It was all too easy for me to blow off Ontario's ban on pit bulls because...well, I obviously don't live in Canada. But it absolutely makes me sick to see how many American cities are jumping on this ridiculous bandwagon...and many of those cities are right here in Alabama. Warrior, Irondale, Mobile County - just a few of the municipalities topping my "I'll never live there" list. These are also cities that will NEVER see one red cent of my money. Not. One. Cent.I'm sick and tired of watching our media whip the general public into a frenzy that results in our lazy legislators passing ordinances and restrictions that do absolutely nothing to address the problem. The problem as I see it is ignorant, uncaring people who should not own dogs in the first place. The problem as I see it is people who allow their dogs run loose and be picked up by animal control time and time again with no repercussions. How about an ordinance shutting down the irresponsible "Puppies for Sale" breeders who no doubt filled three pages in this morning's newspaper in a sad attempt to make a buck? How about we do something to address the PROBLEM owners instead of screwing the responsible owners like me?
And before any of you say, "Well, it doesn't affect me because I'd never have a pit bull" consider this - BSL generally defines a pit bull as an American Pit Bull Terrier, an American Staffordshire Terrier, any mix of those breeds or any dog with similar physical characteristics to the breeds. The umbrella also generally covers American Bulldogs and Bull Terriers (remember Spuds Mackenzie?). BSL does NOT take into consideration your dog's temperment. BSL does not care if your dog wouldn't hurt a fly. BSL does not care if your dog has his Canine Good Citizen certification.
Who gets to determine exactly what breed your dog is? Could be an animal control officer, could be a reputable breeder, could be a vet. BSL never specifies who gets to make the call so for all we know it could be the mayor's secretary. And really...are Dobies, Rotties or Huskies far behind?
All I ask is that before you let the media make your decisions, do a bit of research on your own. And consider how much faith you put in the media concerning things like war, politics or religion.
My dog is NOT an outlaw. Please don't make her one.
1 comment:
People who don't believe in the injustice of BSL should have their dogs seized on suspicion of being pit mixes and then see how awful, frustrating, and hard it is to disprove that label. And if no one speaks up for the pit mixes, who will speak up for the next dogs to be banned?
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