This morning someone sent me a link to this article: “Pit bulls: Own them at your own risk“. The byline of this charming piece is “The Maryland Court of Appeals declares what should have been obvious to all by now – these dogs are inherently dangerous.” Ugh.
I’m not a big letter-writer in general. I’ll get mad and complain loudly, but then I go home and, you know, walk my dog and try to get over it. But this, my friends, this will not stand. Some of the highlights of the article include:
- Until they are banned outright, pit bulls should not be allowed in public, and their ownership should bear heavy, legal responsibility. I was pleased to read last week’s ruling by the Maryland Court of Appeals declaring them inherently dangerous.
- “When an attack involves pit bulls, it is no longer necessary to prove that the particular pit bull or pit bulls are dangerous,” the court ruled last week.
- The evidence shows clearly that such attacks are disproportionate to the number of pit bulls in society, that they inflict far more damage than other dogs, and that their attacks are associated with a higher risk of death. Pit bull jaws are three times stronger than those of a German Shepard.
- Pit bulls are four-legged time bombs. You live with them, you live with risk — and, as it should be, you take on serious liability for the suffering of others.
And now I’m all kinds of riled up.
Well, I just sat down and spit out the following letter, which I’m sure could be a lot better if I were really taking the time to try to change someone’s mind. I’m sure there are things that I could have said better or argued more convincingly – but if you have thoughts, I encourage you to write to the author, too!
Dear Mr. Rodricks,
I am sure you will be hearing from many people in response to your article posted in the Baltimore Sun about pit bulls, and I would like to add a bit of my experience to the mix. I hope you can read this all the way through and reconsider your position on the “breed.”
First, I am curious about where you got the idea that “pit bull jaws are three times stronger than those of a German Shepard”. Of course, you can always find “answers” on the internet, but actual studies have been conducted (http://dogbitesinformationandstatistics.blogspot.com/2008/01/canine-bite-force.html) suggesting that pit bull jaw strength is similar to those of other dogs. Regardless, the danger from a biting dog is in the bite itself, regardless of the force. I was bitten by a goldendoodle while I was walking in the park, and I still have a mark two months later. Not a dog known to be “vicious,” but it’s still got quite a bite. I am impressed by the lack of citations and fact checking that was apparently done for this article.
But forget all of the “facts” that you mis-cited. I would like to tell you a little bit more about my experienced with “pit bulls”, which consists of several years working at an animal shelter. At the shelter where I work, we conduct temperament tests on all of the dogs before they are available for adoption. Many dogs fail the test because they were never properly socialized, or they weren’t appropriately handled, or they are terrified and aggress out of fear. We end up with a lot of pit bulls on the adoption floor. Do you know why? It is not because we get more pit bulls in the shelter; it is because pit bulls PASS THE TEST nearly all the time. These are friendly, well-adjusted, resilient dogs who love children.
I understand that you will probably not read this email and say, “Okay, I change my mind, I will run out and adopt a pit bull for all my friends with children!” That is not my point. I am hoping that you will read this and understand that your stance may be a little bit off; that you made some quick judgments; and that the other people trying to pass these anti-pit bull laws are operating from a similar place of fear, rather than from experience. I encourage you to go and meet some pit bulls. They are really wonderful dogs.
Who knows if this will make any sort of difference, but fingers crossed he’ll think a little harder next time about the pit bull in the costume.
















My solution to all of this? There are a few things:














