Eradicating the Negative Image of American Pit Bull Terriers
By Lisa Hammond, of Ohio.

Editor's Note: Lisa Hammond of Ohio believes in eradicating the negative image of the American Pit Bull Terrier by focusing on the negligent Owner. Ms. Hammond wrote this article for the Troubleshooter Speak Out Page in reaction to an article in the Marion Star Newspaper about a Pit Bull named Babe that bit an officer's hand during a domestic police call. She wrote this before the killing of the two-year-old child by a Pit Bull in Good Hope, Riverside County, California. (This article is on the Investigation Page with other Pit Bull investigations.)

I have read the recent article regarding Babe the pit bull biting the hand of an officer who was trying to handle a domestic violence dispute. It bothers me that their is so much negative press focusing on the pit bull and not the idiot owner.
I have a pit bull and she is a model canine citizen. She is friendly to everyone she meets and she even gives kisses to the mailman, the UPS guy and almost every stranger she comes into contact with. Although I think it is important to relay the news to the public as it occurs, I do think the media and all other conscientious human beings should start making those with the malintent rresponsible. Having had experience with the American Pit Bull Terrier, I can tell you that Babe's biting problem is not normal for this breed. Either Babe has a very unstable temperment and needs to be put down, or her owner is completely negligent and thus has created a monster. If the latter is true, then your community will be happy to know that there is hope for Babe. There are many Pit Bull Rescue organizations that spend time resocializing abused and neglected Pit Bulls and they have nothing but success stories to offer. If the former is the case, then Babe must be put down, so that it does not breed and create any more genetic anomalies. I hope that Babe has been or will be located. It is important to note that tying a Pit Bull or any animal to a tree is a big mistake. It is especially a mistake in the case of a Pit Bull who only desires to be around its family. Treatment such as that will turn a Pit Bull into a psychotic dog in a very short period of time.
If one were to take any creature with a solid intelligence factor and tie it up to a tree and ignore it, the creature would start to exhibit very antisocial behavior. Sadly, I do hope that Babe does not become but one more negative statistic and I would be interested in knowing the outcome of her story. I would also like to say that Sandra Cook needs a bit more punishment than a 1000.00 fine and up to 158 days in jail. This will not change or modify her behavior. If it is true that pit bulls must wear certain tags informing the public that they are a vicious dog, then perhaps, she and her family should be forced to wear a tag that cannot be concealed from the public eye that lets the rest of society know that they are negligent, Pit Bull abusers and that they are responsible for the corruption of a perfectly good breed. Perhaps, if society had a moment to focus on the "nit wit" owner, they would have more mercy on the dog and realize that most negative behavior in animals begins at one single source, their owner.
A good example of the above mentioned is the fact that I have watched dogs at the local dog park, who are supposed to be friendly, harmless, loving dogs, do vicious things to other dogs as well as other people, and it is important to note that these are not Pit Bulls! What is most interesting that it turns out that the owners are either clueless, or they themselves are quite aggressive and they seem to get off on a dog that demonstrates a temperment very similar to their own. Dogs get much of their behavior from the people they live around and to support this declaration, I would like to mention that there are about 8-10 Pit Bull regulars who frequent our local dog park and because the owners are so thoughtful of others, not to mention loving and kind in general, their dogs are a true reflection of them. These dogs do not get into skirmishes with other dogs, or better yet, they do not start fights with other dogs. Their owners will not tolerate it. If the dogs do end up in a fight, it is generally because of one of the more commonly labeled "loving and sweet-natured" dogs started it.
In the United States of America, many organizations are trying to ban this breed of dog, as if it is the cause of the problem. If we look closely, there are also organizations trying ban guns as well, Yet many Americans, will passionately argue that guns don't kill people, people kill people. I believe the latter is true. Without the malicious intent of a HUMAN BEING, the inanimate gun(object) could never be fired off. It requires that a person load a bullet into the chamber and pull the trigger. The gun cannot do this by itself! Moreover, when the gun is fired off and it injures or kills someone else, the gun is not sent to jail or put in the pound to be euthanized. In reality the shooter is the one held completely responsible and the gun is not even a part of the equation, insofar as culpability goes. The same treatment should be afforded the Pit Bull. Let us not punish the breed, let us punish the deed. The deed equals the owner in this equation. If properly trained, loved, nurtured and cared for, the American Pit Bull Terrier will be your best friend and a great canine ambassador for the public. You can make this breed, as well as any other breed anything you want it to be: from loving to vicious. You are the one making the choice. Man's best friend, under normal genetic circumstances, is not born into the world with the idea that it will choose to be vicious and maul people. The dog does not start out that way, that behavior is fostered. Let us remember the days of Our Gang's Petty the Pup and Nipper the RCA dog, and not to mention the Pit Bull that Helen Keller owned who stood by her side. Those were the days when Pit Bulls were America's sweetheart dog, and when dog breeders bred these animals for their great people skills and their excellent temperaments. We need to return to those images. We need to focus on all the wonderful things that Pits are doing today, like for example, search and rescue, therapy workers, and drug sniffing for law enforcement. I hope that this article will open your eyes, as well as the eyes of others.
We must start to make the owners so thoroughly responsible that the thought of owning a dog again is not even a consideration for them. Thank you for your time.

Resources: Marion Star Newspaper. "Owner of Cop-biting Pit Bull Heads to Court."
Monica Torline, The Marion Star, April 22, 2003
www. MarionStar.com/news/stories20030422

Filed June 2003