by Joshua Keyes DVM

Created on: June 30, 2008   Last Updated: December 06, 2008

Pit bulls are neither murderous beasts nor man's best friend. There is nothing either intrinsically good or bad about a particular individual of this breed, or the breed as whole. Pit bulls are plainly and simply a dog breed, one that has been designed to fight with other dogs. As such, they are often living in the shadowy world of people who breed them to fight, or in other questionable homes. There are people who think that the pit bull is noble and that his reputation is maligned by the gossip of the press. But the pit bull is no more or less noble than any other dog. Just like any other dog, he needs attention, training, socialization, food, water, shelter and veterinary care. Unfortunatly, he often does not get it. Instead, most (not all) pit bulls live in environments where their aggressive nature is encouraged instead of controlled.

This is where I am coming from: I work in an animal shelter where I walk up and down the kennels looking for signs of illness in the dogs. In this particular shelter, ninety percent of the dogs are pit bulls. And if you ask me why there are so many pit bulls in the shelter, I will tell you it is not the fault of the breed. It's the fault of those who breed the breed. These dogs are bred and dumped. When a female has produced enough puppies for the owner, he will make up some sorry excuse for surrendering her to the shelter, or he will simply abandon her on the street. When I spay these dogs, it is clear to me that she has had at least one litter, probable more.

So why should we come to the defense of the pitbull? Or why should we, on the other end of the spectrum, complain against these dogs? Instead, each of us should act as a responsible owner to whatever breed of dog we choose, or choose not to have a dog at all. If we would all follow this simple approach, we would not need to analyze the nature of the breed at all.

Obviously, we aren't there. We are not in a place or time where the pit bull is as likely to be in a loving responsible home as a golden retriever or a labradoodle. How do we get there. I need to see more animal shelters reaching out to the children in the communities where these dogs are raised and fought and bred then put out with the trash. I need to see these organizations using some of there funds to provide humane education classes for every person that adopts an animal, and anyone who want to attend one. Order a pizza and gather them in to teach them about responsible dog ownership.

Learn more about this author, Joshua Keyes DVM.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.