Breed Specific Legislation is a joke

Meet Tank. Probably the best dog in the world. Obviously, I may be a little biased, but I don't know...he is pretty awesome. He is my baby. Okay, so no I didn't give birth to him. And truth be known if you want to get technical about it he isn't even mine. He was originally saved by my boyfriend's ex girlfriend. While they were together, he became the light of my boyfriend's life. When they split up, losing the dog was a pretty devastating blow for Charlie. However, about three years ago, she asked Charlie if he'd take him. Tank had bounced around from home to home for a while, because she'd been unable to keep him. Charlie didn't even have to think about it.

Flash forward to a few years later...and now, I consider him my baby. He snuggles with me at night. He gives me kisses when I need them, and even when I don't. He's never far from my side and even though he is probably one of the sweetest dogs in the world, people tend to be scared of him. Sometimes that's to my advantage. Especially, on night's that Charlie works.

And don't get me wrong, if he ever thought for a second that someone was trying to harm either Charlie or I, I have no doubt in my mind he'd eat your face off. But for the most part he's simply content to lick it off.

It's sad to me the misconception people have about Bully breeds. Tank is a red nosed American Pit Bull.  He's 80 some lbs, strong as an ox and has a head as big as one. Sure, I can understand the trepidation around him. A person should always have a healthy fear of a dog. But that's of any dog. Statistically speaking, did you know that the Golden Retriever is more of a perpetrator then a Pit? Yup. Bite for bite, the Golden has been the cause of more dog bite accidents. Yet, Pit Bulls will get euthanized in a heart beat because they are such "aggressive" dogs.

I hate to break it to you, but any dog can be aggressive. I bet even Lassie could be mean if she wanted to. A dog is going to treat you as he's been treated. If you beat a dog, or starve a dog, or train a dog to attack people, then you should not be surprised if one day it bites someone. On the other hand, if you provide that same dog with love and compassion, then you'll get that back ten fold.

The true crime does not lie within the animal, but rather within it's owner. And that's a real shame. Why don't we euthenize all the bad owners? That makes more sense to me. (I mean, okay...not really, but you get what I'm saying.) You put down a dog because it's a "bad dog", and yet the only crime that dog committed was that fate allowed him in the wrong hands. That same owner is going to do the same thing to another dog and another dog and another dog.

We do not blame a victim if he or she is raped. It's not their fault that someone violates them against their will. So why do we blame an innocent animal?

Recently a dog in N. Ireland was put to death simply because he was thought to be a pit bull. He'd not bit anyone, not hurt anyone, had never even acted in a way that showed aggression. Yet a committee decreed that because he fit the standards of a pit bull, he should be taken away from him home and family and killed. People have been all up in arms about this in the US. I've seen a lot of posts, blogs and websites dedicated to this atrocity.

However, need I remind you that here right in the US we're doing the same thing? In parts of Florida and Colorado, Pit Bulls are considered an illegal breed and someone so much as thinks you have one, they will come in and do the same thing.

Be informed. Get educated. And please spread the word to end Breed Specific Legislation.