Bred to Be Hated and Feared
This week's email reads in part:
In My OpinionWith the recent attention received regarding a Pit Bull that was traveling through Aurora being taken to it's new home in New Jersey, and while it was here it attacked another dog in a park, the breed specific legislation in our City is again being challenged. Since it has come to light again, opponents of our ordinance are contacting elected officials in the City hoping to convince us to reconsider our positions on not allowing certain breeds of dog in the City limits. This week I have received no less than half a dozen emails from people asking me to consider support of lifting the BSL (so far, none from Aurora residents).An Op-Ed appeared in the Aurora Sentinel yesterday regarding this topic. And while it doesn't happen often, I happen to agree with this one:I am certainly not a dog expert. But I do know that many breeds of dogs have very specific traits inbred that have very real possibilities of showing up...who knows when or why.Years ago, I had a German Wirehaired Pointer that I rescued at the Denver Dumb Friends League when she was a puppy. She was part of our family for years, but was never the bird-hunter her ancestors were bred for. She could pass within feet of a bird, out in the open or in a bush, and not even care that it was there. But every once in awhile, for no discernible rhyme or reason, she would stop shock still with her nose level, ears up, tail straight out and right front leg lifted staring at a bush. She would wait for me to give her the okay to chase the bird out of the bush. I never taught her to do that...I wouldn't even know how to. But her wiring was preset to be a bird dog, and even though she had not been taught to do so, she instinctively knew the steps.I believe the same prewiring is true of many breeds of dog. This is one reason I will continue to support our BSL policy in the City of Aurora.But the main reason by far is that of the nearly 100 people I have personally spoke with on this issue, who live IN Aurora, and who live IN Ward V, only a small handful so far have asked me to support lifting the ordinance. The vast majority have made it clear that they do not want this ordinance changed.
I am no fan of breed specific legislation or bans, just as I am no fan of gender specific legislation, race specific legislation or and other legislation that singles out a subset or group for no reason other than fear or ignorance (which, in my opinion, is a vast majority of legislation that targets a subset of a group).
And, since I prefer fact, reason and objectivity over fearmongering and hysteria, I wrote a rebuttal:
First and foremost, I am a dog owner. I do not own a pit bull-style breed, but a good ol’ fashioned American mutt. He may or may not have some of a couple breeds in him: Australian Shepherd, Border Collie, A. Cattle Dog, some sort of setter (English, Gordon) or some breed of spaniel.
He is a killer.
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| Chasing the Duck |
With a handful of bunnies, squirrels and birds who have fallen prey to his teeth, Rufus is indeed a killer, as all dogs have the potential to be one. In fact, any creature on this planet with canine teeth has the potential to be a killer, including humans.
Recently, Aurora’s “pit bull” ban has come to light again. A “pit bull” named Stallone, a “pit bull” that had a history of being abused by other dogs in dog fighting arenas. As a bait dog, Stallone would have subject to disfigurement, torment and constantly in fear of his life on a regular basis. He would have been bitten, left bleeding and possibly to die over and over again, in the name of sport for a handful of spectators. He would have had no choice in the matter, he would have had no way out, no quitting and only retiring when he was considered to be useless as bait dog.
Stallone was stolen from his family in Arizona. The thieves then filed down his teeth, hobbled his legs and forced him into the fighting ring as bait. When they had no more use for the dog they threw him from a car. ~
When Stallone was brought to a local area dog park he attacked at dachshund, possibly having a flashback to his time as a bait dog upon seeing another dog running for him. We see this sort of behavior all the time with victims of PTSD who lash out physically when society would advise most people to walk away or ignore a situation.
Whether anyone wants to believe “pit bulls” are inherently vicious dogs is up to them, but while many of us are predestined to certain traits (intelligence, physical acuity, music ability or even math) many more of our traits are learned, some from the culture in which we were raised, others from training and education and still others from adapting to new situations. We’re all products of our environment.
Even dogs. Even “pit bulls” are products of their upbringing, wherein one, raised by a loving family, can be submissive and congenial while another from the same litter but raised by different people can be vicious and terrifying.
People v. Riddle, 258 Ill. App. 3d 253, 630 N.E.
2d 141 (Ill. App. Ct. 2d Dist. 1994), stated,
“merely applying the label ‘pit bull’ to a dog does little to describe it and provides no
basis for determining whether it is dangerous... we cannot malign a breed of dogs on the
basis of rumor and hysteria”. Id.
Furthermore, the court added,
“vicious dogs shall not be classified in a manner that is specific as to breed. Our
legislature chose not to accede to the stereotypes the State urges here. In Illinois, each
dog is to be evaluated individually and is not to be classified as "vicious" merely because
of its breed or type.” Riddle at 260-261. ~
Targeting a breed, or a breadth of breeds, based on appearance or stereotypes is no different than targeting people of races not Caucasian, the bald, the tattoo’d or the biker in his leather jacket.
There are still people out there who would claim that African-Americans are inherently violent, who would claim that Hispanics are inherently lazy or unethical, or who would claim gays are inherently immoral.
We know none of these claims to be any more true than single women with a cat are witches waiting for the right moment to steal our children.
On a daily basis we are surrounded by lies and half-truths, facts slanted or spun to favor our preconceived notions. Supposedly, as an enlightened generation, we rely on facts over fiction, reason over superstition and observation over stereotyping.
I am no fan of “pit bull” style breeds just as I am no fan of Huskies, Chihuahuas, larger breeds or smaller breeds. It’s a personal preference. Just as choosing to love “pit bull” breeds is a personal preference for others.
The Aurora Sentinel’s opinion piece about Stallone cited the proverbial statistics, without actually providing a single statistic in support of his argument:
That’s for a good reason. As clear as the statistics are showing that the majority of deadly dog bites in this country come from just a few breeds, including and especially pit bulls, it’s even clearer that pit-bull biters will bite again. ~ http://www.aurorasentinel.com/opinion/perry-aurora-shouldnt-bite-foolish-push-let-pit-bulls-back-city/#sthash.p88Qx7mw.dpuf
However, the American Humane Association states that breed specific legislation does not reduce or prevent dog attacks. ~ http://www.americanhumane.org/animals/stop-animal-abuse/fact-sheets/breed-specific-legislation.html
A Center for Disease Control study also does not support breed specific legislation, supporting instead legislation holding dog owners more accountable for the actions of their dogs and suggesting programs that encourage people to socialize their pets properly. ~ http://www.cdc.gov/homeandrecreationalsafety/images/dogbreeds-a.pdf (pg 5)
The National Canine Research Council also questions the validity and success of breed specific legislation:
Q. Does BSL reduce dog bites?
No. BSL has not succeeded in reducing dog bite-related injuries wherever in the world it has been enacted.
• An analysis published in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association explains why BSL does not reduce serious dog bites. The authors calculated the absurdly large numbers of dogs of targeted breeds who would have to be completely removed from a community in order to prevent even one serious dog bite-related injury. For example, in order to prevent a single hospitalization resulting from a dog bite, the authors calculate that a city or town would have to remove more than 100,000 dogs of a targeted group. To prevent a second hospitalization, double that number.[4]
• Denver, CO enacted a breed ban in 1989. Citizens of Denver continue to suffer a higher rate of hospitalization from dog bite-related injuries after the ban, than the citizens of breed-neutral Colorado counties.[5]
• A study published in the Journal of Veterinary Behavior (2007), compared medically treated dog bites in Aragon, Spain for 5 years prior to and following enactment of Spain’s “Law on the legal treatment of the possession of dangerous animals” (sometimes referred to Spain’s Dangerous Animal Act) (2000). The results showed no significant effect in dog bite incidences when comparing before and after enactment of the BSL.[6]
• The Netherlands repealed a 15-year-old breed ban in 2008 after commissioning a study of its effectiveness. The study revealed that BSL was not a successful dog-bite mitigation strategy because it had not resulted in a decrease in dog bites. [7]
• The Province of Ontario in Canada enacted a breed ban in 2005. In 2010, based on a survey of municipalities across the Province, the Toronto Humane Society reported that, despite five years of BSL and the destruction of "countless" dogs, there had been no significant decrease in the number of dog bites.[8]
• Winnipeg, Manitoba enacted a breed ban in 1990. Winnipeg’s rate of dog bite-injury hospitalizations is virtually unchanged from that day to this, and remains significantly higher than the rate in breed-neutral, responsible pet ownership Calgary[9] ~
Do “pit bulls” bite? Absolutely. So do Cairn Terriers, Great Danes, Golden Retrievers and St. Bernards. In fact, dogs bite. All of them. There is no question that dogs bite. Cats bite, as well. So do horses, mice and the occasional snake. Even human beings bite. Without fingers and thumbs most animals’ only defensive tool is to bite it’s tormentor. Sometimes that’s another dog, sometimes it’s another animal and sometimes it’s a human being.
Is it the dog’s fault the human being tormented it, tortured it or otherwise hurt it? Is it the dog’s fault it is a product of it’s environment, an environment created by human beings? Even a study published by the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center cites the human beings, the dog owners, who are creating environments of that nurture dogs into aggressive animals when they might otherwise be docile family pets:
Categories of criminal convictions examined were aggressive crimes, drugs, alcohol, domestic violence, crimes involving children, firearm convictions, and major and minor traffic citations. Owners of cited high-risk ("vicious") dogs had significantly more criminal convictions than owners of licensed low-risk dogs. Findings suggest that the ownership of a high-risk ("vicious") dog can be a significant marker for general deviance and should be an element considered when assessing risk for child endangerment. ~
Let us not look at a breed or subset of a group with eyes and minds tinted with fearmongering and hysteria. Instead, let’s look at the root cause of this problem and address the cause not the symptom.
My dog, Rufus, has rid the city of birds, squirrels and bunnies. He is, without a doubt, a killer. Does the city wish to ban his anonymous breed because he has the 'taste of blood?"
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| Getting My Bed Dirty |
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