BAD RAP: Pit Bull Stereotyping

Bad rap: Pit bull stereotyping

By Tom Kellar
Special to The Union, The Union

Pit bulls polarize people. Folks either love them or go out of their way to avoid them and it seems everyone has a strong opinion.

In the last 20 years, pit bulls have been increasingly thrust into the spotlight, their strength and fighting ability tailor-made for news headlines.

They have also come to be associated with a thug or crime culture that specializes in illegal dog fighting while using the pit bull as fashion statement and status symbol.

And because of this, many would-be dog owners would probably never consider bringing a pit bull into their home.

Cheryl Wicks, the current director of the Nevada County Animal Shelter and a proud pit bull owner, knows well how difficult it can be to place pit bulls into good homes. Her career at the shelter began in 2001 as a volunteer dog walker; she founded Sammie's Friends in 2004 and the organization began running the shelter in July of this year.

What Wicks calls a “pivotal moment” came in 2002 when she remembers arriving at the shelter to discover a baby pit bull (later named Fred) had been brought in with a broken leg.

“I like pit bulls, but not everyone does, and they are harder to find homes for than other dogs because of all the negative press and media about them,” Wicks said. “With the broken leg, I thought there was not a prayer this dog was going to be adopted. I called one of the local vets and got his leg fixed and found a foster home for him, and eventually he was adopted by a family in San Jose. The last time I saw Fred was in a video that the family sent me. It showed him swinging in a hammock and running on the beach. I thought that was the best 700 bucks I ever spent in my life; the dog was happy and had a good home.”

Wicks believes that pit bulls have been excessively stereotyped, with media coverage playing the largest role in shaping the public's misconceptions. She doesn't deny that an out-of-control pit bull is capable of inflicting great damage to other animals and sometimes humans, but believes that the very small percentage of dogs involved in attacks should not be used to generalize the breed as a whole.

She cites statistics showing people are at greater risk for injury or death due to falling, drowning or spousal abuse than they are from dog attacks.

According to Wicks, there are on average 32 total deaths each year in the U.S. attributed to dog attacks. Compare that to the 25,000 people who die each year from drunk-driving related accidents, and you can begin to understand her frustration.

“Children are 800 times more likely to be killed by their own adult caretaker than they are from a pit bull,” she said.

Nevada County Animal Control Officer Bruce Baggett doesn't discount Wicks' assertion that pit bulls can make good pets, but warns there is the potential for problems around other animals.

“We had the opportunity last year to go through some specialized pit-bull training, where we were able to find out their exact origins and learned that they were specifically bred to kill other dogs, but also specifically bred to be friendly around humans,” Baggett said. “They are usually good around humans, but not other animals. They are hard-wired that way, you can't train it out of them, you have to manage it. Pit bull activists will tell you that I'm wrong, but I know what we deal with.”

The recent rise in the pit bull population has presented a special challenge for people like Baggett, who are employed to help protect the public and its property.

“For a while we were getting calls about pit bulls versus everything under the sun every day for months,” Baggett said. “It's finally easing up now, but we've had problems with them killing livestock of all sorts and going after other dogs. If they bite someone, it's usually because they have gotten in the middle of a dog fight. Pit bulls are basically a muscle with a brain and are intensely strong.”

Knowing a breed's tendencies can help in managing a dog and possibly avoiding an ugly situation.

“Many pit bulls live with other dogs and get along with them just great, but they are more likely to get into a dog fight than, say, a Labrador retriever or border collie or many other breeds,” Wicks said. “You have to remember that, but at the same time you should not assume that every pit bull fights with other dogs.”

The struggle to place pit bulls from the animal shelter into good homes continues. Wicks believes that at least half of the people who come into the shelter have already bought into the pit bull stereotype and are not interested in taking one home for a pet.

And of the half open to pit bull adoption, a large percentage appear to be members of a subculture that wants a macho-looking dog that they can put a spike collar on and parade around town.

“Basically it's a small number of people who come into the shelter who are responsible and don't want the dog for perhaps the wrong reasons,” she said.

Any lengthy discussion of pit bulls will usually invoke the name of a famous NFL quarterback who spent time in prison due to activities around a dog-fighting ring that he was bankrolling.

Photos of the dogs involved helped paint a gruesome picture of what their lives had been like, fighting for sport. But Wicks believes it's the follow-up story to that sad episode that is most instructive.

“Remember Michael Vick? Initially they were just going to put all of his pit bulls down, but then the humane society got involved along with Bad Rap, which is a pit bull organization and pit bull rescue central,” Wicks said.

“There were 50 dogs and one was euthanized because it was physically shredded and another because it was so out of control, but of the other 48, a large percentage of them now live in homes with other dogs that they do not fight with. Sure, it took some rehabilitation, but quite a few of them are now able to live with other dogs. Isn't that shocking?”

To get more information about pit bulls and their suitability as family pets, go to www.badrap.org or www.pbrc.net.

Tom Kellar is a freelance writer living in Cedar Ridge.

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This great article discusses the challenges shelters face in placing pit bull type dog into responsible homes. I give mad props to Badrap.org and pbrc.net for their help in the rehabilitation of the "Lost Dogs" of Michael Vick.

^{“Basically it's a small number of people who come into the shelter who are responsible and don't want the dog for perhaps the wrong reasons.”}

Making the Case for Pit Bulls

Making the Case for Pit Bulls

41.37824

-73.27801

primary

Making the Case for Pit Bulls

Newtown Animal Shelter

Ethan Allen Rd & S Main St, Newtown, CT

/listings/newtown-animal-shelter

74345

/locations/2054914

Pit bulls and their owners often live in secrecy, but the fear they often instill is unwarranted.

The decision to write a column about pit bulls was easy. 
Finding owners willing to be interviewed about their dogs was a challenge.
"I really try to keep a low profile about the fact that I have pit bulls. I live on a back lot so very few people, including my neighbors, know that they're here," said a Newtown resident, who asked to remain anonymous and who owns two perfectly behaved pit bulls. 
I heard this or similar stories from several other pit owners in Newtown. 
Mention to friends and family that you're planning to adopt a pit bull and the reaction is immediate, most often negative and sometimes downright outrage. Propagating this viewpoint are the insurance companies who refuse to write homeowner's policies for the owners of pit bulls.
No wonder many pit bull owners live in secrecy. Many pit owners, as well as pounds and shelters, often refer to the dogs as boxer-terrier mixes to avoid the common harsh reaction to this breed.
Pit bulls that arrive at the Newtown pound usually stay longer than any other breed before being adopted. The continued "bad press" awarded this breed continues the fallacy that all pits are bad. In addition, many of the pit bulls that end up at the pound have been abused, adding sometimes serious behaviorial issues to the mix.
Matt Schaub, who works at the Newtown pound, said, "You have to remember their full name is pit bull terrier. People tend to forget that the terrier part of their breed usually means that they're tenacious, active and head-strong, in addition to being powerful. It's not the breed for everyone, just as a really small dog may not be the best breed for families with small children. People should educate themselves about a breed before they adopt a dog." 
Some of the pit bulls at the pound would make wonderful pets according to Schaub, who is quick to add, "for the right family."
And, there have been amazing success stories for many of the pit bulls that have been adopted at the pound, due in part to the patience and attention of Animal Control Officer Carolee Mason and the pound staff, as well the diligent training and socialization that each dog gets there.
Jim Gorant's newly released book, The Lost Dogs: Michael Vick's Dogs and Their Tale of Rescue and Redemption, takes the reader on the journey of the 51 pit bulls found and removed from Vick's property, many of whom were long-time dog fighters, with the scars to prove it. 
That journey has been nothing short of amazing — 47 of the 51 dogs that were rescued have made remarkable progress, due to the landmark decision handed down by the U.S. District Court in Richmond, Virginia who originally heard the Vick case.
In that landmark decision, Judge Hudson ruled that each dog would be individually evaluated by a group of trainers and behaviorists. Each dog would then be placed in the setting that would be in the "best interests" of the dog. Allowing the dogs to be assessed individually gave them each that necessary second chance.
In addition, Vick was required to pay $928,000 for their care and treatment. Under the law, this damages award amounted to restitution, defining the dogs, for the first time, as more than just a piece of property and, therefore, entitled to compensation.
Michael Vick did prison time for his crime, and was recently named the starting quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles, resurrecting his football career. If Vick deserved a second chance after his horrendous treatment of his dogs, didn't his dogs deserve that same opportunity? 
Fortunately for the 47 pit bulls that were successfully rehabilitated, the courts believed they did.
So goes the old saying, "There are no bad dogs, just bad owners."

Staffordshire Bull Terrier Chases Off Gun Gang Who Attacked Girl Owner

Dog chases off gun gang who attacked girl owner 

Last updated at 12:12 AM on 13th September 2010

A Staffordshire bull terrier chased a gunman from the family home following an attack on his owner.

A pet dog chased a gunman from the family home following an attack on his owner.
Three masked men burst into the house in Winstanley, Wigan, while the family was in the living room watching TV on Friday night.
During the commotion, the Staffordshire bull terrier bit the leg of one of the men, who was carrying a gun, and he hit the dog.
When the family’s 22-year-old daughter got up to protect the dog, the man struck her several times on the head with his gun, leaving a cut, which required treatment.
But the brave dog continued to bite the man until the three-man gang fled the house empty-handed.
Then it gave chase and, forcing the gunman to drop his weapon in the garden, pulled him to the ground, but he struggled free and escaped down a nearby footpath.
Detective Chief Inspector Howard Millington, of Greater Manchester Police, said yesterday: ‘To attack a defenseless young woman with a pistol is a shameful act and these men need to be caught and spend years looking at the four walls of a jail cell.
‘Unless you have been through this sort of ordeal, it is impossible to know how this family is feeling having had the sanctity of their home invaded by three cowards carrying guns.’
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What an awesome dog! Great positive press! This baby dogs deserves a huge marrowbone, a 5pounder!!! Good job, Courageous Dog, and I hope they catch whoever is responsible for trying to harm this family. I did find the comments by readers of this article very interesting. Here are a few of them:

1.   Come on Daily Mail, make up your minds.
Are they Devil Dogs or Angel Dogs?

2.   Interesting, but of course not surprising how you omit the breed of dog from your title here. If this had been a dog attack your title would have screamed - STAFF/PIT BULL TYPE!!!. Disgusting, and I am surprised you even printed a positive story. Such is the ignorance and hype that is todays headline grabbing media. Ill informed misinformation spewed forth that only advances such tragic hysteria to the uneducated masses. In turn causing so much death and fear of this wrongly maligned breed..
Staffies and pits are are a wonderful breed of dog Loyal, loving, smart and brave. GOOD BOY , GOOD JOB!!

3.   It's ironic how differently the dog is described when it's biting a gunman, than if it had bitten say a child. Former makes it brave and loyal, the latter makes it vicious and ought to be put down. A dog doesn't differentiate the same and there's no reason it wouldn't have reacted the same to a child throwing a tantrum and hitting it or it's owner. I don't think this means it needs put down, not if it's owner controls it properly, but it's just a good example of the way people respond differently to exactly the same thing dependant on the victim.

4.   I don't think this means it needs put down, not if it's owner controls it properly, but it's just a good example of the way people respond differently to exactly the same thing dependant on the victim.
- Linda, UK, 12/9/2010 3:42

RE:
Biting a gunman and chewing off a 3 year old's face is rather different, even in the brain of a dog.

5.   Interesting. The same breed of dog people jump on a bandwagon to ban because they are all "evil", or "deadly". It's nice to see the dogs get one back.
Atta boy. You show them.

Making Good Canine Citizens- A Letter

Letters, 9-8

Sep 08, 2010

Making good canine 'citizens'

Thanks to Al Diamon for his "Pariah Dogs" column last week. As he made clear, a call for breed bans in Maine is based on fearful imaginings rather than reality. Janis Bradley, author of "Dogs Bite But Balloons and Slippers Are More Dangerous," combed statistics from the Centers for Disease Control to put dog bites and fatal attacks into perspective nationally.

Among her findings: One is five times more likely to be killed by lightning than by a dog. Children, more often than adults, are victims of fatal dog attacks, but a child is 82 times more likely to be killed by family or friends.

Drowning kills 208 times more children, guns 49 times more children, and bicycles 48 times more children. Let us not ignore the tragedy of any such deaths, but trying to outlaw these possibilities would be absurd.

Most dogs of "dangerous breeds" prefer not to [be aggressive] at all. Of the 51 pit bulls taken from Michael Vick's Bad Newz Kennels in April 2007, 47 were thriving in foster or forever homes 20 months later.

In 1995, I heard veterinary behaviorist Ian Dunbar discuss research by a graduate student at UC-Berkeley. The project explored what kinds of interactions preceded dog bites to children and, accordingly, assessed traits of various breeds. The surprising conclusion was that "a well-bred, well-socialized" rottweiler is the safest dog to have in a home with young children.

As a dog trainer, I've met such outstandingly good-natured rotties (as well as sweet pit-bull types) that I adopted one: Jolly Good Fellow, who became a Canine Good Citizen, a registered therapy dog, and a welcome visitor to area schools and the library. By what reasoning should owning such a dog be illegal?

Regardless of breed, a well-socialized dog understands that there are a thousand degrees of bite and chooses not to break flesh when an air snap will do — bite inhibition that is learned via play throughout a pup's first four months. Equally important, a puppy needs to learn social confidence through positive encounters with dozens of unfamiliar people, dogs and situations before reaching 14-16 weeks of age. Otherwise, the adolescent dog is hard-wired to begin experiencing new situations as scary or suspect.

Mr. Diamon is correct that keeping the public safe from your dog (and your dog safe from the public) is easier if the dog is neutered and that it is imperative for your dog to be securely contained when you are not present. Responsible owners also exercise their dogs daily so that frustrations and excess energy do not build up in their pets.

They socialize and train so that they can guide their dogs' behavior. They do not allow dogs and children to mix without supervision. In a society that tolerates no communication with teeth, it is the owner's job to keep a dog on the right side of skin and law — and, evidently, to watch out for misguided legislative proposals, lest they bite us where it hurts.

Lane Fisher,

Certified Professional Dog Trainer, Knowledge Assessed

Belfast

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Here is the source of the statistics I was looking for regarding a previous post. This is an excellent article and I think the following is so true and I wish more people understood this no matter what type of dog they own.

“Regardless of breed, a well-socialized dog understands that there are a thousand degrees of bite and chooses not to break flesh when an air snap will do — bite inhibition that is learned via play throughout a pup's first four months. Equally important, a puppy needs to learn social confidence through positive encounters with dozens of unfamiliar people, dogs, and situations before reaching 14-16 weeks of age. Otherwise, the adolescent dog is hard-wired to begin experiencing new situations as scary or suspect.”

It all boils down to responsible ownership of one’s dog.