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[ this essay was deleted in the forum crash...it was not written by me, but I wanted to "revive" it ]

People are afraid of Pit Bulls. They’re viewed as scary, unstable animals that attack frequently, with little or no provocation. The attacks we see on the news are particularly heinous, sometimes resulting in death. Pit Bulls are responsible for more dog related human fatalities than any other breed. All these reasons and more combine to make a bouillabaisse of fear, distrust, and loathing toward the breed.


I believe there are three major factors contributing to the negative stigma attached to American Pit Bull Terriers (APBT’s.) The first is mistaken identity. Most people don’t know that “Pit Bull Attacks” aren’t always, or even usually, committed by an American Pit Bull Terrier. Instead, they’re committed by a “Pit Bull type dog”, a stereotyping of any dog that resembles a Pit Bull, or fits a set of physical characteristics such as short hair, stocky build and a block like head. Statistics compiled by the Humane Society of the United States clearly support this distinction, as does Breed Specific Legislation (BSL), laws that pertain only to certain breeds, usually Pit Bulls or Rottweilers. Both clearly state they are based on Pit Bull type dogs, not just American Pit Bull Terriers.


Both the statistics compiled and the enforcement of BSL laws are based on visual identification. Experts cannot always agree on a dog’s pedigree, so how can the average layperson be expected to differentiate between the breeds when they witness an attack? They don’t. They’re simply lumped together and called Pit Bulls.
There are at least fifteen breeds easily mistaken for the Pit Bull: American Bulldog, American Staffordshire Terrier, Bull Mastiff, Boston Terrier, Cane Corso, Alapaha Blue Blood Bulldog, Olde English Bulldogge, and Presa Canario (the breed being kept by attorneys Knoller and Noel in their San Francisco apartment, who fatally mauled lacrosse coach Diane Whipple in 2001) to name a few.


Irresponsible journalism is the second factor contributing to the general population’s disenchantment with Pit Bulls. The media has shamelessly belied the truth in favor of sensationalism, denouncing Pit Bulls, when in fact another breed of dog altogether was responsible. There are copious examples of this practice. A smorgasbord of exemplars follows:


March 6, 2006 Kansas City, MO. Headline screams “Pit Bull Attacks 12 Year Old Girl!”
The story includes photos of the dog being led from the scene. The dog does not resemble a Pit Bull, or even a Pit Bull mix. Angry calls to the news station from APBT lovers got the picture removed, but the story continued to run as a Pit Bull attack.


December 6, 2005 Detroit, MI. The Detroit Free Press reports a 91-year-old woman was fatally mauled by her three year old Bull Mastiff, “Butch”. The story seems credible, with three separate neighbors giving statements to the reporter, including one from a man whose grandson was visiting the victim’s home at the time of the attack. The story is then picked up by other news stations and the headlines are changed to “Pit Bull Attack”

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February 4, 2004 Manhattan, NYC “Pit Bull Mauls 3-Year old’s Face” The headline declares. The story goes on to say the family had just adopted a Pit Bull several days before, and already owned a German Shepherd puppy, as well as a Boxer. The child, Makailah Smith, and her sister, Isinay, were playing on the floor with the puppy. The Boxer suddenly snapped, and first bit Isinay, then jumped on Makailah. It is very clear reading the story that the Boxer attacked the children, not the Pit Bull, yet the headline features a Pit Bull attack.


Many stories that read “Pit Bull Attack” do not feature a picture of the dog in question, so it’s impossible to know how many of the reports actually involve a true Pit Bull, and how many are a mixed breed or some other breed altogether. People are amenable to what they hear on the news, or read in the paper. Sensational journalism has long been a bane of the Pit Bull’s existence.


The third factor contributing to the Pit Bull’s loathsome reputation is, unfortunately, the biggest problem of all. Irresponsible ownership has been the undoing of the American Pit Bull Terrier. The reports of Pit Bull attacks that are perpetrated by actual Pit Bulls are not owned by people who take their dogs to basic obedience, socialize them, and treat them as part of the family. They are owned by people who keep the dogs as a status symbol of their own invulnerability. The dogs that attack are often left chained for long periods with little or no human contact. Studies have shown this treatment can lead any breed of dog to bite. Statistically speaking, dogs of any breed that attack are usually male, reproductively intact, un-socialized, have a history of being chained, and are often hungry and/or in need of medical attention. Nefarious owners may even go so far as to train their dogs to be aggressive, a lethal idea where APBT’s are concerned. A few instances of owner irresponsibility follow.


March 31, 2006 San Jose, CA. A Menlo Park police officer backs up his patrol car to investigate a couple of guys with a Pit Bull. Horrified, he watches as the dog’s owner, 19-year-old Anthony Makoni, unleashes the dog and stands back smiling while it mauls a neighbors 12-year-old cat to death. When questioned after the attack, Makoni responded, “My dog has done that many times.”


March 29, 2006 Spotsylvania, VA. Deanna Large is sentenced to three years in prison for the death of her 82-year-old neighbor, Dorothy Sullivan. Sullivan was walking her Shih Tzu, “Buttons”, when Large’s three Pit Bulls attacked and killed both. She was accused of having trained the animals to be aggressive. During the trial, neighbors testified that Large’s Pit Bulls were allowed to roam loose, menacing the neighborhood. At one point, Large had 13 Pit Bulls living in her trailer.


February 6, 2006 Ottawa, Canada Two-year-old Jayden Clairoux is attacked by three Pit Bulls owned by 21-year-old Shridev Cafe. The dogs got loose five weeks before the attack on Jayden and besieged a 16-year-old boy and his 4-year-old brother at an ice-skating rink. Cafe was fined, and ordered to muzzle his dogs outside the home, and to keep them in an enclosed yard. Instead, Cafe simply moved the dogs to his girlfriend’s house. He stated after Jayden’s attack that he couldn’t afford the muzzles. Cafe also told police he would take his dogs to obedience, but never followed through.


April 5, 2004 Charlotte, NC Eight -year-old Roddie Philip Dumas Jr. was mauled to death by four Pit Bulls. The dogs were owned by his father, Roddie Philip Dumas Sr. Witnesses heard the boy screaming for help, and a mailman tried to save him by throwing his mailbag at the dogs. Showing considerable chutzpuh, he then grabbed a stick, jumped the fence, and beat the dogs until they let the boy go. Sadly, Roddie was pronounced dead at Carolinas Medical Center shortly after his arrival. Both Roddie Dumas Sr. and his girlfriend were home at the time of the attack, but claimed not to have heard Roddie’s cries for help. The attack had gone on for over twenty minutes. Dumas claimed to have been sleeping, but when police arrived they detected the heavy aroma of marijuana in the air. When they searched the residence they found “blunts” (a marijuana filled cigar) by the bed, an AK-47 assault rifle, two shotguns, ammunition, and crack-cocaine. Later that night, Dumas was booked on charges of trafficking cocaine, maintaining a dwelling for purposes of trafficking, possession of a firearm by aconvicted felon, and possession of marijuana with intent to distribute. Dumas made no request to attend his son’s funeral.


The reports are endless. The dog gets the media’s attention, but there’s almost always a sad story behind the sensational one. Any breed could be the victim of man’s cruelty. Just ask the breeders of Presa Canrio dogs. They were unheard of until Diane Whipple’s fatal mauling by two of the 100+ lb. animals in 2001. After the attack breeders were caught in an ethical paradox. Business had never been better, but for all the wrong reasons. Tracy Hennings, a breeder in Cleveland who is president of the Dogo Canario Club of America, has said of the people looking to acquire the dogs, “They’re looking for that designer weapon that could make them look tougher. They want that tough, macho, big dog at the end of the chain, lunging and charging.”


American Pit Bull Terriers were (and sadly still are) champions in the dog-fighting pit. Their legendary abilities have put them on the radar of far to many people who wish to exploit the breed’s inherent strengths. They’re selectively bred to be tenacious, highly tolerant of pain, and perhaps most importantly, “game”, or ever ready, willing and eager to engage in battle. It is this aspect of the Pit Bull’s history that continues to give the breed a lowered inhibition to aggression today. This aggression however, is traditionally directed toward dogs or other animals, not humans. Under dog-fighting rules, any animal that was man-aggressive could not fight; therefore usually didn’t live. Any tenancies to be man-aggressive were culled out of the breed just as relentlessly as the other traits were bred in.


In fact, there’s plenty of data to support that APBT’s actually have a stable temperament and can make excellent companion animals. For instance, in tests administered by the American Temperament Testing Society (ATTS), they routinely rank higher than many other dogs commonly kept as pets. The ATTS has compiled statistics on over 230 breeds since 1977 and tested well over 25,000 dogs. The testing is designed to measure different aspects of a dog’s temperament such as stability, shyness, aggressiveness, friendliness, and protective instinct. The test simulates a casual walk through a neighborhood or park. The dog is put on a six-foot leash, and does not receive any verbal commands or corrections from the handler. Unprovoked aggression, panic without recovery, and strong avoidance all result in failure. APBT’s have out-scored the Beagle, Bichon Frise, Border Collie, Cocker Spaniel, Collie, Dachshund, Dalmatian, English Bulldog, Jack Russell Terrier, Lhasa Apso, Miniature Poodle, Pomeranian, Samoyed, and many more with a passing rate of 84%. This is no statistical anomaly. Carl Herkstroeter, the president of the ATTS, says of Pit Bulls:

“We have tested somewhere around a thousand, and I’ve personally tested half of them. I’ve had to disqualify one Pit Bull because of aggressive tenancies. They have done extremely well. They have a good temperament. They are very good with children.” Herkstroeter goes on to say, “The ones that the legislation is geared toward have aggressive tenancies that are either bred in by the breeder, trained in by the trainer, or reinforced in by the owner.”
Randall Lockwood, a senior vice-president of the ASPCA, and one of the countries leading dog bite experts, agrees. He’s been quoted as saying: “ I’ve seen virtually every breed involved in fatalities, including Pomeranians and everything else.

When I first started looking at fatal dog attacks, they largely involved dogs like German Shepherds and Saint Bernard’s- which is probably why Stephen King chose to make Cujo a Saint Bernard, not a Pit Bull. I haven’t seen a fatality involving a Doberman for decades, whereas in the 1970's they were quite common. If you wanted a mean dog back then, you got a Doberman. I don’t think I even saw my first Pit Bull case until the middle to late 1980's, and I didn’t start seeing Rottweilers until I’d already looked at a few hundred fatal dog attacks. Now these dogs make up the preponderance of fatalities. The point is that it changes over time. It’s a reflection of what the dog of choice is among people who want to own an aggressive dog.”


Not everyone wants a Pit Bull for the wrong reasons. Proponents of the APBT love them for their eagerness to please their master, high obedience, extreme loyalty, and notorious courage. They can make excellent pets, and were even known in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century as “nanny dogs”, they had such an excellent reputation with children. They are not, however, for everyone. You have to be willing to educate yourself, in order to protect both yourself and the dog. Obedience is a must. Dog parks are out. A Pit Bull should never be allowed to roam free, or left alone with unfamiliar children and socialization from an early age is invaluable. Pit Bull owners can never become degage with their dogs in public.


Realistically, most people would never consider buying or adopting a Pit Bull. People are so reviled by what they hear on the news; they loathe everything about the dogs. In Waco, TX last year alone, 1,074 Pit Bulls were euthanized. The very definition of euthanasia is killing painlessly for reasons of mercy. I daresay mercy is something not shown often enough to this breed. During my research, I have mentioned my title and intent to many people. Almost unanimously, it has met with open hostility. After reading this essay, if I have assuaged even one person’s fears toward APBT’s, or challenged at least one axiom, I will feel triumphant. You see, our antipathy toward them runs so deep, the truth shall never set them free.