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Media Lies About
APBTs
Borrowed from
http://www.coldsteelpits.com/coldsteelmedia.htm
Newspaper & Media
Accounts of Dog
Attacks...
The media has vast
influence over our perceptions of which breeds of dogs are dangerous, as they
decide which dog attack stories to publish. With over 4.7 million dog bites
recorded each year in the United States and with over 800,000 of these attacks
serious enough to require medical attention, the resources for dog-bite stories
appear unlimited. Yet, the media seems to delight in Pit bull related stories,
so much so, that in their haste to report the latest Pit bull attack story the
truth often takes a backseat to sensationalism.
Listed below is a small
sampling of inaccurate and misleading media accounts that have caused
irreparable damage to the image of Pit Bulls:
Killer Pit Bulls
Rip Granny to ShredsNew York Post (NYPost.com) Dec. 11, 2002
Pet Pit Bulls Kill
Woman, 80, in Her HomeThe New York Times (nytimes.com) Dec. 11, 2002
[The victim's daughter
and granddaughter (owner of the dogs) could not believe the dogs, a female Pit
Bull and a male Lab/Pit mix attacked and killed the elderly woman. The family
hired a forensic pathologist to review the case. It was determined that although
the victim had sustained some dog bites, all the bites were non-lethal and
post-mortem. The grandmother was not "ripped to shreds" by the dogs but died
from cardiac arrhythmia. Both dogs were eventually returned to their owners.]
Pit Bull Attack
Victim Leaves Hospital WTVO (Channel 17) April 25, 2003
Man Struggles to
Recover from Pit Bull Attack WTVO (Channel 17) April 29, 2003
[The man in this case was
never bitten by a Pit bull. Indeed, there is no mention of the dog making
contact with the man at all. Instead, the man was running from the dog and he
ran into the road and "slammed" into a passing van. He sustained serious
injuries from the collision with the vehicle.]
Pit Bull Horror New
York Daily News February 7, 2004
Pit Bull Mauls
3-Year-Old's Face New York Newsday February 6, 2004
[A Bronx family owned a
Boxer dog and a German Shepherd puppy that usually were kept in the basement as
guard dogs. Two days before the girl was bitten, the family took in a Pit Bull.
The 3-year-old was alone playing with the three dogs when a dogfight started. At
this point the girl was bitten in the face by the Boxer (also reported to be an
American bulldog). It was later acknowledged that the Pit bull (also reported to
be a Pit bull mix and a "pet bulldog") was not involved in the attack on the
girl]
Cortland Pit Bull
Mauling Death WBNG.com (Channel 12) Dec. 9, 2002
[It was later determined
that although the Pit bull participated in the death of 24-year-old Eric
Tallman, the dog did not inflict the fatal wounds. The victim died from blunt
force injury. It was later revealed that the victim was beaten to death by an
acquaintance over a drug debt.]
Barstow Trial Opens
in Boy's Death: Pit bulls fatally mauled Cash Carson, 10. The
Press-Enterprise May
5, 2001
Murder Charges Filed
in Pit Bull Mauling The Associated Press June 17, 2000
[This tragic case
of a 10-year-old boy killed by dogs was carried extensively in the media. The
dogs were repeatedly headlined as "Pit Bulls". Neither of these dogswere "Pit
Bulls". One appeared to be a Pit Bull Mix and the other dog (the male that
inflicted the fatal wounds) was clearly a mixed breed dog. Animal Control and
photographs of the dog more accurately identify him as a possible Chow/Pit
Bull mixed breed.]
Vancouver Girl
Badly Injured in Pit Bull Attack CTV News Dec. 23, 2002
[This was a very severe
attack and as such garnered much media attention. As a result of more in-depth
coverage the breed was later correctly identified as a Mastiff/Rottweiler mixed
breed]
Family's Pit Bull
Kills Boy, 20, months The Gainesville Sun May 8, 2000
20-month-old Killed by
Bull Terrier Naples Daily News May 9, 2000
[This child was not
killed by a Pit Bull, nor a Bull Terrier, nor a "family" dog. How the dog came
to be labelled a "Pit bull" is unexplained. The owner described the dog to be a
Labrador/Mastiff/Rottweiler cattle dog. The dog was used to herd cattle and was
kept chained on the property. Animal control and the Alachua Sheriff's office
confirm the dog was a mixed breed. Photographs of the dog reveal no discernable
breed.]
____________________________________________________________
Another serious
problem with the image of Pit Bulls is the over-reporting of Pit Bull attacks
vs. other breed attacks. Unquestionably, a disporportionate amount of media
attention is given to Pit Bull attacks. One example of this is a recent fatal
attack in Detroit by a Pit Bull. This story ran in over 30 separate national
newspapers and was also picked up by FOX news, CNN and two British newspapers.
Two weeks earlier a man was KILLED by his German Shepherd Dog and this story ran
only in the local community newspaper.
Pit Bulls in
particular have been in a firestorm of bad publicity, and throughout the country
Pit Bulls often bear the brunt of breed specific legislation. One severe or
fatal attack can result in either restrictions or outright banning of this breed
(and other breeds) in a community. While any severe or fatal attack on a person
is tragic, there is often a tragic loss of perspective as to degree of
dangerousness associated with this breed in reaction to a fatality. Virtually
any breed of dog can be implicated in a human fatality.
From 1965 - 2001,
there have been at least 36 different breeds/types of dog that have been
involved in a fatal attack in the United States. (This number rises to at least
52 breeds/types when surveying fatal attacks worldwide). We are increasingly
becoming a society that has less and less tolerance and understanding of natural
canine behaviors. Breed specific behaviors that have been respected and selected
for over the centuries are now often viewed as unnatural or dangerous. Dogs have
throughout the centuries served as protectors and guardians of our property,
possessions and
families. Dogs have also
been used for thousands of years to track, chase and hunt both large and small
animals. These natural and selected-for canine behaviors seem to now eliciting
fear, shock and a sense of distrust among many people.
There seems to be an
ever growing expectation of a "behaviorally homogenized" dog - "Benji" in the
shape of a Rottweiler. Breeds of dogs with greater protection instincts or an
elevated prey-drive are often unfairly viewed as "aggressive or dangerous". No
breed of dog is inherently vicious, as all breeds of dogs were created and are
maintained exclusively to serve and co-exist with humans. The problem exists not
within the breed of dog, but rather within the owners that fail to control,
supervise,
maintain and properly
train the breed of dog they choose to keep.
____________________________________________________________
CANINE AGGRESSION - AN
OVERVIEW
It is important to
emphasize that dogs bite today for the same reasons that they did one hundred or
one thousand years ago. Dogs are no more dangerous today than they were a
century or millennium ago. They only difference is a shift in human perception
of what is and is not natural canine behavior and/or aggression and the breed of
dog involved.
Examination of
newspaper archival records dating back to the 1950s and 1960s reveal the same
types of severe and fatal attacks occurring then as today. The only difference
is the breed of dog responsible for these events. A random study of 74 severe
and fatal attacks reported in the Evening Bulletin (Philadelphia, PA) from
1964-1968, show no severe or fatal attacks by Rottweilers and only one attack
attributed to a Pit-Bull-type dog. The dogs involved in most of these incidents
were the breeds that were popular at the time.
Over two thousand
years ago, Plato extolled a basic understanding of canine behavior when he wrote
"the disposition of noble dogs is to be gentle with people they know and the
opposite with those they dont know...." Recently, this fundamental principal of
canine behavior seems to elude many people as parents allow their children to be
unsupervised with unfamiliar dogs and lawmakers clamor to declare certain dogs
as dangerous in response to an attack.
Any dog, regardless of
breed, is only as dangerous as his/her owner allows it to be.
Addressing the issue
of severe and fatal dog attacks as a breed specific problem is akin to treating
the symptom and not the disease. Severe and fatal attacks will continue until we
come to the realization that allowing a toddler to wander off to a chained dog
is more of a critical factor in a fatal dog attack than which breed of dog is at
the end of the chain.
____________________________________________________________
MEDIA LIES
The media is so slanted,
readers practically need
climbing equipment!
It can't be stated any
more plainly:
"If you only know what
you hear or read in the media,
you really don't know
much."
After one too many
slanted, misleading, grossly
inaccurate or just plain
dishonest dog bite reports in
the media, we thought it
high time to 'pull back the
curtain on the wizard'
and prove 'the emperor has no
clothes.'
The headlines
screamed: another ghastly 'pit bull'
attack in Ontario. In
this case, a Shih Tzu was the
intended victim. It's
owner, a hapless casualty.
Pretty much every
media agency in the region covered
the following story.
...Repeatedly. ...Ad nauseam.
"Those awful 'pit
bulls'; attacking innocent people
and dogs. You never hear
of a Labrador or a Golden
Retriever involved in
these kinds of incidents."
On February 14, 2006,
Tarra Barnett was walking her
'pit bull' along Danforth
Rd. in Scarborough, when it
bolted and attacked a
Shih Tzu being walked by its
owner. The Shih Tzu
didn't survive. Its owner also
suffered minor injuries
in the attack.
According to
neighbours, Ms. Barnett's dog was known
to be aggressive.
According to witnesses, the 'pit
bull' may have been
off-leash and unmuzzled prior to
the attack.
March 11, 2006, Ms.
Barnett was charged with
'unlawfully causing
bodily harm' and 'common
nuisance', in relation to
this incident.
Sounds alright, huh?
An important story that deserves
reporting.
Well...it would
be...if the media was truly unbiased.
It is obvious that, like
so many stories before it,
this one was headline
news for some time, because it
involved a 'pit bull'.
Want proof?
March 2, 2006, two
Labrador Retriever mixes, known to
be aggressive, were again
"terrorizing the
neighbourhood" in Port
Colborne, Ontario. The two
dogs attacked and killed
a Pomeranian chained in its
yard, then moved on to
attack a 'pit bull' before
being corralled.
Only two local (Welland
area) newspapers carried this
story...once. Only a
muzzle order for the dogs and
talks of a fine were
mentioned as possible punishments
for the owners. No
headlines. No criminal charges.
No media blitz.
So, do you still think
the media is a reliable source
for information? If so,
we have a lovely bridge that
might interest you.
These two stories are
nearly identical. They both
involved unprovoked
attacks that led to the death of a
dog. They both involved
dogs with a known history of
aggression. They both
involved negligent owners. The
story involving the 'pit
bull' was headline news. The
one involving the Labs?
Well...it never made any
headlines, and is all but
forgotten, just a few days
afterwards.
The media picks and
chooses its stories, not for their
"newsworthiness", but for
their ability to attract
readers/viewers/listeners
which, in turn, allows them
to claim higher ratings,
and charge more for
advertising space. It's
business. Plain and simple.
We've been told outright,
"If it doesn't involve
a 'pit bull', it's not 'news'."
In reality, non-'pit
bull' dogs are responsible for
90-100% of bites,
attacks, and fatalities in Canada.
...But you'll never hear
that on the evening news.
In order to provide a
more balanced view of dog biting
incidents, below is a
sampling of stories you probably
didn't see reported in
the media:
March 10, 2006, a Jack
Russell Terrier was ordered to
attack a man, nearly
severing his penis, which was
successfully reattached
by doctors.
March 8, 2006, a
17-month-old was mauled by the
family’s Labrador
Retriever.
March 7, 2006, a
police officer shot a Ridgeback mix
dog after it attacked
another dog and menaced the
officer. There was a
brief report in the media, in
which the owner-confirmed
“Ridgeback mix” was
described as a “pit bull
look-alike”. (Good grief!!!)
March 6, 2006, a man
and woman were sent to hospital
after being attacked by
their German Shepherd Dog.
March 4, 2006, two
Labrador Retriever mixes killed a
chained Pomeranian, then
attacked a ‘pit bull’, during
a neighbourhood wide
rampage in Port Colborne,
Ontario. The dogs were
frequently at-large, and known
to be aggressive. No
penalties against the dogs’
owner has been announced
since the attacks, despite
provincial law allowing
up to $10,000 in fines, or six
months in jail for this
kind of offense.
March 2, 2006, a
6-year-old girl underwent surgery to
repair injuries suffered
in an attack by her
grandparents’ Husky/Chow
mix.
March 2, 2006, a Great
Dane killed its owner and
severely injured her
relative, while he was chained to
the porch, in a small
Texas town.
March 1, 2006, a
16-month-old girl was attacked by her
family’s St. Bernard.
March 1, 2006, a
Springer Spaniel suffered severe
injuries after being
attacked by a mixed-breed,
off-leash dog in a
conservation area. The owners of
the attacking dog refused
to identify themselves or
offer assistance before
fleeing the scene.
A police dog, a
Belgian Malinois, was accused of
excessive force after
refusing to let go of a suspect
in 2003, only to go on to
attack a police officer in
October of 2005. In that
incident, the dog simply
attacked the officer
unprovoked while she was guarding
evidence at a crime
scene. When the officer was
unable to shake free, she
pulled her weapon and shot
the dog. Still, the dead
dog’s jaws had to be pried
off the officer’s arm.
February 26, 2006, an
Edmonton boy was mauled by his
family’s Golden
Retriever, leaving him in serious
condition in hospital.
February 24, 2006, a
St. Bernard/Mastiff mix attacked
an American Eskimo dog
and its owner.
February 22, 2006, an
Alabama girl had to undergo
hours of surgery to close
the gaping wound that
exposed the victim’s jaw
bone. A Labrador Retriever
attacked the girl while
she was petting it at a pet
expo.
February 17, 2006, a
third grader required 68 stitches
to repair the damage
caused by a Golden Retriever that
attacked the girl on her
way home from school.
February 9, 2006, a
six-year-old was knocked to the
ground and attacked by a
roaming Labrador Retriever.
February, 2006, a
4-year-old boy had to be placed in a
drug induced coma in
hospital after being attacked
mauled by stray dogs in
Waswanipi, Quebec.
February, 2006, a man
was bitten by one of two
Weimaraners being walked
by their owner.
After several biting
incidents, a man’s Border Collies
have been deemed
“dangerous”. No charges have been
filed against the owner.
An Alameda County
Deputy District Attorney’s mixed
breed dog (Lab/Shepherd
mix) may be ordered destroyed
after numerous biting
incidents.
A 2-year-old was left
with cuts and puncture wounds to
the face after being
attacked by a Jack Russell
Terrier in February,
2006.
In February, 2006, an
18-month-old girl was seriously
bitten by a relative’s
Australian Cattle Dog tied on
the property.
In February, 2006, a
five-year-old boy required 190
stitches to repair damage
to his throat after being
attacked by 2 German
Shepherd Dogs on the owner’s
property.
February, 2006, a
Garden City, Idaho, police officer
had to shoot the police
dog he was training, after it
attacked him and another
officer.
In early February,
2006, a 2-year-old girl was left
with a 15cm long gash
after being attacked by her
grandmother’s Border
Collie.
January 26, 2006, a
2-year-old had her jaw broken and
most of her lower face
torn away in an attack by a dog
described only as “a
large dog”, in Prince Albert,
Saskatchewan.
After no penalties
were laid following a biting
incident involving a
10-year-old girl and a Chow/GSD
mix in December, 2005,
the dog bit a second child in
January, 2006;
disfiguring the boy’s face by tearing
away a portion of his
lip.
In December, 2005, a
90-year-old woman suffered bite
wounds and a broken bone
in her back while attempting
to defend her own dog
from attack by a Dalmation.
An infant suffered
severe head injuries after being
attacked by the family’s
Golden Retriever in November,
2005.
In January, 2006, a
woman was critically injured in
Del Rey, California,
after being attacked by a German
Shepherd and a Chow.
Police shot and killed the dogs.
The owners were not
charged.
In January, 2006, an
11-year-old girl was savagely
attacked in the face, by
an Alaskan Malamute, while
visiting her friend’s
home.
A 5-year-old girl was
left with severe gashes and 4
missing teeth after being
attacked by her
grandmother’s chained,
mixed breed (non-‘pit bull’)
dog.
February, 2006, an
RCMP police dog has been involved
in its second attack,
this time the victim was radio
host, Paul McMullen.
In Boston, in
December, 2005, two Boxers mauled a
woman so severely,
authorities believe she narrowly
escaped death, thanks to
the assistance of a good
Samaritan.
In 2004, an Ontario
family's Chesapeake Bay Retriever
savagely attacked one of
their children, leaving over
140 stitches in the
child's head and face.
In May of 2005, a
family's 5-year-old daughter was
mauled to death by their
two Siberian Huskies.
While visiting her
grandparents, a 3-year-old girl was
mauled by their Golden
Retriever.
In Sault Ste. Marie,
Ontario, a child was bitten
severely in the face by a
non-descript "small dog" she
was petting in 2005.
In Bedford, it took 3
attacks before a Poodle was
declared "vicious" by
municipal standards.
In 2005, every local
media station covered a scuffle
between two dogs (one of
them being a 'pit bull') yet
not one media agency
covered an attack that occurred
within hours of the
doggie dispute, involving the
family's own Golden
Retriever, and their child left
with over 20 stitches to
the head and face.
A Pomeranian was
declared to be a "Dangerous Animal"
under municipal statutes,
after several aggression
incidents.
A veterinarian
testified, in 2005, that not one of her
'pit bull' patients is
aggressive, but several other
patients, including
several Chihuahuas, are required
to be muzzled before
they're permitted to enter the
clinic.
November, 2005, French
woman is recipient of world’s
first face transplant,
after being attacked by a
Labrador Retriever.
A 2-year-old boy was
mauled so viciously by his
grandfather's Labrador
Retriever in December 2004, he
required treatment at two
Ontario hospitals. (One
television station
carried this story in just one
broadcast.)
A 19-month-old toddler
was sent to hospital with
injuries to the face and
head, after being attacked by
her grandmother's
Pointer.
A neighbour's Labrador
Retriever and Dachshund
attacked an elderly
woman, leaving her in a coma in
hospital.
Paris Hilton's
Chihuahua was involved in an unprovoked
bite that witnesses
called, "Not a little nip. It was
a very nasty bite."
The New Mexico
politician that called for stricter
penalties against the
owners of dangerous dogs was
mauled by his own dogs, a
Boxer and two English
Bulldogs.
A 4-year-old Nevada
girl was attacked late in 2005 by
a roaming Labrador
Retriever.
In 2005, in Georgia, a
Jack Russell Terrier so
severely damaged its
owner's 2-month-old infant's foot
in an attack; the poor
child's foot had to be
amputated.
A Golden Retriever was
finally put down after a second
savage attack on a
child. In the first case, the
victim was the owner's
own child. In the second case,
the victim was a child
visiting the owner's home,
leaving wounds to the
cheek and back of the head.
In Denver, in late
2005, a police officer was treated
for bite wounds after
having been bitten by a
Miniature Pinscher. The
owner was only charged with
allowing the dog to be
'at large'.
In Rhode Island, in
the summer of 2005, a family's
Siberian Husky killed
their week-old infant in an
attack.
A
two-and-a-half-year-old boy needed 65 stitches to
close the gaping wounds
caused to his face and cheek,
after being attacked by a
neighbour's Golden
Retriever.
A Trenton police
officer suffered several bite wounds
after being attacked by a
German Shorthair Pointer, in
July 2005.
A family's Great Dane
attacked their 2-year-old child,
leaving minor wounds to
the head and body.
In May, 2005, a
7-year-old Colorado girl was killed by
her family's Alaskan
Malamute.
Despite their valiant
efforts, doctors were unable to
repair the severed nose
of a 5-year-old after he was
attacked by a neighbour's
Dalmation.
A 6-week-old infant
was in critical condition after
being mauled by the
family's Dachshund.
A neighbour shot a
rampaging Lab/Chow mix dog, after
it escaped its yard and
threatened the public early in
October, 2005.
Several children were
bitten, and one has to undergo
rabies shots, after being
bitten by a Chihuahua mix
that wandered into a
schoolyard.
In March 2005, postal
workers couldn't deliver mail,
and residents were afraid
to retrieve their mail in
one Indiana neighbourhood,
where a vicious Chihuahua
was allowed to run loose,
and terrorize residents.
After numerous incidents,
and once the dog's conduct
had halted mail delivery,
the owner was finally cited
for allowing the dog to
be 'at large'.
A 2-year-old boy
wandered into his neighbour's yard in
mid-August 2005, and was
bitten in the face and neck
by the Collie/mix chained
there.
A woman received bites
requiring stitches, after being
attacked by a Catahoula
Leopard Dog.
A chained Briard
killed an 8-year-old child visiting
the owner's property.
After his second
attack by the same Dalmation, a
postal worker described
the dog as "the most
aggressive dog" he'd come
across in 16 years.
In July, 2005, a boy
finally admitted that his report
of being attacked by a
'pit bull' was false. He had
actually been attacked by
a friend's German Shepherd.
He says he filed the
false report because he wanted to
protect his friend.
April, 2005, a
6-year-old boy in St. Joseph,
Saskatchewan, had to
undergo plastic surgery to repair
the damaged caused when
he was mauled by a neighbour’s
German Shepherd dog.
Source: GoodPooch.com
independent research, asst'd
news services, reader
input, & Understand-a-bull.com
____________________________________________________________
Only when we become
more knowledgeable, humane and responsible in our treatment of dogs can we hope
to prevent future tragedies!
This article was written in 1987.....almost 20 years ago, but it
still reads as if written yesterday.
Nothing has changed in 20 years, people still don't think for themselves, and
the media uses the same tactics to sell their papers or get you to watch their
news.
It would be interesting to come across this article in another 20 years and see
if things have changed yet.
"PIT BULLS ARE LATEST FAD SCARE"
DLCC NOTE**This article came from the San Francisco Chronicle Panorama
Section. It was dated Thursday, July 30th 1987. It was written by Debra J
Saunders who has never owned a pit bull.**
The man actually agreed to talk about it on television. He had his pit bull
killed. The pet had never acted violently, he said, but his wife was so scared
by TV news stories that she was suddenly afraid of their dog. In Northern
California, over two dozen pit bull owners have had their pets put to sleep
because neighbours were pressuring them or they had become suddenly fearful of
pets whom many had loved and nurtured for years. TV is so powerful that it is
more trusted than man's best friend.
This says some sad things about America. The pit bull scare illustrates how
skittish we have become..... skittish and ineffective, because this fad scare
will do next to nothing to lessen dog attacks. The sociopath louts who train
their dogs to be attack machines aren't curbing their dogs. It's Good Neighbour
Sam who responds to the pressure. He will be a sad Sam in a year's time when the
hysteria has passed and only the guilt remains.
Since the Gary Hart/Donna Rice scandal, there has been a lot of talk about a new
direction in American journalism. It's the old direction, sunken lower, that is
truly terrifying.
"If it bleeds, It leads" has been a long time standard for TV news directors. In
this decade, local TV has gone from leading with disasters to teasing with
hysteria. Fad scares have been on the rise since we first learned about AIDS.
Stations found that their ratings shot up whenever they ran AIDS expose or the
dangers of crack cocaine. They saw that scaring viewers sells. The pit bull
story is especially good because, like crack, it's easy for local TV news to
cover and exploit. Any airhead can hit the streets and find a drug addict or a
dog . Shake a stick at the dog and you can get it to growl and look real
menacing. If it's visual it makes good TV.
Wait a few days and in any populated area, somebody is bound to get bitten by a
dog. If its a German Shepherd, you ignore it. If your not sure what breed it is,
you might call it a pit bull. If it is a pit bull, you can call the networks and
see if they want the package too.
TV news has slunk to such a low that "Dog bites man" is actually a story. Pit
bulls make for good local TV because they require no expertise. No need for
facts; just get the best teeth shot.
So the public remains unaware that there is no hard evidence that pit bulls
attack more frequently than other breeds. In 1984, Los Angeles County estimated
that German Shepherds were responsible for 35.8% of the city's dog bites The pit
bull estimate was 4.6% half that of Labrador Retrievers. These facts don't make
it onto many small screens.
Pit bulls offer all the main criteria of a fad scare. There aren’t a whole lot
of pit bull owners to alienate. There are no pit bull advertisers. Fad scares
scare and soothe at the same time. If we stop taking crack or get rid of a near
by pit bull we're saved.
Unlike the Middle East or acid rain, the pit bull problem is easy: Get rid of
pit bulls. It won't upset an ecological food chain. No jobs will be lost. Most
people won't be offended. This time, the price for a false sense of security is
animal sacrifice: Families offering their pets to the altar of television news.
The big question is who's next? Killer rabbits, junkyard dogs, autistic
children, bicyclers? What is truly horrific is how readily the public has
embraced pit bull hysteria. One year ago, most people didn't know what a pit
bull is. Today they're ready to send the breed to the doggie gas chambers.
___________________________________________________________________
Statistics can lie,
here's the real truth
Between
the years of 1965 and 2001 there were 101 fatalities atributed to "pit bulls"
and pit bull crosses. This number is about twice as much as the next highest dog
on the list. Sounds really scary, doesn't it? Those simple numbers are blared
across the media and pointed to with fervor in courthouses looking to get the
"pit bull" banned. The real truth of the matter is much more complicated than a
single number.
First of all let's address the issue of breed. As I have stated before , the "pi t bull" is
not a breed, but a 'type' of dog. There are 5 different breeds classified as
"pit bull", and approximately another 13 or so that look similar enough to be
mistaken for a pit bull even by a more experienced dog-lover. The problem arises
when under the stress of an attack the victim or witness incorrectly identifies
the breed. In the heat of the moment, any medium-sized short-haired muscular dog
is a "pit bull". The dogs in the pictures were called a 'pit bull mix'. See if
you can identify the pit bull
HERE, and then
think how hard it would be to pick if you were being attacked by one of these
dogs, or were witnessing an attack. "Because there are so few fatal dog
attacks, any error in breed identification can critically affect a breed's
reputation. With only approximately 20 fatal attacks in any given year,
inaccurate identification of a conservative three or four breeds can result in
an approximate 20% margin of error"(1). For example: in 1989 in CA, a man
was attacked by a pack of Shepherd/Doberman/unknown mixes that were originally
identified as pit bulls, and in 2000 in FL a medium-sized reddish dog chained to
a doghouse attacked and killed a child. The newspapers claimed the dog was a pit
bull, but the shelter workers and sheriff's department classified the dog as a
mixed breed dog, with no predominate breed. That being said, of the 101 fatal
bites that occurred, an astonishing 57%, more than half, were inflicted
by "pit bull type dogs (this includes anything that was reported to be a pit
bull, but was unconfirmed)", 32% by pit bulls, 13% by pit bull crossbreeds, and
only 2 bites are attributed to American Staffordshire Terriers. One attack was
by a pack of 6 bull terriers that were allowed to roam free, although this
attack is so old (1947) it is not included in the statistics. There are NO
attacks attributed to the Staffordshire Terrier. (percentages are approximate)
Chart 1: summary of breeds
-
57% "pit bull" type dogs
-
32% pit bull terriers
-
13% mixed breed dog with "pit bull" apparant in
breeding
-
2 attacks American Staffordshire Terrier
-
1 attack Bull Terrier
-
0 attacks Staffordshire Bull Terrier
Now let us turn our
attention to the reasons behind the bites. There are several factors that
contribute to a bite. One of the largest impacts on the numbers are chained
dogs. "Chaining a dog creates an unnatural and unhealthy environment. Dogs
require excercise, mental stimulation and social interaction with either other
dogs or with the humans who aquired them. None of these requirements can be met
living at the end of a chain."(1) Chained dogs make up 36% of all fatal "pit
bull" attacks. The next largest group is dogs running loose, at 21%. (by
"running loose" I refer to dogs allowed to run around the neighborhood
frequently, not a dog that has simply gotten out). Shortly following this is
visitors to the house, at 17%. Almost all the attacks in this category are small
children that were left unattended with the unfamiliar dog. Another 9% of
attacks occurred when the victim entered the property where the "pit bull" was
housed, in most cases by climbing over the fence (or into the kennel in one
case). In these cases the dog was defending its territory. There are 9 cases
involving dogs used for fighting, 5 cases of dogs used as guard dogs, 2 cases of
dogs guarding a place of business, 1 case of a dog used as a murder weapon, 1
case of gross human negligence (mother abandoned days old baby in yard
with 2 "pit bulls"), and 1, yes only ONE case of pit bulls turning on
thier owner. If you understand the cruelty these dogs are subjected to, it is
supprising the numbers aren't higher. "Dogs
are tortured, teased and abused in hopes of making them mean. Those refusing to
fight or those who lose are horribly killed or left to die in alleyways...
People from the worst segments of our society seek these animals out to guard
drug houses, intimate other gang members, thwart police action and enhance thier
vacuous self-esteem. Any real or imagined viciousness on the part of the Pit
Bull breeds pales in comparison to the brutality, callous disrespect for life,
and inhumanity of many of thier owners."(1)
Also take into consideration the sheer numbers of "pit bulls" and pit crosses
there are across the country. Although it its basically impossible to guess the
actual population, you can get an idea how many there are, and the type of
"quality care" they receive, from these few examples: New York City reports the
Pit Bull to be its 3rd most populous dog in 2001, Los Angeles CA reports that
40% and San Francisco CA reports 1/3 of all dogs entering thier shelters are pit
bulls or pit crosses, in 1999 the Pennsylvania SPCA reported finding over 4000
pit bulls wandering the streets, most scarred and/or abandonded, and the
Michigan Humane Society reported that in only 3 of its shelters over 1,820 pit
bulls were destroyed in 2000. It is estimated that there are at least 250,000
pits involved in dog fighting nationwide. The ADBA registered 220,000 American
Pit Bull Terriers in 1999, making them the #1 dog in America. It is estimated
that The American Pit Bull Terrier and other Bull Breeds make up 9% of the total
canine population in the USA, which is more than 55 million dogs in the USA.
Chart 2: summary of
circumstances
-
36% chained dogs
-
21% dogs allowed to run loose around the
neighborhood
-
17% visitors (usually unattended children)
-
9% entered dogs property or territory
-
9 cases of dogs used for fighting
-
5 cases involving guard dogs
-
2 cases of dogs guarding place of business
-
1 case of dog used as murder weapon
-
1 case gross human negligence
-
1 case pair of pit bull type dogs attacked and
killed owner
Compared to the sheer number of 'pit bulls' present, the number of attacks is
supprisingly small, so why then do we hear about 'pit bull' attacks in the news
every other day?
The media has vast influence over our perceptions of which breeds of dogs are
dangerous, as they decide which dog attack stories to publish. With over 4.7
million dog bites recorded each year in the United States and with over 800,000
of these attacks serious enough to require medical attention, the resources for
dog-bite stories appear unlimited. Yet, the media seems to delight in Pit bull
related stories, so much so, that in their haste to report the latest Pit bull
attack story the truth often takes a backseat to sensationalism.
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