The various pit bull dog breeds have found themselves caught at the focal point

of several unappealing news articles and media stories. Never before have there been

so many legal, personal, or political controversies associated with a specific dog breed.

The media commonly alludes to pit bulls as unpredictable, violent, and vicious killers.

This unflattering picture is one that has manifested in newspapers, on television, and

due to widespread fear; discussions about pit bulls and their owners can even be found

in neighborhood newsletters. But the messages provided by the media regarding pit

bulls fall short of the truth. Blatant fallacies regarding pit bulls’ bite occurrences, locking

jaws, and their inherent danger to society are subsequently fueled by the ignorance and

fear of the general population. It is through the actions and misconceptions of

humankind that these good-natured animals are viewed as malevolent predators.

Society is succeeding in transforming one of “man's best friends” into one of man's most

feared and despised enemies. The present inaccurate data, accusations, and resulting

stigma associated with the breed and their owners continue to construct a negative

stereotype about the pit bull as a ferocious killer.

One outrageous claim that is made quite often is that a member of the pit bull

breed is more likely to kill or maim when compared to other dog breeds. The problem

with this claim is that the term "pit bull" is not a designated breed. The type of dog that

falls into this pit bull category ends up being almost any terrier and/or bulldog mix, which

could lead to at least twenty-five recognized breeds pooled into one statistic. As a

result, most people are unable to properly identify what is recognized by some

organizations as the American Pit Bull terrier without erroneously classifying members

of other breeds as pit bulls ("Pet Pit bull - Find the Pit Bull"). This problem can be seen
in the Center for Disease and Control’s findings. In this data, the Center recorded sixty-

six dog bite-related fatalities (DBRF) for the pit bull-type in 2008. Meanwhile, there were

thirty-nine bite-related fatalities caused by Rottweilers and seventeen tallied for the

German Shepherd (Sacks, Gilchrist, and Sinclair 836-840). These numbers set out to

identify pit bulls as the leader in dog bite fatalities.

Due to studies such as this, equipped with skewed numbers, the pit bull

statistically appears to be America's most dangerous canine. But one variable that must

be taken into account is that the data being recorded stems from the dog's physical

traits as viewed by the analyst. As one might guess, the similarities in physical traits

commonly place multiple dog breeds into the “pit bull-type”, which in turn skews

statistical analysis. Researchers without conducting extensive DNA testing and utilizing

expert breed analyses don’t have the ability to address this anomaly. Knowing this, one

can be certain that at minimum of at least five commonly mistaken types of dogs would

fit into the pit bull category. Thus, the data collected would spread the occurrence of

bites across a broader spectrum of dog breeds. If the problem were addressed, instead

of sixty-six bites for pit bulls, there would be an average of thirteen fatalities for five

different breeds. According to census data, there are an estimated 53,000,000 dogs in

the United States of America (Hedges). Twenty percent of those animals are assumed

to be pit bulls, providing an estimated total of 10,600,000 pit bulls in America. Only six

fatal attacks associated with pit bulls were recorded in 1998, meaning that only one out

of 1,766,666 pit bulls was involved in a fatal attack. In other words, it is ten times more

likely that one will die from a venomous snakebite than to be attacked and killed by a pit

bull.
 As the slanted statistical data became available to the general public, terrier

owners stood by their ownership and kept their dogs. Since then, however, many

property insurance companies have begun to cancel, suspend, or simply not cover the

liability of pit bulls. The companies claim that the dogs are too great a risk for which to

provide liability coverage. On the other hand, well-standing companies like State Farm

offer to visit the animal in question in order to determine its temperament before

eliminating coverage. This is a good effort toward moving in the right direction in fighting

unwarranted judgments against pit bulls, but it is not the standard by any means.

Homeowners Associations have also begun to participate in the stereotyping of

pit bull-type dogs. It is quite common today for Homeowner Association bylaws to

proclaim that possession of pit bulls is an imminent threat to the neighborhood's

inhabitants. This, of course, is a generalization that has little or no fact to back it up.

These bylaws present problems to future and current homeowners struggling to find

places to live. Many times the dog in question is not a pit bull or even a pit bull mix, but

due to the dog's bone structure their labeled as one, which results in the owners being

forced to look elsewhere. Determining a domestic animal’s personality according to the

shape of its head, body stance, or how its ears lie on its head could be taken as

discrimination.

Sadly, insurance companies and Homeowner Associations are just the beginning

for many pit bulls. Just taking a walk can be an eye-opening experience. During a walk

with her owner in Duluth, Minnesota, therapy dog Ruby had an undesirable effect on a

young mother with her children in tow. The mother was ahead of them, but turned back,

saw Ruby, and screamed. She looked at Ruby's owners and said, "How dare you take
those horrible, ugly dogs out in public!" Then the she turned to her children and pointed,

telling them, "Those are dogs of war and they kill people. They love the taste of blood,

especially children "(Kink). This is the message that is broadcast the public, a message

that reeks of ignorance, hate, and distrust. Ruby is a certified service dog, quite the

opposite of a bloodthirsty killer, but few people seem to look at her in that light.

Occurrences like the one just mentioned happen more often than one might think.

Another common misconception is that those who own a pit bull are wicked and

immoral. “Thug,” “criminal,” and “degenerate” are frequently-used terms when people

describe or think about the owners of pit bulls. For the small number of people who

maliciously utilize these animals for despicable purposes, these descriptions are

probably true. However, this is not the standard of ownership for pit bulls and should

not be the thoughts associated with a pit bull owner. How can society condemn an

entire group of people in this category as being evil? It can be argued that this way of

thinking is similar to the thoughts and practices that brought so much pain and suffering

to the United States in the 1960s, yet because it involves dogs, it goes ignored.

It is clear that misguided information and fear have painted an alarming picture

when it comes to these dogs. Renowned canine behaviorist Cesar Milan has said, "My

kids are around pit bulls every day. In the '70s, they blamed Dobermans, in the '80s,

they blamed German Shepherds, and in the '90s, they blamed the Rottweiler. Now they

blame the pit bull." Yet, society must abstain from passing judgment on the pit bull-type

dog because the canines are not the problem. Irresponsible owners, animal neglect and

abuse, and nefarious reasons for ownership are the true root of the problem for the pit

bulls’ negative image. Pit bulls are just innocuous creatures, more likely than many dog
breeds to be subjected to the torture and demands of humankind. It is through our

actions and treatment of animals that the transformation from loving to lethal took place.

Animals, like people, deserve a chance to survive and prove their ability to peacefully

co-exist with mankind. We must rescind our hate and really start caring for these

devoted animals.

Works Cited

Hedges, Catherine. The Truth About Pit bulls. n.p., n.d. Web. 18 Feb. 2010.

<http://www.thetruthaboutpitbulls.com/>.

Kink, Julie. "Beloved pet gaining fame as a therapy dog and actor." ST CROIX VALLEY

PRESS [St. Croix] 27 Nov. 2009. Print. retrieved from:

http://www.presspubs.com/articles/2009/11/27/st_croix_valley_press/news/doc4b

10267009181012380804.prt

"Pet Pit bull - Find the Pit Bull." Pit Bulls on the Web. Ed. Catherine Hedges. n.p., n.d.

Web. 18 Feb. 2010. <http://www.pitbullsontheweb.com/petbull/findpit.html>.

Sacks, MD MPH, Jeffery J., Julie Gilchrist, MD, and Leslie Sinclair, DVM. "Vet Med

Today: special Report." JAVMA 217.6 (2000): 836-40. Dog breeds. Center for

Disease and Control. Web. 16 Feb. 2010.

<http://www.cdc.gov/HomeandRecreationalSafety/images/dogbreeds-a.pdf>.