The city of Show Low is proposing an ordinance banning the ownership of pit bulls in their community. This is a knee-jerk reaction to a recent attack by three pit bulls in Show Low, resulting in the death of a child.
While I sympathize with the family of the victim, I am completely opposed to the government putting restrictions such as this in place.
The people responsible for this horrible tragedy have been punished--the owners of the dogs. They have been charged with second degree murder and I feel this is an appropriate action. But banning the breed entirely punishes responsible dog owners too, which is completely wrong.
I've been around pit bulls who were the sweetest, gentlest dogs you could ever image. I've also seen chihuahuas and poodles that were the meanest, nastiest dogs you'll ever see. Obviously, the little dog isn't going to do much damage if it decides to attack someone. It won't make the news. But every time a pit bull attacks someone, its a major headline.
Granted, a pit bull is going to do some damage if it bites you. It all boils down to how the dogs are bred and raised. I don't buy for a minute that a well-bred pit bull will just "snap" and attack without warning. The dogs committing these actions are bred, raised and trained as attack dogs. Some are neglected or otherwise abused. The people who own these dogs are destroying a beautiful breed because of their own selfishness and stupidity. They are ultimately responsible and should be dealt with accordingly.
If pit bulls are banned, the people who want vicious attack dogs will turn to another breed with similar traits. Any muscular dog with a strong jaw could be bred over time to be aggressive.
The ban won't stop with pit bulls. Insurance companies are already classifying other breeds as "vicious animals", including boxers. My beautiful, lovable boxers wouldn't hurt anyone unless they felt Xan or I were in danger.
It isn't right to keep any dog from finding a home with a loving, responsible owner. We need to find a way to deal with the people who insist on turning wonderful pets into killers. I wouldn't keep a vicious dog of any breed, large or small, and no resonsible dog owner would.
(Continue reading if you want to read the story of Bo, my dalmatian.)
Running Raider Bo (after Bo Jackson) was his AKC registered name. Bo was a dalmatian that I adopted from a family who could no longer keep him. I was told it was because Bo "snapped" at a child who was teasing him. The mother ran a daycare business out of their house and they couldn't take a chance with the kids. They said Bo wasn't good with kids. I fell in love with him right away and since I didn't have any kids, I didn't think I had anything to worry about.
The day after I got Bo, I noticed there was blood in his urine. I immediately called the vet to make an appointment. After running some tests, it was discovered he had a bladder infection resulting from kidney stones, a common condition in poorly bred dalmatians. I called Bo's previous owner to find out if she had known about his condition. Her response was that Bo had been treated for this once before, but they didn't know he had the problem again. I could bring him back if I wanted, but they would probably just have him put to sleep because they couldn't afford to pay the vet bills.
By this time, I was already attached to Bo and I couldn't think of having him put to sleep. The vet put him on medication to cure the infection and put him on a special prescription diet, but he said there was little else they could do about the stones. He indicated I should expect this to be a recurring problem with Bo.
It didn't take long to figure out that Bo had a nasty temperament when he wasn't feeling well. He didn't take kindly to being told, "No!" and would growl defensively. My first encounter with his temper was a few days after I brought him home. He had found a baseball and had chewed the skin almost completely off. I was worried that he would swallow the skin and tried to take it from him. He bared his teeth at me, snarling and growling. I'd never owned a dog that I was afraid of so this came as quite a shock to me. Bo was a big dalmatian. He weighed 85 lbs. and could flatten a tennis ball in his mouth. Obviously, I was pretty intimidated when he growled at me.
After doing some research, I hired a dog trainer to come and work with me so I could handle Bo without fear. Several weeks of my time and several hundred dollars later, what I ended up with was an OBEDIENT aggressive dog.
The training and medication did little to curb Bo's temper. When he was feeling good, Bo was a terrific dog. More often than not, he was in pain and mad at the world.
The final straw came one Saturday morning. Bo slept right beside me on the floor every night. When I stepped out of bed on this morning, I must have startled him. He jumped up and backed himself into the corner and started growling at me. All the hair on his back was standing on end and he was baring his teeth as if he were going to attack me.
It was clear at that point that I couldn't keep a dog that I was afraid of. If he were to somehow get out of the house or the yard and go after someone, I wouldn't be able to control him. It was the hardest decision that I've ever had to make, but Bo had to be put down.
As much as I loved that dog, it was the responsible thing to do.