FWIW, I found a website that ‘says it all’. It is www.dogsbite.org.
In this website, concerned citizens collect information about serious dog bites and it’s a great hub of information regarding pit bulls.
Specifically - the site notes that pit-bull apologists often talk about them being companion dogs and then provides links to stories (for example - a ‘companion’ pit let off his leash, a mounted cop tells owner to put the dog on a leash, the dog attacks the horse, horse kicks dog owner in face, horse is injured and retires from force due to skittishness following attack, officer sustains back injury) Followed an interesting link to a study that seems to suggest that pit bull owners are likely to be more selfish and lack empathy than control groups.
Excellent stories and statistics that shed light on this issue. The stats indicate far more death and damage due to pits than is acknowledged. In particular - it has a 2008 report on copy and citizen shootings of pits that REDUCED the expected amount of fatalities for this dog!
Experts are fooled by this animal because it attacks without warning by genetic design (fighting dogs do not signal impending attack).
Absolutely heartbreaking videos of maimed people trying to put their lives together again.
It’s everything we know and it includes the evasions that pro-pit lobby uses like “there are different breeds of pits so statistics citing ‘pit-bull types’ are not accurate” when in fact authorities classify ‘pit bull types’ this way because pro-pitbull apologists have intentionally tried to conceal the identity of the species by renaming it a few times over the course of many years.
Below, I’ll paste some quotes I took from the many pages of the website - no need to read it if you’ve moved on to other topics by now but some of it was surprising if you are up for reading more.
In the July/August 2009 issue of Animal People, the group estimated that of the 1,663,167 shelter dogs projected to be euthanized in 2009, pit bulls accounted for 58%. This is true despite the fact that pit bulls only make up 5% of the total U.S. dog population.
When the Colorado Supreme Court upheld the Denver pit bull ban in 2005, the high court set aside characteristics that pit bulls displayed when they attack that differ from other dog breeds. One of these characteristics was their lethal bite:
“[pit bulls] inflict more serious wounds than other breeds. They tend to attack the deep muscles, to hold on, to shake, and to cause ripping of tissues. Pit bull attacks were compared to shark attacks.”11
One of the most powerful examples of a pit bull “not letting go” occurred in an Ohio courtroom. During the Toldeo v. Tellings trial (Paul Tellings attempted to overturn Toledo and Ohio state pit bull laws and failed), Lucas County Dog Warden Tom Skeldon showed a videotape of a tranquilized pit bull hanging from a steel cable. The dog is unconscious and still does not release its grip. At the time of the taping, the animal was being housed at the county animal shelter.
To understand the experience of owning a negatively perceived dog, Tufts Center for Animals and Public Policy did a study on pit bull owners. Researchers found that owners of pit bulls directly feel the stigma targeted at their breed and resort to various tactics to lessen it. One of the tactics included attempts to counterbalance the pit bull’s menacing appearance and physical power with overwhelming “affectionate” behavior: “My dog might lick you to death.
Pit bulls are the dog of choice amongst dogmen, individuals who fight their pit bulls against other pit bulls. Dogmen consider pit bulls, who they commonly call “100% bulldogs,” to be the ultimate canine gladiator. Pit bulls were selectively bred for “gameness,” the ability to finish a fight. A truly “gamedog” will continue fighting “on stumps,” two or more broken legs.4 (Please see excerpts from The Complete Gamedog, by Ed and Chris Faron to learn more).
• In 1935, the American Kennel Club (AKC) agreed to register pit bull dogs, but only under the name Staffordshire terrier. This was done to distance the breed from its continued use in dogfighting. Thus, the pit bull and the Staffordshire terrier was one in the same, yet held two different names.2
• In 1972, the AKC renamed the breed to the American Staffordshire terrier. Though the American Staffordshire terrier is by definition a pit bull, many owners claim they are different breeds and shelters adopt out pit bulls under the Staffordshire name to fool unsuspecting members of the public.3
• In 1996, the San Francisco Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals renamed pit bulls to “St. Francis Terriers.” The hope was to make the breed more adoptable. After much screening, about 60 pit bulls were placed. The program was suspended after several of the re-dubbed dogs killed cats.4
• In 2004, while serving as the director of New York City Animal Care and Control, Ed Boks tried to rename pit bulls to “New Yorkies” also in hopes of making the breed more adoptable. Boks’ idea failed, as did his tenure in New York City, which only lasted from 2003-2005.5
• Meanwhile, dogfighters historically and presently refer to pit bulls as “bulldogs.” The American bulldog, which is unrecognized by the AKC, was only recognized by the United Kennel Club (UKC) in 1999. Furthermore, the breed was called the “American pit bulldog” up until the 1970s.
The many names of the pit bull over the course of history is why breed-specific legislation defines the pit bull as a “class of dogs” that includes the following breeds and their mixes: American pit bull terrier, American Staffordshire terrier, Staffordshire bull terrier and American bulldog.8 Despite pit bull owners, animal groups and dogfighters attempts to obscure the name of the pit bull breed, well-written breed-specific laws always encapsulate the pit bull’s many names.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/19550155/Vicious-Dogs-the-Antisocial-Behaviors-and-Psychological-Characteristics-of-Owners
Injuries caused by dogs cost insurance companies nearly one billion dollars annually (2,3). Consequently, many insurance companies refuse to issue homeowners insurance to owners of specific breeds of dogs considered‘‘vicious’’ or high risk of causing injury. The six breeds most commonly identified as
‘‘vicious’’are Akita, Chow (‘‘Chow Chow’’), Doberman, Pit Bull,
Rottweiler, and Wolf-mix .
Seattle, Washington (June 3, 2009) — DogsBite.org, a national dog bite victims’ group dedicated to reducing serious dog attacks, releases its 2008 report on pit bulls shot for public safety reasons. The 20-page report documents 373 incidences in which U.S. law enforcement officers and citizens were forced to shoot a dangerous pit bull to prevent an attack or to stop an ongoing attack.
The report tracked 12 data aspects per incident. Of the 373 incidences, 626 bullets were fired and 319 pit bulls were killed. 148 people suffered bite injury in these incidences as well. In at least three instances, the bite injury resulted in amputation. In six instances, the bite injury resulted in death. The findings also show that firearm intervention might have prevented at least eight deaths by a pit bull mauling in this period.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/7775401/Excerpts-Dog-Bite-Prevention-for-Law-Enforcement-and-Other-First-Responders-by-Randall-Lockwood
Fighting dogs “fight” and guarding dogs “guard,” and attack dogs “attack” because we bred them to do that. And to say that all pit bulls are voracious killers because
that’s how they were bred is certainly inaccurate. To say that it’s all up to the people — the only bad
ones are the ones people abused or are trained to be bad — that’s also untrue.
That although dogfighters are the first to tell you that their dogs have been bred for centuries to not be aggressive to people that doesn’t seem to be that true anymore. We were hearing 10 and 15 years ago about cases of dogs jumping out of the pit and attacking spectators.We hear that quite often now.
So most dogs are hardwired to respond to a display of submission by cutting off
aggression because it means you have won.
But if you area fighting dog and the object is to inflict the most damage possible, a submissive
gesture is just a new opening. In the early 80’s, I started hearing from the Humane Society about the
fighting breeds they were getting (and they did not know what they were getting). They would put
that dog into a pen with a German Shepherd, and the German Shepherd speaks “dog,” they play by
wolf rules, and the German Shepherd would go belly up, and the pit bull would just disembowel him.
They don’t speak that language. They ignore that signal.
And that’s one of the most devastating things we have done to fighting dogs. Is that we have
destroyed their ability to speak good wolf or good dog. And they’ve taken it even one step further.
The truly sinister communicator not only doesn’t tell you what he feels or what he is going to do next.
He lies to you.
Fighting dogs lie all the time. I experienced it first hand when I was investigating three pit bulls that killed a little boy in Georgia. When I went up to do an initial evaluation of the dog’s behavior. The dog came up to the front of the fence, gave me a nice little tail wag and a “play bow” — a little solicitation, a little greeting. As I got closer, he lunged for my face.
It was one of those “ah ha” experiences. Yeah, that would really work. That would really work in a
dog pit. Because 99% of dogs are going to read that as “Oh boy I am your friend, let’s play — and
there’s my opening”. I said, How evil is that? That we have been able to create a dog that can do
something like that?”
Expert Randall Lockwood
Randall Lockwood has degrees in psychology and biology from Wesleyan University and a doctorate in
comparative and physiological psychology from Washington University. He served as vice president for
research and educational outreach for the Humane Society of the United States until 2005, when he became
the ASPCA’s Senior Vice President for Anti-Cruelty Initiatives and Training. For more than 25 years, Lockwood
has worked closely with humane societies, animal control agencies and law enforcement, serving as an expert
on wolf and dog behavior, dog aggression, dog bite prevention and illegal dogfighting. He has been an advisor
on animal-related issues to the Centers for Disease Control and the United States Postal Service
By the way, dogsbite is a hate site, and it is well-known that it’s biased. The lady who created it was supposedly attacked by a pit bull, yet she was going by the name “bitbypit” a full year before her accident happened. Her site doesn’t allow anyone to post attack stories from other breeds, just the ones she hates, and if you try to give her information from a good source and it doesn’t agree with her opinion, she will erase it and ban you.
Also, she is the exact reason why I said that quotes from the CDC study are often used out of context to make it appear that they agree with pit bull haters’ claims. She only puts up what she wants people to see.
As for the Merritt-Clifton study, this has also been dismissed by experts as biased, intentionally misleading, and outright false. The man is the editor of Animal People magazine, yet he has absolutely no idea about the breeds he tries to malign. He says pit bulls have docked tails, (they don’t) and that Cane Corsos or Presas, one of those two is actually in the top three most dangerous breeds, even though they have taken less lives than labs have. He also uses three different categories for the same breed of dog (Blue Heeler, Queensland Heeler, etc.), and makes up a few along the way.
He has been repeatedly asked for the reports he used to compile his study, and on several occasions, his excuses included that he lost them, that he has them but doesn’t want to show them, and flat-out refusal along with lots of cursing. He was also offered quite a few additional news reports that he did not find for the same period of time, and he refused them. He is not an expert. He doesn’t have a degree in animal behavior, biology, genetics, or anything else that would make him an expert, and his study was not performed using scientifically acceptable means. Basically, he just made some stuff up and now he is considered a fool. Here’s a detailed story on it, about halfway down the page:
http://btoellner.typepad.com/kcdogblog/merrit-cliffton/
As for the part about the courts using an example of a tazed dog that was still gripping something, anyone in animal control or a vet’s office will tell you that any dog can continue holding on to something while being shocked, and even after being killed. Contracting muscles are to blame, not some kind of mythical desire to kill. What you have stumbled upon is the ultimate propaganda. If you don’t believe me, which I am sure you don’t, why don’t you read all the studies on dogsbite in their entirety and tell me if the authors’ messages throughout the studies are anything like what dogsbite says they are.
Also, the last time people I know tried to get a message to the author of this hate site, they were given a prompt that messages were sent when “donations” were made. Here are some better sites to look at:
www.nationalcanineresearchcouncil.com (The people on this council are veterinarians, animal behaviorists, biologists, all experts in fields directly related to the issue.)
www.atts.org (This is a compilation of thousands of dogs separated by breed, who underwent a test on unprovoked aggression. The dogs are given a series of challenges ranging from hearing gunshots to walking on uneven, noisy surfaces to meeting children, elderly, crazy, and menacing strangers, all to see what the reactions are. You can see here that pit bull-type dogs perform very well, often beating several other “friendly” breeds, even beating the average for all breeds.)
www.chako.org (This is a good resource of information including a blog regarding dog attacks that are commonly reported. There used to be a huge database with any and all dog attacks posted up, but for some reason I can’t find it on there....then again, I’m not great at searching for things anyway so it may still be there somewhere. This also shows several examples of pit bull service dogs as well, as the author of the site is very active in rescue, therapy, and dog sports.)