maryland state wants to ban pitbulls

[RonL]

Geez. I never really looked at it that way. It really was that 16 month old childs fault for looking into the eyes of the dog. And that 86 year old woman the week before. And that 10 year old girl the week before that. We really should have a pitbull safety course in all the schools. That way people will know enough not to look into the eyes of a pitbull.
I also apologize. I did not realize that pitbulls were selectively bred to only kill certain species. They're smarter than I thought. How enlightening.

RonL

[Kri]

Post deleted by Kri

[Pat]

Egon, Was it so anemic that you had to ask? Read/reread my previous posts/rants in this thread. I didn't think I left much doubt about my position.

Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[egon]

Well, it was well written,and some could come to other conclusions Pat.

I'd like to expound on my opinion of dog traits and owner personalities but it is best left in limbo.

We do have a dog and a cat.

Egon

[Pat]

Egon, Others HAVE come to other conclusions. Many conclude that keeping dogs and letting them come in contact with the public or non-consenting public and children too young to give informed consent is just fine because... well just because.

Gee, I wonder why governments pass laws to prevent patently DUMB things from hurting innocent members of society? Terrible isn't it that someones "RIGHTS" are trampled in the name of common sense and public safety.

Why can't I carry grenades on the street and let kids play with them if I don't intend to set one off?

Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[egon]

Pat:

Had more than a couple of discusions with the owners of dogs who seemed intent on taking me and my bicycle home. Police had a few discusions with the owners too.

Egon

[Kri]

I can see that some of my comments have come underfire and everyone is entilteld to thier opinion but I would like to say that I defend these dogs as a responsible dog owner. I don't let my Amstaff run the streets to prey on the innocent nor is she loose in my home to mangle unknown guests when they arrive. I don't leave my infant alone with her not becuse she's part of the "pitbull" family but because she's a dog and even the best can "go bad". I don't condone dog fights nor having your pet unleased. I know as a pet owner that I'm the first line of defense and it's MY responsibility to make sure that nither people or her is in a situation. I believe that people who can't be responible for thier pets shouldn't have one. It's unfortunate that I'm looked at as a bad person because of how other people I've never met have been irresponible owners. I love Nala and she is wounderful with my children, she wouldn't be in my home if I couldn't be responible for her. Besides the training I give Nala, my older 2 children are well schooled in how we are to behave with animals because of thier instincts. If I couldn't or didn't want to take these measures, my family would only own fish. I just wanted to let everyone know where I'm coming from. I'm not some "killer dog" keeper who intentionaly places danger on my community and condones the death of innocents. I wish that people wouldn't apply the horror stories to all of these dogs and thier owners because to say that they are all as dangerous as walking down the street with armed grenades is wrong. There are those out there who care and are responsible and make safety a priority. I also feel that some of the accusations placed on these animals can also be said about many large animals. Unfortunatly the Pitbull has been used for alot wrong reasons and still is but please don't just assume, try to read more on these dogs, not just the bad things. [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]
-Kri

[Bird]

</font><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr />
I just feel like God gave us the ability to think abstractly and to understand so we should use this knowlege to learn and grow.

[/ QUOTE ]

Absolutely right. And I'd be willing to bet money the day will come when you'll "think" and "learn" and want nothing to do with pit bulls, just as a lot of other people have learned. We just hope it doesn't take the death of, or serious injury to, one of your children, or especially someone else's child.

[Kri]

I don't know what to say to that becuse I've tried to explain. What I really want to know now is how many personal experinces (not from the papers or here say) (good or bad) have you or any one reading this had with an American Staffordshire Terrier? They of course are not the same as a Pitbull. But maybe since so many people comment on this subject I am missing something, as some suggest, because all of my experiences have been good ones and I feel like I need personal accounts. You bet money that my dog will seriously injure or kill one of my children and that's a sick bet to place so please tell me of your experiences of face to face encounters with these dogs (under good ownership) I need to know if all encounters have ended in the hospital or mourge. Have you read any in depth info. on this breed from the AKC? There are also many websites dedicated to these dogs with good owners in mind. And please don't bet on my childrens or any other childs demise agin. I'm not being mean or rude but I don't appreciate it. [img]/forums/images/icons/frown.gif[/img] -Kri

[RonL]

Kri

What I am saying is not a personal attack on you. It is a rational discussion of what I believe to be a dangerous situation. I understand about labeling breeds. I have had Bullmastiffs for over twenty years. The dogs have come from champiomship lines from AKC registered breeders. They have been bred through generations for "disposition". "Disposition" in this case means being non aggressive family dogs. Pit bulls on the other hand have been bred through the centuries to be "pit" dogs. That is, they were bred to be aggressive killers. They were bred to kill other dogs in a pit. As i said previously, other dogs may bite but it seems to be becoming a weekly event that a pitbull savagely mauls and kills someone. I believe you are a responsible and loving pitbull owner. I would like to meet you as you would be the only responsible pitbull owner I have ever met. I have been set upon by a pitbull while attempting to arrest a drug dealer. It was a savage and primeval battle. One of us was going to die. I beat the dog off with my baton as I had it in my hand. The dog rolled off and came back in for the kill. I dropped my baton, drew my weapon, and shot the dog. I'm always up for a good fight but it tears my heart to think of a 16 month old baby or an 86 year old woman being torn apart like that. I still have the scars. On another occasion I happened upon a pack of pitbulls that had decided to turn on one of its own. Again, it was savage and primeval. They were tearing the dog apart in the middle of an apartment courtyard. I approached the pack with my weapon drawn. For an instant it appeared that the dogs were going to turn on me . The dogs broke and ran. The victim dog continued to growl at me as it tried to drag itself away on its broken legs. it's belly was torn open. The pack headed towards a school that was out on recess. We were able to warn them. With the help of animal control we were able to round up all but one of the dogs. It took two people with lasso sticks to get each dog into the van. My neighbor was in poor health. He was going for dialysis. He would sit outside with his big fat housecat. The cat was on a leash. While sitting at the computer that I am writing this on, i heard a commotion outside my window. I looked out and saw my neighbor trying to wrestle his cat away from a pitbull that had the cat by the stomach. The dogs owner was watching with amusement. He had a big chain across his shoulders. I ran out and tried to get a clear shot at the dog. When the dogs owner saw that I was going to shoot his dog he jumped on the dog and pulled him off the cat. I had words with the idiot. Later my neighbors told me that the idiot had deliberately come into the yard and let his dog loose. The idiot left town with his dog shortly thereafter. A crack house in the Main South area of the city was raided. Animal control Officers obtained a second search warrant, brought in a backhoe, and dug up the carcasses of 28 dogs. Shortly afterwards, my unit was conducting a sweep of that area. A gentleman approached me and handed me some flyers and asked me to be on the lookout for his missing border collie. He lived out in the suburbs but his daughter lived down the street from the crack house. She had been watching his dog while he was on vacation. The gentleman told me the dogs name and that the dog would come if I called the dogs name. I did not have the heart to tell him that the dog was probably grabbed and thrown in with the "pits" for practice. I have more of these experiences. None good. I will stand by what I said in an earlier post. Pitbull owners either openly or secretly take pride in the fact that their dogs were bred to be killers. They should not be surprised when the public tries to protect itself from them.
I hold a particularly low point of view of people that fight dogs. I don't believe that they have the b**** to fight themselves. They live vicariously through their dogs.
I always remember a quote from Jeff Cooper, the gun guru: " A dog is an alarm. If a man has fighting to do he should do it himself".

RonL