Comments

1

Banning all dogs would be a good move, and especially dog owners who allow the little shit machines to befoul our cities ...except, of course, for delicious shish-ka-bow-bow!

2

Thank you, I didn't realize how long it's been since we've had a good old-fashioned Slog pit bull post!

3

What are pit-bulls like on the barbecue? Any recommendations for seasonings? Asking for my cat.

3

"FOAMING AT THE MOUTH!" HAH! Get it!

4

If there is an aggressive dog that attacks and hurts someone, put the owner to sleep.

5

I hope this was an opinion piece and not written by a journalist. There is no evidence to support any of your claims.

6

The copious pot on Capital Hill has led to short-term memory loss at the Stranger:

https://slog.thestranger.com/2008/09/pitbull_belonging_to_propitbull_group_fo
https://www.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2010/10/26/dog-eats-baby
https://www.thestranger.com/seattle/how-to-defeat-a-pit-bull-with-your-bare-hands/Content?oid=3708968
https://slog.thestranger.com/2008/01/pitbulls
https://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/pit_bulls_should_be_boiled_alive_like_lo
https://twitter.com/fakedansavage/status/340555029587034112?lang=en

7

Apologies - don't know how to embed links. I'm sure there's more in the Stranger archive (Dan was on a tear re:pitbulls for a year or two a while back).

9

There are reliable statistics! That give names, ages, locations, breeds. Many people survive barely! From being mutilated and dismembered. And then there are some that don't. Out of 18 deaths by dogs as of August 4th 2018. 13 THIRTEEN! WERE PITS. 10 children and 8 adults. I am a survivor. I was naive before. I didn't know there were so many victims until after my attack. Stories like this give a false sense of reality. I wonder what motivated the writer to be so bias. I didn't hate the dog that nearly killed me. It was a family rehomed dog as many pits are. Get a short leash, a muzzle and plenty of liability insurance should you be sued or prosecuted because your doscile loving dog goes pit nutty! As a mother and grandmother I am so glad the dog didn't get my babies. Both of my legs were attacked and one of them dismembered. It cost over a million dollars to peice me back together after nearly bleeding to death in a two hour struggle that no one saw or heard me. I rolled naked stripped of all my clothes, chunk's out of my body barely made it to my phone before dying. I have been to hell and back! And the world wants to make excuses and victim blaming, They think bad shit only happens to other people. Consider yourself warned.

11

The fear and hate against pits seems to be more of a modern thing, a hundred years ago, I believe they were referred to as "nanny dogs" because they were so good for families.

@7: You didn't do anything wrong. The Stranger webmasters, in their infinite wisdom, killed the ability to create links in comments a few months back. I was actually going to put something in myself, and this is all I can do:

https://pics.me.me/most-aggressive-dog-breeds-ranked-14-you-13-cant-12-34493053.png

13

My take on pit bull psychology is that they're seen as an "oppressed minority" by certain people. They're viewed as poor, misunderstood ghetto kids (born on drugs) who should be given a chance to rise above their lineage. Pit bull rescue culture stems from that mindset and there's a certain personality type (often women) who want to save those bad boys from the kennel gallows. They foolishly take in some of the worst pit bulls who were raised aggressively, but all (with pure enough lineage) have risky traits.

It's a case of genetics-denial, often practiced by less educated working class people. Anyone can research how pit bulls were originally bred. It's not "just bad owners," but the apologists want it both ways. They buy tough-looking dogs to invoke a certain image, then claim that a dangerous reputation has nothing to do with it. It's phony all around, which is why so many sketchy people own pit bulls.

If you want a "sweet" dog that's unlikely to turn on you or the public at an unpredictable moment, get a golden retriever or other friendly breed. Stop ignoring the evidence.

15

The author wrote: "The American Veterinary Medical Association reviewed the literature and data on dog attacks, and found that German shepherds are the most highly represented in attacks, followed by mixed breeds, then pit bulls, Rottweilers, and Jack Russell terriers in that order."

The author cites that study out of context, treating "bites" generically rather than ranking them by lethal attacks (the main reason pit bulls got their reputation). And she claims that anti pit bull people have the real bias. It's is a classic case of cherry-picking data out of context.

Here is what her linked AVMA study says up front: "If you consider only the much smaller number of cases that resulted in very severe injuries or fatalities,21,23 pit bull-type dogs are more frequently identified." The wording of that study seems apologetic itself. Stereotypes about people and animals usually exist for a reason. Fatalities should be of far more concern than random bites and nipping incidents.

Wikipedia has an extensive list of fatal dog attacks by year, and pit bulls are huge on it. See: "Fatal dog attacks in the United States"

17

Not sure if this quote is correct, but let's go with it: "Your chances of dying in a dog attack are roughly one in 116,448"
If you are that 'one' it would matter to you!?
Damian had half of his face removed by his Uncles Pitbull.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=500989163705347&set=gm.250555425568616&type=3&theater

22

Katie, you should take a course on statistics to understand the flaw in your arguments. Labradors and Golden Retrievers are the most popular breeds in America, so by sheer numbers it's not surprising they are a greater number of bites than pit bulls, a less common breed. But a bite by a bite pull is generally more serious and the incidents are more likely to be seriously harmful than other breeds. Or let's put it this way, you're walking alone down a block and see a stray dog. Would you rather it's a lab or a pit bull? More so, you're walking your own dog -- now it's not even a question. Pit bulls are hyper aggressive towards other dogs. Ultimately, it's not the dog's fault it's the owners' fault. Pit bulls are often dangerous because their owners are irresponsible. Banning a pit bull from a city is an overly broad brush. But yep, I'm fine with it.

23

The only scars I have from a dog, after YEARS of training them are from a pit bull. Here's what happened; the owners of the dog lived down the street, they didn't realize what they were getting into when they adopted him. One night I'm laying in bed and something busts down the screen door, breaks in, leaps into bed with me and starts clawing. Its the pit bull. His owners hadn't clipped his nails so now I have a scars on my arm. After cleaning up I let him stay the night, because this is the nature of dogs, they will love anyone. The dog eventually got the affection he was seeking, and stopped breaking into my house. Which made my dogs happy.

TL;DR Pitts are too affectionate for my tastes. The times I've been bit without provocation? All poms and mini-poodles. Train your little dog, it's still a dog and needs to be trained.

26

Interesting how those gainsaying the author's opinion offer no alternative proof (respected sources pls not the nutjobs at dogsbite dot org) and don't use their own names.

27

If we're being honest, I kinda wanted that St. Bernard to eat Danny Pintauro's character. That boy was annoying as hell.

And for Christ's sakes, if Old Yeller and Cujo taught us anything, it's please get your dog a rabies vaccination!

28

So, is this an article a sign of more local Yakima news coverage, a return to regularly scheduled Slog pit bull breed ban coverage, or just an opportunity to plug your friends book?

29

I grew up on a hobby farm where my mom raised dogs, we had kennels etc. I’ve been around all sorts of breeds of the K-9 and I am NOT fond of the Terrier breed AT ALL! Keep the ban!

30

"Pit Haters Start Foaming at the Mouth"
Start? Ney... the Pit Bull Hating Conglomerate has been pissing and moaning and foaming at the mouth due to the dumb-founded hysteria and 1949 Senator McCarthy thinking failing over the past decade.

A simple google search and the ability to execute basic mathematics reveals that cities and counties are ditching the blind fear and knee jerk response of breed specific legislation for comprehensive and non-breed specific dangerous and general dog laws... approx 17 to 1 (cities repealing bans vs enacting them).

Them thar days of Colleen Lynn and Merrit Clifton and their blind lemming following are fading into the history books.
Which does make a whole lot of sense... 2018? Satelite Technology? Modern Medicine? Internet/ IT Technology? vs Black Cats, Walking under ladders, broken mirrors and crossing ones fingers wen passing a cemetery type thinking?

Banning ANYTHING outright makes about as much sense as these ancient, dark age beliefs.

Team Pit-a-Full Dog Training & Rehabilitation
Denver, CO

31

Eh, sorry, but Pitbulls have such a massive overrepresentation in bites and attacks-- especially on children. it's just irresponsible to have them in an urban area. We'd literally save the Iives of children by banning them from a city. We talk about banning weapons like assault rifles, so it's legit to talk about Pitbulls.

32

Pitbulls were nannies to children 100 years ago or so. Be cruel to a dog and you will get it back most likely. My dog is my buddy and you’re not getting her away from me without a fight.

33

Pit bulls were never Nanny dogs. Read the truth . It is out there. Why people do not believe in genetics is beyond me. There are pit bull dogs and pit bull people as well. Read the Daxton site or the Dog bite site. Read all the articles and then look at the pictures. I cannot stand it that people blame the owners instead of the dog. It is like blaming the victim of domestic abuse. How would you feel if you lost your toddler in a dog attack! A fatal pit bull attack happens once every 10 days -2 weeks in the USA. The breeders ate now supersizing pits like they do sodas!

34

Glad to see another city realizing that they were mistaken in targeting a look, rather then dealing with the real problem of dangerous dogs of any breed.


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