http://www.startribune.com/785/story/709099.html September 28, 2006
Golden agers welcome a pit bull with a heart of gold
Ruby was a big hit at a Bayport nursing home Tuesday morning, nuzzling and licking faces, doing a few tricks and climbing onto laps. The folks all said they'd never seen a calmer, gentler or more patient dog -- which might come as a surprise to some, because Ruby is a pit bull.
Owner Pat Bettendorf of Scandia said Ruby is a certified therapy dog rescued from abuse three years ago. She has a heart of gold, said Bettendorf, who's very supportive of her breed.
"Pit bulls have been maligned because they're misused by bad people," he said. "In the early 20th century they were considered the top family dog, good with kids."
Residents at the Croixdale home in Bayport enjoy Ruby's visits, said activities director Mary Jo Ducklow. "Petting a dog has a real calming effect," she said. "The residents smile and relax with Ruby in the room."
Yes, just as every conservative forum needs its "NO DOGGY PROFILING!!!" contingent that views profiling dog breeds as politically incorrect and freedom-threatening as profiling young Middle Eastern men in airports. The errant poodle or spanies poses the same danger to the community as the errant pit bull or rottweiler, dammit, because it's only right!! NO DOGGY PROFILING!!!
*sigh* The feminized "dogs are people too!" defenders of these creatures are the real liberals-in-disguise whose whine "nanny-staters!!" is their cop-out response. For the record, I don't want to see the dogs banned. I want to see breed-specific hard-core regulation, I want to have the right to shoot these dogs on-sight if I see them running loose in public, and I want to walk down any damned public street I please without worrying about being critically injured or killed by some asshat's powerdog.