When things have gone this far, what are Pitt Bull Terrier enthusiasts to do?
If I was not a half-crazy dog guy, I'd be ready to put restrictions on them as well.
When this is the image in the popular imagination, when your breed is already a metaphor for wanton violence, you've already lost the media war. It is time for Plan D.
What is Plan D? Capitulation on restrictions for breeding, increased taxes, and insurance costs in order to avoid breed bans. Make Pit Bulls more expensive to own so that the popularity among the gangster crowd goes someplace else.
It is probably the Doberman's turn again. Maybe they'll embrace some irony and start sporting standard poodles.
It is easy for me to make jokes, I like my dogs small. It doesn't matter if pound for pound a ground working terrier is the toughest dog around, we don't live life in a pound for pound world and small dogs do not the gangster image.
It is sad. I have known some great pit bulls and some of my favorite people are pit bull enthusiasts but I don't see what there is to do but cut your losses.
What ever breed becomes the next focus for the tough guy crowd and the resulting public fear, they'd do well to listen to the hard to hear but valuable advice given over at Terrierman's Daily Dose.
One stoic's look at living in the Upper Midwest, mostly about time spent outdoors, dogs, and food.
I live in an area with a lot of Pit Bulls, most of which end up living at the end of tow chains in the backyard for 90% of their lives. It makes me angry and sad. I'm sure that with careful training and management, it's possible to be a responsible Pit Bull owner. I don't see that happening much.
ReplyDeleteI have an Aussie cattle Dog, so I'm not unfamiliar with daily life with a challenging doggie. He's had a lot of training and spends a most of his time indoors lounging with his family, herding our cats. Most of the neighborhood is terrified of him even so. He's not very large, especially compared to the local Pit Bulls, but he's strong and he has a flip top head full of razor sharp teeth.
I do wish there were restrictions on breeding and some kind of training or something required before you could own certain dogs, Pit Bulls topping the list. I wouldn't let random uneducated people have my Aussie either, nor your Jack Russell. I'm not too fond of government intrusion into my family life, but something needs to be done, for the sake of people and the dogs. Living on the end of a chain with no contact other than some food thrown into a bowl is no life for any creature.