All Fired UP and Ready to Go.

Recently, a friend of mine, posted on Facebook that the city we live in had banned Pit Bulls. She said she had received a phone call from someone saying that she needed to get rid of her dog because they could come and take him any time they want and he could be euthanized. So we started a page about it and received 100's of supporters wanting to sign a petition to overturn this "alleged" law. Thankfully, the phone call she received turned out to be a prank call.

Then a story broke out on the news about an elderly man, who's Pit Bull named Snoopy had been taken away because while he was walking his dog on a leash, another much smaller dog came running up to him, barking at Snoopy and aggressively biting at him which caused Snoopy to bite back in self-defense. The owner of the smaller dog, took it too far and called authorities. So someone on Snoopy's side, started a petition to bring Snoopy home to his owner. They got about $7,000 signatures online and Snoopy finally came home.

Well, with all of that going on, it got me all fired up again. And I wanted to do something that might help even if it's in a small way. And I cannot stand the fact that these dogs are still being abused over and over again. If they are not being physically abused, then they are being unfairly treated by ignorant misinformed people who claim to be animal lovers.
I have not owned a Pit Bull since I was a kid. I would love to have one again but with raising a family and financial difficulties, I always thought it would not be fair to anyone including the dog. They are like having children and I cannot be a responsible owner without the right amount of time and money it takes to take care of them.

However, I had a female Pit Bull puppy when I was about 13. We found her wandering around. She had no collar, full of fleas and ticks and it looked like someone had literally taken an ax and chopped of her tail. At the time, my step mother was a deputy sherif and an animal lover. She took her, cleaned her up and took her to the vet. My parents let her be my dog and I named her Bandit cuz of her mask like feature. She soon became close buddies with our Beagle. Later, my step mom rescued a male Pit Bull we named Bubba. He had been left to starve by drug dealers. It became evident that he prefered women and that he really did not like African-Americans but we were able to bring him into the condo where we lived and he got along very well with the other 2 dogs and a cat who used to hide and swat him when he came by. He would do nothing but look at the cat curiously.

Anyhow, we were constantly seeing News reports about Pit Bulls and how they were vicious killers. It was outrageous to us, knowing how well-mannered, loveable and silly the ones we knew were. And ours were not the only dogs that we came to know. I started doing research on them and I even wrote a school report about them. Ever since then, I have defended these dogs whenever there was an occasion to.

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Officials have decided to reunite Snoopy with his guardian (victoriesfortheanimals.wordpress.com)

Breed Specific Legislation

Reckless Owners and Dangerous Dogs in Your City

Owners who let their dog run loose, and dogs who attack people or other animals, are big issues across the country—but how to best deal with this has led to much controversy.

“Breed-specific” legislation (BSL) is the term for laws that regulate or ban certain breeds completely. Some city/municipal governments have enacted breed-specific laws. However, the problem will not be solved by the “quick fix” of such breed-discriminatory laws.
In some areas, regulated breeds include not just American Pit Bull terriers, American Staffordshire Terriers, Staffordshire Bull Terriers, English Bull Terriers and Rottweilers, but also other dogs, including American Bulldogs, Mastiffs, Dalmatians, Chow Chows, German Shepherds, Doberman Pinschers, or any mix of these breeds—and dogs who resemble these breeds.
Many states (including New York, Texas and Illinois) favor laws that identify, track and regulate dangerous dogs individually, regardless of breed, and prohibit BSL.

Are Breed-Specific Laws Effective?

There is no evidence that these laws—make communities safer for people or companion animals. Following a thorough study of human fatalities resulting from dog bites, the United States Centers for Disease Control (CDC) decided not to support BSL. The CDC said, the inaccuracy of dog bite data and the difficulty in identifying dog breeds (especially mixed-breed dogs). The CDC also noted if certain breeds are regulated, those who make them aggressive will replace them with other, unregulated breeds.

The Negative Consequences of Breed-Specific Laws:

• 
  Owners hide their Dogs rather than give up their pets, owners of banned breeds will avoid detection of their “outlaw” dogs by not taking them out side as much and forego licensing, microchipping and even veterinary care. This is not good for anyone.
  


• Good owners and Good Dogs are punished BSL causes hardship to responsible owners of friendly, well supervised dogs who happen to be the regulated breed. And even though these dog owners have done nothing to endanger the public, they are still required to comply with the regulations.
  


• BSL may actually encourage irresponsible people to own these breedsOutlaws are attracted to "Outlaw" Breeds. Some people take advantage of the “outlaw” status of their breed to boost their own self image as rebelling against mainstream society. Is it a coincidence that the rise of Pit Bull ownership among gang members in the late 1980’s coincided with the start of breed-specific legislation?
  

What are the facts?

In the study, the CDC stated that many other factors may affect a dog’s aggression—as heredity, sex, early experience, reproductive status, socialization and training.

• More than 70% of all dog bite cases involve unneutered male dogs, which is 2.6 times more likely to bite than is a neutered dog.
  


• A chained dog is 2.8 times more likely to bite than a dog who is not chained.
  


• 97%of dogs involved in fatal dog attacks in 2006 were not spayed/neutered:
  78% were not really pets, they were for guarding, self image, fighting or breeding.
  


• 84% had reckless owners—these dogs were abused or neglected, their living conditions were inhumane and did not interact them with children or anyone.

The ASPCA seeks effective enforcement of breed-neutral laws that hold dog owners accountable for the actions of their animals.

For help in drafting animal control laws, contact the ASPCA’s Government Relations department at lobby@aspca.org.