Sunday, December 22, 2013

Inside the minds of pit bull advocates


This article is worth reading if you want to understand what makes pit bull advocates tick.

A few years ago, I experienced a serious pit bull attack that led to countless personal losses, I found myself outraged at the system that had enabled such attacks to occur in the first place. I mean isn’t Government supposed to protect innocent people from such unnecessary brutal and violent assaults? It didn’t take long for me to discover why, I soon learned there was an aggressive and outraged pitbull advocacy movement that had influenced Government and prevented reasonable protective legislation from being implemented. So I turned to social media to interact with these people, only to realize that they felt they were the aggrieved party, even though they had suffered no permanent  physical injury, as I had,  they had not lost the ability to walk or care for themselves for a substantial amount of time, as I had, they had suffered no large financial losses, as I had, they had never faced years of legal wrangling to seek compensation for their losses, as I had and they had not lost their business as I had.  The only loss it appears they had incurred is that people hurt their feelings because they were critical of the breed of dog they had chosen as a companion animal.  And yet their outrage was as if someone had murdered their entire family.  This disproportionate over reaction struck me as incredibly bizarre and until now I hadn’t been able to understand it sufficiently.

Continue reading Max Gold's article here

'via Blog this'

Monday, December 9, 2013

An anniversary of sorrow

No matter how many cases like this that we learn about, we are always shocked and saddened anew. It's never easy to write about these tragic deaths, but we are duty bound to raise awareness of the ongoing slaughter of the innocents. 

November 12th is forever tainted for Jaime, whose beloved Boxer girl, Quinn, was savagely mauled to death in front of her on that very date, four years ago. This is her story:

At approximately 7:43, my brother called. I talked to him for 12 minutes while in the garage and came back upstairs to my room. Three minutes later, I called 911.


Many of us celebrate the births of our loved ones as well as mourn the loss of our loved ones. Quinn was six, she was a boxer, she was 'just a dog', expected to live another 4-6 years.  That night, my life changed forever.  More than I could ever put into words.  I think of the little things I did wrong, the graphic details, the sounds, the sights, the smells, etc almost every night I lay my head down. Tonight is the anniversary of the attack, when the pit bulls turned on me & Quinn. 


It all happened so very fast but yet seemed to take forever.  I am not here to condemn pit bulls, I'm just here to share the life of Quinn and make others listen to the way she died.  She was so very pretty, a flashy fawn that was given to me by my pops as a Christmas present, he brought her home in a stocking.  I named her Joey for a few days and then Quinn came to be the final choice.  She went through a lot with me, during a very tough time of my life.  We moved into this new house a year before her death. 


She finally had the doggie door, free reign of the house and was finally the 'only dog'.  She always had a racquetball in her mouth, her tiny nub of a tail was always shaking, especially when she brought the turtle in from outside and thought he was a toy to push around the hardwood floors.  


The pit bulls moved in after knowing her for four years.  All she wanted, was to be a part of their bond.  She would run and play and lick their faces, thinking she was becoming a part of their pack.  I made a few mistakes, I should have listened to my gut, I should have made them go...this was her house and he promised he would never let her get hurt.  I trusted in that.  I've forgiven myself, I've accepted the way she died but I may never forgive him.  She was my girl, and I watched her fight for her life, trying to surrender to her torturers.  She screamed like a child, the blood was everywhere. I had to walk away from her, I couldn't save her.  I knew, while laying in the bathroom trying to wrap my arms around her and pick her up out of their grip, I knew that I was putting my own life in danger and could not let my family lose me in that way. Yes, my finger was crushed, my scars will always be there. But no living soul should ever have to experience what she suffered in her final moments on this earth.



I will forever share her story on this day, it's the least I can do. I have loved pit bulls in the past, and there are still a couple I love to this day - but please, please know that if ever they snap, it may be too late.  Three years and one day ago, I too was saying that it was the owner, not the dog - but I learned the lesson the hard way. The pit bulls died a very peaceful death, with me at their side, not like my girl Quinn, who was ripped apart like a wishbone in front of my face. There is no worse feeling than that helplessness, being unable to save the one who looked to you for security.


Yes, I know Quinn was just a dog, as far as the statistics go, but I often let my mind wander to what if it would have been a child or even me. I promise you, it is not worth the chance.  Keep your families safe, and this includes that little four legged dog that trusts in you as his or her only friend.  More importantly, listen to your gut. 

For more info go to dogsbite.org

Sunday, December 1, 2013

Boom, the gentle pit bull

One thing we've been noticing here is that as the number and severity of pit bull maulings rises, the propaganda campaign from the pit activists ramps up in an attempt to divert attention from the violence. We've all seen the media hyped stories of pit bull "heroes" - perhaps a pit bull barks when a fire starts in the trailer - something any dog would do, but when a pit bull does it, it's heralded as a legendary exploit. Single-source, unverified stories of pit bulls performing heroic tasks are quite common, and tend to spread quickly, despite the absence of proof.

There is a popular meme among pit activists which takes the form of an image of a pit bull (not torturing a victim, but rather posed in some harmless looking way, using some cute looking props) featuring a caption that ridicules the idea that a pit bull could possibly be dangerous. The image below features "Boom" the pit bull:


The idea behind these memes seems to be "Hey, if we can show this picture of a pit bull not killing a miniature poodle, that proves that pit bulls don't kill miniature poodles, right?"

As it turns out, "Boom" does indeed appear to be "your typical violent and aggressive pit bull", which is to say that it is perfectly capable of posing for an innocent looking picture one day, and the next day mauling the blind, elderly miniature poodle belonging to the widow next door. 


Boom is owned by Carla Ann Thomas, who has multiple animal cruelty convictions. Boom was witnessed by at least a dozen people committing a completely unprovoked attack on a little dog at a canine fly ball competition. For more info on the real Boom, kindly refer to the article Profile of a responsible pit bull owner at  Craven Desires

When you see cute pictures like the one above, remember that they are carefully staged to produce warm fuzzy feelings, and remember the daily reality of pit bull attacks on innocent animals. The survivors can be seen in pictures like this: