Pit bull advocacy and basic statistics

There have been 400 disfiguring or fatal US pit bull attacks on humans so far in 2013.

In the aftermath of each attack, news sites that report the attack are invariably besieged by an army of relentless pit bull advocates doing damage control and PR, delivering prepared and well-practiced talking points which usually boil down to one or more of the following, in some form:

• It was the attack victim's fault; It was the pit bull owner's fault
• Blame the deed, not the breed! (What does that even mean?)
• How do we know it was a pit bull? (It was a pit bull, not a unicorn!)

One of the most popular types of talking points involves a personal anecdote, usually involving one or more of the following elements:

"I've had pit bulls all my life and I've never been bitten by one, but I was viciously attacked by a <arbitrary breed name here>. My pibble is harmless. He wouldn't hurt a fly."

The pit bull lobby always tries to emphasize atypical behaviors - for instance, a seemingly mild-mannered pit bull. But when a pit bull advocate trots out an anecdotal tale of a pit bull that didn't attack, thinking it to be some sort of game changing revelation, what they're really saying is that they have no concept of statistical distribution.

While there may well be some "family pit bulls" that don't attack, there is absolutely no way to predict whether such a pit bull will attack tomorrow, since virtually all attacks by such pit bulls are completely random, sudden and unexpected. But let's say, for the sake of argument, that there are pit bulls that don't attack. This is no surprise to anyone who has been paying attention. Living creatures are not identical automatons. For every trait, there is variation along some curve. Pointers were bred to point, but you might occasionally find a pointer who fails to point. Pit bulls were bred to attack, torture and kill weaker creatures for no particular reason, but you might find the odd pit bull that doesn't appear to have that inclination. 

At any rate, the pointer that doesn't point, the lab that doesn't swim, and the pit bull that doesn't torture and kill are statistical outliers. The fact that such pit bulls might be observed is often used by pit bull advocates to insinuate that all pit bulls are harmless, but all it really does is illustrate the properties of the well known bell curve.

The bottom line is this: Any particular single observation or measurement could be nearly anywhere on the map. A single data point is always inconclusive. But once you have a large enough sample size, every distribution starts looking like a bell curve. (More info on this at Khan Academy)

So, when pit advocates trot out the apocryphal account of a meek pit bull (assuming it's true in the first place) we're talking about something not representative of the breed in general. When they trot out their tale of an attack by an aggressive large retriever (again, assuming the story has any basis in fact) it is a statistical outlier. When pondering what breed of dog you would like to adopt as a family pet, it would be extremely foolish to focus on an aggressive breed and assume you'll end up with one of the safe "duds", and it would also be a mistake to avoid a known safe breed because you heard a story about someone being bitten by one. 

As long as we're dealing in personal statements about pit bulls, consider this observation from a long time pit bull fancier and breeder: "Any pit bull that hasn't killed another dog is a pit bull that hasn't been let outside". Isn't that lovely? The pit apologists will howl in protest over that statement, but it has every bit as much validity as the hackneyed "my pit bull wouldn't hurt a fly" shtick. 

Anyone can make a statement of belief, and anyone can relate a personal anecdote, but if we want an accurate view of reality, we need to look at the big picture, not just our own personal experience. Using a search engine can be a useful first step in such a quest. Google is your friend!

Welcome new blogger

Another new blogger has arisen to address the growing epidemic of pit bull violence.

17 Barks welcomes The Canine Game Changer to the community of those who stand for the truth and speak for the victims.

Maul Talk Manual 2.0

A new version of the Maul Talk Manual is out!

All who are considering breed-specific laws should browse this helpful glossary of terms used by pit bull activists, which will provide insight into the reality distortion and psychological warfare tactics employed by pit bull owners, advocates and animal groups.

The pit bull propaganda machine

Access the new maul talk manual and learn more about it here

On pit bulls and their owners

In 2013, there have been 18 canine homicides of which 17 were committed by pit bulls or pit bull mixes. Our dogs are not killing us. Pit bulls are killing us. And although pit bulls attack and kill strangers like Claudia Gallardo, 38 (killed by a pit bull in the front yard of its owner's house in Stockton, California) and Pamela Devitt, 63 (killed by 4 pit bulls running at large as she took a walk in Antelope Valley, California), the usual victims are our children, parents and guests.

I have come to believe that the modern pit bull should not be thought of as a dog at all. A dog is man’s best friend, but this is an animal that will kill the man, his wife, his children, his parents and the guests in his home. Clearly this is not man’s best friend; clearly it is not a “dog” in the sense that we think of a dog. Charles Manson was anatomically a man, sociologically a neighbor, and legally a citizen, but he is spending his life behind bars because he was a deranged individual who orchestrated mayhem and murder. Just because pit bulls look like dogs, they do not have to be thought of like we think about dogs such as golden retrievers and Yorkshire terriers.

In almost all homicides carried out by pit bulls, the owners and neighbors express shock and disbelief because the animal never gave a sign that it wanted to kill anyone. But to me, this is like a drunk driver expressing shock and disbelief that his car could kill. In both types of cases, a person made a choice to do something incredibly reckless, either by getting drunk or by getting the animal that makes headlines because of the frequency and brutality of its killing. We need to stop people from doing these reckless things.

Lawmakers have to stop listening to the nonsense about breed specific laws which is spouted by the owners of bully dogs like pit bulls. Since 2006 there have been 3 psychological studies which focused on the personality and behavioral traits of the owners of pit bulls and other high-risk breeds of dog. A study published in the Journal of Interpersonal Violence showed a link between ownership of high-risk dog breeds and deviant behaviors, crimes against children and domestic violence. Another study concluded that "vicious dog ownership may be a simple marker of broader social deviance." A third study established that the owners of high-risk breeds of dog displayed more antisocial thinking styles, have an arrest history significantly higher than owners of other dogs, and engage in fighting to a significantly greater degree than other dog owners. They also had higher levels of overall criminal thinking patterns to go with the actual criminal behavior. These people, who are fixated on the animals that kill, maim and terrorize, are not the people that a lawmaker needs in his camp. Reasonable people want fair laws that provide a solution to the obvious problems caused by pit bulls.

Sincerely,

Kenneth M. Phillips
Attorney at Law

What happened to Gavin?

There was a time when Maggie would have heartily recommended a pit bull as a family pet, but she no longer feel that way. Here is how a real-life education about pit bulls changed her mind.

My boyfriend Greg had had a pitbull named Bexar for 6 and a half years. He'd raised him from a pup and Bexar was a very well behaved dog and listened to everything Greg would tell him. Greg and I got together over 2 years ago, moved in with each other and Bexar came too. I instantly fell in love with Bexar. He was my "sweet boy". He would give you kisses for hours, even smiled at us every time we walked in the door.

I got pregnant in April 2011 and gave birth to our son in Feb. 2012. Everyone in my family was very concerned about Bexar. We insisted that he would never hurt anyone ever! (well, at least we were sure Bexar wouldn't ever actually hurt a person - cats and other animals were a different story). Bexar was great with our son Trenton, just as we expected him to be.

Trenton had just started crawling in September 2012. We would let him crawl over to Bexar, pat him on the head, play with his ears, let Bexar give him kisses, etc. Bexar would even sleep in front of his crib. He had been around kids his whole life. Family, nieces and nephews, friends kids of all ages.

Maggie and Bexar

On Saturday November 10th, 2012 my mom came to my house to hang out and visit and brought Gavin, my 5 year old cousin. Gavin had stayed with us many times before playing with everyone all day, including Bexar, who he loved to play with. Eventually about 10 visitors had arrived at the house and were in the backyard socializing while Greg and I were inside trying to put Trenton to sleep. 

The backdoor was open and suddenly we heard people screaming from outside. Bexar, with zero warning, had lunged at Gavin, and his jaws were clamped down on Gavin's face, right in front of everyone. Let me point out that there were 8 people within arms reach of Gavin when Bexar attacked. This is a critical point, because I have heard from many people about this, who say that they would never leave their children “alone” with "any" dog. Gavin was far from being alone when this attack happened. Even 4 grown men were unable to pry Bexar's jaws off of Gavin's head. Greg ran out and was finally able to get Bexar to release, saving Gavin's life.

Gavin was rushed to the hospital, then transported to Texas Children’s due to the severity of his injuries. He's since had multiple surgeries on his face and jaw and will need more in the years to come. Bexar barely missed his temple, barely missed his eyeball, and barely missed the main artery in his neck. Greg and I took Bexar and had him put down that night.

In retrospect, we had felt supremely confident that Bexar would never do anything like that - ever. We'd argued with many about pit bulls and told them that "it's all how you raise them". I know that there are people out there who still think it's all in how you raise them, and my goal is to educate and raise awareness of the breed, in the hope that future tragedies can be averted. 

We never want to see what we went through happen to someone else's loved ones. I wouldn't wish the pain that our family has gone through, and more importantly, the pain and suffering that it has caused for our sweet Gavin, on my worst enemy.

Sudden, Random, Unprovoked & Violent: LA Times Opinion

It is clear to anyone looking objectively at all the data that we have a serious pit bull problem. It's a public safety issue, and it's a humane issue, as pit bulls are causing injuries and deaths to both humans and animals in amounts drastically out of proportion to their numbers. When we say "out of proportion", what sort of proportion are we talking about? We're talking about a type of dog that constitutes a very small minority of the overall dog population but causes more death and mayhem than all other types of dogs combined.

"321 humans have been killed or disfigured by dogs during calendar year 2013; 316 of those 321 fatal or disfiguring attacks were by pit bulls" (and the human casualties are just a drop in the bucket compared to the number of innocent family pets being killed by pit bulls)

The quote above comes from an article over at the SRUV blog which takes a look at the positive pit bull propaganda coming out the LA times in the wake of numerous horrific attacks; Please feel free to read more at the URL below:

Sudden, Random, Unprovoked & Violent: LA Times Opinion

How pit bulls changed my life

In response to repeated, horrific maulings committed by pit bulls, the city council of Watertown, Wisconsin has been considering breed specific ordinances to address this breed specific problem. Naturally, pro pit bull organizations have been bombarding the city with threats and propaganda, and attempting to create the illusion of massive grass roots support for pit bulls. Hopefully, the concerns of normal people will not be drowned out in the shrill cacophony of strident pit bull advocacy. Here is an open letter that one Wisconsin resident sent to the Watertown city council. This poignant letter represents the side that sorely needs to be heard in this debate.

Good Morning,

My name is Jennifer Scott. On April 8th, 2009, my life changed forever. 

At the time I lived in a very nice apartment in Pewaukee and adopted a golden retriever puppy, Ruby. We walked to the lake every single day, even most weather couldn't keep us from doing what we both loved best. We’d run, jog, and walk, loving every minute. Then, one day, 2 pit bulls escaped a fenced-in area of their yard. I thought they were coming to meet my puppy. I never thought to be scared. I will make a very long story as short as I can. These dogs ripped my puppy apart, and threw me to the ground. It took 6 men to get them off of her. 3 were holding the pit bulls heads so that they couldn't shake her to death. Others trying to keep my puppy stable. I was in shock, utter disbelief. I have never heard a dog scream. Ruby screamed so loud that neighbors from 4 blocks away could hear her. That day will haunt me forever. It took 6 surgeries to heal my poor puppy who had done nothing wrong. The owner of the dog told the judge that his dogs were merely punishing my dogs because we were trespassing. The judge gave a bewildered look, and said, “Trespassing? I thought you said Jennifer and her puppy were walking on the sidewalk?” The owner stated the sidewalk belongs to him since he shovels and takes care of it. Unfortunately, this type of education level seems far too common with those who own and advocate for pit bulls. 

Fast forward to March of this year. I couldn't believe my ears when I turned on the television. A DJ whose music I came to like, had a young boy, Dax Borchardt, who was mauled by 2 pit bulls - mauled to death! 

I am still in shock. I hadn't even gotten over my own attack from 4 years before. I cannot take a walk without taking an anti-anxiety pill. I live in fear…every time I see one I go into panic mode. I have gained weight because I am simply scared to exercise outside like I used to. It’s hard to explain unless you've seen for yourself. But you can see for yourself; the proof is in the research. Any dog can attack, this is true. But when a pit bull goes to attack, it does so to kill. It will do anything it can to do just that. If you’re lucky, you may just have horrific scars or missing limbs. 

In a moment of honesty, forgetting perhaps how much he is being paid to say otherwise, Cesar Milan said this true word about the pit / bulldog types: “Yeah, but this is a different breed…the power that comes behind the bull dog, pit bull, presa canario, the fighting breed – They have an extra boost, they can go into a zone, they don’t feel the pain anymore. … So if you are trying to create submission in a fighting breed, it’s not going to happen. They would rather die than surrender. If you add pain, it only infuriates them…to them pain is that adrenaline rush, they are looking forward to that, they are addicted to it… That’s why they are such great fighters. Especially with fighting breeds, you’re going to have these explosions over and over because there’s no limits in their brains".

Quote again, just in case you missed it. "THEY WOULD RATHER DIE THAN SURRENDER". My dog had over 90 puncture wounds. I cannot even imagine the grief that Jeff and his wife, Kim, are going through. I beg you, to please look at the facts…the facts that will prove to you that the only way to keep Watertown a safe community is through BSL.

Here’s a picture of what they did to my dog. Please let me know if you need anything else from me or have questions.