog aggressive. It's in their genes. I can not deny that. But they are NOT, I repeat NOT, inherently people aggressive. Are there documented cases of pit bull attacks? Yes. Are there documented cases of other breeds of dogs attacking? ABSOLUTELY! Remember a year or two ago when a woman was attacked by her pet dog and had to have the first ever face transplant surgery? Guess what breed that was? LABRADOR. Yup, you heard me. Labrador. The dog that every family wants.
Half of the problem is breed identification. People see a thick dog with a blocky head and automatically say "pit bull". If that's true, then try this game. If you can pick out the pit bull within 5 tries I appluad you.
Find the Pit Bull
Not all pit bulls are dog aggressive. Just like not all labs attack people. It's all in how the dog was raised by it's owners. If given a loving home, lots of attention (AND DISCIPLINE), it can do wonderfully. Just look at Tiger! She's the biggest mush you've ever met in your life. She's never met a stranger she didn't like, and she's fantastic with little babies. Just lays beneath them as if she knows she's there to protect them and love them.
Ok, this rant got a little long and off track. But I can only hope that I got through to someone somewhere reading this. That maybe the next time they see a pretty "pit bull" walking proudly down the street with their owner, that they'll ask if they can pet them. I can almost guarantee that they'll be rewarded with big sloppy kisses. :o)
If you're interested in learning more about pit bulls and the wonderful pets they can be, check out these sites.
Understand-a-bull
PBRC.net
The Unexpected Pit Bull
These are just cute videos of just how gentle pit bulls can be.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=m2OC5Z1Fii8
http://youtube.com/watch?v=7_PvlZVKLyE
http://youtube.com/watch?v=FDk3FPZLzA4
http://youtube.com/watch?v=3naWRGz5OQU
And this one I just like cuz it's a photomontage of pits doing fun things.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=FDk3FPZLzA4
If you have no idea what I'm talking about with Michael Vick and the dog fighting, here are some links to new articles. Read some of them and the details within, and tell me if you wouldn't get riled up by his actions too.
NFL.com
SI.com story
Yahoo News Story
Ugly Details of Vick's Indictment
12 comments:
Oh man- I don't know this whole story- but I do understand the misconceptions! Just like your pit bull- we have a Shar Pei- who is ALSO supposed to be agressive and mean and attack for no reason! Gee's he is a "mushy baby" who jumps at any noise and runs away from his own shaddow! He's a "soft lovable ball" who drools! hee hee- and yes it's all how you "bring them up"! Your woofy is tooo cute
HUGS AND MORE HUGS
Here, they dont do anything FOR a pitbull. If its caught out and about, collar or not, it is put down On the spot. Cops do not call animal control, they shoot them. Ive seen THAT with mine own two eyes.
I gave away my pit *her name was Precious* just becuase of the misconception of pitbulls and I was afraid she would get shot here. They do not care here, if it looks like a pit, its getting shot.
There are huge fighting rings here too. There was a breeder about 3 blocks from my old house, who constantly had new dogs out in his yard. And some pretty beat up ones too. No one ever has checked into him, but its obvious what he does with his dogs.
My granddaughter has a English Bull Dog, the irony is she moved to GA to work as a pharmacist manager, and everyone is just taken with her dog. GA tech's mascot is the same breed. This dog loves my grandchildren and play with them. He is such a pushover, and loves attention. She purchased him from a family that did not mistreat him, but also did not give him his space. They had too many dogs. My granddaughter is like you a strong animal lover. I have watched Animal Planet and know where you are coming from. Is this man right in the head? All he has in his favor and he has risked everything for mistreating and using dogs to fight. I am not a strong animal lover, but I agree he should be hung up by his, you know what, the way they hung and killed those dogs. So talk all you want too. This is your blog, so voice your opinion. Her dog is registered & she has membership in the GA branch. Oh by the way, she takes so much care of him and he loves it. Sorry, I didn't mean to get on my bandwagon. But I detest anyone who mistreats another and I don't care who they are. SO Go Girl! Speak out for your dog because he cannot.
I know what you are feeling about the issue. It's lovely the work you make with dogs, rescuing them. It's a wonderful example.
Regardless of the breed of the dog, no dog attacks without a reason and without being trained to do that. That's why they have been around us for thousands of years. So breed are more useful for some things than others. But there was no breed develop to attack humans for the sake of it. It would just simply be dangerous for the owner.
It's terrible what that man was doing and he deserves to serve a sentence, because he not only was mistreating the dogs, he was putting people around those dogs at risk. Recently in Ireland a dog attack a little girl, and fortunately and uncle and another man manage to be around and get the dog quick from the little girl before it did great damage to her. The police were looking for the dog because they are sure the dog is used for dog fighting, nobody knows the dog around the area. It was one of those breeds supposed to be dangerous. But the only reason to believe it attacked the girl is because it was used for dog fighting, if it would have been a normal pet, everyone will know the dog and surely it would have not attacked her.
People like that man, are not only a danger for dogs they are a danger for people because the dog only makes what he is trained to do. No more no less.
And you're so right to write about this. Best wishes. :O)
Vicks and all his buddies are stupid a-holes. That 'bout sums it up. I went to the "find the pit" site, and guess what? I got it first shot. Know why? It's the spitting image of my dog Ginger, who's mostly pit and partly Jack Russell. Ginger is the sweetest lovingest dog I've ever owned. Everyone loves her. Most people don't know she's a pit because she's smallish and she doesn't look like the "typical" pit that people think of (like Tiger). She doesn't like cats (but neither did my Airedale) but she loves to play with the pit bull down the street (Snoopy). He humps her and she runs away from him and makes him chase her. She's an escape artist and whenever she gets out, I know where she is... playing with Snoopy. She even snuck her favorite toy down and played chase with him. MY dog is a wonderful loving dog because we raised her that way.
It's just the pit bull's turn at being abused and exploited and labeled "bad", just like Rottweilers, Shar Peis, Chows and Airedales. I helped rescue a very aggressive Great Dane and I've been attacked and bitten by a Pomeranian. It's all how they're brought up.
Vicks is a jerk and I hope they throw him out of the NFL and directly into jail.
Thank you for posting this. I breed and raise shih-tzus (7-15 pounds) BUT I also foster pit bulls for the Buster Foundation (a not-for-profit Pit Bull rescue here in Michigan). I currently have 7 shih tzus and 7 pits (14 months, 5 months recovering from a broken leg, 14 weeks & 4-9 week puppies), along with a cat and a gecko. There is no inherently bad breeds, but there are some inherently bad owners. The too numerous to count misconceptions surrounding pits are awful. The Michigan humane society euthanizes anything that may even resemble a pit. Our foster pits run with the shihs (with supervision) without issue, most are sorely in need socialization and love. Please continue on your mission to educate about these awesome gentle giants. GIANT HUGZ!
Any dog can be trained to be mean. I had fostered a stray in dec of '06 and she was a pit mix. She was a total sweetheart. She was 6 months old. and she LOVED my son who is 5. they would roll around on the floor for hours. I was more worried my son would hurt her than vice versa. he accidentally stepped on her tail, she didn't do a thing not even bark. that sweet lil girl wouldnt hurt a fly. I miss her so much.
I agree with you!
I am founder of a national nonprofit organization called Dogs Deserve Better, which works for dogs living on chains.
Most of the pits at Vicks house were short-chained, which serves to make them even more aggressive and looking to fight.
During our Chain Off two weeks ago we had 15 people living chained to doghouses in Atlanta for 30 hours. Not one tv station could be bothered to come out and interview us...
Ironically, less than two weeks later, a 5 year old child with Down's Syndrome was attacked and killed by a chained dog in Atlanta. At the very same time, the indictment came out against Michael Vick.
It's time that ALL STATES create and ENFORCE laws against chaining dogs. Not only is it more humane for the dogs, but it will also put a dent in dogfighting and save children's lives.
Tammy S. Grimes
I agree. Anyone associated with any type of cruelty should be prosecuted to the fullest. It makes me so sick to see any animal harmed or mistreated. I type this with my Dachshund baby on my lap. We had a pitbull next door. Yes, she had the aggressive tendencies but it was towards strangers coming up the driveway. She would bark to alert her "mother" someone was there. She got to know us & she started doing to same for us. If anyone ever got close enough to her, she would lick them to death! A few idiots have given this beautiful breed a bum rap.
Thank you for your support of a wonderful breed of dog. I have had 3 APBT & 2 Am Staff. and ALL have been absolutely wonderful dogs. My current companion is a Pit Bull, Fox terrier mix that weighs in at around 80 pounds (he's still a puppy, only 1 yr. old) who adores people... he is definitely a people puppy.
I agree with you - most of the time the problem lies with dog-owner NOT the dog! People lot Vick shoulnd;t be allowed to have animals of any kind! I hope they lock him up and throw away the key!!! We have 3 pure-bred German Shepherds and I think they're the greatest dogs ever! We also have a 3-month old baby girl and those dogs adore her. None of our dogs become people aggressive unless the person is silly enough to jump over our 5.5 ft rock wall while we aren't outside and is someone whom they have never met. The same goes for other-dog aggression - as long as the animal isn't "trespassing" our dogs could care less. Now, our dogs don't live in the house as my allergies couldn't handle it (nor could my house with 300 lbs of dog running through it), but they have lots of shade trees, their own swimming pool and multiple water tubs and hot, or stormy, or cold, or just because days, they relax in the garage - cuddling with our kitty cat.
I am a meter reader. I have been attacked and bit in different degrees from warning bites to those where I needed immediate medical attention. Most of my hard bites that didn't require attention came from... are you ready? Collies!! You can't read a collie. Their inner feelings are not readily shown on the outside. Unlike Pits, Dobies, Rots, Labs, etc. You can read those dogs. The worst bite was from a bishon frise that tore a chunk out of my leg through three pairs of pants! When the owner saw the blood on her dog she thought I beat her dog. I was bit in the side by a lab-cocker mix because I got too close to his dish - under my electric meter. In most states it is in violation of the leash law to tie or contain a dog in the same area as utility items (meters, connection boxes, ground-placed transformers). If you feel your dog is an issue for the meter reader, give them your phone number, we will call the day before. I leave magnets on the meters. When I read it I put the magnet right side up so the homeowner knows the dog can go out again. I get along with the "dangerous" breeds for the most part because it's an attitude thing, if a dog senses you are bad it will go into protector mode. But there is no such thing as a dog that won't bite, unless he's made of cardboard. Not to stereotype, but the worst dogs are at the nastiest places and also at the places that are as "perfect" as they can be. Dogs that are outside with children are nasty, even if the month before they were licking my face. Children belong indoors when a stranger (meter reader, mailcarrier, etc) show up at their home, for everyone's safety. A dog is a product of their environment and are not bad because they are a certain breed. That would be like saying all people who are polish are dumb (only I am, lol). And lastly, if you must pet an unfamiliar dog keep your fingers together in case of a bite and don't bend at the knees but at the waist so the dog doesn't have easy access to the face. (Sorry to ramble, but I wholeheartedly agree with you on this one!)
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