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I'd like to repeat what Sabby said. There are lots of strong emotions on both sides of this issue. Can we please remain civil about it?
Has anyone here read "Lost Dogs"? It's the story of the dogs seize at Michael Vick's farm. Prior to that seizure it was assumed dogs trained for fighting had to be put down because they would be too vicious. Of the 51 dogs seized only two had to be put down. One was a male who was dangerously vicious. The other was a female who had been bred so many times her health was so damaged she could not be saved. The other dogs were either rehabiliatated and adopted out or they are living out their lives in Dog Town, a rescue facility.
The ones living out their lives at Dog Town are not vicious, but their emotional make-up is so messed up in an immature way from the treatment they received they can't function in the outside world. It's not that they are dangerous to people. It's that their emotional development is messed up.
The dogs that were adopted out have gone on to live lives as family pets, therapy dogs and other productive lives.
I'm not saying that all Pit Bulls are wonderful, safe dogs. Some are not. Some have been trained by people to be mean and attack/fight. Some have been bred to fight/attack. Some were never trained how a well socialized dog should behave. I was once attacked by a Pit-cross. Thank gawd it got the back of my pants and not my leg. If it had it would have hamstrung me. I don't condemn the breed though. I condemn the owner who knew he had a vicious dog and let it off the chain it was usually on.
I mentioned before I used to be friends with someone who had a pack of nasty little Chihuahuas. The only reason they did not inflict serious damage was because of their size. (George, that's why we don't see stories about Chihuahuas attack baby. They aren't big enough to inflict much harm. If they were the size of Pits they would be making headlines too.)
I guess I come across as defending the breed. Can we not condemn a breed because of the behavior of some of the animals?
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