PIT BULLS IN THE NEWS

Pit bulls are once again in the news in Indianapolis.  Tragically, there have been injuries caused by dogs identified as pit bulls.  It is the position of Indy Pit Crew that any human aggression in pit bull type dogs is intolerable and needs to be managed immediately.  It may be that an aggressive dog has an underlying medical condition or is poorly bred resulting in an unstable temperament.  It may be that the dog was intact and desperate to get to a female in season.  It is possible for a dog to become aggressive if it is neglected, abused, never included as “part of the family”, or even just left chained in the yard as protection. This is called “functionality” and it plays a very big role in canine behavior.   There are many factors that lead to a dog’s aggression, but regardless of the cause, man-made or otherwise, human aggression in pit bulls is not standard behavior and should never be tolerated or encouraged.

In the recent spate of reported attacks, ALL of the involved animals were in-tact.  None of the males were neutered and the female was reportedly “in heat”.  Non-neutered status in males is the single highest risk factor for aggression in dogs…and not just pit bull type dogs, all dogs.  In-tact males are 70% more likely to bite than neutered males or females, whether spayed or unspayed.  The good news is that this is easily addressed.  ALL PIT BULL TYPE DOGS SHOULD BE spayed or NEUTERED.  We all know there are plenty of pit bull type dogs out there and we don’t need to breed any more, so there really is no good reason not to neuter your dog. For the record, statistics say that only one in six hundred pit bulls finds a good home. Again, only one in six hundred.

Another common factor for all of these dogs is undesirable functionality.  All of these dogs were chained up, left to roam free in the neighborhood, kept only for  breeding, or used as protection/guard dogs.  None of these were “family” pets.  One of the dogs was even named FELONY.  The name alone speaks volumes not only about the owner but the functionality of the dog.  Caring and responsible owners do not name their family pet after a crime punishable by jail time. 

FOCUS OF INDY PIT CREW

Indy Pit Crew’s focus is not "to save all the pit bulls".  People have the tendency to assume that all animal advocacy groups are radicals concerned only with saving animals lives.  Indy Pit Crew initially formed to address the torture and abuse of these dogs that  were continually seen flooding  Animal Care and Control.  As we started delving into the source of this abuse, we discovered there was a huge need to address the people in Indianapolis communities who acquired and kept these dogs for all the wrong reasons.  Certain populations of people are more prone to dog irresponsibility but it is certainly true when it comes to all dogs, not only pit bulls.  Animal Care and Control officers are battling irresponsible pet owners in exactly the same neighborhoods in which IMPD is battling other crime; the same neighborhoods that Mayor Bart Peterson has identified as problem crime areas.  It is no coincidence.  People who commit crimes with their animals do not tend to be otherwise upstanding citizens.   After all, the people who get pit bull type dogs to serve as protection must have something they feel needs protecting. One gang banger was quoted as saying, “I can’t get a gun, so I got this dog”. 

What Indy Pit Crew does focus on is easing the suffering of this population of dogs and encouraging responsible ownership.  Pit bull type dogs are quite possibly the single most abused, neglected, exploited and tortured companion animal of all time.   This can be at the hands of not only irresponsible owners and dog fighters, but even people who should know better.  To date, in 2007, there have been more than 400 animal bites in Marion County yet only a handful were reported to the public…and of those reported, all were pit bull related.  One of the most severe attacks was on a toddler who received more than 300 stitches to her face after being mauled by a Doberman.  The story never made the news.  The point is that pit bull type dogs can be exploited and abused by more than just the thug on the corner.   The media have been exploiting pit bulls to boost their ratings for years. Unfortunately, this unbalanced reporting feeds right into the cycle of violence these dogs are caught up in.  The more people fear these dogs, the more the criminal element desires these dogs.

OUT-CROSSING

You may be wondering why we have been using the term “pit bull type dog”.  Breed standard for American Pit Bull Terriers is 30-50 lbs for females, while males top out at 60 lbs.  The dogs we are seeing involved in many of the bite cases are 80+ lbs.  For dogs with an American Pit Bull Terrier appearance to reach such a weight, the dogs must be “out-crossed” or mixed with larger breeds.  Essentially this means the dogs we are seeing on the news could very well be dogs of mixed breed origin with an outward appearance similar to American Pit Bull Terriers but with temperaments more in line with guarding breed dogs.  To call these dogs pit bulls is inaccurate, thus the use of the term “pit bull type dog”.

OWNER RESPONSIBILITY

Regardless of a dog’s size, shape or color, it all comes down to owner responsibility.  According to the Centers for Disease Control, no dog of any breed should ever be left alone with children.  Both dogs and children can be unpredictable, don’t risk it.  Responsible people neuter their dogs, keep them humanely confined on their private property and leashed when in public.  Responsible people acquire or adopt pit bull type dogs to be part of the family, not to boost their street cred.