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Misconceptions about Pit Bulls
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The misrepresentation of Pit Bull breeds in the media has been reflected in American culture. As these dogs were incorporated into World War I propaganda, they were perceived as symbols of courage and strength, the archetype of American dog breeds5. When, in the 1920s and 1930s, American Staffordshire Terrier “Pete the Pup” starred in the comedy Our Gang, later known as The Little Rascals, Pit Bulls were considered “nanny dogs” and family-friendly pets7. When the media focused heavily on illegal dog fighting rings and gang culture in the 1970s and 1980s, Pit Bulls were called demonic and unpredictable. Through their many roles, they have shown versatility and resilience, and lately they have suffered greatly.
Pit Bulls in the Press: Misrepresentation, Culture and Society
According to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), there is a “great deal of confusion associated with the label ‘Pit Bull,’” as it does not refer to a single breed of dog, but rather to a group of breeds with similar characteristics1. These characteristics include short hair, a wide skull and shoulders, muscle definition, stocky build and a deep jawline, the combination of which create a dog that manages to strike fear into a perfect stranger. The term ‘Pit Bull’ is derived from the bulldog, which was originally bred as a hunting dog for large game, but has since developed into a “loyal companion rather than a working dog.”1 Their history as “gripping dogs” for hunters follows them into modern society, as many of these dogs have been inhumanely pitted against one another as well as other animals for sport and for human entertainment1. It is because of these illegal fighting rings that ‘Pit Bull’ type breeds have become the subje...
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...d-Specific Legislation (BSL) FAQ." The National Canine Research Council. National Canine Research Council, LLC., 2013. Web. 17 Mar. 2014.
10. National Canine Research Council. Denver's Breed-Specific Legislation: Brutal, Costly, and Ineffective. National Canine Research Council. N.p., 2012. Web. 17 Mar. 2014.
11. American Humane Association. "Breed-Specific Legislation." Fact Sheets. American Humane Association, 2013. Web. 16 Mar. 2014.
12. Lutz, Jaime. "Family Chooses Homelessness Over Abandoning Pit Bull." ABC News. ABC News Network, 19 Feb. 2014. Web. 17 Mar. 2014.
13. Deborah L. Duffy, Yuying Hsu, James A. Serpell ,Applied Animal Behavior Science - 1 December 2008 (Vol. 114, Issue 3, Pages 441-460, DOI: 10.1016/j.applanim.2008.04.006)
14. Draper, Bill. "Attitudes and Laws against Pit Bulls Soften." Boston.com. The New York Times, 11 Mar. 2014. Web. 17 Mar. 2014.
Their family-friendly reputation changed “around 1976, when animal-fighting venues were added to the Animal Welfare Act, according to Donald Cleary of the National Canine Research Council. Pits—often trained as combatants—came to be seen as dangerous. Throughout the next two decades, stories about vicious pits mauling innocent children appeared in news outlets across the country” (Tullis 3). Interestingly enough, pit bulls were not always the breed under fire by society. In the 1800’s, bite reports by bloodhounds, which were often used to hunt down escaped slaves, flooded the Northeastern newspapers.
Just the sight of a pit bull instills apprehension and even fear in some people, who believe the dog may attack them for no reason and not let go. Many communities have placed this ostracized breed under severe restrictions; some municipalities have implemented bans outlawing ownership of the breed. Today’s society regards the pit bull as the most vicious and unpredictable of all dog breeds, whereas admirers of the pit bull believe this misconception stems from irresponsible owners and the inflammatory and negative publicity concerning this breed.
Moore, Benjamin. “Here’s Why You See So Many Pit Bulls In Shelters.” Barkpost. Barkpost. 2016. Web. 12 May 2016.
United States Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Library. Animal Welfare Act. 8 April 2014. 14 April 2014.
Most of the dogs on this list are common household pets, like the Labrador retriever, and are normally non-aggressive and very friendly. Many times these dogs show no sign of aggression and pose no threat to society. Perspective One Breed-specific laws were put in place with the expectation to help prevent dog bites and attacks. The State and Federal government both came to the conclusion that this is a positive way to promote safety from dog attacks. “Both state and federal courts consistently uphold the constitutionality of breed-specific pit bull laws.... ...
In recent years it has been the pit bull which has come under the scrutiny of legislative bodies, as their reputation becomes more and more sullied by street crime. To say “pit bull,” however, is a vague reference to several pit bull types, which are considered separate breeds by registries like the American Kennel Club (AKC). Each type has a slightly different breeding history; many began with the breeding of bulldogs with terriers to produce a loyal, compact and tenacious breed (“American Pit Bull Terrier”). The three standard pit bull types most often mentioned by name in breed-specific legislation include the American Pit Bull Terrier, the American Staffordshire Terrier, and the Staffordshire Bull Terrier. That is not the extent of the legislation, however, which also includes dogs that “substantially conform to the breed standards established by the American Kennel Club” (Melvindale)....
Breed-specific legislation is a broad term that includes laws that ban or restrict the type of dog a person can own. Bree- specific legislation, or BSL for short, is often described as something that protects people or makes the world a safer place. In reality, there are many issues with this type of legislation. The whole premise of BSL is based off of misconceptions, it punishes innocent people and animals, and it does not ultimately lower the amount of people bitten each year where it is implemented. These laws are discriminatory, unjust, and unproductive.
...ociated Press published an article “Pit Bulls are A Danger to Society,” yet this year, the same publisher issued an article “Attitudes and Laws Against the Pit Bull Soften – The Big Story” in which the Pit bull advocates hail the changes as recognition that breed-specific laws discriminate against dogs that are not inherently aggressive or dangerous should not be discriminated against or victimized. The debate puts millions of pit bull owners up against a relatively small group of activists against the breed and challenges the notion that Pit Bulls that are well-cared for had any history of aggressive behavior in the first place, closing the argument by again stating what the Canadian Encyclopedia explained, that their actions were just a park of the cycle of favorites and least favorites that has always been and always will be in the history of ownership of dogs.
Campbell, Dana M. "Pit Bull Bans: The State Of Breed-Specific Legislation." Gpsolo 26.5 (2009): 36-41. Academic Search Complete. Web. 22 Oct. 2013.
Call to Action: Challenge your audience to be a responsible pet consumer and not purchase dogs from pet stores or from the Internet. I encourage you to instead, adopt from their local animal shelter. At an animal shelter, you can find many amazing, healthy animals. If you do buy from a breeder, use extreme caution and ask to see the puppy’s parents. Also, please contact your congressional representative and encourage him or her to help pass the PUPS bill.
b. “Many people have a difficult time properly identifying a true Pit Bull, so added to the statistics are those dogs that have been misidentified. Considering these factors, the actual number of attacks attributable to American Pit Bull Terriers is considerably lower than represented,” according to the real pit bull. i. Do you think a 4 pound Pomeranian dog would hurt anybody? ii. Stated in the Dog Bite Law, “The most horrifying example of the lack of breed predictability is the October 2000 death of a 6-week-old baby, which was killed by her family 's Pomeranian dog.” a. The American Temperament Test is a test that measures a dog strong avoidance, unprovoked aggression, and panic without recovery. “American Pit Bull Terriers passed the test at a rate of 85.3%,” according to Pitbulls.org. They have the highest test scores, and they out beat the golden retriever “family dog” by 7.7%. iii. I identify the justice of my rival’s claim, but I disagree with my rival’s 100 percent about pit bulls having the highest attacks. c. Now you can see how my rival made a mistake because they didn’t evaluate and understood the facts as clearly as they
On June 20, Charlotte Alter posted an article on TIME website titled, “The Problem with Pit Bulls”. In her article she starts with an event that happened to a three year old little girl that was attacked by three Pit Bulls. The little girl and her family were in KFC and one of the employees asked her to leave because her face was “disrupting their customers”. Half of the little girl’s face is now paralyzed and she has also lost her vision in one of her eyes because of the three Pit Bulls that attacked her. Her grandfather killed the three Pit bulls that attacked her; however her grandfather is now facing charges of child-endangerment. KFC was so generous to donated money to the family to help with her medical bills. But yet the rant is more
monetarily and otherwise - on pets, the importance of animal law is growing. Here's an
...ed by owner or animal that is not covered by another, non-breed specific portion of the Animal Control Code (i.e., vicious animal, nuisance animal, leash laws).”
Currently, pit bulls have been reported by the media with very horrific and disturbing news of having attacked a child or being shot by a police due to aggression while some are reported to have been abused or neglected by its owners (Forderer and Unkelbach 534). And because the reports keep coming with heated discussions, more and more people have forged a frightening image of pit bulls even to the extreme of refusing to take care of such breed. Pit bull advocates claim that the dogs get a bad reputation considering that people should learn the dogs are not inherently aggressive. What the pit bull advocates would like to point is that the owners of the pit bulls should be considered guilty for mishandling of their own dogs. There are owners of pit bulls that even encourage the dog to be aggressive in order to fight and protect them in a wrong manner and wrong degree of training (Forderer and Unkelbach 536). Pit bull advocates claimed that a well socialized and well trained pit bull would be very intelligent and could be one of the gentle dogs imaginable.