While searching for a dog-friendly apartment in Baltimore earlier this year, I was struck by the number of buildings which implement breed-specific bans. "No Rottweilers," decreed some leasing offices; "No Dobies [Doberman pinschers]," a few others specified. But overwhelmingly, "No pit bulls!" was the rule.
"Because those dogs are very aggressive and are known to bite people and harm people," a leasing representative (who prefers to remain nameless) explained, when asked why this particular breed was banned from the Halstead at Guilford apartment building.
I wasn't surprised by this statement so much as indignant. Pit bulls have been the object of much media attention in recent years due to Michael Vick (convicted on dogfighting charges), Verizon's advertising (commercials depicting snarling pit bulls lunging towards a trespasser) and more recently, Sarah Palin (we won't soon forget her comparison of pit bulls to hockey moms - ?whatever it meant), among other factors. The bulk of this media attention, however, has been negative.
Having volunteered steadily for one year at the Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter, a facility where pit bulls and pit bull mixes happen to make up a good 90 percent or more of the population, I consider myself nearly as good a pit bull expert as anyone. I've met literally hundreds of them, and it's true, I have (rarely) met pit bulls I didn't like. But I've also met pit bulls I did like and some I downright fell in love with. The point is, sweeping generalizations are no more justified when applied to canines than when applied to any other demographic in modern society.
It might surprise some people - those leasing managers so adamant about denying equal opportunity housing to pit bulls among them, no doubt - to learn that pit bulls were referred to as "nanny dogs" in the past, long before they came to be associated with inner-city dogfighting. As "nanny dogs," pit bulls were valued for their instinctive gentleness and care towards children. Similarly, many pit bulls make excellent therapy dogs for the elderly or disabled.
The recent dogfighting craze and the prevalent role of pit bulls in dogfighting have masked some of the breed's best innate qualities. It's true that pit bulls make good fighting dogs, but not because they're inherently aggressive - they actually are not.
What drives them to fight is a seemingly insatiable longing to please their masters in any way they can. This desire makes them highly trainable, and they can learn quickly that attacking other animals is what makes their owners happy, if that is the case. Even in those cases in which aggression is taught and encouraged, it is almost always limited to other animals and not transferred to humans.
Russell Ashton, the founder and director of the Baltimore-based pit bull rescue Adopt-A-Homeless-Animal, agrees that pit bulls are unfairly maligned and explains that any aggressive tendencies are instilled by their human owners. "[Pit bulls] are prized for their gentle demeanor with people. Animal aggression and human aggression are two entirely different things and not to be confused."
Sure, there are pit bulls out there that would qualify as "aggressive." But I've also met lap dogs deserving of that epithet, among them, my grandmother's miniature dachshund who tore off part of my eyebrow when I was younger. Yes, a 12-pound dachshund - how embarrassing - but even so, I didn't allow that one incident to change my perception of the entire breed. "Blame the deed, not the breed," I and countless other animal advocates insist. But here in the city of Baltimore, at least, few seem to be listening.
A more appropriate pet policy, in my opinion, is to allow pets of all breeds and sizes to stay for a trial period (one month should suffice) during which their behavior can be monitored and assessed. If problems arise during those 30 days, then by all means, send the dog back to the pound, be it pit bull, golden retriever, or wiener dog. All I'm asking is for every breed to have a fair chance to prove itself.
