Breaking News: Pit Bulls Are Dogs

by Stephanie Ernst · 2008-11-25 15:04:00 UTC
Topics:

I am the caregiver for a foster pit bull who was once horribly abused and neglected, who has been through hell in her short two years, and who is still traumatized and terrified of most humans (we're working on that) but more affectionate with me than any other animal I've ever known; I adore her. Because of this, I'm even more grateful than I otherwise would be whenever I see intelligent, fair media pieces on pit bulls that challenge the unfair blanket assumptions that many people make about these dogs. On Mabel's behalf, I am today thankful for Deborah Wood of The Oregonian, who this morning posted this: "Pit bulls: Dogs or monsters?"

It's a great post, and I'm particularly glad that Ms. Wood made this point:

One woman who has two adopted pit bulls wrote to me this week, pointing out a friend's golden retriever had bitten a child who put his face in the dog's face. No one reported anything. When an identical incident happened with a pit bull, the authorities were called. That makes it look like pit bulls bite kids -- when the truth is that some dogs will bite kids in some circumstances.

When it actually is reported that a golden retriever (or a collie or a Labrador) bites a child, the headline is never, GOLDEN RETRIEVER BITES BOY. When a pit bull bites a child, the dog's breed is always in the headline.

Read the rest here. And learn more about pit bulls from Pit Bull Rescue Central.

Stephanie Ernst wrote the original Animal Rights blog at Change.org until December 2009. She can now be found at Animal Rights & AntiOppression.
PREVIOUS STORY:
Ask Obama to Fight for Change—For the Animals
NEXT STORY:
Super Bowl Countdown: 5 Actions in 5 Days to Protest Skechers' Dog Racing Ad

COMMENTS (11)

    [X]

    Comments on Change.org are meant for further exploration and evaluation of the campaign on Change.org. To that end, we welcome constructive comments. However, we reserve the right to delete comments which, as determined solely in our discretion: (1) are offensive, abusive, or off-topic; (2) include content solely intended to personally attack the campaign creator, (3) are designed to subvert or hijack comment threads rather than contribute to them; and/or (4) violate our terms of service and/or privacy policy. Repeat offenders may be permanently removed from the site at our discretion. Please also be advised that: (A) we do not actively curate and/or monitor in any manner whatsoever the comments made on the Change.org platform, and (B) the creator of each campaign on Change.org may remove any comment at her/his/its discretion.