A Pit Bull Again

[WreckitWhippet]

http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2009/10...dex_html?page=1

A pit bull...again

Date published: 10/2/2009

ANOTHER vicious pit-bull attack, another life lost. This time it was an Orange County toddler, a 23-month-old little girl who wandered too close to a chained dog and paid--with her life.

In May, a 3-year-old Culpeper boy and his grandmother were mauled by two pit bulls loose in their neighborhood. In 2008, a Fairview Beach toddler sustained serious facial wounds when he approached a neighbor's chained pit bull. In 2005, 86-year-old Dorothy Sullivan of Partlow was killed in her own yard, along with her little dog, by a neighbor's pit bulls.

Serious charges, these, against a type of dog many claim is loyal, calm, and an excellent family pet. What's a responsible society to do? Is it time to ban the breed?

"Pit bull" is a generic term that refers to a dog type rather than to a recognized breed. Of late, they have been overbred, in many cases by people involved in dog-fighting. The result is poor temperaments in some pits; when combined with irresponsible owners and/or a general ignorance of canine behavior the consequences can be devastating.

For many people, the answer is simple: Ban the breed. But one of the problems with that is in defining terms. Is it fair to ban any short-coated, stocky, broad-headed, short-muzzled, pit-bull-type dog, regardless of temperament or history? Denver has tried. So have Prince George's County, Md., and the United Kingdom.

Denver's 20-year-old ban on pit bulls has had no impact on dog bites, according to the National Canine Research Council. Prince George's County spends more than half a million dollars every two years on its pit bull ban, says the American Bar Association, with little effect. Likewise, the 18-year proscription against pit bulls in the UK has failed to reduce dog attacks, leading the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals to call for an end to the ban in favor of more effective legislation.

What might that be?

The NCRC studied fatal dog attacks in 2006 and found these commonalities:

97 percent of owners of the dogs involved did not spay or neuter their animals;

84 percent abused, neglected, or chained their dogs;

78 percent of the dogs were not pets--they were guard, breeding, or yard dogs.

The NCRC makes the point that any dog left chained and unsocialized, living separate from the "family pack," is a potential threat. They may be "resident dogs" but they are not psychologically integrated "family pets." Likewise, The Humane Society's John Goodwin says we modern humans are simply ignorant of canine behavior--for example, the impact of chaining.

Targeting owners, then, rather than specific breed types is a more logical--and effective--way to combat dog attacks. In the last two years, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, has seen a 56 percent decline in aggressive-dog incidents and a 21 percent decline in bites. How? With hefty fines for bad behavior: $350 for one dog bite; $750 if the victim requires medical treatment; and a $250 fine for dog-on-dog attacks or failure to license a dog.

Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minn., have taken an even more proactive approach, enacting strong legislation that puts the onus on owners of "dangerous dogs" and "potentially dangerous dogs" (often nominated for the honor by neighbors) to follow rules for secure fencing and muzzling. Anyone charged more than once with mistreating a dog is banned from owning another one. Along with dog-ownership classes and a "community policing" style of animal control, these measures have dramatically reduced dog bites.

Man's best friend, when irresponsibly bred, chained, unsocialized, allowed to roam, or used for fighting, poses a danger. It's time for local officials to consider tough new laws outlawing chaining, allowing identification of potentially dangerous dogs, and targeting poor ownership practices. Dogs play a huge role in our culture--let's not let it be that of a villain.

[APBT]

A good article, not just bashing the breed.

[Jimmay]

love it!!!!!

[Guest rhapsodical78]

Wow. Awesome article.