WHAT A CROCK OF BULL (part 2)

From a previous post, WHAT A CROCK OF BULL, I received a reply by the journalist in response to my email to her. I am not a journalist, but I know professionalism when I see it, and in my opinion, I do not see any in her column nor her replies.

Re: DEADLY DOG ATTACK SPURS NEED FOR BAN

Hi Conners,

Thank you for taking the time to write. I want to get to all of your points, so if my response is choppy, I apologize. I never said that pit bulls were dangerous in my blog and specifically pointed out that pit bulls aren't generally aggressive towards humans. You make some reasonable assumptions regarding the pit bull/lab story. But in the end, they are assumptions and we really don't know why Nancy hesitated. I agree with your point, yes it is strange that they would let an aggressive dog run loose and this is my point exactly--they were not
responsible caregivers for this dog. I did research my story and went to many repituble sources that all said the same thing: pit bulls need a lot of training and care.

I can appreciate your situation and truly feel bad that you are suffering under restrictions which your dog in particular is not responsible for. However, other dogs are not as lucky to have such an attentive owner, so that is why I asked in my blog, what are we to do? We can't ban people, and like you said, we never know what happens behind closed doors. So even if we did screen people to make sure they would be responsible owners, how could we be sure they would do this once they got home? My blog does not blame the breed but in fact, blames the owners which is what makes this ban such a complicated issue. Because in the end, the sufferers (pit bulls) are not solely the ones to blame.

Again, thanks for writing and sharing your thoughts.

Take care,
Lena Hassan


Hello Lena,

I'll try to reply point by point so as to cover each response, plus add what I feel you may not understand by your statement, "I don't claim to know everything there is to know about pit bulls, or the new law that places strict controls on ownership of the aggressive dogs.

I never said that pit bulls were dangerous in my blog and specifically pointed out that pit bulls aren't generally aggressive towards humans."

Let me first point out your Subject Header: DEADLY DOG ATTACK SPURS NEED FOR BAN
This is the first thing that sparks any story. You as a freelance journalist are just as aware of this as I.

Secondly, why is this story involving the Pit bull breeds. I do not see where a Pit bull breed was involved. Plain and simple a mutt killed it's owner. So why are the Pit bull breeds even mentioned in this article?

Hasn't the government and the media done enough harm to a very loyal, sociable, loving breed without claiming a dog is something that it's not. Since you are a journalist, you know the play on words are what grabs your audiences and the targets and victims are the Pit bull breeds by playing them out to be Killing Machines.

You say I an making assumptions. Well, isn't jumping onto a breed an assumption also? By calling a mutt a Pit bull (which there is no such breed to be specific), you are conveying to all that read your column for those who do not know these breeds, fear and hatred against them. That is not responsible journalism. That my dear Ms. Hassan, is fear mongering and you are doing the breeds and their owners a terrible injustice and adding more fuel to an already erupting flame.

Why is it that responsible Bullie owners and their dogs are not receiving respect? We are the majority, yet because of a few irresponsible owners, you and others raise your voices high to have our dogs banned.

You speak of reputable sources that say the 'Pit bull breeds' need a lot of training and care? ALL dogs require a lot of training and care. If you want to have a well behaved, mannerly dog of any kind, you of course need to give it extensive training just as you would if you were a parent with a child. You have taken responsibility upon yourself once you have made that decision to be a dog owner. The larger and heavier the dog, the more natural that you wouldn't want them to be jumping up on someone. Not because they are dangerous, but because they could knock you down and hurt someone.

You say we can't ban people. Have you ever thought perhaps there was a better solution for both the dogs and people? A province wide comprehensive educational program for dog owners, children, parents, the general public and service workers to start. Education is KEY and I can't stress that enough. If an owner can not or will not properly maintain, contain and train their dog, they should not be a dog owner and should be dealt with accordingly. Remove their dog (the victim) and have it go to a responsible home, making sure that owner is under restriction to obtaining another dog again. Have the owner held accountable for any damages that may have occured, along with heavily fined. By doing so, we will be eliminating puppy mills, illegal dog fighting rings and back yard breeding all done for the greed of money than the love of dogs. We are after all the caregivers of dogs and as such, we have a duty to protect THEM, not the irresponsible owners.

You ask, how can you tell an irresponsible dog owner. It's simple. Look at the behaviour of the dog. Look at the health of the dog. Why is it, with the Pit bull breeds, once their use is spent many abandoned, savagely beaten, starved and near to death dogs that have been used for fighting, once rescued and brought back to health and given love, these dogs go on to be hero dogs?

I believe that rather than attacking the dogs we should open our minds to solutions to try to help them instead and I mean ALL dogs, ALL breeds. All breeds equal! Breed bans are not the answer. We need solutions that work and the only reason we don't is because Michael Bryant wanted a quick fix solution to make the public think it was safe by doing so. It was cheap and it was irresponsible of him. He has cause the greatest offense of animal abuse province wide.

All dogs NEED to be properly socialized. This makes for a happy, secure, socialized dog. We responsible bullie owners who have done this all of our dogs lives are now forced to restrain our dogs away from people and animals when outside. They can not get the proper exercise they deserve. They are not even allowed a once loved car ride without being muzzled and leashed.

If what you say, is true that you are searching for answers, I hope I have inspired you to dig deeper into our lives and our dogs lives. See the lies the media writes and read between the lines. Hear all the responsible owners cries as they and their dogs are being persecuted. Use your skills where you can make a difference and not follow the wolves that are out to ban all our dogs although they have been innocent all their lives.

If you truly want to know honest facts about the Pit bull breeds, I would be more than happy to send you to web sites that state facts honestly with statistics and much excellent infomation. But PLEASE, watch who you believe to be valid information amd expert tesimomy. Many are not as they claim to be.

Sincerely yours,
Conners