It seems that now Pit Bulls don't actually have to do anything to make the news. The most recent media coverage is about a Pit Bull Attack that wasn't? This one has us scratching our heads.
Dog Attack Incomplete
According to news reports a man got out of his car in his driveway and was approached and barked at by two Pit Bulls. The man then got back into his car and dialed 911. Animal Control and the Police attended the scene and removed the dogs, but not before the news stations captured animal control officers petting the relaxed and happy dogs on the head, who both had HUGE bully grins slapped across their faces, not to mention the owner who showed up to apologize profusely.
While we at HugABull absolutely do not believe that dogs of any breed should be at large we also have to wonder why this story made the news and does this mean that we can now call 911 and have animal control show up every time our neighbours Labrador is seen wondering lose while barking at us? Of course not, that would be silly.
Lets get real... this must have been a very slow news day.
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4 comments:
Did you see this or you just going by what you read. I was at the school yard with 3 young Children we were just about to leave when the two pitbulls entered the south east corner of the field and were running directly towards my five year old. You betcha I judge their intent by their breed. I would not have yelled at my son so loud to run if it were a poodle running at him. After we got in the car we watched the police deal with the situation. The police were calm and were calling the dogs with the standard “come hear boy” trying to get them to jump in the back of the cruiser. Then the two dogs began barking and moving towards one of the officers he just moved his hands down slowly saying “ calm down guys”repeatedly but the dogs kept approaching him so he fired off some pepper spray. I thought the police should have shot the dogs at this point. I had a chance to drive away after that and I did as my kids didn't need to see what I felt was going to be the result. It took police another 30 minutes or so to contain these animals. This is a valid news story as
1.Potential for a citizen to be hurt
2.It shut down a neighborhood for about an hour.
3.Kept police resources busy
Let me start by saying I'm very sorry about the incident you experienced. The vast majority of pit bulls we deal with are gentle family pets who have ZERO human aggression, but we can't deny there are occasional exceptions. The fact that the dogs were at large and showing aggression points to poor socialization and ownership - usually the culprit in these situations.
However, we stand by our original point. This isn't a news story, simply because Animal Control deals with these calls every day. People are bitten by dogs every day.
For that matter, people are threatened by other people every day and tie up police resources, but it doesn't make the news every time someone is assaulted.
I guarantee you that on the same day, someone somewhere in the Lower Mainland was admitted to the hospital with a dog bite from a breed other than a pit bull. In the past week, I personally know of two situations...a near-attack by a large long-haired mixed dog(who ran up snarling to me AND my pit bull), and an acquaintance who put their Lab mix down because it bit a child.
Where is the news media then?
I believe that the incident you are speaking to may not be the same one mentioned in the attached article.
While I feel terrible that you had to exerience such a fright I do not believe that this was news worthy story.
I have worked in both Animal Control and the Bylaw sector for both Vancouver and Maple Ridge and the number of complaints and incidents involving other breeds would surprise you. I wish the news would start reporting fairly and allow the public to see that they should be causious of all dogs not just Pit Bulls.
Also Poodles scored below the American Pit Bull Terrier in the Amercian Temperment Test. Standard Poodles scored 85.0% while the American Pit Bull Terrier scored 85.3% I also have to say that not even a month ago my best friends mom was walking with her daughter past a woman and her Standard Poodle when the Poodle without cause lunged at my friends mom and ripped through two layers of clothing. Where were the news cameras then?
The American Pit Bull Terrier also beat out Golden Retreivers who scored 84.6% and German Shephers who scored 83.7% check it out at www.atts.com
A couple of comments:
The difference between a poodle attack and a pit bull attack are the reason for the reaction of the humans on the end of the attack. Face it, in spite of the excellent advocacy work of Hug a Bull and other groups, and the work of responsible pit owners, no one can deny the genetics of the breed. It has been selected for countless generations for its physical and mental attributes that made it a physical and mental adversary to BULLS - fearless, tenacious, and oblivous to physical pain. Those jaws! The speed, agility, and strength! These attributes are excellent for working with angry bulls (and fighting other dogs, unfortunately). It also sets them up for the ability to do horrendous harm to humans if the human becomes a target.
Responsible owners and breeders do their very best to eliminate this possibility, including selecting temperments that are very pro-human. But the fact remains that for whatever reason, when a pit bull goes wrong the results can be deadly. A couple of excited, barking, or charging pit bulls are going to get a big reaction because of the worst case scenario.
When a poodle, lab, beagle, spaniel, etc are left in the hands of irresponsible or neglectful owners, abusers, etc - they will also turn on humans. But the attack is not fueled by an inherant instinct to win against a raging bull, coupled with bone crushing jaw muscles.
A child bit by a lab is a sad tragedy for the child and in the above mentioned case, the dog. But labs, poodles, etc almost always limit the damage to a defensive snap - perhaps puncture wounds. And this kind of thing is much more common and frequent than the gigantic attacks that hospitalize and kill.
But give me 100 snapping Springer Spaniels over 1 enraged pittie any day - especially when kids are around.
Another point - reaction to excited pitties has to be taught. Education of the public, including those who fear or dislike dogs, is crutial.
Screaming at a five year old to "RUN" when a dog is running at them turns that child into prey (no matter what breed). People have to learn to be calm, stand their ground, and stay still and quiet. No eye contact - the dog reads that as a challenge. No moving hands and arms. A parent should step between the dog and their child(ren).
There is still a lot of work to be done, but in the meantime, you can't blame people for being frightened or on high alert when their instinct tells them they are in danger.
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