Loyalty Comes In A Compact Form

Editor's note: "Pit Bull" is widely considered a category of dog type that includes several American Kennel Club and United Kennel Club recognized breeds and/or any mixed breed dog that contains fifty percent of its lineage from those breeds.

Saturday was the second annual national Pit Bull Awareness Day. This is the single most misrepresented dog breed "category" and as with most things, education is the key to the problem.

Contrary to the impression that the public has, pit bulls are not by nature fighters nor are they naturally aggressive dogs. Again, as with most things, human beings have created the problem we face with the pit bull catagory of dog breeds.

Pit bull fighting is a multimillion dollar illegal business in our country. The fact that it is cruel, dangerous and immoral does not matter to those who are making money off of the suffering of these poor animals.

Until the Michael Vick case, the general public did not pay much attention to this barbaric practice other than condemning and creating an atmosphere of fear and panic regarding pit bulls.

Pit bulls are not chosen by criminals because of an aggressive nature or their strength - there are stronger dogs. Pit bulls are the choice of dog fighters because of their tremendous sense of loyalty. These amazing dogs are so loyal and devoted to their masters that they will die for them and that is why they are the chosen breed.

Anyone who has a pit bull as a pet knows the loving nature of these wonderful dogs. They are playful and fun-loving. They love to play with other dogs and are very nurturing to other animals.

One of the pit bulls that visit the Humane Society actually nurtures many of our kittens. His name is Gator and he is used to socialize dogs that are new to our care center.

Gator interacts with many of the fearful young dogs who have been neglected or abused. He is currently spending time with Twiggy, a sweet Boxer pup who was abandoned and almost starved to death.

Thanks in part to Gator, you would not recognize the once fearful and emaciated pup.

Some of our most successful adoptions have been of pit bull descent and not one of them has been returned due to behavioral problems. They are fabulous pets.

This is not to say there are not problems, but the problems are people oriented. Many pit bulls have been trained and abused into aggressive behavior. These are the dogs you often read about in the news.

This issue must be addressed through legal remedies. We need more stringent legislation for those who use dogs for fighting. Serious penalties for dog fighting will make this barbaric practice not worth the risk of getting caught.

If every pit bull disappeared tomorrow, unscrupulous dog fighters would just chose another type of dog. We need to make it too dangerous for the dog fighters to continue with the activity.

We, as a society, need to take the profit out of dog abuse.

Next week the column will focus on the characteristics of the pit bull and the breeds of dogs that come under that label; the most loving and misunderstood dogs of our society.