Phila. SPCA over runned with Pitt Bulls, please read!

[loving two dachsie's]

I live in Nj and was watching the 5pm news. They did a live story on the Philadelphia SPCA. Seems that they are over runned with dogs due to the amount of Pitt Bulls coming in.

Many are in bad shape both mentally and physically due to fighting.

Seems that the SPCA does not want to renew their contract with the city, that they can no longer handle this problem.

What happens in a case like this? Its no the dogs fault.

They said that alot of the law makers talk about banning the Pitt Bull all together.
I do not think this is the answer. we need to BAN the humans that teach the Pitt to fight!!!

The city of Philadelphia is trying to get the SPCA to renew this contract by saying they will incrrease the fines for animal cruelty, and owners that use these dogs to fight. Now this should be the answer, increase the Penalty of the crime done by the people. Make them pay for what they do to these dogs. Make it so they can never do it again!

I do not know alot about this kind of thing but I had to post it . I know even though we are "Dachsie People" , we care about all the breeds.

I am sure their are some people on this board who own Pitt Bulls, or know someone who does.

If they shut this location down, their will be alot of dogs, mostly Pitt Bulls with no home. What happens then??????

Linda

[Roxane]

Get behind any effort to change legislation. You can be effective with emails to the media, government representatives and letters to the editor. Any stiffer penalties as the result of cruelty to a specific breed ends up covering all animal abuse.
Your voice does count.
Roxane

[Tanya]

Hi Linda. I don't have any real suggestions...just a comment. It does seem like poor Pitt Bulls and Rotts get a bad deal. They are abused and made to fight and it isn't their fault they were raised by lunatics! Our shelter doesn't even adopt them out unless they are very young puppies, they are automatically PTS.

We had a neighbor when I was young who had a Pitt and kept him chained in the backyard. I would try to pet this dog as I'm a dog nut but he wouldn't let me get close at all. One day the neighbors Pug ran out of the house and this Pitt grabbed it by the face. We had to literally beat this dog to make him let go of the Pug. The neighbor wasn't even going to treat the Pug so I took him to the vet. He stayed for 3 months and lost both eyes.

Not all Pitts are like that one. It depends on how they are raised. I agree that the owners should suffer the consequences. I do believe though in that dogs case that there was no helping him. The owner who made him that way even became afraid of him. I still felt sorry though. It's a shame.

Tanya

[isobelsmom]

Linda,

I have two pit bulls. Unfortunately, these SPCA dogs, if they are indeed fighters, should be pts. I know that sounds harsh, but the average dog person cannot handle the fighting breeds, and if they are fighters, they should not be adopted out. It's taken me years of living with American Pit Bull Terriers to understand that this is a breed that needs a human who can control and train this powerful dog.

I adore pits and hate to see things like this happen. Roxane is correct--fight anything that looks even remotely like breed specific legislation. Right now the climate is very against pits and rotties. This is due to not only street-dog-fighting, but also due to people who get these dogs and have no idea what the breed is like or what is entailed in living with them responsibly.

I am involved in both Dachsie and pit rescue here in Ohio. This is the worst state to live in for anti-pit bull legislation. I'm not sure how much you can do in Philly . . . I know there are many people who are giving their all to fight for this breed. You may want to contact www.adoa.org (http://www.adoa.org) which is the American Dog Owners Assoc. and ask them how you can get involved in creating more awareness of "punish the deed and not the breed" which is the battle cry of all dogs targeted for decimation by the hands of unknowledgable politicians and their cohorts.

Feel free to email me off-board with any questions and I may be able to help point you in the right direction.

Bless your heart for being concerned about this wonderful breed! <IMG SRC="http://dachsie.org/ubb/cwmsmilies/cwm34.gif" border=0>

mary mdachs@email.msn.com

[Buddy's mom]

I am glad to see that their are members on this board who care about all dogs and not just dachshunds. The labieling of certain breeds as dangerous and the systematic elimination of these breeds is not the anwser. I myself have owned pits in the past and just this summer adopted one from a high kill area in southern california. I would have to see laws inacted in my area telling me what breed of dog I can own. The breed specific laws out their are just to punish the animal not the people abusing the animals.

[Frzframe]

I agree 100%. The dogs aren't to blame its the owners and the breeders. Pups are not born mean they are made to be mean. Any dog can be treated bad and made to be mean and cause problems. There needs to be harder laws on the books and the officials need to enforce them. I don't know how this can be done but it needs to be done soon before more dogs are destroyed.
Shonda

[Owen's Mom]

I have to say, at the risk of sounding like a breedist, some dogs CAN be born mean. If you take two dogs who are not of sound temperment and breed them, you can breed mean little puppies. Unfortunatly, there are pit bulls out there that are born mean at the hands of human's. So, it is the human's fault, but the dog pays the price as does the unsuspecting child that gets in the way.

[Frzframe]

I know your right, (sigh) but it is the breeders fault because he breed them to be that way. Inbreeding can make a dog mean also but again it's the humans fault. ~Shonda

PS I noticed that with this post I became a member yea!!!!!

<FONT COLOR="#00FFFF" SIZE="1" FACE="Verdana, Arial">This message has been edited by Frzframe on October 12, 2000 at 06:32 PM</font>

[isobelsmom]

If I may . . . Yes, some pits (and all other breeds) can be born mean. The problem here is the street trash breeding these dogs for a quick buck, either off the puppies or in alley-way fights. The problem comes in with people not knowing what these dogs are capable of. The irresponsible breeders and owners of these animals have little to no clue about this breed's history and development outside of the spewing garbage put forth by "safety conscious" officials! Pit are NOT human aggressive by nature. They are animal aggressive. There is a BIG difference here that the politicians and the media are not seeing nor recognizing. Because a pit bull is animal aggressive does not in turn follow that it will be human aggressive.

Tammy, when I said that I thought the dogs should be pts, I meant that instead of seeing them back on the streets and us reading about in on pitbull-l, I would rather they be euthed humanely. I know that Shadow came from a high-kill shelter . . . forgive me if I sounded cold, friend.

I want to see no dog in the wrong hands no matter the breed. I happen to love both dachsies and pits . . .I want to see no dog put down, but sometimes it is the only answer. These dogs will most likely not get a good home . . .

Sorry, I tend to wax on about this stuff
What needs to be done is for more people to speak up no matter the breed they have. If we as dog owners do not stick together no matter the breed we will all lose rights. Do we want that? No. Please, write letters. Check out your own city's bsl and fight it with everything you have. This is for the sake of all dogs!

mary (who is taking a deep breath and calming down now)

[Frzframe]

All I got to say to that is AMEN!!!!!
~Shonda

[loving two dachsie's]

Amen from me also!

Thanks for the input everyone.

I totally understand Mary's information about the pts part. Most of those dogs are so aggressive there is no turning back for them.

Just like a dog that is kept outside on a short leash its whole life. I think it makes them become "mean", even if they were not born that way.

I also agree that some dogs can be born with a nasty tempermant too. In most cases i think its the humans that do this to the dogs.

Dogs were put on theis earth by God to assist us in many ways. Some to hunt with the nose, some to see with the eyes, some better to fight the enemy. If you have a badger in your backyard (or any other small creature) your dachsie would try to hunt it down. But when you take a Pitt or Rottie and teach it to fight on purpose for money, thats just SICK!!!

I am going to keep my ears open on this story

Linda

PS: I read somewhere that Pitt Bull is supposed to have a better tempermant with people (especially children) then a Cocker Spaniel. I do not know alot about either breed. I read it in a magazine a while ago.
i do believe this depends on the individual dog, breeding, and upbringing.