I’ve said it before:

A female pit bull is found near death – no food or water, too weak to walk, chained to a tree in the back yard of a James City County house that her owner had moved away from.

An emaciated pit bull is found frozen to death outside a Hampton home.

A pit bull breeder already on probation in Hampton for cropping the dogs’ ears without a veterinary license moves to Gloucester, where she is charged with the same crime and with raising pit bulls for illegal dog fighting.

A male pit bull is found in Richmond chained in a yard with little food or water and with feces covering the ground. He dies soon afterward from heartworm infestation and internal parasites.

All happened this year and, according to some local animal control officers, it’s no coincidence that all involved the same kind of dog.

Despite their fierce reputation – or because of it – pit bulls are especially vulnerable to becoming the victims of humans.

It’s good to see this mentioned in the paper. The fact is, pits attract people who shouldn’t own any dog. If pits are banned, they just pick another breed. Some pretty scare figures regarding abuse:

They represented the “overwhelming majority” seized in Hampton and Newport News, said Gene Falls, former executive director of the Peninsula SPCA.

Isle of Wight Animal Control Officer Waverley Traylor said all six dogs he’s seized so far this year – and probably about 50 to 60 percent seized last year – were pit bulls.

“The wrong people get them for the wrong reasons,” said Shirley Anderson, supervisor of Animal Control for James City and Williamsburg.

Her office seized 43 dogs last year because of abuse or neglect, and she estimates 70 percent of them were pit bulls. Most of the rest were breeds used for hunting, such as hounds and beagles, she said.

The article also mentions pits being at drug raids. It’s almost like someone is reading my site. One other thing is that pits and other bully type dogs require lots of training and socialization. Someone who isn’t willing to do that but once a butch dog will have a problem dog on their hands. All too often, such a person abuses the dog, turns it loose, or mistreats it.

Posted in uncategorized on November 9th, 2004 by SayUncle | RSS 2.0 |