Calgary is one of a number of destinations for pit bulls that are slated to be destroyed in Ontario. We are assured that THESE pits are not dangerous. THESE pits have been fully temperament tested and will make wonderful pets. Yet, most of these pits are under 2 years of age and anyone who knows anything about pit bulls knows that their aggression doesn't usually manifest until 2 years of age. Which means that a proper temperament test could not be conducted on a pit bull less than 2 years old. Which is irrelevant because no one conducts proper temperament tests on pit bulls anyway - pits are never tested under stress for animal aggression or aggression towards children or the elderly.
Recently, you-know-who contemplated the fact that pit bulls are now leading the bite count in Calgary and proclaimed that it must simply be lack of training and socialization on the part of Calgary's dog owners. Lack of training? He first says their is nothing breed specific at work, yet he intimates that it is simply a lack of training that is responsible for the very breed-specific increase in serious bites by pit bulls and pit bull mixes in Calgary. Obviously failing to train your Labrador has nothing to do with serious bites by pit bulls, so it is equally obvious - to us AND to him - that this increase in serious attacks by pit bulls is a very breed-specific phenomenon.
So, obviously we have a problem specifically with pit bulls not being trained by pit bull owners. In the mind of those who don't support BSL, pit bull owners are therefore, for some reason, less responsible than other breeds' owners (remember that if you don't accept that it is the owners then you have to accept that it is the breed). So, if the people that own pit bulls are so much less responsible than the people that own Labs that they have made their dogs 32 times more likely to seriously injure someone, why the hell are we importing dogs for them? It is completely senseless.
Yet, you-know-who would have us believe that he simply cannot seem to make the connection between THAT and THIS? I know that he really isn't that stupid. I am continually amazed at just how disingenuous he is.
I strongly believe that, with the number of pits our city has imported and produced in the last 2 years, someone is going to die because of his relentless, ridiculous, misanthropic pursuit of the adoration (and reward) of the pit parade. I believe that it is very likely that Calgary will have its first, very breed-specific fatality by the end of this year.
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
The "All in the Owner" fallacy
I was originally going to put this in the comments as a response, but I am so sick of hearing this garbage that I thought I would address it in a post instead. Someone answered a story posted in the comments about a pit bull suddenly, and without provocation, attacking a child it had been raised with in her bed because it was aroused by the squeak of a stuffed toy by saying that "all breeds do this and it is only a matter of how you raise them".
What a load of garbage. You could tie my loving retriever cross under a porch for 7 years and beat her with a board 3 times a day, and I could NEVER make her harm a child. She came out of a scenario not much different than that before she was rescued, yet she doesn't have an ounce of aggression toward anyone or anything, no matter how many unfamiliar squeaks she is peppered with. This nonsense is an affront to every wonderful dog that was ever neglected and abused and then rescued and loved and TRUSTED. Most normal dogs would NEVER intentionally harm the people they live with. A dog snapping at someone to convey a message is a far cry from a pit bull latching on to an arm and beginning the shake and hold, with the full intention of killing the victim. Normal dogs DO NOT attempt to kill their social partners, no matter HOW they are raised.
If irresponsible pet ownership is "where the problem lies" then we should see serious attacks and maulings in numbers that EXACTLY reflect the breed numbers in a given area. Irresponsible ownership is not breed specific so if a given area has 70% sporting breeds (which is typical), then sporting breeds should be responsible for 70% of the severe and fatal attacks. This is NOT the case, anywhere. Serious attacks are never proportional to breed numbers, they are always biased toward fighting breeds.
In Calgary, by Bill Bruce's own admission and documentation, pit bulls lead the serious bite count with 13% of the city's serious bites attributable to pit bulls, yet pit bulls account for less than 1% of the city's dogs. In fact, pit bulls are responsible for nearly as many serious bites (13%) as the ENTIRE sporting breeding category (15%), which includes all of the most popular breeds (Labs, Goldens, Poodles, Spaniels, etc) and houses 70% of Calgary's dogs. Why aren't these breeds attacking in the face of irresponsible ownership?
What a crock. It IS the breed. Sometimes the owner contributes, and let's face it, human garbage likes to own a pit bull, but it is the breed that is the problem. When you breed dogs to override every social instinct and attempt to fatally injure social partners you get dogs that are genetically dangerous. It isn't rocket science. And Calgary, at the mercy of Bruce and his influx of pit bulls, will learn that lesson in the coming years.
What a load of garbage. You could tie my loving retriever cross under a porch for 7 years and beat her with a board 3 times a day, and I could NEVER make her harm a child. She came out of a scenario not much different than that before she was rescued, yet she doesn't have an ounce of aggression toward anyone or anything, no matter how many unfamiliar squeaks she is peppered with. This nonsense is an affront to every wonderful dog that was ever neglected and abused and then rescued and loved and TRUSTED. Most normal dogs would NEVER intentionally harm the people they live with. A dog snapping at someone to convey a message is a far cry from a pit bull latching on to an arm and beginning the shake and hold, with the full intention of killing the victim. Normal dogs DO NOT attempt to kill their social partners, no matter HOW they are raised.
If irresponsible pet ownership is "where the problem lies" then we should see serious attacks and maulings in numbers that EXACTLY reflect the breed numbers in a given area. Irresponsible ownership is not breed specific so if a given area has 70% sporting breeds (which is typical), then sporting breeds should be responsible for 70% of the severe and fatal attacks. This is NOT the case, anywhere. Serious attacks are never proportional to breed numbers, they are always biased toward fighting breeds.
In Calgary, by Bill Bruce's own admission and documentation, pit bulls lead the serious bite count with 13% of the city's serious bites attributable to pit bulls, yet pit bulls account for less than 1% of the city's dogs. In fact, pit bulls are responsible for nearly as many serious bites (13%) as the ENTIRE sporting breeding category (15%), which includes all of the most popular breeds (Labs, Goldens, Poodles, Spaniels, etc) and houses 70% of Calgary's dogs. Why aren't these breeds attacking in the face of irresponsible ownership?
What a crock. It IS the breed. Sometimes the owner contributes, and let's face it, human garbage likes to own a pit bull, but it is the breed that is the problem. When you breed dogs to override every social instinct and attempt to fatally injure social partners you get dogs that are genetically dangerous. It isn't rocket science. And Calgary, at the mercy of Bruce and his influx of pit bulls, will learn that lesson in the coming years.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
And the pit distribution begins...
05. 18. 11. And on the heels of yet another unexpected and unprovoked attack involving a Calgary pit bull comes the first of the "adoptions" of the 34 pit bulls seized from a breeding operation (that 34 doesn't include all of the puppies which will be up for "adoption" once they are born). Desiree Arsenault of the Calgary Humane Society explains that they are very magnanimously planning to release the pits a few at a time to avoid compromising adoptions of other breeds. Huh? It doesn't matter how slowly you adopt them out, Desiree, there will still be 58 (remember the puppies) pit bulls bumping 58 normal dogs from homes.
CHS assures us these dogs have all been "temperament tested" and have all passed with "flying colors". How do you accurately assess the temperament of a fighting dog that hasn't yet reached maturity, Desiree? Were they extensively tested with other dogs in provocative situations? Doubt it. Were they extensively tested with cats in provocative situations? Doubt it. Farm animals? Children? Probably not at all and not at all.
I am going to add a new prediction - we will soon see a violent incident involving one of these pit bulls.
CHS assures us these dogs have all been "temperament tested" and have all passed with "flying colors". How do you accurately assess the temperament of a fighting dog that hasn't yet reached maturity, Desiree? Were they extensively tested with other dogs in provocative situations? Doubt it. Were they extensively tested with cats in provocative situations? Doubt it. Farm animals? Children? Probably not at all and not at all.
I am going to add a new prediction - we will soon see a violent incident involving one of these pit bulls.
Do you think this pit bull will like the new baby?
05. 17. 11. A pit bull bolted through an open door to attack a Husky cross being walked on-leash across the street. The pit's pregnant owner tried to pry her dog off the Husky, but was bitten by her own dog Police responded and had to taser the pit bull 3 times to pry it from the Husky. The pit bull advocates are, of course, trying to tell us that these kinds of incidents happen every day with other breeds in Calgary. What do you think? Was there a Tervuren tased on Tuesday and a Scottie stunned on Sunday that we didn't hear about?
And will this gentle pit bull like the new baby when it arrives? I'm confident that Bill will release it so that we can find out.
And will this gentle pit bull like the new baby when it arrives? I'm confident that Bill will release it so that we can find out.
Monday, May 2, 2011
This might squeeze the resources at the Calgary Humane Society
05. 07. 11 As predicted, there is no room at the inn if you are a Shih Tzu or a Doberman. Dump your Dandy Dinmonts and kick your Kuvasz to the curb, people, the Calgary Humane Society is full...of pit bulls.
05. 02. 11. 34 pit bulls were just seized, dehydrated and neglected, from a Calgary breeding operation, several were pregnant. 34 pit bulls will now require care and assessment (behavioural as well as physical, one can only hope) from the Humane Society. Assuming only 3 of the dogs were pregnant and assuming a very modest litter size of 8 puppies each, 58 pit bulls will be added to the already-problematic Calgary pit bull population.
Thanks for making this kind of pit breeding scum feel so welcome in Calgary, Bill.
05. 02. 11. 34 pit bulls were just seized, dehydrated and neglected, from a Calgary breeding operation, several were pregnant. 34 pit bulls will now require care and assessment (behavioural as well as physical, one can only hope) from the Humane Society. Assuming only 3 of the dogs were pregnant and assuming a very modest litter size of 8 puppies each, 58 pit bulls will be added to the already-problematic Calgary pit bull population.
Thanks for making this kind of pit breeding scum feel so welcome in Calgary, Bill.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Another child, another pit bull.
Video of Peaches behaviour (clearly, this is an aggressive and unstable dog) and her owner (just what I expected) available here. Calgary's Liontamers are going to rehab Peaches and send her home.
Update: Looks like this pit will be returned to the owner to maul another day. "Peaches" might have to wear a muzzle for a year, but I'm sure her owner - clearly a responsible, upstanding citizen (can you see Peaches abdomen in that picture? Looks like she has already had at least one litter) - will abide by the new rules...don't you think? Seriously, can you imagine the stupidity of an AC department that would release a dog that had to be beaten off a child by more than one person and continued its attack on the child even while under attack by several adults itself? I am going to make a prediction that Calgary is going to have a pit fatality this year.
04. 24. 11. Four year-old Haley Khidri is the latest victim of Calgary's generous dog bylaws. At around 7 pm Haley was attacked in her own yard by a loose, unlicensed (but Bruce, I thought ALL pits were licensed in Calgary??) "tan-colored" pit bull. Neighbours rushed to her aid, but the pit bull would not relent and the child had to be first placed on top of a car, then rushed into a house while neighbours tried to distract the pit bull by beating it with brooms and sticks. The pit bull followed the child into the house (have you EVER heard of another breed doing this? Can you imagine a Lab being this relentlessly focused on killing a child? A Collie? A Shepherd?) so the neighbours had to resume their beating of the dog. If this had happened on a day when the neighbours had been working and not available to repeatedly beat the dog off the child, the child would be dead. Does a child have to die in Calgary before something is done about the growing pit bull problem here? Man up Bill, you know this isn't working.
Update: Looks like this pit will be returned to the owner to maul another day. "Peaches" might have to wear a muzzle for a year, but I'm sure her owner - clearly a responsible, upstanding citizen (can you see Peaches abdomen in that picture? Looks like she has already had at least one litter) - will abide by the new rules...don't you think? Seriously, can you imagine the stupidity of an AC department that would release a dog that had to be beaten off a child by more than one person and continued its attack on the child even while under attack by several adults itself? I am going to make a prediction that Calgary is going to have a pit fatality this year.
04. 24. 11. Four year-old Haley Khidri is the latest victim of Calgary's generous dog bylaws. At around 7 pm Haley was attacked in her own yard by a loose, unlicensed (but Bruce, I thought ALL pits were licensed in Calgary??) "tan-colored" pit bull. Neighbours rushed to her aid, but the pit bull would not relent and the child had to be first placed on top of a car, then rushed into a house while neighbours tried to distract the pit bull by beating it with brooms and sticks. The pit bull followed the child into the house (have you EVER heard of another breed doing this? Can you imagine a Lab being this relentlessly focused on killing a child? A Collie? A Shepherd?) so the neighbours had to resume their beating of the dog. If this had happened on a day when the neighbours had been working and not available to repeatedly beat the dog off the child, the child would be dead. Does a child have to die in Calgary before something is done about the growing pit bull problem here? Man up Bill, you know this isn't working.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Pit attacks are on the rise with pit numbers???? Shocking...
from the Calgary Sun, January 4th 2010
Last month, it was a woman whose face was torn open by the family Rottweiler.
In August, three members of the same family were sent for stitches after their Staffordshire terrier intervened in a domestic dispute.
On May 22, a seven-year-old boy visiting friends was mauled by a startled 70-kg English mastiff after the animal was bumped by a door.
Last year was a bloody one for dog bites in Calgary, and while the hand that feeds sometimes gets the teeth, the victims are increasingly family and friends of the dog owner.
“It’s a cause for alarm — the most disturbing aspect is the rise of bites happening in the home and with immediate neighbours,” said Bill Bruce, Calgary’s chief Animal Services officer.
“We’ve had some really bad ones this year. We had one just before Christmas where a rotti grabbed a lady’s face — she was the wife. It was ugly.”
While aggressive incidents involving dogs remain virtually the same — 159 in 2009, as compared to 158 in 2010 — the number of actual bites recorded by Calgary Animal Services has jumped from 58 to 102.
Of those 102 puncture-wound victims, 54 were strangers, 34 were neighbours and friends, eight were immediate family and six were service providers like postal workers.
Even more frightening is the age of the bitten: 20 of the victims were children aged nine and under.
Bruce suspects the rise in bites from trusted dogs is a matter of poorly trained people — those who don’t recognize early signs of aggression and who fail to properly socialize and handle their pets.
“These behaviours don’t just pop up, and there are always indicators before an attack, and if they’re not checked or corrected it will escalate,” said Bruce. “Any dog can and will bite — it’s not about size and breed, it’s about people doing the right thing with their dogs.”
If children, friends and family feeling the wrath of rotten ownership is a scary trend, Bruce is also disturbed by the breeds doing the biting.
After years with Labrador retrievers at the top of Calgary’s most-likely to bite list, pitbull and pitbull-type terriers have suddenly taken a dubious lead, passing both shepherds and retrievers.
Bruce is concerned to see pitbulls as champions of the chomp because the knee-jerk reaction is usually the call for a breed ban — a tactic he declares a total failure wherever it’s been tried.
“You ban one breed and people just get another dog that’s got the same issues,” said Bruce. “Breed legislation doesn’t work because it’s not a dog problem, it’s a people problem and it’s getting owners to understand the need to properly train and socialize their dog.”
Last year, the Toronto Humane Society released statistics showing no significant drop in dog bites since a breed ban became law in 2005.
And Italy repealed a ban on 17 supposedly dangerous dogs breeds, including Rottweilers and pitbulls after evidence showed restrictions don’t work.
Instead, Italy will focus on new laws holding owners accountable for their dogs — including proper training.
Animal Services officials in Calgary, which still boasts the lowest bite-per-population ratio in North America, say enforced training may also help solve the current rash of bites in this city.
Bruce says he is preparing to take the matter to city council where he will ask that less severe dog incidents such as chasing and nipping be subject to enforced training.
Instead of a stand-alone fine for aggressive animals, owners will also be required to complete a training course on canine handling and behaviour. “It’s an opportunity to turn that dog’s behaviour around with the help of a professional trainer,” said Bruce.
At the same time, Animal Services may seek to increase the aggressive-pet penalty for dogs trained to be surly, whether as a guard dog or status symbol.
Bruce says better owners should mean fewer bites for Calgary. “There is absolutely no reason for dogs under the proper care of an owner to bite somebody,” he said.
• • •
TEETHING - Bited by breed group, 2010
1. Terriers (pitbulls account for half of total terrier bites) - 26 bites
2. Working dogs (includes Rottweilers and mastiffs) - 22 bites
3. Herding dogs (includes shepherds) - 17 bites
4. Sporting dogs (includes retrievers) - 16 bites
5. Non-sporting - 14 bites
6. Toys - 5 bites
7. Hounds - 2 bites
Last month, it was a woman whose face was torn open by the family Rottweiler.
In August, three members of the same family were sent for stitches after their Staffordshire terrier intervened in a domestic dispute.
On May 22, a seven-year-old boy visiting friends was mauled by a startled 70-kg English mastiff after the animal was bumped by a door.
Last year was a bloody one for dog bites in Calgary, and while the hand that feeds sometimes gets the teeth, the victims are increasingly family and friends of the dog owner.
“It’s a cause for alarm — the most disturbing aspect is the rise of bites happening in the home and with immediate neighbours,” said Bill Bruce, Calgary’s chief Animal Services officer.
“We’ve had some really bad ones this year. We had one just before Christmas where a rotti grabbed a lady’s face — she was the wife. It was ugly.”
While aggressive incidents involving dogs remain virtually the same — 159 in 2009, as compared to 158 in 2010 — the number of actual bites recorded by Calgary Animal Services has jumped from 58 to 102.
Of those 102 puncture-wound victims, 54 were strangers, 34 were neighbours and friends, eight were immediate family and six were service providers like postal workers.
Even more frightening is the age of the bitten: 20 of the victims were children aged nine and under.
Bruce suspects the rise in bites from trusted dogs is a matter of poorly trained people — those who don’t recognize early signs of aggression and who fail to properly socialize and handle their pets.
“These behaviours don’t just pop up, and there are always indicators before an attack, and if they’re not checked or corrected it will escalate,” said Bruce. “Any dog can and will bite — it’s not about size and breed, it’s about people doing the right thing with their dogs.”
If children, friends and family feeling the wrath of rotten ownership is a scary trend, Bruce is also disturbed by the breeds doing the biting.
After years with Labrador retrievers at the top of Calgary’s most-likely to bite list, pitbull and pitbull-type terriers have suddenly taken a dubious lead, passing both shepherds and retrievers.
Bruce is concerned to see pitbulls as champions of the chomp because the knee-jerk reaction is usually the call for a breed ban — a tactic he declares a total failure wherever it’s been tried.
“You ban one breed and people just get another dog that’s got the same issues,” said Bruce. “Breed legislation doesn’t work because it’s not a dog problem, it’s a people problem and it’s getting owners to understand the need to properly train and socialize their dog.”
Last year, the Toronto Humane Society released statistics showing no significant drop in dog bites since a breed ban became law in 2005.
And Italy repealed a ban on 17 supposedly dangerous dogs breeds, including Rottweilers and pitbulls after evidence showed restrictions don’t work.
Instead, Italy will focus on new laws holding owners accountable for their dogs — including proper training.
Animal Services officials in Calgary, which still boasts the lowest bite-per-population ratio in North America, say enforced training may also help solve the current rash of bites in this city.
Bruce says he is preparing to take the matter to city council where he will ask that less severe dog incidents such as chasing and nipping be subject to enforced training.
Instead of a stand-alone fine for aggressive animals, owners will also be required to complete a training course on canine handling and behaviour. “It’s an opportunity to turn that dog’s behaviour around with the help of a professional trainer,” said Bruce.
At the same time, Animal Services may seek to increase the aggressive-pet penalty for dogs trained to be surly, whether as a guard dog or status symbol.
Bruce says better owners should mean fewer bites for Calgary. “There is absolutely no reason for dogs under the proper care of an owner to bite somebody,” he said.
• • •
TEETHING - Bited by breed group, 2010
1. Terriers (pitbulls account for half of total terrier bites) - 26 bites
2. Working dogs (includes Rottweilers and mastiffs) - 22 bites
3. Herding dogs (includes shepherds) - 17 bites
4. Sporting dogs (includes retrievers) - 16 bites
5. Non-sporting - 14 bites
6. Toys - 5 bites
7. Hounds - 2 bites
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