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WE HAVE HAD ENOUGH OF PIT BULLSThe Bay City TimesSunday April 19, 2009, 7:35 AMWe have had it with vicious dogs in Michigan, particularly the types known as pit bull terriers.
Ban the breeds.
Dogs have mauled four people to death in Michigan since September. Pit bulls severely mauled two people in Saginaw County last month. A Bay City man wrote in the People's Forum on this page tothank passersby for rescuing him and his dog last month from two attacking pit bulls in the city'sSouth End. Fed up with the danger, a Saginaw man is trapping stray pit bulls in his neighborhood.Just last week, sheriff's deputies killed on the spot three vicious dogs - described as a Australianshepherd-blue heelers mix - suspected in the death of a 41-year-old Huron County man. InSeptember, a Rottweiler killed a 4-month-old girl in Warren. A day later, two American bulldogsattacked and killed two people in Livingston County. In 2006, a Hamtramck couple's two pit bullskilled their 6-year-old daughter.It's a rampage of horror by animals that are supposed to be pets.Vicious dogs have no place in society.There would be a great hue and cry for action if these deadly attacks had come from wild animals.Yet, bizarrely, we tolerate dog breeds among us that we know are selected, bred and raised to bestone killers. No more.A statewide ban on pit bull breeds and harsh penalties for the owner of any dog that mauls a humanare in order.Pit bull owners and admirers will say, as they have when a few Michigan municipalities started such bans, that it isn't fair to pick on a certain breed of dog.Oh yes it is.The frightening reputation of pit bulls didn't just pop out of nowhere.Pit bull terriers are fighting dogs. Often, they are raised for illegal dog fights. Too many ownersmistreat them into meanness for a twisted, macho-man display. Pit bulls are the tough-guy dog of choice.Raised in cruelty, dogs can and do grow into vicious killers.Four-legged sticks of dynamite that explode into attack mode if anything lights their fuse.The flip side, of course, is that many pit bull owners are kind to their pets. Their dogs are well-mannered and friendly. We've met some of them; nice dogs.So why not just ban vicious dogs, and not pick on pit bulls?
 
It's easier to spot the breed, which has a known history of mistreatment and killing, than the behavior. By the time a person discovers a dog is vicious, they're already under attack.A pit bull ban isn't a novel idea. That great nation of dog lovers, the United Kingdom, outlawed"bully" breeds in 1991. The Canadian province of Ontario, our neighbors, banned the breed in 2005.In contrast, scattered municipal ordinances in Michigan are all bark, with little bite.Enact a statewide ban. Model it on Ontario's or the UK's. Responsible owners of docile pit bullsmight be allowed to have their pets tested for aggression, registered and microchipped.It's too bad that it has come to this for pit bulls, the poor things. Almost any dog, including this breed, can be bred and raised into a great pet or working companion - or both.But this dog has been abused. Through society's and breeders' failure to police the breed, itsreputation for savagery now precedes it.Ban the breed. And aggressively prosecute the owner of any vicious dog, of any type.Some dog owners will howl in outrage.Consider, though, the price of doing nothing. Four dead in Michigan, in eight months. Killed by"pets."That's the outrage.http://www.mlive.com/opinion/bay-city/index.ssf/2009/04/deadly_dog_attacks_have_come_t.html
Pit bull ban long overdue
Marilyn Baker 15/04/2009When are we going to ban -- or at least severely restrict -- pit bull type dogs in B.C.? Sometimesman's best friend can be a child's worst nightmare.Recently a toddler was attacked by a pit bull. The three-year-old's face was ripped open with a 15-cm gash near his eye. He is recovering from surgery. The dog reportedly lived in the home, but wasusually chained up outside. Somehow it managed to get into the house and went after the child. Inanother recent incident a mother walking with her small child was bitten by a pit bull who wouldnot let go of the woman's hand, in spite of urgent pounding by its owner. Doctors are not sure if shewill regain use of her hand.While many people object to breed specific bans, their reasons have not yet convinced me. Themost common objection to breed specific bans is that not the dog, it's the dog owner, that is the problem. Are they saying, to paraphrase an old lawyer joke, why should 99 per cent of dog ownersgive the rest a bad name?
 
Pit bull lovers insist that, if properly trained and socialized, pit bulls are super friendly pets. Dogtrainers are split on this issue though. Shelagh Begg, executive director of Hug-A-Bull, blamesmedia reporting for demonizing pit bulls, and insists that, once socialized, pit bulls make wonderful pets and even child-minders for small kids. Another dog trainer interviewed on radio said that this breed is different because it takes very little to "set them off."Most agree that pit bulls are bred to attack other dogs and should not be around them.The problem is that there is no way to force owners to spend the time and effort necessary tosocialize their dogs. Buying the dog is the easy part. Spending time with the dog is not always easy.One dog trainer said that pit bulls need extra time and effort to care for them properly.Plus, it's hard to dispute the evidence that certain dogs are more dangerous than others. The Centrefor Disease Control (CDC) website cites a 20-year study of dog-bite related fatalities (DBRF) by breed of dog. Of more than 25 breeds, over half the deaths were caused by just two breeds, pit bulltypes and Rotweilers.There are many who are against breed specific bans. I respect their opinions in many cases. TheCDC is against it, in spite of the damning statistics they have published.But the fact remains that pit bull types in particular are cited time and again for causing far worsedamage than other dogs during an attack. When not properly trained, pit bulls are far moredangerous for two reasons:1. Typically, attacks are sudden, unprovoked and happen without the usual warning signals and body language common with other dogs, such as growling.2. The bites are far more serious. It's one thing to be snapped at by a cocker spaniel. But a pit bull bite is not just a nip from an irritated family pet. A pit bull bite is a vicious and tenacious attack thatoften requires extensive medical attention, including plastic surgery, and even death. Sometimes thedog's owner or even police bullets cannot make it let go of its victim.Perhaps instead of an outright ban, a different approach could be taken that would satisfy bothgroups: those who want to own pit bulls and those who are fearful of them and want them bannedfrom their neighbourhoods.More onus could be put on the owners by making it more complicated and costly to own certain breeds.For example, muzzling, special licensing fees and stricter rules regarding backyard fencing mightmake everyone feel safer, and would still permit owners to keep their pets. Other ideas include rulesabout the type and length of leashes, the age of people permitted to walk dangerous dogs and a limiton how many vicious dogs one owner could have at one time. That certainly would have helped thecase here last year, where at least four pit bulls, belonging to one owner, terrorized neighbourhoodsfor over a year, killing and maiming several smaller pets and scaring people.Sadly, none of these restrictions would have spared the little toddler this month. The dog was in hisown house. In Vancouver, we don't even enforce licencing or offleash dog bylaws. The latestnumber I've seen is that fewer than 31 per cent of dogs are licensed.We need better vicious dog bylaws and we need much better bylaw enforcement.
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