Dog breed animus is wrong; pit bulls not inherently dangerous

This is in response to a letter authored by Mike Horning regarding his assertion that, “It only makes logical sense to put down all pit bulls in the shelters if they have not been adopted in 30-60 days.”

Taking the recent example of a pit-bull mix attack of a woman in Tampa (when the woman attempted to place a sweater on a dog that was adopted within the last 30 days), Horning simply extrapolates and characterizes all bully breeds as dangerous, and thus recommends killing any strays in shelters after 4-8 weeks. This is a barbaric approach that Horning recommends be applied to all bully breed dogs, regardless of their personalities and nature.

The most dangerous dog breed is a very subjective thing. It depends on a number of things such as genes, temperament and most obvious, how the dog is raised and trained. When talking about dog attacks, it’s not always the dog’s fault. Over the decades dog lovers have read headline after headline positioning one breed or another as “dangerous.” Most recently the “villain” is the pit bull. Well, there is no such breed as a “pit-bull,” which is simply a strain of a mix of a bull dog and a terrier.

Most disappointing, however, is the fact that 22 percent of the nation’s shelters euthanize dogs that are categorized as pit bulls regardless of the individual dog’s disposition. This practice of breed discrimination is wrong not only because perfectly healthy and happy dogs are being put to death because of their appearance, but also because they aren’t being given a chance due to ignorance and bias.

The moral progress of a nation and its greatness should be judged by the way it treats its animals. Horning advocates a plan that is the total antithesis of this construct.

This story was originally published January 13, 2017 at 4:15 PM with the headline "Dog breed animus is wrong; pit bulls not inherently dangerous."