Posted on 04/08/2009 1:05:40 PM PDT by Chet 99
This week, NPR had a story out of Texas about an entrepreneur who's built a massive hangar-sized indoor dog playground, so pet-owners can drink lattes while their canines romp around in air-conditioned comfort. She's even hired four guys to break up dog fights. The story isn't particularly interesting just another tale of childless yuppies fawning over their animals as if they were baby boys or girls. But I was fascinated by one particular detail: The dog-loving staff who run the place have banned pit bulls.
This is significant because many of the pro-pit-bull types who complained noisily when Ontario's Dalton McGuinty moved to ban pit bulls way back in 2004 have argued that ignorant politicians and other assorted non-dog-owners just didn't understand how cute and lovable their pit-bull puppies are, trotting out statistics showing that 4 out of 5 pit bulls don't go ape-crap and tear off people's scalps on the drop of a hat, or whatever.
Well, now we see that bona fide dog lovers with a capitalist, profit-seeking motive to allow any and all dogs into their facility have chosen to ban this awful breed. What's the fang lobby going to say to that?
(Excerpt) Read more at network.nationalpost.com ...
I think the important pit bull statistic is that they have a higher percentage of bad owners than other breeds, because of the reputation of the breed. That is, while four out of five pit bull owners love and care for their dogs, the other one of of five owners is getting a dog, not because he wants a dog, but because he has “issues”.
And any dog obtained for this reason is going to be screwed up. And this is important, because not all screwed up owners get pit bulls.
This is why people are screened before they are allowed to adopt children as well. If this were not the case, how many children would be adopted because their “parent” had some twisted and vile motive for “what they wanted the child to do.”
Imagine the monsters that would be produced if a child was chained in a backyard, and taught to be aggressive? If they got loose, they would be far more dangerous than a pit bull.
I have a friend with Rhodesian Ridge backs. They’re a breed that was bred to hunt lions but are the sweetest dogs in the world if they’re raised that way.
Still it’s wise to keep an eye on them as it is with all dogs.
No, they are responding to their insurance company's demands.
There's a comment appended to the original story on npr.org about this.
“Many of the owners of these tough dogs should perhaps look into personal male enhancement to fill the need currently met by the dog.”
Exactly, LOL!
http://www.dogbitelaw.com/Dog%20Attacks%201982%20to%202006%20Clifton.pdf
104 out of 264 deaths from 1982 - 2006 were due to pitbulls
Rottweilers 2nd at 58
More than half (1110 of 2209) of all dog attacks that do bodily harm were caused by Pitbulls
Thank you.
I’m a dog lover, but only for the dogs that weigh over 20 pounds - those little yappy things are beyond annoying.
It's hard to take seriously the opinions of a bunch of yuppies who take their dogs to an indoor 'play park'. The owners of this facility have banned the dogs only to make everything more 'comfortable' for their yuppie customers.
That is not a commentary on pit bulls themselves, but on the silliness of lending any credibility to this particular ban.
Yeah, but a dachshundt who gets snapish doesn’t tear your face off.
All dogs will, if they feel threatened, bite. My late mongrel bit me , when we were newly met and strange to each other; and he snapped at a strange kid who came into his yard and came up to him while he was tied up. My mother’s pomerainian bit me when he fell off the table at the vet’s, and I tried to catch him. But the American Stratfordshire Terrier, and the various cross-breeds with AST ancesry have especially powerful jaw muscles; they are medium to large sized dogs with very strong builds. Had King (my mutt) or Tay (mom’s Pom) been pit-bulls, a trip to the hospital would have been necessary.
Indeed, before she got the Pom, my mother owned a Samoyed, a beautiful, loving creature. And also a medium-sized to large dog, with a strong body and powerful jaws. Regretably, he developed a panic reaction to thunderstorms; even the approach of a thunderstorm triggered a flare up in his “fight-or-flight” Eventually, the inevitable happened, and he attacked her during one of his panic episodes. He didn’t mean to, he was sorry afterwards. But she had to put him down. It really tore her up; she loved that dog.
Big, powerful dogs are dangerous, and society today does not want to feel threatened.
VietVet
My apologies for repeating this, but it seems to have been lost in the noise.
The owners had to ban pit bulls from the facility to obtain insurance coverage.
That is a different story, however, insurance companies are just as stupid. They penalize smokers but extend benefits to homosexual 'partners'.
What is this supposed to prove? A dachshund is NOT a docile breed. Everyone confronted with the choice would rather contend with an aggressive Dachshund than an aggressive pit bull just because of the size. That doesn't mean that an aggressive and determined Dachshund couldn't inflict some damage. Any dog who was bred to take on a badger one-on-one in the confines of a badger den is not a dog to be trifled with.
I am sure your DVM buddies would agree that a pit bull is a less dangerous pet than a black mamba, an African lion, a bison, etc. That isn't a ringing endorsement for a pit bull, just as saying that pit bull isn't anymore aggressive than a Dachshund is suggesting that a pit bull is a passive, non-aggressive breed.
Those statistics are simply ridiculous. It clearly says they are compiled from press reports. The press automatically classify any bad dog as a pit until they know otherwise. They are in the business of selling ads, not telling the truth. Didn’t you find it suspicious that the numbers would be so high for dogs counted as pure pits while so low for pit mixes?
Breeds of dogs involved in fatal human attacks in the United States between 1979 and 1998
http://www.dogbitelaw.com/dogbreeds.pdf
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