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July 06, 2007
Every Dog Has Its Day, Just Not in South Pittsburg
The city says that "pit bulls have a 'genetic predisposition to aggressiveness' that makes the breed dangerous." Never mind that there's technically no such thing, genetically speaking, as a "pit bull"; the "predisposition to aggressiveness" bit is patently false. Check this Wikipedia article, where it says that even dogs of this general classification that themselves have been trained to fight can later adapt to be perfectly harmless, loyal companions — never mind ones that have been raised gently.
I've seen Chihuahuas that were "predisposed" to aggressiveness. I've seen Rottweilers as meek as lambs (and, yes, I've seen mean ones, too). Growing up, my next-door neighbors' German Shepherd was a terribly aggressive dog, but then again, the two boys who lived there made sure of that, as they "trained" (tortured?) him to be that way from puppyhood. (They were aggressive as tweens and teens, and now they're both Virginia state troopers.) I lived in a duplex next to a guy who had a gorgeous brindle "pit bull" (American Staffordshire Terrier), a female who had been brought up right and who never showed any signs of aggression whatsoever, toward humans or other animals. This neighbor also had a pair of tiny rat terriers who then had a litter of seven, and the little pups would climb all over the much larger dog, while she patiently looked on.
An argument I've often seen is "well, if a pit bull attacked your child, you'd want them all banned and killed too." Not so. I'd be hurting for sure; but I'd be going after the dog's people, not the dog. (That said, I do allow that there may be certain situations, based on an animal's history, where euthanasia is the most humane option.)
I think we ought to ban all cars that go faster than 20mph. Those things kill so many people, man.
Government | By joe lance | 08:52 PM