On Friday, a young girl was attacked and severely injured by her neighbour's dog. By Monday, we began hearing about a "pit bull attack" and we braced ourselves for pointed fingers, calls for breed bans, and the usual outcry that accompanies these media reports.
The SPCA was called in to investigate and soon clarified that the dog was a German Shepherd/bull terrier mix. Although we occasionally see bull terriers targeted by breed specific legislation, they are physically and temperamentally very different from the three breeds commonly defined as pit bulls: American Staffordshire Terriers, Staffordshire Bull Terriers, and American Pit Bull Terriers.
The bad news? The "pit bull" headline stuck in many cases. In this Global BC broadcast (scroll to 14:37) they included "pit bull" in the caption even though they mention the dog's exact breed mix several times in the interview.
The good news? Once the "pit bull" label was peeled off, and the SPCA was asked to comment, the news report became a lot more balanced. The news angle turned to factors behind bites - sexually intact dogs, undersocialized dogs, and children who approach dogs inappropriately. If BSL was brought up, it was to point out its flaws, and the SPCA spoke out loud and clear about it.
In addition to the Global BC report, this Maple Ridge News article is a great example of balanced and fair coverage we'd like to see more of: http://www.bclocalnews.com/tri_city_maple_ridge/mapleridgenews/news/100396369.html
It's really encouraging to see this. Would the angle have shifted in this direction if the attack had indeed been a "pit bull" incident? We don't know. We'd like to think so, and we'd like to live in a culture where reporters hear about a dog bite and look at all the factors, not just breed, before filing their story. In the meantime we'll hope this is part of a trend, and keep working to encourage it.
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