The fear of pit bulls is completely crazy to me. I have never in my life been afraid to approach any dog no matter the breed, I guess it is simply instinctual for me. I have learned through lots of trial and error that it is the dog not the breed.
Growing up I had a Yorkie who was attacked by a German Shepherd for no apparent reason other than territorial agression, but that didn't stop me from loving the German Shepherd breed nor my parents from getting another Yorkie and later our own German Shepherd. I was also babysat by a woman who owned two Rotties, one of whom allowed me to climb all over her and pretend that I was her puppy. Currently the most dangerous of all my pets is Sophie another Yorkie who's first reaction to everything is to snarl and snap. Proving that agression is clearly the dog not the breed.
While looking for dog fostering information I came across the Dog Foster Mom blog at dogfostermom.com. She has a Pit Bull mix foster puppy named Ziggy whom I have fallen in love with. If only Ontario didn't have a government who gives into fear control through the media, I could give him a home. Upon finding her website and falling in love with Ziggy I began to research Ontario's Pit Bull ban more thoroughly. After reading the official documents and visiting several different rescue and information sites I have to say that it really doesn't seem to fair to ban Pit Bulls.
Perhaps other ways of controlling dog bites would be to make all dogs over 50 pounds wear muzzles when out in public, to make owners register all pets and take a Good Canine class with them no matter the size, and further holding the owner completely responsible for anything their pet does with possible jail time or severe fines.
Surely a better solution is out there for Pit Bulls
Hi there! I know this is an old post but I just wanted to comment on it cuz A) I luvs Ziggy, too! and B) to tell you to look into the laws they have in Calgary. Calgary does not have any type of that bad breed specific legislation. But they have one of the lowest numbers of dog bites in North America. Last year, they only had something like 56 dog bites TOTAL in a city of a million peoples! And you know what they do? They make owners responsible for their dogs. They make it easy for peoples to license their dogs (peoples who license their dogs are shown to be more responsible) and they have lots of educational programs so that people can learn how to be safe around dogs. From everything we've read, the only way to decrease dog bites is to make owners responsible for the behavior and actions of their dogs.
ReplyDeleteWhew! I'm totally tired now after that LOOOONG comment. I'm gonna go lay down.
Wiggles & Wags,
Mayzie