Pit Bulls Should Not Be Banned As Pets

In today's society more often than not the Pit bulls dogs as a breed get a bad reputation. General misconceptions based off of false information lead to Pit Bulls receiving unfair treatment from the public. These dogs are more times than not alienated from the "good dog" category, and feared because of their misleading reputation in today's world. Pit bulls as a breed are loving, supporting, loyal, and caring dogs that deserve more positive recognition from everybody. Unfortunately, some places in the world have gone so far as to ban Pit bulls from being pets. This act is unjust, and frankly idiotic in its nature. Pit bull dogs should not be banned as pets, because the real issue is how the dogs are being raised — not how the dogs act naturally.

It is the owner’s influence that encourage a dog's behavior, and more often than not Pit bulls are a target for animal abuse and cruelty. To better understand the abuse related to Pit bulls in today’s time it is important to know why these actions came about, and how these dogs became a center of animal cruelty related to the neglecting of dogs.
Pit bulls in America’s history have always been family dogs.

These dogs were respected for their loyalty and their ability to watch over families. “In the early twentieth century, pit bulls were so respected for their loyalty, determination and bravery that they were chosen to represent America in WWI posters.” (Breed Information). This breed of dogs has served as an American icon for over a century, and have only as of a little over the last decade gained negative national attention. As humans have done before with many other animal species before the Pit bull dogs, people have managed to breed these dogs for dog fighting. This is the most commonly known form of abuse related to Pit bulls, and a major contributing factor to the negative image given to Pit bulls in the media. “Dog fighting is a type of blood sport in which dogs are forced to fight one another for the entertainment and/or profit of spectators.” (Breed Information). This sadistic entertainment is illegal and also considered a felony in all 50 states of America; furthermore, the punishment for being involved in such action can range from months to years. The harshest sentenced ever recorded for dog fighting was 8 years in federal prison, and involved a 50-year-old Alabama man named Donnie Anderson. Mr. Anderson reportedly over his time running dog fights believed to kill anywhere between 420 to 640 dogs. “When his operation was raided a total of 367 dogs were rescued in August 2013.” (Gibson). According to the

Huffington post it was reported “…that Anderson hosted 80 fights in which nearly 500 pit bulls fought for hundreds of spectators who bet about $100,000 per fight. It was also Anderson’s job to kill the losers, and he executed one dog by letting it hang by its collar, Tim Rickey, an investigator with the ASPCA, told the station.” (Dicker). These actions are proving factors that time in and time out humans actions are what influence Pit bulls to act in a violent manner. It is said that the reason fighting dogs are so aggressive is because their owners raise them in isolation. These dogs are raised on short heavy chains, and injected with anabolic steroids to increase muscle mass, while also boosting aggressiveness. Naturally at birth Pit bulls are loyal, loving, and good family dogs; however, when such torture technique as the ones listed previously are used any dog would be subjective to change. To ban dogs from communities, towns, and more is absurd; furthermore, anybody who takes even the minimal amount of time to research the breed would realize these dogs are harmless when raised appropriately. “Pit bulls are respected and dearly loved by those who know them for what they truly are and not the monsters the media has created.” (Breed Information). This breed of dogs have so much to offer, and are naturally born to love. When placed into the wrong hands these dogs are turned into monster due to neglect and torture. Anybody in the right state of mind can see that the dogs are not the problem, but the oppressed victim of abuse.
Pit bulls are even statistically proven to be the most abused animal in America.

As reported by the humane society it is said that in general dogs are the most abused animals; furthermore, they continued to explain that Pit bulls are the single-handily most abuse animal in America today. “The animals whose abuse is most often reported are dogs, cats, horses and livestock. Based on numbers from pet-abuse.com, of 1,880 cruelty cases reported in the media in 2007: 64.5 percent (1,212) involved dogs (25 percent of these were identified as pit-bull-type breeds), 18 percent (337) involved cats, 25 percent (470) involved other animals.” (Animal Cruelty). This clearly states that in comparison to dogs being the most abused animals in reported cases, Pit bulls are more abused than any other breed of

dogs.
The debate in society about if Pit bulls should be banned is mostly one sided; however, there are those who encourage the idea of these dogs being banned. Those on the opposition would argue that although this breed of dogs have been proven to be good family dogs, they are naturally vicious and naturally have an instinct to kill. It has been stated that Pit bulls seek dominance among other dogs and people; therefore, they engage is violent attacks against those who oppose themselves as a threat. Although a considerable argument, the reason why this accusation is false is due to the fact that any dog can act like this. Any dog, not just Pit bulls, can attack when threatened. This relates back to how the dogs are raised by their owners, and the experiences the dogs undergo when being raised. “Some abused dogs may become overly aggressive, as they will try to defend themselves whenever they identify a possible threat. An abused dog may attack people or other canines.” (Abused Dog). This explains why any dog, whether Pit bull or not, will attack somebody or another dog. Banning Pit bulls because they are “more vicious” would only ever extend the problem onto another breed. When people buy Pit bulls if they want them to be vicious they will train that to be so. If Pit bulls were banned that would still leave people in a position to want to train an aggressive dog. This problem could switch onto other dogs like Rottweilers, German shepherds, or bulldogs. As a society we have to realize that Pit bulls are not naturally dangerous. There is no reason to ban these animals, and with proper training these problems will never arise.