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Sometimes
I think having no pit bulls wouldn't be that bad a
thing, but not for the reasons you might imagine.
If
pit bulls weren't around, they couldn't be beaten,
starved, left chained outside with little protection
from the elements, subjected to ear croppings with
scissors and no pain relief, made to bear puppies with
next to no food. And finally, if pit bulls weren't
around, they couldn't be tossed dead (or nearly so) into
a vacant lot when they come up on the losing side of a
dogfight.
For every headline-grabbing attack by a pit bull, there
are countless cruelties inflicted on these dogs by
humans. As a person recently noted on a dog-related Web
log: ''It's amazing how many other kinds of dogs in the
best homes bite. It's amazing how many pit bulls in the
worst homes don't."
But those who do . . . oh, what fear and anger they
cause. It's no surprise, given the horror of recent
attacks, that the call to eliminate pit bulls has never
been louder. But that call remains the wrong one:
Breed-specific legislation is not the answer to the
problem of dangerous dogs.
It
doesn't help much to argue that the odds of an attack by
a pit bull are so low as to be insignificant compared
with life's other risks, not in the face of saturation
media coverage of every such attack. It doesn't help
much to argue that a well-bred and properly raised pit
bull can be a better companion than many other popular
breeds, based on temperament-testing statistics that
show these dogs to be stable and calm.
So
let's try this: If you want to be protected against a
dog attack, banning the pit bull isn't going to
accomplish that goal. That's because every large breed
or mix you can think of, and many small ones you can't
imagine, have been involved in attacks on humans.
You cannot predict the likelihood of an attack by the
type of dog, but you can see clear trends based on other
criteria.
Poorly bred, unsocialized, unneutered, and untrained
dogs are most often involved in attacks. If you want to
prevent those attacks, you need to address those root
causes.
We
need to make it harder for people to casually breed and
quickly sell dogs, and we need to make it easier to have
animals neutered. We need to recognize that dog-fighting
is as much of a danger to our communities as it is to
the animals participating in this illegal but popular
blood sport. We need to outlaw keeping dogs on chains, a
cruel practice that leaves animals feeling isolated,
territorial, and more likely to attack.
And even as we need to crack down on irresponsible and
criminal dog owners, we need to help those people who
want to do right. We need to educate prospective dog
owners on responsible care, training, and socializing,
so that they may raise dogs who are not dangerous.
And yes, we need to establish zero tolerance for all
dangerous dogs, with no second chances: If a dog attacks
someone, that animal needs to be put down.
We
need to stop looking for scapegoats in the face of every
pit bull, and address the human reasons behind the
problem of dangerous dogs. Only then can we hope to be
safer around not only the pit bull, but all dogs. And
maybe then the pit bull will be safer around us, too.
(c)
Copyright 2005 Globe Newspaper Company. |