After reading this, one might think the staff at the Flint Journal would be happy if we just banned dogs in general since, after all, "no matter the dog, it is at root a self-propelled jawful of teeth."
Educated and informative letters to the editor can be sent to:
Editor John Foren
jforen@flintjournal.com
Opinion page editor
Chris Machniak
cmachniak@flintjournal.com
Our Voice: Stop the canine carnage: Outlaw pitbulls and punish irresponsible owners of any dog By Flint Journal staff November 15, 2009, 5:32AM Two violent incidents in October involving pitbull-type dogs in Genesee County have reignited a perennial debate.
Some people say these dogs are bred for aggression, are unpredictable and vicious in their attacks.
Ban the breed, they say.
Their owners and others claim they’re wonderful, loving, loyal pets.
Ban the deed of poor training and irresponsible ownership, they say.
Both approaches are warranted, in light of dog attacks in the county and around the state in recent years, many of them involving pitbull type dogs.
Ban the breed, and punish the owners of any type of dog that runs loose, and those that attack people, pets and livestock.
The proven danger to the public is just too high to do nothing anymore.
The reputation for the vicious, sudden attacks of some pitbull dogs doesn’t come out of nowhere.
In mid-October, two brothers ages 11 and 13 rescued a 3-year-old girl in Flint from the jaws of a pitbull. The dog was running loose, and clamped its powerful jaws around the girl’s head, shaking her like a doll. After the little girl was rescued, the dog turned on a 37-year-old neighbor running to help and bit through her arm to the bone.
Thankfully, everyone was recovering from their injuries.
On Halloween, Mount Morris police officers responding to several 911 calls of pitbulls running loose and threatening children shot and killed a pitbull that bared its teeth and snarled at the officers.
Up in Saginaw, a good Samaritan is still trying to heal months after pitbulls pounced on him when he came to the rescue of a neighbor, who the dogs attacked first.
These are just recent, mid-Michigan incidents involving pitbulls.
The pages of newspapers statewide too often carry stories of horror after dogs, many of them pitbulls, attacked and maimed or killed little kids and big adults.
Whatever gentle temperament pitbull breeds display within their families is overshadowed by these kinds of attacks.
Worse, pitbulls are known as a tough guys’ dog. Some are mistreated for illegal dog fights or to make them as mean and scary as possible.
In the light of all this, how is any person supposed to discern that any particular pitbull wouldn’t suddenly snap, and attack?
That’s the trouble with pitbulls — you can’t reliably tell which one will live a gentle life and which one will, for whatever reason or no reason at all, go after a person.
So ban them.
But don’t stop there. Many other breeds can and do bite people.
Fine the owners of dogs found running free.
Because, no matter the dog, it is at root a self-propelled jawful of teeth.
The potential of a bite is always there, with any dog. They should be under the control of their owners — in a fenced yard or on a leash — whenever outdoors.
Merely banning pitbulls for the bad acts of its type isn’t enough.
Ban the breeds, plus punish the deeds of irresponsible owners.
http://www.mlive.com/opinion/flint/index.ssf/2009/11/our_voice_stop_the_canine_carn.html
