Stop Discriminating Against Pit Bulls

Again in The Huntville Forrester comes more comments from Jack van der Meer's letter against the Pit bull puppies.

Stop Discriminating Against Pit Bulls
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Re: Pit bull pups deserve a chance, letter to the editor, September 20.

Thank you Christie for speaking up on behalf of the Huntsville Animal Shelter and for all animals. Thank you to the Huntsville Animal Shelter for taking over the responsibility of the many irresponsible ones that abandon and abuse their dogs. Thank you.

I know of many rescuers that specialize in adopting out pit bulls and I can tell with confidence that the only problem they ever had with any dog is that the adoption was not compatiblewith , for example, the lifestyle of the owner. None of these dogs have ever made the headlines. Mr. van der Meer needs a dose of reality. But if ever you are looking for a pit bull expert, here he is.

It is estimated that approximately less than two per cent of dogs of any breed are ever involved in a biting or mauling incident. Most bites are not serious enough to even report. The fact is, all dogs have teeth and can bite, as Christie explained. It really gets me when some ‘expert’ comes along and downplays the years of experience and knowledge of those who deal with dogs every day. It is very disrespectful.

Many people base their opinions of pit bulls through media reports and particularly on a report from the Centre for Disease Control. They made a report many years ago focusing on pit bulls (not even mentioning purebreds) that they have verbally and in writing admitted was grossly inaccurate.

In Ontario there are fewer than 100,000 purebred dogs that have been listed under Bill 132. The bill was cleverly crafted to include as many dogs as possible. Ontario’s pit bull ban is nothing more than racial profiling, as well as a means of stripping a minority of their rights.

Finally, pit bulls (if that is what they are to be known as) have been dubbed ‘nanny dogs’ for the past 150 years. They were called that because they were, and still are, particularly good with children. Those who focus their attention on dog discrimination need to take a really hard look in the mirror.

Linda CareyHuntsville
Reader Comments (Post Yours)

Sep 27, 2006 at 2:23 PM
STOP DISCRIMINATING AGAINST DOG OWNERS
As long as people believe that breed specific legislation is discrimination against dogs, we will continue to project this illusion. Lets be perfectly clear. Breed specific legislation (BSL) discriminates against dog owners based solely upon the physical appearance of the dog that he or she chooses to own. The dog owner is the true focus of BSL. The dog is the property of it's owner. The dog is the unwitting pawn that is used by government to restrict dog ownership by breed upon the human citizen owner. All laws are written for human beings. We are the only sapient creatures who can read, understand, apply, and function to any law that has ever been, or will ever be enacted. Let us utilise our great intellect, and put a halt to the taking of our most ancient, and traditional property.

All law both in Canada, and the USA is based upon tradition, and upon English Common Law. The human tradition of dog ownership is lost in the dim reaches of time, but can be archaeologically traced back well over thirty-five THOUSAND years!!! Let us hold tightly to our human traditions lest they be ripped from us one tradition at a time, until we are slaves of an over-burgeoning government that not only controls our animal ownership, but also our diet, our wardrobe apparel, our very existence.

Cherie Graves, chairwoman

Responsible Dog Owners of the Western States