Posted on 11/19/2006 11:23:41 PM PST by Omega Man II
Pit bull owners more likely to be criminals
Washington
November 17, 2006 - 12:23PM
People who own vicious dogs such as pit bulls have significantly more criminal convictions - including crimes against children - than owners of licensed, gentler dogs such as beagles, American researchers report.
A study of 355 dog owners in Ohio showed that every owner of a high-risk breed known for aggression had at least one brush with the law, from traffic citations to serious criminal convictions.
And 30 per cent of people who owned an aggressive breed of dog and who also had been cited at least once for failure to register it had at least five criminal convictions or traffic citations.
This compared to one per cent of owners of low-risk, licensed dogs such as poodles, beagles or collies, the researchers reported in the Journal of Interpersonal Violence.
"Owners of vicious dogs who have been cited for failing to register a dog (or) failing to keep a dog confined on the premises ... are more than nine times more likely to have been convicted for a crime involving children, three times more likely to have been convicted of domestic violence ... and nearly eight times more likely to be charged with drug (crimes) than owners of low-risk licensed dogs," said Jaclyn Barnes of Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Centre.
Barnes and colleagues used public records to check on the criminal pasts of dog owners.
They used agreed definitions of vicious dogs used in writing local ordinances. "A 'vicious dog" means a dog that, without provocation, has killed or caused serious injury to any person, has killed another dog, or belongs to a breed that is commonly known as a pit bull dog," they wrote in their report.
The definition excludes dogs used in law enforcement or dogs protecting an owner or property.
Aggressive breeds identified by the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and some insurance companies include pit bulls, rottweilers, akitas and chows.
The most frequent low-risk breeds seen in the study included terriers, beagles, collies and poodles.
Reuters
I once shared a home with a doxie. He was a big luv bug until a rodent appeared anywhere on his radar, then he was all business. I have heard stories of them tearing through walls to get to a rodent. I plan to get another doxie once I get a house with durable pee-proof flooring. They are funny, yet willful little dogs.
"One can argue" a lot of things. One could argue that because I wear my hair long and play in a part-time rock band, I must be a leftist, drug-taking hippie. But I'm not, and I don't consider that someone who falsely makes that inference is interfering with my freedom. Only if they try to throw me in jail for it, or tax me for it, etc. are they affecting me in any way.
I think you're taking this all too personally. Nobody is coming after your dog. At least not today.
LOL!!
You have no idea what you are talking about. There are dog ban breeds across this country and in Europe.
STATES WITH DANGEROUS DOG LAWS:
California Maryland Oklahoma Colorado Massachusetts Pennsylvania Delaware Michigan Rhode Island District of Columbia Minnesota South Carolina Florida Nebraska South Dakota Georgia Nevada Texas Hawaii New Hampshire Vermont Illinois New Jersey Virginia* Kentucky New York Washington Louisiana North Carolina West Virginia Maine Ohio
Your state?
(NEW YORK Binghamton (restricts ROTTWEILERS), Hudson, Jamestown, Larchmont, Maybrook, Mount Vernon, New Rochelle, Newburgh, N. Hempstead, Sand Point, Village of Haverstraw, Village of Hemstead, Yonkers )
What does that say about me owning a 3 pound Yorkie??
"What happened to freedom?"
I don't think the study mentioned 'freedom' at all, did it? Whose freedom is jeopardized?
My son brought home one of these at about 6 weeks of age, the smaller kind. I would have never ever chosen this dog. Sometimes he jumps on my husband's lap, it is too funny. He sleeps with me, and yes, right next to me, sometimes with his head on my legs. He is the most cuddly dog i have ever seen.
I agree proper socialization is key, that goes with any dog really. I have seen pits with their tails wagging and when I pet them they are all kisses. However, just 2 weeks ago I was talking to a man who was still healing from a pitbull attack. He had 300 stitches over one side of his body. His forearms were so tore up, it was unbelievable. It was his nextdoor neighbors dog, which he had known since puppyhood, never a problem. He was knelt behind her car, helping her change over her license plate when the dog got loose and attacked. No provocation whatsoever. She was helpless to stop the dog, as it went into a blind fight mode. He was thankful that when the dog freaked, it freaked on him and not any of the neighborhood children. The dog is now dead.
Wonder how many tax $$$ went to fund this "study"?
?
Its an observation. The bent of the article is that owners are more likely to be criminals. Better phrasing would be that criminals are more likely to be owners.
Yes, you are correct, bad breeding and bad training create miscreant dogs of all breeds. The underlying problem with pit bulls is that they have a pronounced ability to kill and maim that the owners often do not match with increased responsibility. Having said that, if I had to live in a bad neighborhood, having a pitt bull inside of a high chain link fence would seem like a good idea.
I have a 110 pound mutt that could have some pit bull in him and is the best family dog in the world. Jaws of death and a heart of gold. If I'm at home he barks a bit at strangers. If I'm not at home and its just the family here, he won't allow a strange man on the property. When he's off of our property he's as docile as a lab.
I think however, that once you cross a certain line in training a dog to attack people, it is no longer suitable to have that dog as a family dog.
If this study is touted and its conclusion accepted by the MSM (deadmen walking) then why not Dr. John R. Lott, Jr. More Guns, Less Crime: Understanding Crime and Gun Control Laws (U Chicago, 1998, Chicago)?
Either we are equal or we are not. Good people should be armed where they will, with wits and guns. KMA NRA
Woof
"Bicycle riders and their little spandex pants are more likely to be gay."
Or... Criminals more likely to own pitbulls.
Gee - perhaps the mediots should look up the work "agenda".
That's how I read it, too....hell - even pure old Batavia got a ticket about 35 years ago.
Regardless of breed a dog is only as mean as YOU make it!!
No surprise to me either but the pit bull lovers on this forum aren't going to like it.....
You don't think we should ban bad people? Well, then when someone empties all the jails, why don't you take them in.
Makes sense to me, too.
I see some of these owners and it's pretty apparent why they chose the breed dog they did. They like the fact that people back off and become on edge when they walk by with their animal. Many in my area even fit them out with spike collars, etc.---and then bring them to the dog park to "play" with the unsuspecting mutts.
Recently in our town, for reasons no one seems to be able to figure out, a pit bull owned by one of these yahoos dug a hole under his fence, ran through the next-door neighbor's yard, jumped that person's fence, went into that yard and proceeded to kill viciously not one, but two small dogs that lived there.
What's up with that? That's a dog who killed, twice, without provocation (no threat to him or his property or his owner).
Pit bulls are the only dogs you hear about who regularly kill people and animals. I'm sure it's not always the dog's temperature, but rather the owner, but there you are.
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