Addressing the Pit Bull Euthanization Dilemma in America

Dogs are a man’s best friend. If you go into many American’s homes you will find a furry four legged friend. Chances are if you watch television you have seen that ASPCA commercial with Sarah McLachlan’s “Arms of an Angel,” playing in the background. The most prominent dog in these heart wrenching videos are pit bulls. Pit bulls have a ferocious stigma in the United States and are being put down is mass numbers every day. Studies estimate that up to 1 million Pits are euthanized per year, or 2,800 per day. (D’Addio, 2011) The fact that pit bulls are being put down for solely being pit bulls is astonishing. I will be discussing the ethical dilemma for euthanizing this dog breed for the stigma we have given them. Although there is contradicting

Being a powerful dog, it will require sufficient and adequate control. Some prospective elderly owners or children, will not be able to supply that control. A first time dog owner, in the minds of many experienced dog breeders, should not buy an APBT or an Am Staff. An insecure person who wants only an aggressive dog to bolster some personal human inadequacy should never become an owner of one of these dogs.” I will begin my research paper off by providing information regarding the origin of the pit bull. “Pit Bull” is NOT a breed. It is a generic term often used to describe all dogs with similar traits and characteristics often known by the public as Pit Bulls. “Pit Bull” type dog including American Pit Bull Terriers, American Staffordshire Terriers and Pit mixes. A variation of what we call the pit bull terrier now has been a common dog in Europe for centuries. It is believed that what people call the pit bull breed of today derives from the Roman breed Molossian family of dogs and the British breed the mastiff. When the Roman empire conquered the Briton empire it is thought that is when the two dogs were bred