Where the pit bull is concerned, a paradigm shift is badly needed. There is nothing wrong with the much maligned pit bull as a dog and there absolutely nothing wrong with the much maligned pit bull that a little good public relations won't fix. We have been fed so much garbage about them for so long by ignorant journalists, that we have forgotten what they really are. They are just dogs. Not vicious, aggressive, man-eating animals; just dogs. Like the desperately abused pit bull above, the results of our myopic vision of the breed has resulted in wretched suffering for so many at the hands of idiots who think that this version of torture makes them something they will never be; interesting and desirable. We owe these dogs a huge debt for what we have done to them.
Just like the border collie is pre-disposed as a working dog and can be trained as such, the pit bull can be taught aggression. But what happens if you raise it with love and teach it respect, manners and obedience? Then just like any other breed, you will have a cherished, forever pet that is a joy to own, and I've known more than one pit bull that fits the category. Chally-dog and Howdy were good friends of mine and I was blessed to know them.
The pit bull has been portrayed by the ignorant media as a bad actor, so every human bad actor with insufficient self-esteem got one in a vain attempt to prove themselves. What if that same ignorant media only ran stories of pit bulls as much-loved family pets? What if the ignorant media only ran stories about the results of dog-fighting prosecutions without mentioning the breed?
It's time for a little redemption and it starts with you and me. We can stop jurisdictions from banning them by contacting our representative about breed-specific legislation and by voting. We can stop insurance companies from charging a higher premium because of them by cancelling our policies. We can stop the ignorant media from portraying them as evil by responsibly owning them. And we can stop the miserable suffering of these beautiful dogs at the hands of idiots by changing the way we think about them.
Friday, June 5, 2009
Paradigm shift
Where the pit bull is concerned, a paradigm shift is badly needed. There is nothing wrong with the much maligned pit bull as a dog and there absolutely nothing wrong with the much maligned pit bull that a little good public relations won't fix. We have been fed so much garbage about them for so long by ignorant journalists, that we have forgotten what they really are. They are just dogs. Not vicious, aggressive, man-eating animals; just dogs. Like the desperately abused pit bull above, the results of our myopic vision of the breed has resulted in wretched suffering for so many at the hands of idiots who think that this version of torture makes them something they will never be; interesting and desirable. We owe these dogs a huge debt for what we have done to them.
Just like the border collie is pre-disposed as a working dog and can be trained as such, the pit bull can be taught aggression. But what happens if you raise it with love and teach it respect, manners and obedience? Then just like any other breed, you will have a cherished, forever pet that is a joy to own, and I've known more than one pit bull that fits the category. Chally-dog and Howdy were good friends of mine and I was blessed to know them.
The pit bull has been portrayed by the ignorant media as a bad actor, so every human bad actor with insufficient self-esteem got one in a vain attempt to prove themselves. What if that same ignorant media only ran stories of pit bulls as much-loved family pets? What if the ignorant media only ran stories about the results of dog-fighting prosecutions without mentioning the breed?
It's time for a little redemption and it starts with you and me. We can stop jurisdictions from banning them by contacting our representative about breed-specific legislation and by voting. We can stop insurance companies from charging a higher premium because of them by cancelling our policies. We can stop the ignorant media from portraying them as evil by responsibly owning them. And we can stop the miserable suffering of these beautiful dogs at the hands of idiots by changing the way we think about them.
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