Frankie the Wonderdog

I love my dog. He is one of the best dogs I have ever met. He is friendly and gentle he’s excited and playful and he doesn’t even conceive of hurting another living being. He chases bugs but does not eat them. He plays with very small children hoping to God that they will drop whatever food they are holding but never taking any from their hands. He is 47 pounds and his best friends are dogs that weigh under 10 pounds. The closest Frankie has ever come to attacking anyone is when he licks you, although he will lick you until you are drenched in dog slobber. Frankie is the best dog in the world!

Frankie is a pit bull.

I saw a report on Fox News yesterday and today raving about a “Pit Bull Attack!” It was the most sensationalized. fear mongering piece of yellow journalism that I had seen in a while – that is until I saw the next story claiming that a woman was “almost mauled” by a polar bear when she decided to jump into their enclosure. All of the people and animals involved in these “attacks” were fine. No one was hurt and at worst, while the videos might look scary, the folks involved got a few scrapes for being stupid. Yep, you heard me, the PEOPLE were being STUPID! Who jumps into a POLAR BEAR ENCLOSURE?!?!? Who does that and is then surprised when the polar bears want to play with you? I saw the video – if those bears had wanted to hurt that woman she never would have left that enclosure alive. They mostly stared at her and then just kind of batted at her. Could have been eaten, wasn’t. Why wasn’t the story about how the polar bears showed a remarkable amount of restraint – or, even better, what are the effects of zoos on wild animals that the polar bears had not only no fear of humans but seemed to want to play with her?

As far as the the pit bulls, the owners of BOTH dogs should have known better. Neither owner had their dogs on leashes. Responsible dog ownership is really the biggest problem when it comes to ANY dog related problem. I swear people should have to take a friggin’ test to be able to get a dog. When the pit bulls saw the smaller dog they didn’t maul it – far from – they ran up to it and tried to play. Sure the little dog was scared, but when all was said and done it WALKED AWAY WAGGING ITS TAIL! The only people who got hurt were the owners who STUCK THEIR HANDS IN THE DOG’S MOUTHS! That is a poor choice no matter what dog it is! And what happened? Is the owner of the pit bulls going to be charged with any kind of violent crime? Are the dogs being sought for termination? No, the owner is going to be charged with negligence and another fancy term for not having the dogs on a leash. Two tickets!

I am so sick of pit bulls getting blamed for every damn attack that happens. I thought about posting some terrible, terrible pictures of dog attacks – all of which where the victim died – that happen more often then any pit bull attack, but I did not want to stoop to the level of the network news by vilifying any other breeds. Instead I’m going to post these two Wikipedia articles about Pit Bulls in general and American Pit Bull Terriers, which is Frankie’s breed. Did you know that pit bulls used to be considered “nanny dogs” because how good they are with children? Many pits were given medals and considered heroes in World War I and World War II.

One of the things that really gets me upset, and Rene as well while we’re on the topic, is Breed Specific Legislation. These are laws that regulate what kinds of dogs are legal in different places, not just in the United States but all over the world. Pits are unfairly discriminated against with these laws. Follow the link to learn more.

Discrimination is wrong no matter if it’s race, gender, age or dog breed. I encourage all of you to educate yourselves. Pit bulls are some of the greatest pets anyone can have and it isn’t fair that a few assholes (i.e. Michael Vick) can ruin it all for a whole breed.