Pit bulls
we can all thank the moron football player vick the dick for his effort in promoting the notion that Pit Bulls are vicious. any dog will be mean when they are mistreated and abused, as so will humans. Is what happened sad? Yes. But at the end of the day the pit bull is a breed of dog that has for centuries been bread for specific traits. These traits make it dangerous for others around the dog. The real shame isn't that, just as we have regulations over cars to ensure safety, that we need those same sort of regulations for dogs because people have and continue to breed a dog for those sort of traits. Nice to here from the irrational champions of emotional histrionics, Allen. The absurdity of breed bans resulted from politicians and other "authority" figures grasping on to an emotional howl from the current collection of societal watchdogs who look for anything, for any reason, to protect people from themselves. Without ruffling the feathers of a large part of the population our esteemed political and authoritative figureheads rammed through useless and unnecessary set of laws. If gave them an opportunity to sit on their laurels and claim to be dedicated to protecting the public with minimal political expenditure. Back in the 60's and 70's the big feared breed of dogs was the Doberman -- they even made movies about how unstable and deadly they were (i.e., They Only Kill Their Masters, 1972). And if you want to look at dogs supposedly bred to be killers, don't forget the French Poodle and German Shepherds.. The only laws that should be in place are against the people who raise and train dogs to be fighters or vicious attack dogs. That's how dogs turn mean; not due to their genetic breeding. I was walking past an older golden retriever tied up outside a Wild Oats the other day. As I passed by him, I looked at him and said "Hello"...the dog lunged at me, growling with teeth bared. I had to jump back and out of the way to avoid being bitten. I'm a dog lover and I do recognize that some breeds do have unpredictable temperments. I do think it's worth noting that pit bulls have, unfortunately, been overbred and even inbred as people tried to dvelop the nuscle dog characterists that have become so en vogue. People were breeding them to achieve certain qualities (muscle, size, aggressiveness, etc) without taking into consideration the unreparable harm they ere doing to the breed itself. The same thing has happened in many other breeds resulting in a wide assortment of genetic physical issues (dysplasia, etc). Instead of outlawing an animal because of it's breed, we need greater controls placed on breeding. I do not own a pit bull. I do, however, have an english bull terrier (yes, a Spuds McKenzie dog).. A completely different breed...it doesn't even look like a pit bull. But I still get those questions from people.."aren't these dogs illegal in Denver?". This is the issues that Denver's ordinance has created. People don't know what breeds are and make assumptions. I worry that some cop or dog hating meddling citizen will claim my dog is a The ordinance, as it stands, is kind of similar to McCarthyism and the "red scare". I know it may seem like a strech but it's true. All it takes is an accusation that the dog is of a certain breed and a dog owner may have to choose between their beloved pet and A puppy is a puppy treat is kindly and it will serve you as a faithfull friend forever. Hey James and JoAnn, Try telling that to the woman who was attacked in her bed by 2 pitbulls that were running loose and entered her home thru a pet door illegally. Or should we just give these pitbulls amnesty??? not here Go after the macho fools who raised and trained those intruding dogs to be vicious. While you're at it, nail the owners for allowing them to run free after they terrorized their "pets" into being attack dogs. Refer to the post above regarding Dobermans, the one referencing the Golden Lab -- the way dogs act are in accordance to the way they are trained and treated. Your scarce words about a previous attack only reinforces the point that breed bans are the result of emotional histrionics and lack of common sense. You would rather place the blame on a dumb animal than on the sadistic humans who nurtured and developed antisocial behavior. Consider the wonderful that people who do that with dogs are also instilling "values" on their own offspring -- are you going to ban or euthanize the juvenile delinquents resulting from their training? It appears that someone gave you amnesty for not having common sense nor the ability of rational thought. There you go again: I've told you over and over; I buy you books and send you to school and you eat the books: Rational thought, common sense, ability to reason are one and the same. Call it a Trinity. This Trinity is a collection of your bias and prejudice. This Trinity is evidenced in judges taking the opposite ground on the same fact pattern. Get it? Pit bulls are like liberal Democrats, they are only as good as their handlers. Hank, What reverse Bizzaro world do you live in? Don't you remember that your conservative president's HANDLERS are so terrified of his inability to speak to anyone but a loyal choir of dittoheads that they screen and evict anyone who isn't a loyalist. Or were you not aware that the incident with the three people evicted from the town hall here in Denver because of their "No War for Oil" bumper sticker,. were just one in a long series of crowd cleansings to make sure the boy-king wouldn't have to face any detractors or tough questions. Once again, Hank, in another pathetic attempt to besmirch and belittle liberals, you leave yourself open to ridicule because of your utter lack of knowledge about anything but rhetoric. Richard Grimes I was wondering where you've been, thanks so much for stating your nonsensical opinions again....... I think it's sad what happened, both owners should have exercised better judgement, in making sure they kept their animals at a distance from each other...... Just for the record, the Allen posted on August 26th at 9:55 AM was not me. My thoughts on the subject are clear and concise. It is almost never the dogs fault when they misbehave, it is almost always the owner's. There is no law ruling who can own a dog just as there is no law ruling who can own a car. The lack of law in both cases can result in bodily harm or death. But there are laws about who can drive a car and how it must be driven that mitagate the potential harm in that case. There are no laws about how a dog must be raised, not withstanding maltreatment, and trying to enact laws governing the raising of dogs would involve so much confusion as to make it impossible. So what is the answer. I suggest that within tort law instead of criminal law is where the answer lays. If anyone raises a dog to be violent and it unprovokedly attacks another dog or person, civil action via law suits in addition to confiscation of the dog and conditionaly, putting the dog down. It is a truism that when you're hit in the pocket book it gets your attention and makes you reconsider your actions. Here we go again with the same old tired stupid clich'e. "It's not the Dog it's the owner". These are the same people who blame the murder victim and want to save the murderer from the death penalty. Thomas go to today's other posting "Legislators wanting" with this quote and let your liberal friends dwell on the hypocracy. Also learn something about your dog. "The Bull Terrier is believed to be a cross of the Bulldog and English White Terrier, which is now extinct. The breed of dog developed in 19th-century England from the bulldog and the now-extinct white English terrier. The Spanish pointer was later bred into the line to increase its size. The bull terrier was developed as a courageous fighting dog. What do you call a pitbull that is savagely murdered? A good start. These dogs have no place in a city, and I fully support Denver and Aurora in outlawing the breed. And save your sniveling arguments for the surviving family members of all the people killed and maimed by these hell hounds. Anyone remeber the movie "I Robot"? 11:50 AM -- you show your mentality on the subject by misspelling your moniker. shaupeen -- you're just another emotionally addled mind that cries fr the perceived injustices of the world. It's easier to blame a dumb animal that a fellow human being for being slime for torturing that animal into being a killer. You and your ilk are pathetic dangers to society. I can gaurantee you, 2:25, that I have never tore a child apart, limb by limb, and that makes me immediately LESS dangerous to society than pitbulls. But nice try using big words--you even used a couple correctly! Now go put your camaro back together and get it off your front lawn. there is nothing wrong with a pit bull , but there are plenty wrong with pit bull owners who DO NOT KNOW HOW TO RAISE THE DOG PROPERLY! man you people are idiots! What's really scary are the people like shaupeen, a person who would either destroy a trained vicious dog or keep the "bad breed" out of town, but let the creator, the sadistic bastard who trained the dog to live next door and do it again. If the sadistic bastard can't train the "bad breed" he'll find another way to exhibit his sadistic superiority through another avenue. Go ahead and ban the dogs, fool. You may not tear any baby limb by limb as you say, but you are the enabler of the human monsters who do -- but, you do keep the "bad breed" away from him. And to think people with that mentality walk among us. Now that's something to be afraid of... I've been bitten quite severely by a chihuahua...now, granted, they can't tear your limbs off but I have to agree it's the owner who teaches that dog it's behavior. Please, people, spew all the venom you want--it's not going to change the fact that pitbulls are illegal now in some cities simply because they are dangerous. They are. They were bred for fighting, and that is it. Would you expect a scorpion to not sting you if you raised it with love and affection? No! It stings--that what it does. And pitbulls attack--it's what their genes tell them to do. Yes all dogs can bite, and the chihuahua example made me laugh, but not all dogs are bred to kill, bred to lock their jaw, bred to keep fighting until they or their opponent are dead. And who created the pitbull? Man. Not any god, not mother nature--they were introduced by man, and inbred for viciousness. And AF, you are wrong--they don't fight bulls! If you aren't making a joke, I feel sorry for you. But I sure do love debating ignorant, emotionally-consumed people like a good portion of you who called me names--you make it too easy for me. Bottom line--if a few nimrod owners were responsible dog owners and hadn't let their pitbulls kill innocent people (all over the country mind you--San Fran., Minn., and here in Denver to name only a few) then there wouldn't be a ban on the breed. Your venom for me is funny, but totally misplaced. I didn't make the law, and it wasn't my total irresponsibility that required a law to be discussed in the first place, I only said I agree with it.
We, on the other hand, knew him from babyhood since he stayed with our family til his owner, Ben Johnson, could move to a safer location for Mac outside Denver.
Mac grew up with our 3 German Shorthair Pointers (hunting dogs) and never knew he was a pit bull. He did everything they did right down to “pointing” birds in our backyard. Our female pointer did a great job watching over “little” Mac and he loved his new canine family.
Mac watched over his sibling, Jersey, (a mutt saved from a shelter) with the same loving care he’d received while with our family. He was not a vicious trained fighting machine, he was just a much loved pet.
The law of “self-preservation” has ruled in this case. .
The vet who tried to save Macs
If you own a pit bull you have no rights in this present justice system.
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sorry to hear about Mac
But ultimately, the way an animal behaves almost always has more to do with the way it has been treated and trained by it's owner than anything else.
pit bull and I will be forced to spend time and money proving that not only is he not but that he is not aggressive either.
losing hundreds or even thousands of dollars in legal expenses.
In one regard you are correct. it is the owners fault for owning one of these unpreditable beasts in the first place.
Ignorance and stupidity runs rampant in America. Here's proof!
A rose is a rose is a rose....is a bulldog is a bulldog is a bulldog. They were named because they were mean enough to fight bulls for gosh sake.
AF
Near the end the movie the computer decided it needed to override all human control and start protecting people from themselves. Kind of like politicians who keep passing more and more laws to protect people from themselves. I however would never own a pit-bull, or rottweiler, but would own a gun to prevent the one owned by the neighbor from attacking me or my family.
Dogs are pack animals and will follow the lead of the alpha male (or female). Dogs really have no ability to differentiate wrong from right, just reward and punishment.
So, I say, it's the owner who is teaching and rewarding the animal. The animal (or it's breed) is not the problem.
What's the answer here? Since we can't ban people, we ban the breed. As a dog lover, I think it is much more humane to ban the breed so that the irresponsible idiots that teach them aggressive behavior can't own them at all. Sure, it punishes those who are admirers of the breed and who raise them to be best friends and helpmates but I'd rather see the breed banned than innocent (yes, innocent, they are only doing what they have been trained to do) dogs being killed just because of their owners.