I have been an avid Source reader for the five years I have lived in Bend, but after reading your WTF article on the Pit Bull ban in Oregon I won’t be picking up your paper any longer.
Since you stated that no one in your office owns a Pit Bull I think your statements were incredibly ignorant. I have been a Pit Bull owner for the past 8 years (previously owning primarily cattle dogs) and also a dog groomer in the past, and (I) have not encountered a “kid-face tearing Pit Bull” that your article referred to. My dogs have all been kind and loving and really love kids, as are the other Pit Bulls I have encountered.
The breed requires a responsible dog owner (don’t they all though??), and unfortunately ends up attracting the most irresponsible dog owners most of the time who give all of us responsible Pit owners a bad name.
The media makes a huge deal every time a supposed Pit Bull or Pit mix (I say supposed because there are many breeds mistaken for Pit Bulls) makes a wrong move. Do you ever hear about the Cocker Spaniel (which has been the breed on top of the most reported bites list in the past) that bites a kid? No you don’t, because no one makes a big deal of a dog bite unless a Pit Bull is involved.
The people who think it’s a status symbol to have a “tuff dog” and are irresponsible with them make a bad name for all of us. I’m a business skirt, suit-wearing professional that also trains horses, so I’m probably one of the last people you would expect to see walking two large Pit Bulls. But as a single woman who lives alone, I don’t mind saying I feel secure with my Pit’s sleeping with me at night, especially in a town with a growing number of home break ins. Point of the story: bashing a person’s choice of dog breed (especially when you have never ever owned (a Pit Bull) is like bashing a person’s choice in coffee when you have never even drank a cup. Think twice before bashing another person’s choice.
Pit Bull Lover
This article appears in Mar 19-25, 2009.
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Call me ignorant if you want, but I WILL judge you if you own a pit bull. I know full well the celebrities and famous figures who have owned them in the past, but I will judge you. Sorry. I see pit bull owners as idiots who have a potentially dangerous animals in their lives. Yes, Cocker Spaniels can and do bite, but to compare their jaw strength to a pit bull’s is idiodic. Own a pit bull? Be prepared to be looked at like trash by me and many others. Just the way it is.
I have to say I do not own pits or pit mixes but my sons room mate does and I was a little nervous myself to go over there because of all the things you hear on the news and in papers> I agree with you that when a dog bites and LOOKS even slightly like a pit its all over the news. I have even read where there was a woman who said the dog who attacked her was a pit in reality it was a chow husky mix. It boggles my mind that the authorities would think this was a pit (picture was with the article)
The first time I went to my sons I was greeted with a rampage of gusto and slobber and the most fierce but wiggle I have ever seen in a dog. The kid, ok he is 20 but still a kid to me. Has raised 2 of them since they were pups(found dumped along a road) and the 3rd was a rescue. I have over the past 2 yrs come to know and have read up on pits and what their back ground was. They were war heroes and icons of the nation, nanny dogs and loyal and sweet loving.
Where did this all go wrong? I can tell you that most breeders don’t care what line they breed its all in the MONEY they get for the dog. So you get cross breeding and unstable dogs as well as those that think its “cool” to have this type of dog and don’t train or raise it properly don’t socialize it with people or other dogs. These are irresponsible owners and that’s who we need to target not the breed itself. I really feel for owners like you and my sons friend who took the time to educate himself after getting the dogs and properly socializing them. They are not a dog for everyone, you need to know as with ANY breed what you are doing. Dogs are ANIMALS just because of the breed DOESN’T make it a bad dog just irresponsible owners.
Call me ignorant if you want, but I WILL judge you if you . I know full well the celebrities and famous figures who , but I will judge you. Sorry. I see as idiots who have a potentially in their lives. Yes, can and do , but to compare their to a ‘s is idiodic. ? Be prepared to be looked at like trash by me and many others. Just the way it is.
Thank you for your Honest opinion.
The original didn’t post verbatim, as a result it may have lost some punch.
Call me ignorant if you want, but I WILL judge you if you are (black, hispanic, gay, homeless, etc). I know full well the celebrities and famous figures who have been (black, hispanic, gay, homeless, etc) in the past, but I will judge you. Sorry. I see (blacks, hispanics, gays, homeless, etc)as idiots who have potentially dangerous (criminal, violent, addictive, abusive tendencies)in their lives. Yes, (whites, professionals, republicans, christians, etc)can and do (tweak, smell bad, beat women, drive motor vehicles), but to compare their (addictions, fallabilities, vices, poor decision making) to a (black, hispanic, gay, homeless)’s is idiodic. Are you (black, hispanic, gay, homeless)? Be prepared to be looked at like trash by me and many others. Just the way it is.
Thank you for your Honest opinion.
Joe,
You can choose to own a dangerous dog. You can’t choose those other things. The fact that you made that comparison worries me.
Joe,
The only thing that we should judge about people are their decisions, not things that are out of their control (like skin color, orientation, mental illnesses, etc). You decide to raise your children without manners, I will judge you. You decide to drive around with your music blaring, I will judge you. You decide not to brush your teeth, I will judge you. You decide to own a dog that can crush a person’s skull, I WILL JUDGE YOU.
I also like how you contrast being black, hispanic, gay or homeless with being professional, republican and Christian. You can choose to be a professional, republican or Christian. You can’t choose to be black, hispanic, gay, or homeless(assuming that you are in the majority of the homeless and are mentally ill).
Sorry if you can’t take some honesty. If you don’t like reality, get a helmet.
I think you misunderstood my comment, the honesty is great. I was calling you ignorant.
“Call me ignorant if you want,…”