Um, NO.
Pit Bull
& Florida Attorney General
Everyone's a Pet Psychic when a dog with scars shows up.
Unfortunately.. strangely.. annoyingly! scarred dogs that happen to be "mild mannered" are still being explained away as bait dogs. This noble savage myth usually comes along with all sorts of tall tales and unsubstantiated embellishments that sucker-reporters publish as fact.
It can cause big problems for adopters who fall into the trap of believing that their 'bait dog' would never-eva argue with another dog, so why waste time on common sense multi-dog management precautions? ........... Ahem.
It also hurts dogs that do show manageable dog aggression by creating a 'good dog' (poor bait dog) vs. 'bad dog' (mean evil fighting dog) stereotype.
Our motto: No evidence (like, the horrible presence of duct tape on a dog's muzzle) and No witnesses adds up to: 'Who Knows?'
Scars don't tell us much. Behavior, temperament & management - They mean everything. Just ask Hector: Nice guy dog-friendly dude and wearer of too many scars. Most likely, not bait.
But hey, let's look on the positive: Rather than call for Florida dog Winston's death, at least somebody decided he'd be good PR for a dog fight tip reward program. (Marketing much? Hey, whatever adds up to more help and better PR for the dogs works for us). And this, out of the big war chest collected from folks who thought they were contributing to a fund to help the Vick dogs.
Progress. In. Teeny. Tiny. Baby. Steps.
Big News
Pit Bull Hall at the East Bay SPCA has CLOSED! Big changes and happy transitions for this ever evolving shelter project.
See our latest Newsletter HERE for details.
Good post, Donna.
ReplyDeleteI guess my Wiener Dog must be a 'bait dog' (or a scrapper) since he has quite a few old scars - except they're from a Coyote attack about 7 years ago.
Maybe that's the next big thing - Coyote-Wiener Dog fights. I can see the headlines now.
Congrats on all your successes...in the past at PBH and in the future at OAS. It was an honor to be part of your journey and I wish you nothing but the best going forward. We didn't change the world, but we improved and saved a lot of lives, both human and canine.
ReplyDelete-Rachel
"No evidence (like, the horrible presence of duct tape on a dog's muzzle)..." Reading this literally made me sick to my stomach. :(
ReplyDeleteRE: the Herald Tribune article... "The reward program, offered nationally, will be paid out of donations that have poured in after the arrest of former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick." Shame on you, HSUS, for not helping the ACTUAL Vicktory dogs with this money! While you were earning interest on this money, "that poured in", the Vicktory dogs further SUFFERED because of your greed & indifference toward helping those poor animals.
Thankfully, I have one of those "absolutely awful THUGaBULLs" that PETA hates at home, which helps me temporarily forget how much I hate human beings sometimes & helps me permanently remember how much I love pit bulls!
Holy busy summer! It all sounds amazing and wonderful.
ReplyDeleteSo what's going on at East Bay? I'm hoping they're continuing without you...
ReplyDeleteThank you Rachel. It was a hell of a good inspiration. Gamey Amy thanks you every single day, and we do too.
ReplyDeleteMichelle - the EastBaySPCA plans to continue on with pit bull adoptions. How could they not? ;-)
We've got the numbers down at Berkeley, thanks to your influence and to the opportunities you have given (and continue to give) to educate volunteers and new pittie owners. With the pit population so high at OAS, it is only appropriate that you make this move. Adam, Martha, Megan, etc, and all the OAS pitties are lucky to have you.
ReplyDeleteOakland Resident
BACS Volunteer
Thank you Pam. *sniff*
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to seeing you at OAS- it will be a great partnership to have you to be working with a shelter that is forward thinking, in touch with the needs of the community they serve, an d able to do so much with such limited resources!
ReplyDeleteSad to see the Hall close, but I was honored to be part of it...
ReplyDeleteNann