This recent push by some residents to ban pit bulls in Spokane hits close to home for me. My Lexy was abandoned at an apartment complex when she was 3 months old. I was fortunate to get her when the guy who was providing temporary housing said I could. She’s been the most adorable dog ever and she has the sweetest demeanor in the world. She’s so submission it’s comical. The moment you meet her she’ll roll over on her back and want you to rub her tummy. She also has a minor bladder control issue when she first meets someone. The vet says she’s a submissive urinator 
And since she was abandoned, the vet’s best guess is she’s a pit bull / german sheperd mix.
(Lexy’s first day home July, 2006)
In my opinion, to enact a ban on a single breed of animal is wrong. Yes, pit bulls have a bad reputation but take a look at this interesting article on “Breeds most likely to kill”.
According to the article since 1975, fatal attacks have been attributed to dogs from at least 30 breeds. Other good points to consider when labeling a specific breed as dangerous is nicely outlined below.
- Any dog, treated harshly or trained to attack, may bite a person. Any dog can be turned into a dangerous dog. The owner or handler most often is responsible for making a dog into something dangerous.
- An irresponsible owner or dog handler might create a situation that places another person in danger by a dog, without the dog itself being dangerous, as in the case of the Pomeranian that killed the infant (see above).
- Any individual dog may be a good, loving pet, even though its breed is considered to be potentially dangerous. A responsible owner can win the love and respect of a dog, no matter its breed. One cannot look at an individual dog, recognize its breed, and then state whether or not it is going to attack.
If any city were to ban ‘anything’ based on statistics of bad behavior then maybe we should ban teenager drivers.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for U.S. teens, accounting for more than one in three deaths in this age group. In 2005, twelve teens ages 16 to 19 died every day from motor vehicle injuries.
(Lake Coeur d’Alene, Feb. ‘08)
There’s no way I’d ever willingly get rid of Lexy. And I’d be hard pressed to move outside Spokane city limits just because people say my dog is dangerous. I do understand that this proposed ordinance would include a ban against any ‘new’ pit bulls within city limits but I still think it’s unfair to label a breed or any group dangerous as a whole.
(Seriously, does this look like a dangerous dog?)
Popularity: 9% [?]
I wonder if your Lexy and my Maggie (about 3 yrs old) are related! That look is the mirror image of Maggie’s. She is also a Pit mix and a pound puppy with a beautiful loving disposition. She’s also the ‘nurse maid’ when anyone is ill. Everyone loves her.
I agree that a ban on a specific breed of dog is 100% wrong. To solve a problem you must eliminate the root of the problem, not the symptom. Pit bulls were not bred as fighting dogs and are not any more dangerous than other breeds. In fact, they are more apt to obey their owners, more so than most other dogs. Pit bulls are often given a bad rap by the media. Remember Michael Vick? All the dogs rescued from his property (except 2) were eventually rehabilitated and adopted out to families. One was put down for medical reasons, the other put down due to agression. I believe we should ban the owners who do not leash, license, or care for their dogs!
Oh, and if you are one of the people who are scared of pit bulls in particular, remember that ALL dogs can sense weakness or fear in a person and will take control of the situation if needed.
I dont think all pitt-bull dogs are bad……just the ones on the north-side! lol. Well, so it seems anyway. I know you havent lived in Spokane all of your life…….but I have. And I KNOW Pitt-bulls in this town are a huge problem. You are a news man……you should know this too.
It comes down to this……..Some of the people who have pittbulls SHOULDNT!!!! They miss-treat them and raise them to be aggresive. Then the pitt-bulls get out and bite/attack people! Its quite common. Not only do you hear about it here in Spokane, you hear about it around the country. Like I said, you being a news man should know this. As a matter of fact, this summer I was walking with my 3 kids and some neighbor kids to a local park when a escaped pitt-bull attempted to chase and attack the kids!!!! I had to call 911 and have the kids run into someones yard for safety. IT IS A PROBLEM!!! No matter what the “Data” says.
Im sorry that you feel your beloved dog would somehow be in danger if a law banning these animals was put on the books……..but, “Chin-up” Dave. She doesnt look much like a pitt-bull, so you can hide the fact that she is a pitt-mix. Oh, well…… too late now.
And one more thing Dave…….do you have kids? No? Well, kids tend to change one view of this issue. When your kids are playing out-side, you shouldnt have to have to worry about a pittbull mauling them to death. In this town its a reality!!!
I was upset when I heard about the Ordinance possibly banning Pit Bulls in Spokane. Even though I don’t live in Spokane or Washington I truely beleive this is so wrong. I have two pit bulls, a male and female. They have been the best dogs we as a family have ever owned. So very intellegent, loving, minds our every command. We have taken them camping, traveling etc. They have never attacked another dog nor person. Pit Bulls have a bad rap due to the owners not controling, training. We have children in our home often and other dogs come to visit, again we have had no problems. Our dogs would lick you to death before doing any harm. I feel for the woman who was attacked, I was attacked by a German Shepard when I was 7, so I know first hand how frightening it can be. Should we ban German Shepards, how about Boxers? All dogs can pose a problem when the owners don’t take the time to work with them or keep them contained. Dogs like children can cause mischief when alone. I hope the city of Spokane will think long and hard on this ordinance. It usually isn’t the dogs fault but the owners. So lets put an Ordinance on the owners who abuse Pit Bulls by not training.
Emily from Sandpoint
Hi. Just wanted to add another voice against BSL (breed specific legislation). Rosalia WA currently has a ban on Pit Bull and Pit Mixed dogs, which I fought for a year with out success.
As a comment to Jessica. I have children, and before moving to Rosalia, I lived in Spokane (most of it on the north side) my entire life. I am afraid of ANY dog that is left to run loose, and the problem is not the breed but the lack of leash. Better animal control laws, and more enforcement is what it takes to keep children safe.
Like many commenters, my girl Buffy, is the sweetest. She is a pit, and looks it. I wanted that breed speciacaly because they ARE breed to be good with people. Look up the history of the breed. Throught the 20’s and 30’s they where THE most popular breed for family pet, in large part because they where so good with kids. When raised in a loving family, they are highly affectionate, have TONS of energy and aren’t easily excitable. Petey, of the Little Rascals, was a pit bull!
Aditionaly, there is NO medical evidence that one breed is more agressive, or more likley to bite. And there is no way of proving a dog is any specific breed. All they can go on is looks. Because of this breed bans are dangerous to anyone that owns a short, stocky bull dog looking dog with a short coat.
To say that there is a big pit bull problem in spokane is do to ingnorance to say the least there is more publicity on pit bulls or any animal that has the slightest appearance of a pit bull, for example the girl who owns the dog in the story states that it is only partial pit and that she also has a Lab that was involved in the incident, yet that was not mentioned in the story. If it resembles what people consider a pit bull then that is what they run with. More education needs to be done, we need to inforce the laws that are in place instead of trying to inact new ones, punish the ones responsible the owners not the innocents who are the dogs. For those of us who are resp and have these animals they are apart of our family, we take away children when they are in a dangerous invironment the same should happen w dogs, that is what make the dogs who they are. I am personally taking actions to prevent this ban, you know we can go to city council just as easily as the people who are misguided as to the harmfulness of this breed. I hope that every responsible bully breed owner will follow my lead and take action!
Dave,
Thank you for writing this. There are many people like you who have pit mixes and are responsible, just as many purebred pit bull owners are responsible too. I do agree that the Northside has a problem with dogs running loose. But, not just pit bulls. I have had a yellow lab, chihuahua and a shepard mix just to name a few come in my yard and threaten my dogs.
The solution is the enforcement of existing leash, roaming and licensing laws in Spokane City. More often then not loose dogs are not caught before they cause an issue and too often they are returned to owners without much punishment. I think that a dog getting loose should elicit a $100 fine and mandatory inspection of your home. Why? Because so many dogs get loose again due to inadequate confinement methods. Many dogs are also neglected and escape to find food. . . an inspection would save those dogs and prevent others from escaping again.
The solution is not to blame an entire breed. I own purebred American Pit Bull Terriers and train them myself. I have one so far who is Canine Good Citizen certified from the AKC and competes in weight pull. I also have two who compete in conformation with the ADBA. . .why should I and my responsible dogs be punished as a result of my neighbors not following the laws?
http://www.stop-bsl.com
BSL Targets the Wrong End of the Leash!
I don’t see your point including the “Breeds mostly likely to kill” article- it totally points out that pit bulls are at the top?
Pizzazz… I guess my point of adding the link to “breeds most likely to kill” was to show that, yes, Pits have a higher rate of fatal attacks BUT since 1975, fatal attacks have been attributed to dogs from at least “30″ breeds. I also included the link because it reads “Any dog, treated harshly or trained to attack, may bite a person.”
I like to add supporting information when making my case. I’m not arguing that Pit Bulls can’t be dangerous but I do want others to understand that the owner is the one responsible. As others have commented on this blog, we have a leash law in Spokane County. If that was followed, there wouldn’t be ANY dog bites.
I do appreciate your feedback.
BSL is costly to enforce and provides little to no relief from dangerous dogs. . .
Please visit us online and educate yourself on the issue if you don’t know the facts about breed specific legislation.
Also, it is important to know that the CDC (center for disease control), AVMA (american veterinary medical assoc) and AKC (american kennel club) all oppose breed specific laws.
If you think the temperament of the “pit bull” breeds is bad you may be surprised to read actual temperament statistics from http://www.atts.org which prove that the American Pit Bull Terrier, for example, has a passing rate over 80%.
http://www.stop-bsl.com/petition.html if you are against a ban please sign and send in your petition!
Hi Dave. I just wanted to Thank you for speaking up for the Rational and Reasonable thinking people of the world who KNOW that banning a certain breed is NOT the answer to the dog bite problem in todays world. The media likes to point out those cases that involve a Pit Bull or Pit mix but you’re correct in stating that ANY breed can, and will, bite. I have been charged by Cocker Spaniels, Newfoundlands and even Labs while walking my leashed dogs at various times here in No Spokane (2 of which are adopted Pitbull mixes and are the MOST wonderful, loving dogs). The punishment must be placed on the human beings who own these poor animals and do not treat them humanely (chaining, beating, teasing, neglect, abuse) and do not follow the laws set to protect both the animal as well as the public. Instead of pursuing Banishment laws, why don’t the people calling for such, put their energies and purpose into working to change weak animal abuse laws, ramping up the penalties, fines and jail time for owners who don’t secure safe confinement for their dogs, and electing legislative and legal officials who are animal compassionte and tough on bad owners. We must Punish the Deed (owners responsibility) and Not The Breed! Lexy is adorable, and what a Lucky dog to be adopted by such a smart, compassionate person. Thanks again Dave. You’ve got our “vote” =0)
Good for you Dave. Your Lexy is a beautiful and obviously well taken care of dog. To punish responsible pet owners in Spokane is ludicrous, and I hate to think of all the pitbulls and pit mixes that wouldn’t make it without people to adopt them. I agree with most people’s comments here that loose dogs (of any breed) are a problem in this city, and that’s what we should be focusing on.
Interesting………when I went to the web-site you said to check out, this was the first thing in the article.
The breeds most likely to kill
In recent years, the dogs responsible for the bulk of the homicides are pit bulls and Rottweilers:
“Studies indicate that pit bull-type dogs were involved in approximately a third of human DBRF (i.e., dog bite related fatalities) reported during the 12-year period from 1981 through1992
WOW, talk about damning evidence. It says that pit bulls are responsible for 1/3 of deaths. That means that ALL imaginable other dog breeds COMBINED total the other 2/3.
Yes, I do believe that a dog can become violent because of its owner, but the fact is that these dogs don’t just BITE, they KILL, and more than any other breed in the country. There’s a reason these dogs are the most popular dog used for fighting.