Mobile Mayor does a good thing

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sb1227
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Mobile Mayor does a good thing

Post by sb1227 »

Personally, I don't know why he did it, but whatever his reason he did a good thing in staying the euthanasia of the pit bull mix dog Spencer, who's been in the news lately.
I understand Pits are generally unadoptable, but when people who work with the breed are willing to take the animal it should be allowed. These dogs, unless trained otherwise, are very loving and loyal dogs and no more prone to agressive behavior than many other breeds. There's really no reason for an automatic euthanasia order.
So Spencer goes to live at a Best Friends sanctuary. Good for him, he's one of the few lucky ones.
And good for the mayor. :)
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Post by NM354 »

I'm am glad to hear that he let that happen. My girlfriend was telling me they were going to appeal the euthanasia order.
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Post by GermanShepherdGirl »

It pisses me off when people discriminate against certain breeds. There aren't bad dogs....just bad dog owners. It also makes me mad that homeowners insurance companies discriminate against breeds. I can't have a Doberman Pinscher because my homeowners insurance company has the breed on their "black list".
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Post by sb1227 »

I know what you mean, when I tried to get a libility policy for my house in TN. One of the first things that got the no answer was the fact that I had 3 dogs, regardless of the fact that they were in a huge fenced in yard.
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Brandon
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Post by Brandon »

We will probably just have to agree to disagree on this one, but I think for the most part I agree with not necessarily a breed 'ban' on pit bulls, but I don't agree with just letting any thug wannabe or bubba own them.

Pit bulls account for nearly twice as many fatalities as any other breed, yet they are not even in the top ten most popular dogs. Why is this?

The thing in Mobile, seemed more political posturing than actually caring about the dog. I believe there were 5 other pits in the shelter as well, what became of them? The reason the person wanted to adopt the pit originally I believe was he seemed very sweet and docile... He was also weak and sick. All that changed when he got better.
That was then, Fassbender responded, when the dog was weak, starved and dehydrated. As the dog regained his strength, Fassbender said, he grew more aggressive. He remains in an enclosure by himself, away from other animals, the director said.

On Friday before the hearing, Fassbender said, the pit bull appeared unwilling to approach him as he talked to him through the wire. When Fassbender turned his back, he said, the dog "charged the cage a couple of times."
I realize this is in a shelter, and a LOT of dogs respond totally different while they are in a shelter situation than they would otherwise. But the mobile shelter puts down a lot of dogs, why not a less-agressive selection?
I read her blog and she showed pictures of her current dogs, looked like a lot of pomeranians or something similar, I can't remember exactly. Basically small chew toys. That just seemed too me like a really not so bright thing to me, to bring a dog home that is showing obvious agression into a house with toy breeds? What the heck was she thinking?


Anyways here's my thought, I don't believe pit bulls are evil or bad dogs, but I do believe they were bred to fight, and they are really really damned good at it. So good in fact that they can kill a healthy full grown human. Raised responsibily and in the right environment with a very adult and responsible owner, I see no problem with this. But when you let dumb-ass inbred mouthbreathers own a dog with that kind of potential you create something that is not safe for the people living next to the dumbass. Unfortunately I don't think you can count on most people to be as responsible as they should be, and if I had your an irresponsible dog owner who has his untrained and unsocialized pits in chicken wire or chained to a tree and living next to me, I wouldn't like it at all.


Just my 2 cents.
Brandon

ps: to make it a lighter note, here are 2 of our beast:)
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Post by GermanShepherdGirl »

Brandon wrote:Pit bulls account for nearly twice as many fatalities as any other breed, yet they are not even in the top ten most popular dogs. Why is this?
Because of irresponsible breeders. Bull dogs used to be bred to take down bulls but that has been bred out of them and they are now very docile and laid back. If there were (and I believe there probably are somewhere) responsible pit bull breeders the aggression problems could be bred out of them as well.
Brandon wrote:The thing in Mobile, seemed more political posturing than actually caring about the dog. I believe there were 5 other pits in the shelter as well, what became of them?
They probably just wanted to make a point. They should have kept it going and made some kind of deal or agreement to instead of putting all the pits that come into the shelter to sleep, send them all to a pit bull rescue group. And they should do the same thing with all the other purebred dogs they receive that they cannot find homes for.
Brandon wrote: The reason the person wanted to adopt the pit originally I believe was he seemed very sweet and docile... He was also weak and sick. All that changed when he got better.
That was then, Fassbender responded, when the dog was weak, starved and dehydrated. As the dog regained his strength, Fassbender said, he grew more aggressive. He remains in an enclosure by himself, away from other animals, the director said.

On Friday before the hearing, Fassbender said, the pit bull appeared unwilling to approach him as he talked to him through the wire. When Fassbender turned his back, he said, the dog "charged the cage a couple of times."
Most dogs have a good judge of character. :lol:
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Post by Brandon »

Sorry if I sound like a butthead in my original post, I just feel pretty strongly that many people shouldn't own pit's, people who won't work with them and provide the foundation for them to be a good dog citizen.

And like you said, about bad breeders... There are different kinds of pits the Showdog American Staffordshire Terrier, and then the game-dog. the AKC show type is a good dog, but the ones bred to be game-dog types.. ahh.. well, you're breeding for gameness, which sorta goes against a what we would judge a good pet to be.
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Post by Amyjoe »

Unfortunately we live in an area that most of the people owning them(Pitts) and Rott's want them for the aggressive back grounds. You can't blame the breed though.
Wonder what it is going to take to get a bigger tank?????
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Post by GermanShepherdGirl »

Yes it is very unfortunate. Mostly for the dogs themselves. I watch the animal rescue shows on Animal Planet and it just breaks my heart. And you're right, Brandon....majority of the people who own them aren't responsible enough to own them. More people should watch Ceasar Millan's show on the National Geographic Channel called "Dog Whisperer". If you own a dog or plan to get a dog, I highly recommend watching it! Very very good show! He has worked with a lot of pits that used to be very aggressive.
http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/c ... whisperer/

Also check out the following site for tons of dog training advice
http://www.leerburg.com/
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Post by sb1227 »

This is certainly true with most animals, in my opinion...or even kids for that matter. You can't just let them run and fend for themselves from the start. They have to be shown what is expected of them, and taught consequence. And I, for one...have seen it work too many times for it not to be possible.
The hard part, I guess, is placing the right animal with the right person. Not to insult anyone, by any means...but anyone can make a baby, that doesen't mean anyone can raise a child to be a responsible member of society.

I remember in the 70's the problem dog was the German Shepard. They were generally brought and bred from Germany for Guard and Police dogs, and weren't recommended as pets even discouraged in households with children and other pets. They've come a long way since then.

I classify Pits in the same line with chows. They are easily trainable and want to make you happy. They are good with kids they live with, but are very protective. You have to introduce others to them and let them know it's ok before you let people around them. But once they know you, their great animals. I had to do this with my Pit/chow mix. If anyone were going to be around him, I could introduce them and from then on he was fine.
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Post by GermanShepherdGirl »

sb1227 wrote:...anyone can make a baby, that doesen't mean anyone can raise a child to be a responsible member of society.
Amen to that!
sb1227 wrote:I remember in the 70's the problem dog was the German Shepard. They were generally brought and bred from Germany for Guard and Police dogs, and weren't recommended as pets even discouraged in households with children and other pets. They've come a long way since then.
Thank goodness for the responsible breeders of German Shepherds today. I personally know 2 breeders who breed the European (working) bloodline German Shepherds. They are very careful, responsible, and selective about the dogs they breed. A dog can be protective and at the same time social, a good family dog, good with kids and other animals when bred and trained properly. I've witnessed it first hand. My female Shepherd being one of them. She is currently being trained to receive her schutzhund titles. She can do protection but she is still a sweet heart and very social.

If anyone wants more info on what schutzhund is, see the links below:
http://germanshepherddog.com/schutzhund/index.htm
http://www.southmetroatlanta.com/AboutSchutzhund.htm
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Post by Guardfather »

Amyjoe wrote:Unfortunately we live in an area that most of the people owning them(Pitts) and Rott's want them for the aggressive back grounds. You can't blame the breed though.
I totally agree Amy, It's not the animal's fault. Just as your dog goes outside to pee, he will also fight if that is what he's trained to do. More times than not, it's a human's fault the animal is that which he or she is. If you could train a Parakeet to pluck out people's eye's, rest assured there would be some asshole out there that would own it.

People are sick!
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Post by donkeyclubmember »

http://www.nashvillescene.com/Stories/C ... ndex.shtml


Got this from brandons post the other day. Always thought pits were useless till the other day, when read the post above. Starting to like the breed now. It is in the blood line to be aggressive even if you train the to be good pets the bloodline will come out at some point and time. So F the pitts.


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Post by Brandon »

I don't "blame" the breed, but they are inherently more agressive than many other breeds, especially with other dogs. Not all of them of course, but being more agressive was an asset with dog fighting and bull baiting. And when they are young they are really really sweet.

You just didn't take a labrador retriever to win at a dog fight, they don't have the drive and tenacity in them that the pit does., they would get the crap beat out of them.

My point is, in my opinion, it is not just how they are raised, it is genetics... you don't breed out all that agression from hundreds of years of selective breeding with just a couple of generations. Herding dogs such as shelties are mostly pets, but they still maintain a strong herding instinct. Sight hounds will still run down game, daschunds & small terriers originally bred to hunt small game, . they can still be very very fiesty. Newfs still have very high water rescue drive, etc etc...


Just for the record, I don't hate pits, I just don't want to take chances with my own dogs when interacting with a dog that has been selectively bred to excel in dog to dog combat.

sorry for my wordy tangent.,... just have to throw in my 2 1/2 cents
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Post by SaltnLime »

My .02 ..

I am a dog lover..and don't hate any breed. Pit bulls are like any other breed in that it seems you have gentle ones and agressive ones based on alot of different factors. My concern, and the difference...which I have seen first hand.....seems to be that when you have two dogs that are aggressive..side by side...the pit bull seems to win out in the dangerous category.

Most breeds, even when acting agressively and/or attacking can be persuaded to retreat/stop by fighting back or causing the dog pain....... that is not so with a few breeds, and pits in my opinion, are at the top of that small list. Self preservation by way of retreating when hurt is instinct to most animals....Some animals can be trained to protect/fight to the death, but pits and a few others seem, when being attacked, to be offensive to the last..........

In other words, if you were attacked or bitten by a pissed of curr dog I think if needed, you could feasibly fight back and inflict pain on the dog and it would retreat...at least long enough to regroup. If you are attacked by a pit bull.......you best be hope it bites and leaves.....or be prepared to kill it. It is one tough breed. not sonething I would like to try and pull off the neighbors kid...............or my own!
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