Posted on 06/17/2015 5:31:20 PM PDT by nickcarraway
On May 27, The Roanoke Times ran a deeply irresponsible opinion piece entitled “Beware of rescue dogs.” According to The Times, it was written by a “semi-retired registered nurse who has never been without a family dog.” That is a bit like allowing me a platform to pontificate on brain surgery because I have had a brain all my life.
Bonny T. Lee’s ignorance with regard to shelter dogs, pit bull type dogs and the responsible use of statistics is shocking. She provides dubiously sourced statistics on the numbers of human deaths from dog attacks in terms like “13 and counting” in 2015 — counting what exactly? Even more troubling is that she leaves the reader with the suggestion that all of these deaths were caused by a breed of dog that she appears to be afraid to actually mention, but it is apparent that she is talking about pit bulls, which of course are not even an actual breed. She keeps referring to “rescue dogs” throughout the piece, as does the headline, when not all rescue dogs, not even most rescue dogs, are pit bull-type dogs. In saying this, I am in no way suggesting that pit bull-type dogs should be considered dangerous, just that shelters provide a vast array of wonderful dogs of all sorts including pit bull-type dogs.
Then come some appallingly reckless statements from Lee. “A parent considering adoption of any ‘rescue’ dog should see the online data.” This statement is followed by a citation that does not yield any visible page but it indicates it was about the “dangers of pit bulls.” So, we are actually not able to see any data and the data that may or may not have been there in the past related only to one type of dog — pit bulls. And then she says, “Busting at the seams with these breeds and still euthanizing 600,000 to 800,000 a year, no other breed has this much advocacy.” It is challenging to parse such miserably poor writing. Who exactly is she saying is busting at the seams? It is not at all clear due to the misplaced modifying clause, but I suppose she means shelters. And, those killing statistics for the breed that shall not be named by Lee but that, according to her, has such advocacy — where were they sourced and what locations or facilities are being referenced? Public shelters, private shelters, all national shelters? None of this is clear.
A responsible newspaper such as The Roanoke Times should not have published such a crudely written, irrational and unsubstantiated piece. Animal welfare professionals like me work every day to help the public to understand that shelters are the only responsible place for them to acquire a new four-legged family member.
Rescue dogs come in all varieties, temperaments and sizes and they may be pure bred or mixed breed. Most of them will make wonderful family pets. Similarly, not all families are alike. There are without doubt some dogs, of all types not just pit bull type or bully breed dogs, who are not well suited for a home with small children. That certainly does not mean that these dogs should be killed, only that a responsible shelter will place them in an appropriate home where they and the human occupants will understand each other and be happy.
Pieces such as this one damage so much of our good work and progress on behalf of animals that are sweet, loving and wellbehaved in a shelter somewhere. Through inaccuracies and lack of proof, they mislead the public and hurt the enormous progress we have made to encourage people’s commitment to shelter adoption. Shelter dogs are waiting for a loving home and they have the potential to make their adopters very happy for years to come.
There is no more chance that a dog bought from a breeder or a pet store will be any better behaved or safer than a shelter dog, whether or not that dog is a pit bull-type dog, but patronizing breeders and pet stores inarguably contributes to the needless deaths of wonderful animals in shelters all over this country who could have been saved through an adoption rather than a purchase. Rescue dogs, like people, come in all sorts of sizes, shapes and personalities. Assuming that all rescue dogs or all pit bulls are dangerous is canine racism.
In my case it would have been a boar. I worked on a farm in Virginia when I was 13 and I’ve kicked plenty of hogs and shoved many a cow out of the way. The farmer had two boars though and they scared the hell out of me.
Don’t even get me started on all the wyas in which I contest this article.
Let’s just say coincidentally I ran across an article just yesterday about why serious service dogs are never rescues, but they dare breed their own, from purebreds.
That summarizes how I feel. If it’s the best for a service organization, it’s probably the best all around.
If you are not in charge of your doggie, your doggie is in charge of you.
Let's not get carried away. The statistics in that article are just for fatalities. They say nothing about bites or other injuries. I love my own dog, but I prefer other people keep their pets out of my yard. And it really annoys me when I'm walking my dog and some other dog comes running out at us.
My rescue is a blue heeler. You mess with him, you’re likely to have a slime-ridden tennis ball dropped at your feet. Over and over and over. Beware!
Beautiful dogs! :)
After long day, made me smile :)
The most wonderful dog I ever had was a Rescue, found as a stray — running wild.
True, he was a Golden Retriever, bust just sayin’!
I agree. We used to have a pack of pound dogs all big. Never had a problem with them.
This lady is an evil moron. I hope she loses everything dear to her.RIHB.
I don’t think it’s an ‘Either/Or’.
Most are losers in life looking for something to juice up their sad existence. Fortunately Pit Bull owners generally cannot afford to live in my neighborhood so I rarely see the garbage breed much.
Six of my seven are not pit bulls or in any way related to them; Billy who is a so called PIT BULL was just another rescue who needed a loving family and and someone who would care for him.
As far as you are concerned; I should have heeded my Fathers advice; “ NEVER ARGUE WITH AN IDIOT, THEY WILL JUST DRAG YOU DOWN TO THEIR LEVEL AND BEAT YOU WITH EXPERIENCE”.
My wife and I own a pit bull.
We are far from idiots so either you are mistaken or a liar.
Pick one, the other or both.
Not fair with the deer statistics. The blasted things kill quite a few more people who tangle with the animals, when they hit one with a vehicle.
And while rescue dogs are all the rage, they are not without behavior problems. A young friend of mine adopted one that was promoted as having a great temperament. Not so. The 5 year old dog has bitten her boyfriend multiple times and bit her father. Neither man would ever hurt or tease an animal, so teasing is not a factor. The dog has a major behavior problem, which is why it was given up in the first place. He bites out of possessiveness toward the young lady. The shelter neglected to represent him honestly and now the new owners are saddled with a dog that is a burden, instead of a joy.
“they are not without behavior problems.”
Correction: The above should read, “they are not all without behavior problems.”
Many dogs are given up because the original owners failed to raise them properly. The original owner discards the poor dog because of their irresponsibility, instead of taking the time to socialize and train the pet in the first place.
Obviously, many, many rescue dogs make fine pets, but shelters have the duty to disclose any behavior problems an animal may have to prospective adopters.
Hopefully no innocent child loses a face or life for your poor choice. Not that you care.
It is your hole dumbass so keep digging.
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