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Fear of Pit Bulls and Breed Specific Legislation

My neighbor owns a pit bull. She knows I love dogs, and when she asked me to walk hers while she was on a short vacation, I hesitated. Walking into a home without the homeowner being present and being greeted by a pit bull scared me. When I first met Sulu, I didn’t know he was a pit bull. I just saw this big strong sweetheart.

I truly love Sulu. It wasn’t his reputation that frightened me. It was the reputation of all pit bulls. Now, I know I’m smarter than that. Caution is good, but this is a sweet dog, raised by a loving responsible owner. The only thing I truly had to fear was being slobbered on.

It’s a shame that many people fear pit bulls. Because of this fear some local governments have enacted breed-specific legislation that would ban the possession of pit bulls.  Places like Denver in CO, Prince George’s County in MD, Dodge City in KS have enacted breed-specific legislation that ban the possession of pit bulls. Montana, Oregon, and Hawaii are considering statewide bans.  

The Center for Disease Control states on its web site that irresponsible owners, not breed, are the chief cause of dog bites. The Humane Society of the United States agrees with the CDC. “Pit bulls are the fad ‘dangerous dogs’ right now, but if they are banned, reckless people will simply find another breed,” says Adam Goldfarb of HSUS. HSUS also notes that in cities where pit bulls have been banned, there has not been a dramatic decrease in attacks.

It is important to let your local congressmen know that you are against breed-specific ban legislation.

Readers Comments:

  • 9/16/2009 9:09 PM Daniela Caride wrote:
    The problem is not the breed. It’s the irresponsible owner. Well said! www.TheDailyTail.com.
  • 9/17/2009 5:03 PM June Collins wrote:
    Pit Bulls are not bad dogs. it is the people who raise them. A Vet told me a long time ago regarding pitbulls: Names of animals also denote the caliber of person they are. You name a dog maneater, satan, jaws, killer, etc. What type of person are they? They are not my favorite breed; however, they are not a bad dog.
     
  • 9/18/2009 3:25 PM Celia wrote:
    Great article! It was the same with me; I had to meet a pit bull before I was able to get the stereotypes out of my head. It’s sad that even pet lovers like us are affected so heavily by misinformation about a breed .
    9/1/2009 10:07 PM Danielle Smith wrote:
    If only everybody could experience the joy of being around a great Pit to see just how smart, loyal, and loving they are! I have been around many! They are very smart dogs; they do need to be trained but what dog doesn’t?  I love big huge dogs and I am a very small girl, 18 and less than 100 lbs. Big dogs like that do not intimidate me at all! They could easily hurt me, but I know how to handle them and have always been good with dogs.  So with the right owner,  pit bulls are not dangerous dogs. Any dog can be vicious if not properly trained!–by Danielle Smith
     
  • 9/24/2009 7:32 AM Rebecca wrote:
    I think your point about “it’s the reputation of all pit bulls” is a point well made. I grew up with a Doberman – an equally potentially “dangerous” breed. And I have absolutely no fear whatsoever of any Dobermans. I should probably be a little more cautious! But I initially was very, very scared around Pits, simply because of of their “reputation.” It’s easy to generalize fear just as easy as it is to generalize non-fear – look how many individual small breed dogs are dangerous and how many larger breed dogs wouldn’t hurt a fly. We all have our own frameworks that we are working from – some are based on real fear (being small and knocked down by a 200 lb dog) and some are based on misinformation.–Rebecca of www.thephillydog.com.
    10/3/2009 8:42 AM Paula Terifaj wrote:
    Denver, CO is a tragic example of why breed discrimination – enforced by fearful ignorant city leaders – is not only a failure but has devastating consequences to responsible dog owners. In cities that have voted for breed bans, citizens are given two choices: move or else! DenverKillsDogs.com is dedicated to stopping the cancerous spread of fear based legislation. WAKE UP America – it’s time to fight for our freedom again!–Paula Terifaj
     
  • 10/12/2009 2:27 AM Misti – Natural Flea Control wrote:
    I’m a BIG lover of animals, especially dogs, but I will admit that when I was younger the only breed of dog I feared was the pit bull. Now that I’m older, though, I don’t fear them, and I think I only feared them then because they looked mean.
    Truth be told, any breed of dog can bite or be mean, and they do it because they’re protecting their home and owners, so I say it’s natural. That said, I don’t think any breed of dog should be banned, because as I said, they will all bite if they fear their home and/or owners are in trouble.

    • December 15th, 2009 | Category: Pet Views

    1 comment to Fear of Pit Bulls and Breed Specific Legislation

    • selwyn marock
      December 16th, 2009 at 6:44 AM

      The politicos create the fear with the help of the media.Many of these failing politicos do not even know what a pitbull looks like.They generally are incapable of handling real and more important issues.so they need to create a law that is manageable and impress their voters “Look Voters I am saving you from this pitbull pandemic these dogs are forming packs and going after our little children and our little old ladies” Then they start going after the law-abiding citizens and their family-pets,not the dog-fighting rings run by criminals that is far too Dangerous.Hence BSL fails once again.

      smarock10@yahoo.com

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