"But pit bulls do have their backers"

"But pit bulls do have their backers"

But pit bulls do have their backers. Many have organized to fight against breed-specific legislation.

Sandra Always, the president of the Golden Horseshoe American Pit Bull Terrier Club, has owned and bred pit bulls for 16 years. She's also the vice-president of the Dog Legislation Council of Canada, an organization that lobbies against laws that ban specific breeds of dogs.

"A dog needs responsible ownership regardless of breed," she told CBC Radio. "You train it, you contain and you socialize it. If you ban these guys, what's next? Italy started with a banned list of 13 breeds. They're up to over 40 now. They just banned Welsh Corgis!"

Jennifer Segal is a dog trainer who chooses not to work with pit bulls. She says years of improper breeding have made them not only aggressive but deadly.

"There are a number of young people, particularly male, particularly under the age of 28, who find it to be some type of cultural element to have this type of arm jewelry, pulling them around. It's the macho appearance."

Pit bulls were originally bred in 19th-century England to fight other dogs in pits. That's now rare, but Merle Blaine of the Etobicoke Humane Society in Toronto says it still happens.

"People arrange fights in parks. But by the time you get there it's pretty well over. The dog that loses the fight is left behind, usually a mess. [This kind of thing] makes the breed a bad breed."

But she's not convinced breed-specific legislation is the answer.

"Probably what should happen is there should be a special licensing fee for pit bulls and their owners should be required to take special training. It should be more difficult to own one."

Dr. Guy agrees. "It is too easy owning a dog. [People don't realize] it's like having a toddler for 12 years. A toddler with teeth. We never say we've cured a dog with an aggression problem. All we say is we've lowered the risk of an aggressive action happening again."

 

Re: "But pit bulls do have their backers"

great post, good to see we all have supporters somewhere. did you realize it came up twice, i kept reading and was like...."havent i read this? "lol