I thinks I outgrows it Mommy Oo

Why, when he has his own pretty substantial dog bed, does he choose the cats bed, I’ll never know. He’s pretending to be a lap-dog as I speak, all 45lbs of him, & I’m sure he’ll carry on pretending when he’s full grown! He sure is getting bigger – I’m bound to get a shock when I come back here in a few months too.

We woke up to a belated White Christmas this morning. Mason loved it – we even went to the park & played on the slide. Now that was funny. He’s a good sport, I’ll give him that.

There’s quite a bit going on here, I have a lot to Blog bitch yet all I really want to say is just how much I love this dog.

I have officially gone Pit Bull mad. My father gave me $150 in Cafepress vouchers for my 21st (January 30th for those who care) & I’m giving more than half of it to select Pit rescue centers, in return for a hoodie, t-shirts, travel mug, custom made cushions & other items. You may even have noticed two new icons on the right hand column. Pit Bull junkie I am.

For me, the nail in the coffin is knowing that I could not legally have Mason if I were back in the UK.

Why?

Because of BSL – Breed Specific Legislation. See the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 also.

Basically, any dog which even remotely resembles the Pit Bull, (which is in-fact not even a select breed but a mix in itself), must be neutered, leashed & muzzled in public. And that’s only for the people who had them before the ban. There is no breeding or importation of these dogs. They are simply being eradicated.

BSL is spreading & I can tell you this right now, it will be your dog next. These dogs are so misunderstood, so badly treated & have such a BadRap it’s unreal. But that the thing, it is real, very real & it’s coming to a dog park near you.

I’ve never been one for statistics, so lets start of slow shall we?

• Let’s look at the statistics from the American Temperament Test Society. Pit Bulls had a passing rate of 82% or better, compared to only 77% of the general dog population aka the Labrador/Retrievers.
• 75% of shelters in the US will euthanize Pit Bulls without so much as a second thought let alone a temperament test. These dogs have no chance. To name one, I wonder how exactly the Humane society defines, “Humane”.
• Assuming they are even put up for Adoption, only 1 in 600 Pit Bulls will find a home – which condemns 599 to death.
• As for the “Locking Jaw“.. are you kidding me? There is all of zero evidence to back this myth up – these are dogs, not Alligators.

Now to the good stuff;

• Every year, more than 2,000 children in the U.S. are killed by their parent’s or guardians either through abuse or neglect. A child is more than 800 times more likely to be killed by their own adult caretaker than by a pit bull.
• An estimated 1.25 million Pit Bulls are killed every year. Which leaves them where… at least a half million times more likely to be killed by the hands of you, the human, than the other way around?

Never mind German Shepherds, the Pit Bull was the original Law Dog. And if you really want to go down that road;

• America’s first war dog was a Pit Bull named Stubby who earned several medals & the rank of Sergeant for his service in W.W.I. He received a hero’s welcome & was even honored at the White House. He inspired the U.S Military K-9 Corps. He also went on to become Georgetown University’s mascot.

Labradors are great hearing, seeing, therapy dogs no?

Helen Keller anyone? – Her canine companion was? You got it, a Pit Bull. As was Alaska’s first certified hearing dog.

But alas, this breed is never given the recognition they deserve. There are plenty of reporters out there who will say that an attack was committed by a Pit Bull just to make the paper? – yet the dog was nothing of the sort. I refer thee to Weela, Hero Dog of 1993.

I could go on all day, it feels like I already have, so finally I come to the Michael Vick case – for those who don’t know who he is, Vick is (yet I do hope was will be the operative word) an Atlanta Falcons quarterback who is currently serving a 23 month sentence for running a dog fighting operation.

*Clicky* What happened to Vick’s dogs?

This story is the only thing that’s going to come close to the dog-fighting topic in this post, but I will say that thanks to that bastard, dog-fighting & Pit Bulls have been thrown back into the lime-light like never before & people are learning the things that pit advocates & rescue groups have known for years. This can only be a good thing.

Of all 51 seized dogs, only 3 were Euthanized. 2 for severe injuries & 1 for human aggression. The rest were  awarded to different rescue groups across the county – (watch Dog town on NGC) where they have either been rehabilitated & adopted out or are still working with their  trainers saviours.

And there we have it, but be warned, this topic will come up again.

I can only hope I too can educate & inspire. Pit Bulls deserve so much better.

Until next time.

Resources;

http://www.badrap.org/ & http://badrap-blog.blogspot.com/

http://www.realpitbull.com/

http://www.pitbullsontheweb.com/