Also from the comments at the same post:

Check our response to Councilwoman Thompson's raving lunacies at helpfido.blogspot.com.

Please feel free to cross post. And please add us as a favorite!

Thanks- your friends at HELP FIDO.

 

Sorry for the delay in getting those posted, I really have been busy with something important and large this week.  I've added the PBRC blog and the Help Fido blog to my roll under Man's Only Friend.

Note to PBRC and other 'pit bull' rescues/support groups:  Some of your content was taken out of context, no doubt.  However, we have to be careful about what we put out there always keeping in mind that both the good and the evil among us can access and use the information to suit their purposes.

Case in point:  The statements around aggression in dogs are unsubstantiated by any scientific authorities to date.  There is no evidence that any breed, or in the case of most 'pit bulls', mixed breed, of dog is born with a tendency toward same-species aggression.  Also, according to the experts, there is no difference between aggression towards other animals and aggression towards humans - it's just a matter of unchecked escalation.  The most obvious explanation for this is of course that People Are Animals Too(c).

Is there same sex aggression among dogs?  Absolutely.  Is there a greater tendency towards aggression when owner expectation or behaviour reinforces it?  Indubitably.  Is there any genetic basis for most of the popular statements about dog aggression and how it arises?  None, barring disease or disorder, ie, while it would be possible to breed a line of dogs exhibiting a psychopathology, it would be difficult and ultimately pointless.

All dogs tend to be naturally unafraid of humans, or friendly towards humans, which is the same thing.  It's the nature of the beast and it explains why they've been with us for many millennia - around 50,000 years according to the latest information.

Other generalizations which are common among supporters of 'pit bulls' (and other types), for example that 'pit bulls' love people and were selected for this quality, are great with kids, etc can be just as harmful.  No matter what the generalization, by differentiating 'pit bulls' or any other kinds of dogs based on tendencies or behaviour for which there is no evidence other than the anecdotal kind, you are isolating the dogs, making them different and attributing qualities to them that are not supported by the research to date.  You don't take any dog out of the box, wind him up and get the finished product whether he's a Chihuahua or an Irish Wolfhound.

That's what the bad guys do, generalize and make statements founded on minimal anecdotal evidence - it's just the other side of the coin.  So yes, they will cherry-pick from your information and use it to their advantage.  Be careful what you put out there and be able to back up your statements with references if need be.

This issue is a matter of concern.  While we fight tooth and claw through the courts and elsewhere at great financial and personal cost to prove that so-called 'pit bulls' (which don't technically exist) are the same as other dogs, some of the groups which are onside with our cause are providing the enemy with ammunition - even though they have the best of intentions.

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There was a fatality in Florida this week.  Since I doubt that the story will get the typically wide play that a death reportedly caused by another shape of dog would merit, I'll do my part to get it out there.

Brent posted the news and his take is, as always, a good one.

Luisa has a good post about the story which focuses on some of the comments by readers of the news item in Florida. Her piece points out how an already ignorant public has been propagandized (and thereby rendered more ignorant) into believing all the nonsense about 'breeds' of dogs by a lazy, pandering media and self-serving government drones.

No need to gild the lily, they've got it covered.

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As always, if you want to keep tabs on what the trogs are plotting, No Pit Bull Bans is a great source for upcoming anti-dog owner legislation.  I check in there regularly.

Later (I hope).