Let’s Set The Record Straight

Every once in a while, I need to go over this with everyone. If you’ve read my rantings on this in the past, just skip it. If not, listen up. And learn.

Michael Vick ought to be banned from the NFL. I know, we don’t have all the details. He claims he knew nothing of the activities on his property. However, I saw the stuff they carried out of that house and from the grounds and there is no way anyone could have spent more than 10 minutes there without knowing what was happening on that property. I don’t care if Vick was an active participant or just turned a blind eye to it. If he knew it was happening (and I believe he did) then he’s as guilty as those who were there running the show.

Which brings me to my other rant. Pay attention.

Pit Bulls are not “naturally” human aggressive. Pit Bulls are not “naturally” skittish, nor are they more likely to “turn on you” than any other breed of dog. In fact, the opposite is true.

Pit Bulls were bred as fighting dogs, this is true. Over the course of their long history, they fought bulls, rats and each other. I won’t comment on the cruelty of this “sport” since I’m referring to a time before even I was born. I raise this issue, though, because the nature of the sport tells the truth about this breed.

During the match in the pit, the Pit Bulls were not simply let loose while they attacked either another animal or each other. Rather, the dogs’ owners as well as a referee were in the pit with the dog or dogs, ready to stop the fight at any time.

Now think about that. Picture it in your mind. Two Pit Bulls fighting to the death, two owners wanting the fight to stop, a referee calling the fight. These three men would then separate the dogs - dogs that are tearing each other apart.

If it were true that the American Pit Bull Terrier is naturally human aggressive, these men would be putting their lives in extreme danger. But that isn’t the truth. Because of the nature of the sport and the necessity of humans in the pit, the American Pit Bull Terrier was bred to be extremely human passive and have a very controlled and predictable disposition. A Pit Bull that showed human aggressiveness was considered defective and put down.

Now, before anyone decides to report to me all the various Pit Bull attacks they know about, please keep in mind that there are over 20 breeds of dog that are commonly mistaken for Pit Bulls. It isn’t unusual for the media to report a Pit Bull attack, learn that the dog or dogs were not Pit Bulls and then just drop the story rather than correcting it. After all, how exciting is a Ca Da Bou dog attack story?

Don’t believe me about the false identification? Okay, why don’t you try it yourself. There are a few of these games out there but this Find the Pit Bull game is the one I have bookmarked. Of course, there’s no way for me to know if you picked the right dog or not but I don’t expect you to report back to me anyway. Just see if you can find the Pit Bull on the first try.

All I really ask is that you consider that maybe, the American Pit Bull Terrier has gotten a bad rap and is not the monster so many people think it is.

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