The Right To Own Pitt Bulls

Right to Own Pit Bulls

The American Pit Bull Terrier has fallen under harsh criticism in recent years. Several attacks have led to Breed-Specific Legislation or BSL. Breed-Specific Legislation has led to the downright banning of pit bulls in several cities in the United States (“Breed Specific Legislation”). These legislations are unfair and ineffective. The pit bull is only a product of its owner and its surroundings. The pit bull is the most misunderstood and persecuted breed of dogs. If properly raised, a pit bull can become the most fun, loving, helpful, and faithful dog a person could wish for. Eliminating pit bulls is not the solution to stopping attacks.

Imagine that a responsible citizen picked up a pit bull from the pet store, breeder, or pound. He or she raised the dog as a pet, and it lives in a happy, loving home. It is harmless. Another owner is a drug dealer who bought a pit bull to protect his contraband. He has trained the dog to attack. The dog, obviously, is vicious and dangerous. Now imagine that the city these two individuals live in has just passed a law banning pit bulls. The responsible citizen is likely to honor this law; therefore, his or her dog is likely to be picked up and killed. The drug dealer, on the other hand, has no regard for the law so he keeps his dog. The dangerous dog gets off its chain and mauls an eight year old. Of course, this will only reinforce the notion that all dogs that look like pit bulls are inherently violent and aggressive, which is completely untrue. This is the situation that has occurred in twenty-three cities in the United States (LaBella B2). The situation shows one aspect of why BSLs are completely ineffective.

Breed-Specific Legislations are considered by animal welfare groups and pit bull guardians to be discriminatory quick fixes that punish responsible guardians by banishing all pit bulls, regardless of history or temperament, while doing nothing to address the real problem of irresponsible owners (“Breed Specific Legislation). Pit bull bans also fail to consider the problems presented by dogs of other breeds, no matter how dangerous they may be. Many of these other dogs are also abused and trained to be people-aggressive. Should these be banned as well? What about wolves? What about sharks and poisonous snakes? Should the government ban them, too, and kill all the ones people come in contact with because they have the potential to cause harm? Cars, knives, and cigarettes are not banned, yet they cause many deaths. Breed bans are not the answer. Is it feasible that a global breed ban would convince criminals who use these dogs as weapons to own Basset Hounds? If they did, how long do you think it would take before Basset Hounds start making the news?

The truth is that many people are uninformed and do not understand that pit bulls are great dogs, because they only hear about attacks. Unfortunately, the pit bulls future has been irreparably harmed by people who choose to train this naturally affectionate, people-pleasing dog to fight. Hyped-up media coverage of pit bull attacks, often with factually inaccurate reporting, adds to the breed’s bad reputation and results in public paranoia. The media is largely to blame for the public's misconceptions about pit bulls and related breeds. On several occasions reporters have said that a dog attack was committed by a pit bull just to get a story (LaBella B2). The reality is that a small percentage, estimated at less than one percent, of pit bulls do any damage (Crawford).

Those irresponsible owners who mistreat and have the dog for the wrong reasons are the ones who need to be thrown in jail. These owners often starve and beat their dogs or put weights around their necks and make them run on treadmills (Crawford). It is not very hard to deduce why these dogs would be mean. Any animal raised under these harsh conditions would be understandably aggressive. Breeding also plays a role in a dog’s behavior. If two vicious dogs are bred, then naturally the puppies will have aggressive tendencies (Breed Specific Legislation). The irresponsible owners intentionally breed pit bulls to create a fighting monster. Perhaps you believe that banning pit bulls would protect them from being adopted by the wrong type of person. This is not true. What really prevents this from happening is spaying and neutering. Pit bull abusers not only want to fight their dogs but breed them as well. They quickly lose interest in adopting an altered dog. Neutering will also render a dog useless to an irresponsible owner because the dog will lack testosterone, which is essential for a bloodthirsty fighter (Crawford).

To truly understand the pit bull, one must look past the stereotypes that are associated with it and consider the actual facts. According to the Humane Society of the United States, “In spite of their propensity to challenge other dogs, the typical pit bull is stable, reliable and adores people; any display of human aggression, whether due to genetic mischance or bad environment, is an abnormality.” Pit bulls that bite humans are not typical of the breed (Crawford). Pit bulls are eager to please, extremely loyal, and good-natured. For decades, pit bulls were referred to as “nanny dogs” for their undying commitment and tenderness toward human children in their families ("Pit Bull Terrier."). They are very protective of family and property and make loving family companions. Pit bulls have a better temper than many other “family friendly” dogs. The American Temperament