Kill more American Pit Bull Terriers.
Its been a while since I've written a blog on here and I've been juggling a topic or two around in my head for what I wanted to discuss in my newest work....I want to preface this blog with the disclaimer that this blog is not directed at any member of this forum..
.And so I've decided that I'll discuss my opinion on why more American Pit Bull Terriers should be killed instead of being adopted out. I hope readers of this blog will read this with an open mind and see that I write desiring to see the death of more of these dogs simply because I love the breed and want to see it succeed.
I hope that we can start this with a total agreement.... this breed is most certainly not for everyone.As well as that the average person has no idea what handling this breed properly means. I mean how many stories have we all read on this very forum about people that had dogs for several years together and never took measures early on to avoid accidents later in life? Refusing to separate dogs... not crate training, refusing to tether dogs... and allowing them unsupervised time in the house together. How many stories have we read about the dog that kills a beloved family cat, rabbit, or other breed of dog? They never saw it coming... they don't understand why it just snapped.... Why did it happen?
It has been my understanding in these stories that the majority of dogs in question have been rescue dogs.. and more so that they are often the first "pit bull" a person has owned. Many times I've seen the post of a person I just rescued a pit bull.... now what? They have read nothing on the breed, nothing on the history of the breed natural GENETIC tendencies of the breed. Bascially they know nothing beyond maybe a few episodes of The Dog Whisperer... or maybe they've looked at Bad Rap's website and seen all the "good fortune" they've had with the rescued Vick dogs.. and so they have all the good intentions of these people and groups and they want to make help this noble breed....
But what is it they've said of the road to hell and good intentions?......
Sadly good intentions can not help the majority of these cases..... these dogs need a special kind of person. They need to someone that understands that this breed is a warrior breed and NOTHING more. Yes they make excellent pets, yes they are very lovable creatures and make wonderful couch potatoes.. but they are warriors and I believe truly happy in combat.. yes they can be happy doing other things but their true calling is combat.
With dogs that tend to be this highly geared toward a natural aggression and desire for combat so deep in their genes we must look beyond trying to love and teach this desire out of them. They need someone to respect this desire and manage it.. not do away with it. And I just don't believe that many rescue people have the ability to do this.... and by rescuing a dog of this caliber giving it a place in your life and not being capable of understanding this you do a disservice to your dog.
By placing a dog like this is a home that isn't able to handle their special needs...because believe me they do have different needs than your average breed.. you set them up for failure. And I fully and completely believe that each time one of these dogs fail in the eyes of the public the entire breed fails. And in this day and age with the rabid monster of Breed Specific Legislation running wild one failure is too many,
So I do believe an overhaul is needed on the policies of the adoption of this breed..... if we truly wish to see it carry on. The more and more of these dogs that are adopted out just willy nilly to anyone with good intentions the more stories of failure we will see. I see no other realistic way of combating this issue other than to promote a higher number of APBTs in shelters to be euthanized. Because I do not see a way shelters across the country can afford to implement a good enough adoption process to assure that APBTs are placed in capable understanding homes.
SO yes... I love this breed... I want this breed to succeed more than anything.. and I want the witch hunt against this breed to stop. I wish for a day when responsible American Pit Bull Terrier owners can proudly and without fear claim the love for their animals... when they can have breaksticks, treadmills, flirtpoles, spingpoles, and other tools that every responsible owner should have without fear of being accused of engaging in illegal activities.
And one of the ways I see this being able to happen is by having less and less of these animals failing because of owners that simply just don't know better or are too ignorant to see beyond what they want these dogs to be and see what these dogs ARE... and the most effective way I see of achieving this is to simply to make it harder for people with good intentions and no real knowledge of the breed to be able to adopt them.
Currently there are shelters nationwide overpopulated with pit bulls...and last time I checked at my local shelter it was about $75 to adopt a dog from them. So anybody with $75 can adopt a dog... 75 dollars could put your ability to own an American Pit Bull Terrier... your breed of choice at risk... simply because someone with all the good intentions in the world but without the ability to contain what their $75 just got them as it kills the neighbors Labrador, or gets loose and kills a few cats.
Is that a chance you'd really be willing to take? Would you be willing to lay your dogs on the line so that someone that has a full season of The Dog Whisperer on DVD and has read pit bulls for dummies can spend $75 and feel like they are making a difference in the dog world?
Me.... I'd rather see more dogs killed than adopted out simply to keep these dogs away from those people that I described. Now I realize that not everyone that adopts is incapable of properly caring for, understanding, and containing this breed... and those of you out there that do rescue and adopt and properly care for your animals you do a wonderful thing or this breed and I do thank you for what you do for this breed and the dogs you save from the gas chamber.
Kill More... Rescue Less... Save the breed...
.And so I've decided that I'll discuss my opinion on why more American Pit Bull Terriers should be killed instead of being adopted out. I hope readers of this blog will read this with an open mind and see that I write desiring to see the death of more of these dogs simply because I love the breed and want to see it succeed.
I hope that we can start this with a total agreement.... this breed is most certainly not for everyone.As well as that the average person has no idea what handling this breed properly means. I mean how many stories have we all read on this very forum about people that had dogs for several years together and never took measures early on to avoid accidents later in life? Refusing to separate dogs... not crate training, refusing to tether dogs... and allowing them unsupervised time in the house together. How many stories have we read about the dog that kills a beloved family cat, rabbit, or other breed of dog? They never saw it coming... they don't understand why it just snapped.... Why did it happen?
It has been my understanding in these stories that the majority of dogs in question have been rescue dogs.. and more so that they are often the first "pit bull" a person has owned. Many times I've seen the post of a person I just rescued a pit bull.... now what? They have read nothing on the breed, nothing on the history of the breed natural GENETIC tendencies of the breed. Bascially they know nothing beyond maybe a few episodes of The Dog Whisperer... or maybe they've looked at Bad Rap's website and seen all the "good fortune" they've had with the rescued Vick dogs.. and so they have all the good intentions of these people and groups and they want to make help this noble breed....
But what is it they've said of the road to hell and good intentions?......
Sadly good intentions can not help the majority of these cases..... these dogs need a special kind of person. They need to someone that understands that this breed is a warrior breed and NOTHING more. Yes they make excellent pets, yes they are very lovable creatures and make wonderful couch potatoes.. but they are warriors and I believe truly happy in combat.. yes they can be happy doing other things but their true calling is combat.
With dogs that tend to be this highly geared toward a natural aggression and desire for combat so deep in their genes we must look beyond trying to love and teach this desire out of them. They need someone to respect this desire and manage it.. not do away with it. And I just don't believe that many rescue people have the ability to do this.... and by rescuing a dog of this caliber giving it a place in your life and not being capable of understanding this you do a disservice to your dog.
By placing a dog like this is a home that isn't able to handle their special needs...because believe me they do have different needs than your average breed.. you set them up for failure. And I fully and completely believe that each time one of these dogs fail in the eyes of the public the entire breed fails. And in this day and age with the rabid monster of Breed Specific Legislation running wild one failure is too many,
So I do believe an overhaul is needed on the policies of the adoption of this breed..... if we truly wish to see it carry on. The more and more of these dogs that are adopted out just willy nilly to anyone with good intentions the more stories of failure we will see. I see no other realistic way of combating this issue other than to promote a higher number of APBTs in shelters to be euthanized. Because I do not see a way shelters across the country can afford to implement a good enough adoption process to assure that APBTs are placed in capable understanding homes.
SO yes... I love this breed... I want this breed to succeed more than anything.. and I want the witch hunt against this breed to stop. I wish for a day when responsible American Pit Bull Terrier owners can proudly and without fear claim the love for their animals... when they can have breaksticks, treadmills, flirtpoles, spingpoles, and other tools that every responsible owner should have without fear of being accused of engaging in illegal activities.
And one of the ways I see this being able to happen is by having less and less of these animals failing because of owners that simply just don't know better or are too ignorant to see beyond what they want these dogs to be and see what these dogs ARE... and the most effective way I see of achieving this is to simply to make it harder for people with good intentions and no real knowledge of the breed to be able to adopt them.
Currently there are shelters nationwide overpopulated with pit bulls...and last time I checked at my local shelter it was about $75 to adopt a dog from them. So anybody with $75 can adopt a dog... 75 dollars could put your ability to own an American Pit Bull Terrier... your breed of choice at risk... simply because someone with all the good intentions in the world but without the ability to contain what their $75 just got them as it kills the neighbors Labrador, or gets loose and kills a few cats.
Is that a chance you'd really be willing to take? Would you be willing to lay your dogs on the line so that someone that has a full season of The Dog Whisperer on DVD and has read pit bulls for dummies can spend $75 and feel like they are making a difference in the dog world?
Me.... I'd rather see more dogs killed than adopted out simply to keep these dogs away from those people that I described. Now I realize that not everyone that adopts is incapable of properly caring for, understanding, and containing this breed... and those of you out there that do rescue and adopt and properly care for your animals you do a wonderful thing or this breed and I do thank you for what you do for this breed and the dogs you save from the gas chamber.
Kill More... Rescue Less... Save the breed...
Total Comments 130
Comments
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I fostered a blue bully for almost a year. Had great progress with him and he was an awesome dog. Even though i objected strongly to his placement with a certain person, they placed him anyway. Within the year, he had gotten out and attacked the neighbors dog. The person who adopted the dog, had him PTS.
I cant help but wonder what good I actually did. This poor dog came from a bad situation, to my home, where he was given love and attention and rules, only to be placed with someone who had NO CLUE wtf they were doing.
IF I ever begin fostering again, I will make sure it is with a rescue who I am positive will place them in homes equiped to handle this breed.
Though your opinions are harsh somewhat, I can understand where you are coming from with it. If more of these guys were PTS, it would allow for other dogs, who are far more stable to be placed in homes, instead of saving them all, only to have many end up in worse situation.
Good Blog as usual NC.Posted 10-22-2009 at 01:12 PM by Alma 
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Very well written
Posted 10-22-2009 at 01:18 PM by Debbie -
as difficult as it is for some to accept, im all for it. let the bleeding hearts find another breed to "save." 99% of em imo arent cut out for this type of dog anywayPosted 10-22-2009 at 01:30 PM by woody d -
my heart would like to say you are full of shit, but my mind says you are probably right....
it is long term betterment of the breed that you are concerned about..
the bleeding hearts are concerned about THIS DOG RIGHT NOW and are not thinking about the overall effect on the breed...
I hope my wife does not decide to join the forum just to come here and tell you off...
we have two rescues and she dearly loves them both... and one of them is worth a shit...Posted 10-22-2009 at 01:52 PM by Obed -
Well said.
I have to say that I agree.Posted 10-22-2009 at 02:58 PM by CoolHandJean -
Hmmmm.............IDKPosted 10-22-2009 at 04:32 PM by dellacella -
I couldn't agree with you more!! Very well said!Posted 10-22-2009 at 05:59 PM by Deniselynn -
It almost seems thats what they want. I believe they want these dogs dead. So what better way than to put em in some yahoos hands who's gonna let it run free. Im not for shelter and adoptions for these dogs.Posted 10-22-2009 at 06:19 PM by jamminbce - P.S. It breaks my heart to see so many pit bulls sitting in shelters and it takes AGES for them to get adopted out.
There are some great pit bull rescues out there that know what they are doing.
Even though BAD RAP supports pit bulls their latest proclamation about pit bulls and DA just had me shaking my head.Posted 10-22-2009 at 06:20 PM by Deniselynn -
You're right.... as sad as it is to think about... but it's true. I have said before, and I will stick to it... if the time ever comes where I absolutely cannot have my dogs and I'm faced with having to rehome them... I will put them down, especially Mollie and Bella. I don't trust anyone else with them. Heck, I hardly trust my family members that live with me with them. I especially wouldn't rehome Mollie, she's too selective dog aggressive. I would never trust anyone else to take care of her, look out for her, and make sure she doesn't get loose. Bella is more loving, and more friendly, but, I fear that a stranger might not look out for her as well either. So if ever faced with the decision to rehome or euthanize my two favorite dogs, I would have them put down. I don't trust anyone to look out for the breeds best interest, especially when it comes to my two, better than I do. I'm not the worlds best owner, but I'm the best owner for my two APBT's. I might rehome them to a select few members on PBC, but other than that... I wouldn't trust anyone else with them.Posted 10-22-2009 at 07:15 PM by Mollie's Nana -
As someone who was heavily intrenched in rescue, who believed ''education'' was the key, I have ''been there, done that'' so to speak and saw the reality of my ''good intentions''. Now where do I stand? Essentially where you are NCPG. I myself will not be placing anymore dogs. Were there successes? Yes.. but 100 successes suddenly mean nothing with one failure. The breed can't afford ''one more mistake'' and I now see rescue as too high risk for the breed. Where I support the dogs themselves, as I've had some AMAZING dogs come though my doors, I no longer support the rescue of them. I would much rather see a dog euthed than placed. That is the reality of how bad things are for the breed and the low quality of the majority of people out there looking to adopt. I think this goes further than just rescue though. I think breeders need to stop selling to the general public. Keep the dogs within a tight circle of PROVEN individuals. Breed what you need, and cull the rest. We are at war right now. Time to look at our tactics as reasoning with the enemy Has gotten us nowhere. Time to cut off the supply and take no prisoners, for the greater good.Posted 10-22-2009 at 07:35 PM by Zoe
Updated 10-22-2009 at 08:51 PM by Zoe -
Thanks for the responses so far... Zoe that was an awesome response spoken from some with rescue experience. I am glad to count you on my side.Posted 10-22-2009 at 07:54 PM by NcPrisonGuard -
I love you NC.
I am known in the rescue that I volunteer for as the "Pit Bull person"
Now we do OCCASIONALLY take in a bully breed or two, we usually turn them down. Because we don't have a shelter and are all foster homes. Now I joke with the "boss" that that is not fair and give her crap about it all the time but she knows that I agree with not taking them. Because I know that not only do our fosters not understand the breed but most adopters don't either. These are folks who think "It's all in how you raise 'em" and "dog parks are good socialization"
Darn. I'm here thinking of what to write a blog on and you come out with this and I'm like "Why didn't I think of that?!". But now I have an idea. I'm gonna do a kind of continuation. Like some examples of why I agree so much with this piece.Posted 10-22-2009 at 09:02 PM by Turner - Good post, Zoe. Very true.
Posted 10-22-2009 at 09:19 PM by CoolHandJean -
so, the answer is to kill all the "Pit Bulls" who are in need of help and to get rid of most if not all of the Rescues... Sounds like we'd be catering to the Human Ignorance to me...Posted 10-22-2009 at 10:27 PM by pitbullhappenings - I believe it is an answer PBH... Its a matter of keeping the breed out of the hands of people that can't handle them... the people that refuse to understand the history and genetics of this breed.... It is about keeping the dogs away from the people that are going to allow them to fail..... each and every accident that is allowed to happen in the public eye just throws gasoline on the fire that is BSL.... So I guess to put it in harsh... real world terms.... Sacrifice the few for the many.
Posted 10-22-2009 at 11:12 PM by NcPrisonGuard - Or we could be protecting the breed from the wrong hands.
I am a little bit more OK with breed specific rescues adopting out bully breeds because they usually know the breed and know who to adopt to. But I've noticed that even some "Pit Bull" rescues seem to be spouting out crap like socializing prevents aggression, you can train out DA and then have your dogs live in a happy little "pack" and such. And especially of late people seem to be trying to save as many as possible instead of focusing on the quality of the dogs they save or the people they adopt to.Posted 10-22-2009 at 11:15 PM by Turner - I didn't post the comment I wanted to because I'm not going to post with my emotions. I want to make sure it's legitimate and true.
However, the Blog states numerous times Shelters and Rescues... He doesn't mention Breed Specific Rescues he's grouped them all into one category kinda like how the media does with the APBT classifies almost 30 different breeds as "Pit Bulls" so by that I interpreted the Blog author as saying killem all...We know "Pit Bull" is NOT a breed but by stating "Kill more Rescue Less" tells me whether it's an APBT or one of the other breeds doesn't matter...who's definition do we use to define what "Pit Bull" should we kill. Another Point is Denver's doing Exactly as the OP wants to do...Is that right? Oh...I suppose it could be Collateral Damage...oh well... The problem is the Breeders NOT the Rescues. That's where the problem lies.Posted 10-23-2009 at 12:20 AM by pitbullhappenings
Updated 10-23-2009 at 12:43 AM by pitbullhappenings - The Problem I see is you can't identify an APBT by visualizations only. I agree that Shelters for the most part aren't able to properly place an APBT...My problem is instead of placing these Alleged "Pit Bulls" into a home your choice is simply to Kill them so that the Media won't post a headline against the APBT...That's is the problem I have with the Blog, You're willing to sacrifice all these Different types of dogs because of the Media and General Population's definition of what a "Pit Bull" is to protect one breed, the APBT. Surely somebody understands and sees what I'm trying to say...It's late and I'm tired.
Posted 10-23-2009 at 12:27 AM by pitbullhappenings - "sacrifice the few for the many" I believe you have that backwards...Your answer will surely sacrifice the many to save the few...For your answer to Work...we would have to kill all the dogs the Media considers is a Pit Bull which is damn near 30 different breeds. and to me that's just down right wrong.
Posted 10-23-2009 at 12:33 AM by pitbullhappenings
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