Spiveyman said:
On the pitbull discussion, I have friends who love them and would have nothing else. I was always uneasy around them. When they first got them they told us to come over so that the dogs would know us and not attack us accidentally. Didn't make me feel all that great. I'm not anti-pit bull or anything like that, but just the same... it does always seem like you hear the same story, "Our dog has never bitten anyone before, or shown signs of agression." Before the first bite, none of them have ever bitten anyone, but that first bite might take something away from you that you can't replace.
If anyone told me I should come over so their dogs can get to know me so they (the dogs) wouldn't attack me accidentally, I would NEVER go to that house at all, period. I don't care what kind of breed of dog they have. Those people sound like the same people who can be proud of the fact that their mulitple bully breeds eat from the same dog bowl at the same time. Accidents waiting to happen.
About people claiming "our dog has never done this" or "our dog has never done that", you may be surprised to learn this, but at times, for various reasons, people do lie. I'm in no way saying that this is always the case, however, the possiblity exists more than you may think.
Again, what's interesting with working with animals, the animals can't speak, and you assume the person is telling the truth. Again, I realize this is not always the case, however, spend a couple of days at your local court house and actually observe people who are in the court system, and see what you think about "humanity" and people in general. Talk about a different world.
From what I've always read on this forum for the last couple of years, I'm going to go out on a limb and say everyone here (who frequents this forum) is a good person at heart, works hard, loves their family, and tries to do both what is right to ourselves and to others in our lives. We also realize that we have to be held accountable for our actions. I also realize that none of us are perfect, but I'd also guess that the majority of people who frequent this site don't have numerous run ins with the "law". The problem for myself is that after working with some of the "general public", I'm actually afraid of what our society may become. Spend a day with the department of social services and you'll see what I mean (and I live in a very rural area, and I was amazed).
Don't mean to get off track, but what I'm getting at (in a long way of course) is that interesting enough, from what I've observed, it's usually people who come into contact with the court system (not by their choice mind you, but by their actions) that for some reason enjoy the bully breeds notoriety.
Just another observation. I drive about 4k miles a month for work. I do frequent various urban areas. some "not so nice" areas as well located within those urban areas. On average, in those areas, I see various bully breeds being handled by owners in their "local" setting. It's interesting enough that the dog I observe and come across the most is the bully breed in this urban enviroment, and I won't get into what could be considered racial profiling, but there are some interesting observations, at least for myself.
