Reply #43: I love pitbulls [View All]

[ismnotwasm]

I love dogs. That being said, I find I don't love or like or respect a certain number of pitbull owners. Or dog owners. It's quite a quandary. Where do we draw the line? At the human beings responsible, or the breed of dog themselves?

My husband recently saw two pitbulls running loose along a street. He asked a woman --who was close by-- about them,(understand at this point he's more concerned about the dogs getting hit by a car) and all he got was a very defensive additive. Yes it was the owner. So he found a cop. Turns out this asshole owner lets her dogs run around, and has received multiple complaints. Her response? "They're very well trained"

My daughter owns a pitbull and was a pitbull advocate at one time. This is a fixed and chipped inside (except for walks and road trips) dog, completely obedient and well cared for. You couldn't ask for a better dog. (Expect for my Rottie/labrador mix) Dojo doesn't get to run around for her own safety, as well as common courtesy to others.

I have a friend who's a drunk--a bad one. She loves animals when she has the capacity to love anything. The police were called to her house, her pitbull ran at them. The dog looked aggressive and probably was. They shot it dead.

I had a patient tell me about a feral pack of a mix of pits and other breeds running loose in a area far away from the city, but not away from people. My patient said the county authorities declined to do anything, but inferred he himself could take care of it, vigilante style.

I live in a neighborhood where pitbulls are still some sort of status symbol. Perhaps there's dog fighting somewhere. That being said, I never see any pit off a leash, or looking uncared for.

It's a fucked up situation as far as I'm concerned, without an easy answer.

I have a dog that's also considered an aggressive breed. We know we to be very responsible with him, and we are. I doesn't matter how "well trained" he is, or how gentle, even though he's both those things. He's a big goofball. The mailman even likes him. (He recently rescued a someones pet lizard that managed to get in our yard., carried it to my husband in his mouth without a tooth mark. We're still shocked the lizard is ok)

Still just looking at him, I suppose he looks scary. All dogs have the potential for aggression. Those who take these so called "aggressive breeds" and ruin them, or attempt to ruin them, piss me off no end.