In my opinion, it's always interesting to hear what people think about BSL. This topic definitely hits a nerve with a lot of people! lol! What are your thoughts on BSL?
My opinion is that BSL is just like putting a wet band-aid on a cut that need stitches and expecting it to heal! It will only cause a false sense of security and it won't fix anything! BSL breaks the hearts of children that loose their best friends and responsible, respectful, loving owners that loose their loved companions! If people looked at the truth, the facts instead of choosing to believe all of the twisted media hype and crazy myths, I think a lot of people would feel differently about this. Instead of banning and/ or restricting certain breeds, we need to do things that will actually help such as...
-Put a stop to leash law violations...Higher penalties for owners who violate the leash law will dissuade more people from slacking on their duties to contain their dog
-Strengthen and enforce penalties for dangerous owners (and their dangerous dogs)
-Crack down on dog fighting
-Strengthen animal abuse laws
-Prevent criminals from owning dogs...The following people should not be allowed to own dogs: drug dealers, human or animal abusers, and anyone convicted of a violent offense (assault, rape, robbery, etc.)
-Regulate breeders
-Fund public spay/neuter initiatives...These programs are important, especially low-cost ones. Unneutered dogs, particularly males, are far more likely to attack a human than either neutered males or spayed females.
-Educate about dog behavior (http://www.hsus.org/pets/pet_care/dog_care/stay_dog_bite_free/)
-Encourage responsible dog ownership
-Provide low-cost obedience training classes and behavior help hotlines for dog owners
**You don't need to enact breed-specific legislation to make your city a safer place to live**
What are your thoughts on all of this?
I think you should run for president! Well thought out, well presented. Here in SoFla, it is illegal to own a "dangerous breed" in many counties. Taking a bully breed to a shelter in Miami-Dade is often an instant death sentence.
When we only had only the two boys, we went to dogpark every morning. It *seemed* like every incident was caused by a pit bull. When actually, it was the OWNERS, not paying attention and frankly, being "tough guys, looking for trouble". So, I had always been leary of them....
Years later, in pet therapy we met Amber, a rescued blonde pit bull with a heart of gold. She taught me, that pits are not mean or aggressive. My confidence in being around the breed has increased significantly. I have met and photographed many APBTs, and found them to be wonderful, gentle, and yes ~ very misunderstood. The American Temperament Test www.atts.org , the APBT rates 84%, higher than many common "friendly-face" breeds. BSL - AGAINST!
This is a very SORE subject for me as is for lots of people. I totally DISAGREE and am AGAINST BSL. A law against breeding or owning a specific breed of dog does NOT and I repeat does not solve the problem. Punish the deed NOT the breed. Breed banning will only cause those types of people who engage in illegal things with dogs to go further underground.
And let's not forget all the hundreds of thousands of people out there who have sweet and loving dogs like pit bulls, rotties, shepherds, chows, etc. Breed bans hurt EVERYONE and mostly the animals that are needlessly put to dealth because of "their breed." Today, it is your pit bull, tomorrow it could be your shepherd, in 6 months your rottie, in a year your doberman. When does it stop? Where does it stop? And if by chance your dog is a mix that "looks" like one of the so called dangerous breeds, your dog is doomed as well.
Education, spay/neutering, obedience training are just a few things that will help to save a very misunderstood animal. And just to clarity "pit bull" is not a breed. These so called BSL laws declare an ENTIRE breed "dangerous or vicious" based on the actions of a few members of the breed. Breed specific laws are often a knee jerk reaction from politicians and people who want to say they are "doing something" to stop dog bite incidences and fatalities after (that's the joke) a highly publicized dog attack. Why aren't these people thinking about how we should be educating adults and children everyday so they don't get bit by a dog, any dog!
Although everyone I'm sure would want to avoid and prevent dog bites/attacks, BSL has proven to be ineffective in the reduction of dog bite incidents. BSL laws do NOT protect communities from fatal dog attacks and dog bite injuries.
Additionally, these laws as I mentioned before target and punish ALL dogs, and the owners of a breed; the guility ones and the innocent ones. Well behaved dogs of that particular breed are seen, classified, and treated the same as the dogs that have in fact bitten or attacked someone. Deeds/actions, not breeds should determine whether a dog is dangerous. Why are innocent dogs and their owners being punished for the irresponsible actions of somebody else who simply happens to own the same breed?
The laws needs to hold individuals accountable for their own actions. Law abiding people should not be punished for the irresponsible actions of another person. BSL does not acknowledge the fact that ANY breed can be dangerous. The law should protect your community from all dangerous dogs (again based on deed or action).
I could go on and on but I'll stop for now. Thanks for letting me vent. I hope there are more people out there that are concerned about this. It may not be YOUR dog today, but it very well could be YOUR dog tomorrow.
Wow! I have to admit, I'm pretty surprised that the two responses I have gotten thus far are against BSL! Yay! lol! That definitely makes me happy! You know, most of these "pit bull" attacks or any dog attack really, are the owners fault! It is the owners job to properly raise, train and socialize their dog, to know how their dog is, like what their dog likes and dislikes, to keep their dog under control, etc. Some people will say that some dogs really are just aggressive or mean and even if the owner is a good, responsible owner that won't change the dog. Well, that might be the case, but even if that dog is aggressive and that really just can't be changed, that's NOT an excuse! It's still the owners responsibility to know their dog and control their dog! If the owner really was a responsible owner their dog would never be in a situation where an attack could happen. Whether the dog is aggressive or not, big or small, a "pit bull" or a cocker spaniel, a puppy or an older dog, etc it should still be properly raised, trained and socialized, the owner should know their dog and properly control their dog! No dog, no matter what, should ever be outside without being in a fence, on a run or on a leash. If the dog doesn't like other dogs or people do something like walk your dog during a time of day when not many people are out, make sure you have a good strong collar and leash and put a muzzle on you dog. I mean, these things are not hard! Even if the dog is aggressive, it should never be able to attack someone! This is not a matter of certain breeds being more dangerous than others or certain breeds needing to be banned and/ or regulated.. This is the owners! Something desperately needs to be done about the owners! As I said in my first post, we need to enforce the laws we have and strengthen the penalties for those who break the laws.
If we ban these so-called "dangerous" breeds now, all of the drug dealers, gang bangers, dog fighters, fighting dog breeders, animal abusers, etc will just move on to the next few breeds! They won't stop what they are doing! What they are doing right now is against the law so, what in the world makes people think that they will care about new laws?! This will hurt everyone **except** the bad people! Countless police dogs, drug detection dogs, service dogs, therapy dogs, search and rescue dogs, family companions, best friends, etc will be ripped away from their families and the people that love them and depend on them! These heartless, disturbed, ignorant people will either keep their dangerous dogs or they will move on to different breeds and abuse, neglect and torture them in order to make them mean and aggressive! These poor animals don't deserve to be abused and tortured like this and these poor children, people and animals that get attacked and even killed by these severely abused dogs don't deserve this! This is a serious problem and something that will actually help needs to be done **NOW!**
Another thing that bother me is when I hear people say that "pit bulls" attack more than any other breed. Well, since "pit bull" is a term used to group **three** breeds.. American Pit Bull Terriers (APBT), American Staffordshire Terriers (AmStaff) and Staffordshire Bull Terriers (Staffie), PLUS any mix breed that resembles any of these three breeds even the slightest bit, it would only make sense for "pit bulls" to have attacked or bitten more than any **one** breed! See, this is just one of the ways that the media is soooo misleading! They lead people to believe that "pit bull" is a breed and it's not! It's 3 breeds and any mix that looks like those breeds! There are also 25+ breeds that are commonly mistaken as the three "pit bull" breeds! APBTs, which is what I own three of, are one of the most stable, people-friendly breeds in existence! In temperament tests they always test above moat popular family breeds such as Goldens and Beagles! "Pit bulls" are three of the only breeds that have been bred specifically to be amazingly human friendly, but at the same time be dog aggressive. A properly bred, raised, trained and socialized "pit bull" will be an amazing dog! Like I said, my husband and I own three APBTs and they all love everyone and everything! They are not aggressive at all towards anyone or anything so, obviously these breeds are not just born killers!
One of the main problems is that so many people will either get these breeds for all the wrong reasons or they will get these breeds and really mean well, but they know absolutely nothing about them! One thing that people don't think of much is that all three of these breeds are terriers! They don't get very big, they are small-medium breeds (the HUGE pits that people see all the time are **not** pure bred pits, they are mixed with a large breed such as a Mastiff so that they are big) and they are very, very, very energetic! "Pit bulls" need a lot of exercise every single day! My husband and I take ours on 3, 30-45 minute walks a day, we take them to the beach once or twice a week, we take them to the park whenever we can and we play with them a lot at home! People also don't realize that "pit bulls" are wonderful dogs, but they are dominate breeds! They need to have a strong pack leader to properly care for them and keep them in line. Another thing is that "pit bulls" get very attached to their owners very quickly and they need lots and lots of love and attention! They are not breeds for someone that wants an outside dog or for someone that isn't home a lot. They are also not good breeds for first time owners. Now, think about all of these "pit bulls" that we see outside chained up to a tree or something.. can you blame them for being aggressive!? First of all, no dog should ever be chained to anything for any reason, there is no excuse for that! Also, they obviously aren't getting the exercise that a terrier (or any very high energy breed) needs, they aren't getting properly cared for as their breed needs and they aren't getting the crazy amounts of love and attention that the breeds needs! If people would just do some research before getting a dog a lot more "pit bulls" we be absolute sweet hearts!
Okay, well, if I don't stop now I will go on all day! lol! I tend to just ramble on and on and kind of wander off topic when it comes to all of this! I am very, very passionate about "pit bulls" and I find it really hard to stop once I have gotten started talking about them! : ) Anyway, I'm sooo glad to see that other people feel the same way we do about all of this! Thank you both so much for not just believing all of the crazy crap you hear and thank you for helping in the fight against all of this! I will write more a little later! I have to go spend some time with my blood thirsty monsters, they are about to lick me to death because they want me to get off of the computer! : )
~TinaValant... I almost forgot to mention, I use to live in south FL. I lived in Broward County, Plantation FL, a few blocks away from Davie. When I lived there I really didn't know anything about "pit bulls" except for the crazy myths that people told me. I owned a Chocolate lab and a black Cocker Spaniel when I lived there so, I didn't have to deal with any of the BSL and breed bans.. thank God! My husband and I are living in central FL right now.. Palm Coast. We hate it here so, we were planning on either moving back to Jacksonville, where I was born and raised, or going back to south FL around Plantation, but because of all of the breed bans down there, I guess we will be moving back to Jax. Now, don't get me wrong, I love Jax, that's my home city, but it's just such a shame that we have to decide where to move by figuring out which city will let us have our fur babies! I wish we could just wake up and this would have all just been one horrible nightmare! : ( The sad thing is our dogs are less aggressive/ dangerous than a lot of dogs! First of all, our dogs aren't pit mixes so, they are all small-medium dogs. Our largest is 50 pounds and our smallest is about 30-35 pounds and they shouldn't get much, if any, bigger. They are all sweet hearts that love everyone and just want love and attention! Now, my neighbors when I was still living in Jax, had a 1 year old yellow lab that attacked 5 people (all of which were children under 12 and one of which was my younger brother) before he was put to sleep, our neighbors across the street from us now have a huge lab/ shepherd mix that ran into our yard and attacked our leashed APBT, I got attacked by a friends lab when I was very young and was in the hospital for a couple weeks and I also got bit by a friends chow. I know people that have been attacked and/ or bitten by labs, cocker spaniels, a german shepherd, a st. bernard, a yorkie and that's just to name a few. I have more "pit bulls" in my life than any other breeds and I don't know one person that has been attacked or bitten by a pit and I don't know one aggressive pit! It's obviously not the breed! It's the way the dog is bred, raised, trained, socialized, cared for, treated and controled and until people realize that, nothing will get better.
The breed ban in South Florida is only in Miami-Dade county. You can have pits in Broward County, Palm Beach County and Monroe County. And the breed ban in Miami-Dade was done years ago and never changed. When they decided not to ban the other counties, they grandfathered Miami-Dade in and never changed it.
So, they are only illegal in Miami-Dade County. If you need more information on this, let me know and I'll put you in touch with the proper authorities for confirmation if you decide to move back up to Broward. :)
I am also against BSL. I think it is the owners of "mean" dogs who should be banned! Pit bulls have been so misused/abused it is sickening. Some of them are aggressive, but either they were bred for that trait or taught to act that way - neither of which is their fault. As the owner of small dogs, it is scary to see the fights that sometimes erupt at the dog park. Fortunately there are separate sections at the park we go to, for different size dogs. I have noticed that some of the pits who go there are with humans who seem proud of their "macho" dogs. These owners scare me at least as much as their dogs do. Obviously we need to crack down on dog fighting as well as breeders who are known for producing aggressive dogs. There is an article in today's New York Times, titled "Most Dog Abuse Escapes the Celebrity Spotlight" about one pit bull who died at the hands of his owner and another who was rescued. The link to this heartbreaking article is http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/05/nyregion/nyregionspecial2/05colli.html?_r=2&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=1186316507-HBH3jaLJbQRa3gaaANBtuQ&oref=login
I agree! Some of these owners make me sick! So many people get "pit bulls" because they want to look cool or tough and that drives me nuts! My husband and I have our 3 APBTs because we did a lot of research on the bred and they are the right breed for us. They fit our lifestyle perfectly, they are the perfect size, we love their personalities, etc. I have had people tell me that it's sad that I have to own "pit bulls" to feel "cool"! Haha! I'm sorry, but the last thing on my mind is looking "cool".. I really don't care what people think of me and I definitely wouldn't get an animal to try to look "cool".. If that's what I wanted I would have got a nice car or something! lol! Anyway, my point is that a lot of people do get these dogs for that reason so, some people just automatically assume that that's why we have them! It's so sad! Not too long ago someone told me that they saw a "pit bull" being beat by it's owner in a park, he said that the dog made them sick! Okay? In my opinion, you have to be heartless to watch a dog get beat and then say the dog makes you sick! This is out of control! These dogs don't deserve to go through this and the people and animals that get attacked by these severely abused and neglected animals don't deserve this!
Marni.. Oh, I didn't know that. Well, I knew that Miami-Dade had the ban, but I just heard the other day (from someone that obviously didn't know what they were talking about) that they are banned in Broward as well. Like I said, when I lived down there I didn't have my APBTs so, I wasn't too concerned about it, (though I should have been) and I didn't know for sure what breeds were banned or not banned where in south FL. We won't be moving for another year or so, but I wanted to start looking into different areas in south and north east FL now.
Oh, I wanted to add, I thought it was funny, but this morning when I took our babies for their walks I had someone come up to me and ask me what breed my dogs were, I told him and he acted surprised..I guess he didn't know what an APBT looked like. Then he asked me if their jaws really lock and if they really do turn on their owners (I was thinking, well why would I own three of them if I really thought they would turn on me! lol! But I didn't say that), I told him no, those are just a few of the many myths about "pit bulls".. Then he told me that he didn't know much about them, he said he's a lab person, he's had labs his whole life and currently has 2. So I told him that I LOVE labs, I told him that I had owned a chocolate lab and a black lab, as well as a cocker spaniel, a fox hound, 2 mini schnauzers, etc and he acted even more surprised then when I told him my dogs were "pit bulls"! lol! I guess he assumed that because I own and love pits that I didn't like other breeds or something! lol! You know, I never really thought about that, but after talking to that man I started to wonder if there are a lot of people that think like that? Oh, and the day before yesterday my husband was walking our two little girls with their gentle leaders and someone asked him if those things were for our protection or his! lol! I guess he thought that they were muzzles even though you can obviously see our dogs with their mouths hanging all the way open panting! It's amazing the things you hear when you own a so-called "dangerous" breed. Stuff like that use to really get to me, but I have just kind of learned to laugh it off. It's really a good thing though, it gives me a chance to help educate someone on the breed. Anyway, I just thought those stories were funny and wanted to share them! lol!
I'm not a large dog person, pit bull or otherwise, but I do feel strongly about what some people are trying to turn the breed into, and misconceptions people have about the breed. Did you know that they are descended from bulldogs that were used to control unruly bulls for farmers and butchers (thus the "bull" portion of the name)? In the 1800s they were first trained for the "sport" of dog fighting. As the author of a dog gift book, I made a conscious effort to portray the breed in a way that causes people to at least be exposed to the fact that they can be gentle. I have provided a link to the pit bull photo that is in my book. (For this to make sense, the premise of the book is that we can have better human relationships by being more like our dogs. Thus each dog protrayed in the book gives a human relationship tip.)
http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z17/cgenender/From%20DogSense%20by%20Carla%20Genender/BringFlowers.jpg
Yeah, Staffordshire Bull Terriers were bred in Staffordshire for the then-popular sport of bull baiting. They were bred from Bulldogs and various terriers. Staffordshire Bull Terriers were then brought to America where American breeders bred them to be slightly larger and called them American Staffordshire Terriers. AmStaffs were used for dog fighting until dog fighting was banned in the US in the 1900's. In the 1900's two stands of AmStaffs were developed, APBTs which we still used for dog fighting and the AmStaffs that we show dogs. The original "pit bulls: were bred very small for bull baiting and dog fighting.. normally between 20 and 40 pounds. These days they do tend to be larger, but they are all three still small-medium breeds. One thing that I think a lot of people don't really think of when they get these dogs is that all three of the "pit bull" breeds are terriers. They are very high energy dogs and I don't think people realize this. I think that has a lot to do with so many of them ending up in shelters.
What an adorable picture! :) I completely agree with that! I think this world would be a better place if we would all take some tips from our dogs!
I am totally against the local state or the entire united states government telling me what type of dog I can have. I agree with you APBTMommy 200%. The laws we have if they were enforced would stop a lot of dog attacks, but we don't enforce them because we would then have to hire more Animal Control Officers and the city and state can't seem to balance the budget as it is. More parents abuse and kill children than dogs but you don't see anyone trying to ban anyone being a parent?! Like you said we need to ban bad evil people like Vick or drug dealers or gang bangers and people like that from owning any animal. Laws are really only for law abiding people the bad people don't care about the laws because they break them every day. If we ban all Pitts or Rotties or Mastiffs or Cocker Spaniels it won't make a difference in dog attacks because you will always have the bad owner that abuses and mistreats their dogs and wants them to fight or attack people so they feel big! I had better stop or I will go on all day long. Anytime there is a BSL that they are trying to pass everyone whether they own a Rottie or a Collie or a Peak a Poo needs to go and protest and stop them from being passed.
I agree! I will definitely be fighting BSL as long as it's around! It's not even just because I own "pit bulls" either, if I still had my labs, my cocker spaniel or my fox hound I would be just as against BSL! It's wrong and it's not right to punish all of the good dogs and good owners! As you and I have both already said, the people that BSL is meant to target (animal abusers, dog fighters, fighting dog breeders, irresponsible owners, etc) do not follow the laws as it is, so why would they care about new laws?!
I am very opposed to BSL. Rotties, Pits, GS, Dobermans... the list goes on and on. BSL seems to target the breeds that are "popular" and big & strong. Go and visit www.nationalcanineresearchcouncil.com and you'll see why BSL's are not only stupid, but they are basing them on the wrong data entirely. BSL's are just plain ignorant. I work for my local Humane Society and let me tell you... we get tons of Pits. They are some of the best dogs there! And even after being abused, they are still willing to give people a second or third or fourth chance. 'nuff said. WOOF!
I had a friend who had 5 pits that were rescued from horrible conditions. They were the sweetest and coolest dogs I ever met (besides my girl MAya of course), I am against BSL. It's really just ridiculous to make laws against specific breeds. It's basically like dog racism. Like say one race of people commits more crime than the others in a city, so does that mean we should ban them from our city??? NO! Well BSL is basically the same thing.......ridiculous to just assume that every dog of that specific breed is going to attack just because some of them did.
Those With Hearts Big Enough To Care and Those With Hearts Strong Enough To Take Stand Against Injustice Will Join Together In Solidarity In Locations Around The World For The
My Dog Votes 4th Annual Worldwide Candlelight Vigil Against Breed Bans
From Alaska to Australia, from NewFoundland to New Jersey, the UK, Spain, Portugal, Canada, and Australia - will stand in solidarity to send a message to the world that we must stop breed bans, we must stop profiling dogs and owners based on breed, and we must stop the slaught of innocent dogs.
The My Dog Votes 4th Annual Worldwide Vigil Against Breed Bans is a peaceful way to send a very powerful message to the world that and we need laws based on Deed, Not Breed.
Together, We Will Light A Candle, Save A Life .............................Stand up for innocent dogs and their owners and tell the world to stop killing innocent dogs!
Please sign up to join the vigil today and help Blaze save lives!
Totally against it... am in the process of writing a letter to the editor of the paper back in my hometown, small town Iowa, where I just found out they are considering passing a breed ban law, specifically, pit bulls. Was appalled to find out that many towns in Iowa have already passed these ridiculous laws. But my town is a really small town and you only have to convince a few people, and the law won't pass. Numerous people live in that town with their pits because they've already been banned from nearby communities. This is an epidemic among governments, and it's ridiculous. Thanks everyone for posting the info and opinions that you have so far... I won't let this go without a fight, and am currently collecting info, so I can present my opinion in an educated and effective manner.
Well I live in Canada ... Ontario to be more specific and they have the stupid "dangerous dogs act" here .... it's pathetic.
trying to tell you that because a dog is a specific breed it's dangerous ... thats a load of bull.
It's like saying because you're black you're a welfare bum (or whatever racial stereotype you want)
The truth is that 99% of the time it's not the dog it's the owner. Sure there are the occasional dogs that are "not right in the head" but the rest of the time it's the owners that make them that way. Lack of training, lack of socilization and neglect and abuse of an animal will obviously make it a threat to society and its self.
Common sense people ... common sense.
I believe that the dog gets the first bite as it is usually a fear or agitation response.
if the dog offends again ... a fine and mandatory court ordered training classes for the dog and the owner.
3rd offense mandatory muzzle and a fine
4th offence the dog should be assessed by a TRAINED professional
- if the dog is found to be aggressive - put it to sleep
- if the dog is found to be okay 1 year muzzle requirement and a follow up assessment and further training if required
I am against BSL. I agree that it is the owner's fault when bad things happen, however I DO very strongly believe that there are genetically bad dogs. Notice I said dogs, not breeds. I think there are mean/aggressive labs and goldens as well as mean/aggressive little dogs. I do NOT think a dog is aggressive simply because it happens to be a pit (or any of the other bully breeds.)
We have a "red zone" dog. No, he is not a pit bull, he is a great dane. That's right, a gentle giant that isn't.
Starting with a genetically sound dog and then training it and socializing it correctly is the only way to raise a sound dog. You can't change genetics and if the parents are aggressive, fearful or hyper *chances are* the puppy will inherit some of those traits.
Here is our red zone dog who has to wear a muzzle any time he is in public, not because he bit someone, not because animal control told us he has to, just because we are responsible for his actions and I don't trust him. Keep in mind that this is a dog that is trained impeccably. He can do obedience drills up to UD (all except letting the judge examine him) and he can do things around the house like fetch anything I tell him to, open the fridge and open and close cabinets. It isn't that he wasn't trained or socialized, he is genetically faulted and it is OUR responsibility to make sure that everyone stays safe. The people we know he would bite and him as well. If he bites someone, it isn't going to be pretty since he is 160 pounds so to make sure he stays safe (we love him afterall) he wears a muzzle...
Remember that it DOES include genes, not just enviroment...
BSL hurts your community. I think it gives a false sense of security.
The other thing- the poor pibbles. They are given such horrible reputations. Big snarling dogs! Fight dogs! But in all honesty- they should not be human aggressive, and are medium (that's right Medium) sized dogs. Of course, you will have some that are raised by horrible/irresponsible people. Of course, some are poorly bred. (But what breed can say that their breed won't bite? NONE)
EDUCATION is what it comes down to for me. If our childern, because let's face it, it's usually kids that are hurt, MUST be taught how to handle dogs. At the very least kids need to be taught basic dog behaviors, just in case they ever come across a lone dog, and must judge the situation just using a dogs body language.
I am a member of a D o g s t e r group which just got a website page from My Space. If anyone is interested here it is ABLE (All Breeds Living Equally), it partners with Roverlution.
Why are people so freaking stupid? ANY dog can be dangerous. My 10 lb doxie (that lives with my parents) is 10x more aggressive and dangerous than my 60lb lab/boxer cross. My baby Panda, the lab/boxer, often gets mistaken for being a pit or part pit. If this law passed I wouldn't be able to prove her breeding, she was a rescue and does not have any papers. So, I'm sure some idiot would label her a pit and try to take her away. Over-my-cold-dead-body. No one, I don't give a @#$% who they are, is going to take my dog.
Most pit bulls are wonderful, loving dogs. Its not fair to the good families and responsible owners to have part of their family ripped away just because the media has given the breed a bad name.
