How many Golden Retrievers does it take to change a light bulb?
"It's summer, the sun's shining, we've got a new ball to chase around the park, and you're worrying about a light bulb? Get a grip on the PRIORITIES, man!"
And the Labrador?
They are off the charts,'' says Gamez. "If you look at the fatals and severe bites, you will see the majority are rottweilers and pits.''But that's just part of the story. If you've been to an animal shelter lately, you know that it seems like half the dogs there are pit bulls. Naively, our family thought that was because families were not adopting them.
Actually, it is the result of a population boom in pit bulls. In the three days before the Fourth of July holiday, Clifton contacted 22 animal shelters, and compared the results with a study he did 11 years ago. In a sample of 2,918 dogs, he found that the number of rottweilers and pit bulls had increased five times, including an "astonishing'' four times more pit bulls. And, it is important to note that with spay and neuter programs, the number of animals of all breeds in shelters has actually been decreasing.
"I've been in this business since 1975,'' Gamez says. "In those days, we used to pick up lots of types of dogs, Irish setters, Afghans. Now you walk into a shelter, and every other dog is a pit bull. This has been going on for 10 years. It may appear to be exploding, but it has been happening exponentially.''