One Breed, A Million Excuses.

(crossposted from Topsy Turvy & Bloodshed)

One breed, a million excuses. At what point does one stop to consider, "hmmm, why does this particular breed require militant advocacy and excuse after excuse? Why does it require publicity and PR managers aggressively managing the 'breed image'?"

One of the wisest things I ever heard was from my father, "Never be with someone you have to make excuses for." The reason the issue is so complex is precisely because so many excuses have been disseminated so thoroughly they have been blindly accepted as fact.

If Myth Busters did a pitbull series they could easily run several seasons on it. Ridiculous.

The incessant stream of "it's the lie/fault of (insert anything/everything)!!" is like the abusive psychopath who blames the rest of the world for his self-created problems... any and every excuse, no matter how wrong or ridiculous... to deflect blame...

I don't even know if I can list all the excuses, lies, deflections, and smokescreens used by pit bull (and other dangerous dog) 'advocacy'. In the coming weeks--THIS POST WILL BE CONTINUALLY UPDATED*--I will attempt to provide information debunking every fallacious, empty 'talking point' issued by sociopaths eager to unwittingly perpetuate the wide-scale suffering and death of animals, people, and even the very breed they claim to love.

*note; updates will most frequently and first appear on Topsy-Turvy & Bloodshed and be secondarily edited here

The trash that needs to be taken out;

• The media has it out for pitbulls. (over-reports, misreports, under-reports on 'other breed attacks', 'never posts good stories', etc.)

http://thecaninegamechanger.blogspot.com/2014/08/the-media-is-plotting-against.html
http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2014/05/13/barbara-kay-attack-of-the-pit-bull-advocates/
http://www.daxtonsfriends.com/canine-myths-2/
http://sruv-pitbulls.blogspot.com/2013/08/la-times-opinion.html
http://sruv-pitbulls.blogspot.com/2014/05/anachronisms.html
http://sruv-pitbulls.blogspot.com/2011/06/natural-consequences.html

The Huffington Post is notorious about the SABSL community for deleting or outright blocking comments altogether from intelligent advocates posting hard facts and tragic evidence in response to their myriad fluff pieces that continually churn out tired and debunked myth after myth.  Presenting self-proclaimed shucksters that pronounce blatant falsehoods (like 'nanny dog' and 'man biters were culled' as gospel) as experts and pit bull lobbyist groups like they were sanctioned safety groups (the NCRC farce) decimates their credibility so much I read 'HuffPo' with all the consideration I give to The Onion or Fark threads.

• People can't/misidentify pit bulls (crucial in insinuating the attack/kill counts by pit bulls is much smaller than issued). ...and the related;

http://thetruthaboutpitbulls.blogspot.com/search/label/breed%20misidentification
http://blog.dogsbite.org/2014/01/2013-fatal-dog-attack-identification-photographs.html
http://www.daxtonsfriends.com/canine-myths-2/

The issue is further confused by the fact that shelter workers deliberately misidentify breed and many misguided animal workers will fraudulently issue a mislabel of a pit bull as a boxer-lab mix or some such to skirt BSL, landlord restrictions, or fraud insurance premiums.  Masses of people present these animals as something other-than, and the average Joe-blow would be hard pressed to comprehend breed as a result.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/09/140910132439.htm

• Staffordshire terriers and pit bulls are totally different breeds.

http://thecaninegamechanger.blogspot.com/2014/09/the-name-change-game-staffordshire.html

• BSL and/or mandatory spay/neuter is like the holocaust.

http://sruv-pitbulls.blogspot.com/2013/05/breed-holocaust.html

• Pit bull is not a breed.

http://www.daxtonsfriends.com/canine-myths-2/

• No dog has ever "scalped" a child.

http://blog.dogsbite.org/2009/11/collection-of-pit-bull-scalp-attack.html  Since 'moving the goalpost' is one of the most frequently employed nutter tactics (albeit still falling far behind ad hominem and outright deceit), I can't help but wonder how Miss S___ is going to try to disqualify the NINETY little humans scalped by dogs between December 1975 and September 2014 as 'children'.  If you include adults in the scalping count, the list easily topples 100.

note; the author of this blog is not F_____ W____, so if you want to contact me, hunting with those parameters won't work (that's what comments are for).  She is a mighty fine individual though.

• Pit bulls are only dog aggressive.

https://www.facebook.com/pitbullskilledmypet/timeline

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10202733152622969&set=o.262338993950254&type=1

http://www.dogsbite.org/blog-posts-dog-attacks-horses.php
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21475022

http://www.animals24-7.org/2014/03/22/how-many-other-animals-did-pit-bulls-kill-last-year/
http://www.fatalpitbullattacks.com
http://walkforvictimsofpitbulls.blogspot.com/ (warning; GRAPHIC images)http://cravendesires.blogspot.com/2010/01/happy-new-year.html (warning; GRAPHIC images)
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2186433/Dog-bite-hospital-admissions-rise--especially-children.html#ixzz23AkD4Eoa
http://dogsinservice.blogspot.com/2012/08/pit-bulls-and-other-dangerous-dogs-keep.html (warning; GRAPHIC images)
http://sruv-pitbulls.blogspot.com/2014/11/a-remedy-for-commissioner-philbrook.html

• Pit bulls are great service dogs.

http://thecaninegamechanger.blogspot.com/2014/02/not-service-breed.html

http://fatherofdax.tumblr.com/post/97625313027/

http://blog.dogsbite.org/2010/09/fully-vetted-pit-nutters-and-their.html

http://cravendesires.blogspot.com/2012/04/vintage-stunt-pit-picks.html

http://cravendesires.blogspot.com/2012/01/pit-bull-service-dogs-theyre-too_23.html

http://fatherofdax.tumblr.com/post/66220555500/every-6th-day-of-every-month-forever-nanny-dog
The reality is, pit bulls are fraudulent service dogs;
http://dogsinservice.blogspot.com/2012/02/bsl-and-service-dogs.html
http://thecaninegamechanger.blogspot.com/2014/02/service-dog-insanity-faux-crime-against.html
http://dogsinservice.blogspot.com/2012/04/first-i-want-to-say-that-reason-i.html

• Pit bulls are loyal and protective.

http://thecaninegamechanger.blogspot.com/2013/09/pitbull-loyalty-by-jenny-rosenquist.html
http://www.dogsbite.org/dog-bite-statistics-quick-statistics.php

• Pit bulls were nanny dogs.

http://thenannydogblog.blogspot.com

http://thetruthaboutpitbulls.blogspot.com/2010/08/nanny-dog-myth-revealed.html
http://cravendesires.blogspot.com/2013/05/badrap-surrenders-to-facts.html
http://www.daxtonsfriends.com/canine-myths-2/
https://www.facebook.com/BADRAP.org/posts/10151460774472399

• Falling coconuts kill more people than pit bulls. (wins the award for most ridiculous claim ever)

http://www.daxtonsfriends.com/2014/07/do-coconuts-kill-more-people-than-pit-bulls/

• Pit bulls were bred as farm dogs (or for any purpose other than dog-fighting and blood-sport).

http://blog.dogsbite.org/2010/07/pit-bulls-by-gary-wilkes-21st-century.html
http://dogsinservice.blogspot.com/2012/04/first-i-want-to-say-that-reason-i.html (warning; graphic image)
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2186433/Dog-bite-hospital-admissions-rise--especially-children.html#ixzz23AkD4Eoa

• Pit bulls were once so popular they were 'America's Dog'.

• Any/all dogs bite/kill.

http://www.dogsbite.org/pdf/1979-1998-breeds-dogs-involved-in-fatal-human-attacks-us.pdf
http://sruv-pitbulls.blogspot.com/2011/08/all-dogs-bite.html (warning; graphic images)
http://sruv-pitbulls.blogspot.com/2013/04/dogs-being-dogs.html

• Pit bull attacks are rare.

http://dangerousdognews.wordpress.com

And really, if you Google 'pit bull attack' http://goo.gl/j9GqZO on a weekly basis, discounting repeat stories, you'll easily find at least a dozen attacks, several of which are guaranteed to be unprovoked attacks on humans. (Lately, there has been a pattern of at least one life-flight a week--these attacks are severe.) 
Do this for a few weeks and even the most drug-addled, ADHD afflicted, sleep-deprived, half-literate spazmonkey will be able to discern some patterns--or at the very least the fact that these attacks are the exact opposite of rare.  The website I linked above is actually staffed by several people and they cannot keep up with reporting every attack.  All you have to do is pay attention.

• Only abused/neglected/fight-trained/provoked/unsocialized/untrained pit bulls attack. (Notice a lot of the self-countering there? They must be trained to fight/they must be trained not to fight, etc.?) ...and the related;

http://www.daxtonsfriends.com/canine-myths-2/

http://www.daxtonsfriends.com/chase-anthony-survivor-attacked-by-his-grandmothers-pit-bull-at-the-age-of-8-months/

http://blog.dogsbite.org/2013/07/beyond-the-interview-essay-of-a-fatal-pit-bull-mauling.html

http://www.daxtonsfriends.com/gavin-ray-guzman/

http://www.daxtonsfriends.com/kara-hartrich-bloomington-illinois-pit-bull/

http://voicesofthevictims.org/victims-stories/in-their-own-words/lukas/

http://www.daxtonsfriends.com/beau-rutledge/

http://www.daxtonsfriends.com/betty-anne-chapman-todd-victims-stories/

http://www.daxtonsfriends.com/zachary-wright-victims-stories/

http://17barks.blogspot.com/2013/12/an-anniversary-of-sorrow.html
http://walkforvictimsofpitbulls.blogspot.com/2014/05/zacharys-survival-story.html (warning; graphic images)
http://17barks.blogspot.com/2013/08/what-happened-to-gavin.html

• It's the owners not the dogs.

http://thetruthaboutpitbulls.blogspot.com/2014/03/the-truth-about-pit-bull-owners.html
http://www.daxtonsfriends.com/canine-myths-2/

• (While not pit bull specific it is still relevant to the conversation...)  Dogs are descendants of wolves/operate under a dominance hierarchy/need a strong pack leader/anything by Cesar Millan.

http://www.nonlineardogs.com/100MostSillyPart1.html

http://beyondcesarmillan.weebly.com/

• Pit bulls are just like any other dog/all dogs are the same/breed doesn't matter.

http://blog.dogsbite.org/2009/05/semyonova-heritability-of-behavior-in.html
http://www.scribd.com/doc/6472271/The-pit-bull-friend-or-killer-Is-the-Pit-bull-a-fine-animal-as-its-admirers-claim-or-is-it-a-vicious-dog-unfit-for-society

http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2013/01/02/barbara-kay-delusional-pitbull-owners-and-their-predictable-denials/
https://www.akc.org/press_center/article.cfm?article_id=5811#.VIkTzG1wRzE.facebook
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21475022
http://sruv-pitbulls.blogspot.com/2011/06/premacks-second-principle.html
https://www.akc.org/future_dog_owner/find_breed.cfmhttp://www.animalplanet.com/breed-selector/dog-breeds/laid-back-dog-breeds.html
http://www.animalplanet.com/breed-selector/dog-breeds/easy-to-train-dog-breeds.html
http://www.animalplanet.com/breed-selector/dog-breeds/family-dog-breeds.html
http://www.animalplanet.com/breed-selector/dog-breeds/energetic-dog-breeds.html
http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/articles/puppytemperamenttest.htm
http://www.outdoorlife.com/blogs/gun-dogs/2013/03/hunting-dogs-best-dog-breeds-every-game-species
http://sruv-pitbulls.blogspot.com/2012/02/gameness-viii.html
http://sruv-pitbulls.blogspot.com/p/are-not-equal.html

• BSL kills innocent dogs/punishes good owners.

http://www.animals24-7.org/2014/09/14/pit-bulls-the-personal-is-political/ 
(in the comments by site owner, writer, humanitarian, and decades-long dog statistician Merritt Clifton; in response to a comment claiming "What troubles me is that breed specific legislation does not take into account those individuals who indeed are not dangerous."

Clifton reveals; "This statement is categorically false. No breed-specific legislation has been enacted in either the U.S. or Canada which did not “grandfather” pit bulls who had been licensed, vaccinated against rabies, kept safely, and had no dangerous history.")

In many jurisdictions, part of the grandfathering clause may also require micro-chipping the dog, mandatory liability insurance, and specific containment/enclosure requirements. For any truly responsible owner well versed in the nature of their breed (it's extraordinary ability to defy normal dog measures of containment, for example), these are reasonable measures that--it could be argued--a truly responsible owner would already be taking.  

They certainly would be found no more 'punitive' to a 'good owner' than baby-proofing a home, using a properly installed, to-date car seat, regular pediatrician appointments, and the like are 'punitive' to a good parent.  Those who would find such measures 'punitive' would have to be lazy, miserly, ignorant/in denial, or as reckless as those who feel entitled to drive their vehicles without liability insurance, operate several ton equipment with the proper licensing, etc..

http://www.animals24-7.org/2014/09/10/obsessed-about-pit-bulls/  
BSL can save innocent dogs; 
"ANIMALS 24-7 does not believe that animal rights, animal welfare, or even just being kind to animals is advanced by protecting backyard breeders of fighting dogs from the passage of effective breed-specific legislation to prevent the births of a million pit bulls per year who will repeatedly flunk out of homes and be killed at the average age of 18 months."

• BSL doesn't work.

http://blog.dogsbite.org/2010/06/cities-with-successful-pit-bull-laws.html
http://www.animals24-7.org/2011/06/15/texas-fatal-dog-attacks-bring-proposed-life-sentence-new-breed-specific-injury-data/ (see; the section on Catalonia)
http://www.animals24-7.org/2014/08/24/four-year-old-killed-by-pit-bulls-because-miami-dade-law-was-not-enforced/
http://sruv-pitbulls.blogspot.com/2014/12/is-bsl-ineffective-expensive-and.html
http://sruv-pitbulls.blogspot.com/2014/11/a-remedy-for-commissioner-philbrook.html
http://sruv-pitbulls.blogspot.com/2013/08/the-ava-on-dangerous-dogs.html
http://sruv-pitbulls.blogspot.com/2014/12/coordinated-campaign.html
http://injuryprevention.bmj.com/content/early/2012/06/29/injuryprev-2012-040389.full.pdf+html

• "man-biters were culled."

http://thetruthaboutpitbulls.blogspot.com/2012/01/culling-manbiters-and-desecrating-truth.html?m=1
http://cravendesires.blogspot.com/2010/01/happy-new-year.html (warning; GRAPHIC images)
http://sruv-pitbulls.blogspot.com/2014/11/a-remedy-for-commissioner-philbrook.html
http://www.fatalpitbullattacks.com

Not only do pit bulls consistently attack and kill human beings since their inception; the rapidly ascending number of annual fatalities correlates with the spreading popularity of the pit bull as a companion and family pet.  An allegedly non-aggressive fighting dog should become less aggressive as it is proliferated for a different purpose (that of companion/pet), not more.  An animal handled under the auspices of love, nurturing, affection, and solace should have far less cause to bite than the brutally abused and mishandled fighting dogs that were allegedly 'dog-only' aggressive; and yet the tragic facts are showing us the inverse.  Neither history nor logical deduction support 'man-biters were culled'.

• Pit bulls rate better on temperament tests than other common family breeds/are a safe/stable dog.

http://thetruthaboutpitbulls.blogspot.com/2010/08/there-are-three-kinds-of-lies-lies.html
http://www.daxtonsfriends.com/canine-myths-2/
http://www.fatalpitbullattacks.com

• (insert name of person supporting BSL/exposing pit bull related lies/sharing pit bull related science fanatics don't like) is a bad person, look at (insert any manner of defamation methods a person can attempt). Essentially, a claim in the form of a personal attack; "don't believe anything this person says because they are a bad person."

http://thecaninegamechanger.blogspot.com/2014/12/the-problem-with-ad-hominem.html

https://yourlogicalfallacyis.com/ad-hominem

http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Argumentum_ad_hominem

• "Your breed is next./In the (insert decade here) it was the dobermans/rottweilers/German shepherds/(insert allegedly maligned breed here), now it's the pit bull..."

http://sruv-pitbulls.blogspot.com/2011/03/first-they-came-pastor-martin-niemoller.html

• BSL supporters are nothing more than 'haters', 'ignorant', 'have never known/owned/loved a pit bull'.

http://www.animals24-7.org/2014/09/14/pit-bulls-the-personal-is-political/

http://www.animals24-7.org/2014/09/10/why-pit-bulls-will-break-your-heart/

http://sruv-pitbulls.blogspot.nl/2014/09/douglas-anthony-cooper.html

http://sruv-pitbulls.blogspot.com/2014/09/collective-wrath-pt-1.html

http://www.animals24-7.org/2014/09/27/32-years-of-logging-fatal-disfiguring-dog-attacks/

http://www.daxtonsfriends.com/gavin-ray-guzman/

http://www.daxtonsfriends.com/kara-hartrich-bloomington-illinois-pit-bull/

http://voicesofthevictims.org/victims-stories/in-their-own-words/lukas/

http://www.daxtonsfriends.com/beau-rutledge/

http://www.daxtonsfriends.com/betty-anne-chapman-todd-victims-stories/

http://www.daxtonsfriends.com/zachary-wright-victims-stories/

http://17barks.blogspot.com/2013/12/an-anniversary-of-sorrow.html

• dogsbite.org is a bunch of lies made up by a pit bull hater.

• Animal experts support (insert any of the above claims).

http://daxtonsfather.wordpress.com/2014/09/17/some-doctors-and-dog-experts-thoughts-about-pit-bulls/

Some disturbing parallels

I'm writing a paper on secession for a US History class.  Part of that assignment is to present a chosen state's Ordinance of Secession (OoS)  http://www.lsjunction.com/docs/secesson.htm

My group was assigned TX, and I must pinpoint the states stated reasoning for it.  Many of these illogical assertions parallel the victim bullying, victim blaming, wrong recusing, and fact denying assertions of the pro pit bull movement.

First, it claims the union is denying a person's state-constitution rights; it is a Texan's right to own slaves!  So, too, it is with pit bull fanatics  who rally against BSL; it is a RIGHT to own a fighting breed dog no matter the cost; however, reasonable people understand this is not so.  

It should not be so.  Why?  Because we have a long standing precedent of regulating animal ownership for the collective safety of the communities we live in.  A person cannot own apex predator animals in the community at large; you cannot bring a bear or a tiger into highly populated area for the undeniable threat they pose to the surrounding people.

In many places, other animals are restricted from city/town propers for the same reason.  For example, in some areas, you must obtain a permit to bring a horse into town.  These animals are irrefutably less vicious* than pit bulls.  However, their biology makes them powerful and skittish.  Pit bull biology makes the dogs powerful, bold, unstable, and devastatingly destructive when they go off.
*note; there are equestrian related deaths, however these are the result of a rider without a helmet falling from the horse and sustaining fatal head injuries.  The horse does not attack a person, or consciously seek to harm them.

A person cannot import exotics into certain areas because they are highly problematic as an invasive species--they threaten the ecosystems around them, indirectly so to humans.  It is not so as pit bulls. You'd be hard pressed to make a week without an occurrence of a pitbulls breaking off lead/containment to attack members of the community.

Another portion of the ordinance classify the few fatal skirmishes between law enforcement protecting freed slaves as "murders". It is truly sad when anyone or thing dies as a result of violence, but classifications of homicide are issued according to context (self-defense, unforeseeable accidents, and acting under military orders are not classified as murder, for example).

Even when a person's child or animal is mercilessly attacked and they have no choice but to kill the dog to end the attack(1), even when a police officer is charged full-on by a pit bull--even when said pitbull had just commenced an attack on another person or animal, even when police fire upon a pitbull because the pit bulls own family is being mauled relentlessly and BEG him to do it.... (2)  Pit bull fanatics cry foul, make a martyr of the aggressor, label the officer a murder, hold protests against him, and demand his termination. (3)  Acting as a public servant to fulfill their sworn duty to protect and serve, or to save yourself or your loved ones from a vicious attacker hell-bent on killing is not murder.

Secessionists cried natural law and that slavery is a divine institution sanctified by The Creator.  We all know this is not so.  Scientific evidence--fact--proves to us that differences among the races are arbitrary At best.  It's plain physiology.  

The scientific physiology of a pit bull is riddled with dangerous biological markers. (4)  If you've ever heard someone call a pit bull a "ticking time bomb", this is why; Pitbulls are endowed with brain structures that are exaggeratedly different; their impulse control is greatly diminished, Their brain rewards idiopathic (unprovoked, suddenly without warning, and extreme in severity and duration) aggression with a powerful cocktail of opioids and dopamine.  It physically rewards violence.  Their blood clotting factor is supreme above all canids  to keep them "in the fight" for as long as possible.  

The observable precedent of behavior (which we all acknowledge as being able to be discerned as innate through observation in collies herding, labs retrieving, etc.) that plays out on a daily basis is that these dogs  Are spontaneously violent, their attacks incredibly implacable, and that they are not target specific.  

They will maul people--any person, including family, not solely aggressors or abusers), animals of every kind, and even vehicles when they are in the zone.  Science proves pit bulls are a significantly elevated risk to life and limb just as it proves that, among human races, no one race is smarter, stronger, or cleaner than another.

The OoS states the union was on a power trip and sought to destroy southern institutions.
Fanatics howl that SABSL proponents are seeking to--for no reason imaginable--to destroy dog ownership and that other breeds are ominously next.  This is a wholly unsubstantiated claim designed to recast those championing a safe society for all as hate filled extremists who relish in "destruction" for destruction's sake... And wholly ignores the fact that even pit bulls themselves benefit from regulation. In areas where even mild BSL is present, the rate of severe bite injuries and fatalities plummet dramatically, leaving less "negative press" for the breed, in addition to plummeting dog-fighting, dog-abuse,  crammed-to-the-gills (and therefore compromised standards of care) shelters, and pit bull euthanasia rates. (5)

In the OoS, there is also an assertion that abolition fractured and divided people, and while this is true, that does not make abolition wrong.  Disagreement is not grounds for ignoring an issue.  Anything but.

The South issued that the north was acting vicious economically, seeking to destroy southern industry to somehow (the regions largely traded wholly different products--manufacturing, fishing, timber, textiles, etc.  In the north, sprawling plantations and cash crops in the south) fill their own pockets.  Basically, it's all about money.  Pit bull fanatics claim victims are just frauds seeking to solicit charity moneys for personal gain, and even proclaim that dogsbite.org pays large sums of money to people to "make up stories".  This ignores the fact that behind every attack is a victim with very real, crippling, lifelong, or fatal injuries.

These injuries are evidenced by witnesses and medical treatment, and they are not "easy" ones--missing eyes, ears, noses (6), scalps (7), limbs (8), permanent nerve damage (9), loss of function (10), brain damage (11), etc..  Many of these People have medical bills that exponentially soar above the alleged "bribe", additionally, singular bribes would be grossly ineffective in "converts".  

A much more effective and profitable endeavor—taking a page from the pitbull advocacy play book) would be to generate propaganda films and "documentaries" (another parallel--the early 1900s saw the production of race based "documentaries" espousing the alleged inferiority Of non-whites (12), peppered with gross amounts of junk "science" to support it.) and aggressively and Consistently make media fluff plays.

When Kevin Vicente had his face partially torn off, his family set up a fund that received a measly 5K for months, while a "save Mickey"--the dog that mauled him--campaign received tens of thousands of dollars and support in a few weeks. (13) This is not uncommon... It is substantially more lucrative to generate money through a pro pit bull scam than a victim plea.

1 Man stabs pit bull in defense of tiny Westie 
2 Family begs cop to shoot pit bull 
3 Pit bull protesters want police officer fired 
4 Pitbull physiology 
5 Successful BSL 
6 Mauled faces--eyes, ears, noses
7 Scalped pit bull victims
8 Pit bull victim amputees
9 Nerve damaged pit bull victims
10 Disabled pit bull victims
11 Brain damaged pit bull victims
12 Racist Propaganda films (and other media)
13 Kevin Vicente and Mickey the pit bull 

The Name Change Game; Staffordshire terrier = pit bull

Have you ever heard the question, or wondered for yourself;

"What's the difference between Staffordshire Terriers and Pit Bulls?"

(or any variation thereof)

People often encounter the mention of Staffordshire terriers in any arena of pitbull conversation.  Staffordshires are referenced as a wholly separate breed from pitbulls, and on this faulty premise, people typically make several assumptions/assertions;

1. The given; these are different breeds.  Ergo, many traits--especially behavior--may or may not be shared, any more so than any other breed from one to the other.  (That in itself is a faulty premise but that's a post for another day.)
2. They have different histories and purposes.
3. People cannot tell one from the other, or they are often confused for one another.
4. Because of this, people confuse the two, the statistics on pitbull/staffordshire attacks can't possibly be accurate or relevant.
5. This claim is unspoken, but heavily implied by the aforementioned; BSL (breed specific legislation) does not work.  Why it's relevant is because one of the very few hats anti-BSL advocates hangs its hat on is the (statistically) insignificant drop in bite/attack rates since the UK banned pitbulls.  This might, perhaps, somehow signify something if Staffordshire terriers and pitbulls were truly wholly different animals, as different from each other as, say, Cocker Spaniels and malamutes, but an unspoken fact is important to bear: the pitbull ban did not include Staffordshire terriers.

Why does that matter?

Because Staffordshire terriers are about as different from pit bulls as chocolate labs are to yellow labs.

The AKC doesn't recognize pitbulls by their common title; the American Pit Bull Terrier (APBT for short), but does recognize the breed under the more formal and more confusing title; American Staffordshire terrier (often nicknamed 'AmStaff' 'Am Staff' or even the slightly more transparent 'Am Bully').  

It is the same breed.  

The AKC initially refused to acknowledge and set a standard for the pitbull breed precisely because of its undivorceable dog-fighting origin and purpose.  (In fact, the AKC's initial rejection was the whole reason the UKC was formed--to serve as a kennel club that recognized fighting breed dogs, and in fact, a pitbull had to have won three fights to be eligible for recognition(1).)

The American Kennel Club advertises the American Staffordshire's history as thus(2);

Until the early 19th century, the Bulldog used for bull baiting in England was more active and longer-legged than the breed as we know it today. It is thought that the cross of this older Bulldog and a game terrier breed created the Staffordshire Terrier. Originally called the Bull-and-Terrier Dog, Half and Half or Pit Dog, it became known as the Staffordshire Bull Terrier in England. When accepted for AKC registration in 1936, the name changed to American Staffordshire Terrier to reflect the heavier American type and to distinguish them as separate breeds.

The history of the pitbull:  When bull-baiting was outlawed in England, gambling sadists turned to pitting dogs against each other... and for this purpose, they crossed the Olde English Bulldogge (spelling verbatim)--for aggression and strength, especially jaw power--with terrier breeds for speed, agility, tenacity, and prey-drive.  When dog-fighting was outlawed, many dogmen took their bloodsport overseas to the Americas, where it had yet to be outlawed.  This 'migration and separation' was a historically  recent occurrence.  Aside from getting a little bigger than their English ancestors (which was also a tandem phenomena in humans as well--but in both, only marginally at best), the differences are negligible.   

Every line up to but the last is the pitbull's history (3), verbatim... all the key players and words are present;

• bull-baiting
• english bulldogs
• terriers
• bull and terrier
• pit dog

But there are heavy omissions.  The entirety of the reason for the breed's inception, for example... why exactly it is these dog 'fanciers' decided to cross bulldogs with terriers?? DOG.FIGHTING.  No other reason.  Adequate and fantastic family, guard, farm, hunting,  tracking, retrieving, assistance breeds... all already existed (many by centuries, if not more), were present, and accessible in the area.  People were much more pragmatic about dogs in those times. As mercenary as it sounds to modern cream puffs; they were a means to an end.  

Why take a smaller,  more controllable, portable, sustainable, and companionable dog that 'got the job done' (whether it be herding, ratting, etc.) and make it larger, more unpredictable, more costly in resources (feed, etc.), and more difficult to handle?  It sure wasn't for gently guiding livestock or babysitting, I can tell you that.  Disturbingly,
especially the trusting due given them, the UKC and AKC won't.  They even go one step further and continue endangering families and perpetuating blatantly false perceptions that are getting pets and people maimed and killed on a mass scale;

Right Breed for You?The Am Staff is a people-oriented dog that thrives when he is made part of the family and given a job to do. Although friendly, this breed is loyal to his family and will protect them from any threat. His short coat is low-maintenance, but regular exercise and training is necessary.

A mess of Staffordshire owner-victims would beg to differ about the breed's loyalty and threat level.  Comb news archives (4) and you'll drown in the overwhelming testimony of this.  Opponents of BSL like to claim that BSL 'doesn't work' by citing the fairly undiminished number of bites and serious attacks overseas.  Perhaps  that is because BSL wasn't implemented to the fullest as it pertains to fighting breeds--Staffordshires are legal there, and so all the pitbull owners have to do is relabel the same dog and it passes for the other breed because... well, the other breed isn't really 'another breed'.  It is the same dog, different name.

Sadly, too many people take kennel clubs to be the be-all-end-all of dog knowledge and professionalism.  It is important to remember these are not charity groups or educational institutions... these are, first, foremost, and always, a business.  These groups operate with financial agendas.  Papers, dog shows, breeding licenses, schutzhund events... there is money in dogs--if you're working through a Kennel Club.  It's rather telling, that the next line under the breed propaganda is, replete with link to purchase;

If you are considering purchasing an American Staffordshire Terrier puppy, learn more here.

The UKC's description and history of the pitbull not only omits the inherent danger of pitbulls as companion animals, but goes a step further to wholly falsify the breed history and purpose.  They assert the dogs were bred for farm work or boar hunting, but fail to provide historical evidence supporting this.  Even pro-pitbull literature peppered with the usual arsenal of deflections, deceptions, and excuses acknowledge the breed's fighting origins. (5)

Given the earlier mention of how the UKC came to be, it should be no surprise that the fruit of men who had no compunctions about disregarding the well-being of living beings for sadistic spectacle and monetary gain... would have equally no conscience about continuing to mislead and endanger countless more, despite the snowballing death-toll rising with it.

The image--interesting to note that it is not of a 'whole' dog but one with the cropped ears and docked tail that typify fighting dogs and tend to change the whole visage of an animal--accompanying the AKC's history of the Staffordshire terrier is;

looks like s/he's got a few long lost siblings here:

oh wait... those are purebred pitbulls

How arbitrary are the differences between these allegedly separate breeds?  From inception of a breed standard in both the UKC and AKC, people have, and CONTINUE TO double-register (5) their dogs as pitbulls and Staffordshires.  The very same dog can have an AKC paper reading 'Staffordshire' and a UKC paper reading 'APBT'.  For example, this female purebred pitbull (left) won best in show in BOTH an AKC Staffordshire placing and a UKC show:
The breeder from which she springs profusely brags the dual awards her dogs routinely receive.  (6)
 This is wholly legal and acceptable, and using the Staffordshire moniker is an oft employed means of skirting breed restrictions.  The average landlord may be frustratingly thwarted by this.  They look at the animal and know it is a pitbull, but may not know what to do if someone shoves a 'Staffordshire' breed paper in their face, unawares that they are officially one in the same in the professional dog circuits.  Flagrantly disguising breed via name is far from a new tactic meant to confuse the public at large. (7)

Breed Standards:

Comparing and Contrasting the AKC's American Staffordshire Terrier and the UKC's American Pit Bull Terrier's breed standards

AKC Breed Standard  (8)

UKC Breed Standard  (9)

AKC

Head: Medium length, deep through, broad skull, very pronounced cheek muscles, distinct stop; and ears are set high

UKC

Head: It is large and broad, giving the impression of great power, but it is not disproportionate to the size of the body. Viewed from the front, the head is shaped like a broad, blunt wedge. When viewed from the side, the skull and muzzle are parallel to one another and joined by a well defined, moderately deep stop. Supraorbital arches over the eyes are well defined but not pronounced. The head is well chiseled, blending strength, elegance, and character.  Very Serious Fault: Overly large, heavy heads.

AKC
Ears - Cropped or uncropped, the latter preferred. Uncropped ears should be short and held rose or half prick. Full drop to be penalized.
UKC
Ears - Ears are high set and may be natural or cropped without preference. Prick, or flat, wide ears* are not desired.

*aka full drop

AKC

Eyes - Dark and round, low down in skull and set far apart. No pink eyelids.

UKC
Eyes - Eyes are medium size, round and set well apart and low on the skull. All colors are equally acceptable except blue, which is a serious fault. Haw should not be visible.

AKC

Muzzle- Medium length, rounded on upper side to fall away abruptly below eyes. Jaws well defined. Under-jaw to be strong and have biting power. Lips close and even, no looseness. Upper teeth to meet tightly outside lower teeth in front. Nose definitely black.

UKC

Muzzle - The muzzle is broad and deep with a very slight taper from the stop to the nose, and a slight falling away under the eyes. The length of muzzle is shorter than the length of skull, with a ratio of approximately 2:3. The topline of the muzzle is straight. The lower jaw is well developed, wide and deep. Lips are clean and tight  The American Pit Bull Terrier has a complete set of evenly spaced, white teeth meeting in a scissors bite.  Faults: Snipey muzzle; flews; weak lower jaw. The nose is large with wide, open nostrils. The nose may be any color.

Here, here we see the first and only definitive difference between the breed standards--the color of a dog's nose. Asserting that the trait of nose pigmentation is somehow indicative of a behavior aspect of form meets function* is a  task that would best even champions of  mental gymnastics.

*See dog behaviorist Alexandra Semyonova's"Heritability of behavior" (10) and the relevant section on  physical-behavioral body conformation

AKC

Neck: Heavy, slightly arched, tapering from shoulders to back of skull. No looseness of skin. Medium length.

UKC

Neck:  The neck is of moderate length and muscular. There is a slight arch at the crest. The neck widens gradually from where it joins the skull to where it blends in to well laid-back shoulders. The skin on the neck is tight and without dewlap.

Faults: Neck too thin or weak; ewe neck; dewlap.

AKC
Shoulders: Strong and muscular with blades wide and sloping.

UKC

Shoulders:  The shoulder blades are long, wide, muscular, and well laid back. The upper arm is roughly equal in length to the shoulder blade and joins it at an apparent right angle.

AKC
Back: Fairly short. Slight sloping from withers to rump with gentle short slope at rump to base of tail. 

UKC

Back:  The back is strong and firm. The topline inclines very slightly downward from the withers to a broad, muscular, level back.

AKC
Body: Well-sprung ribs, deep in rear. All ribs close together. Chest deep and broad.  Loins slightly tucked.

UKC

Body:  The chest is deep, well filled in, and moderately wide with ample room for heart and lungs, but the chest should never be wider than it is deep. The forechest does not extend much beyond the point of shoulder. The ribs extend well back and are well sprung from the spine, then flattening to form a deep body extending to the elbows. The topline inclines very slightly downward from the withers to a broad, muscular, level back. The loin is short, muscular and slightly arched to the top of the croup, but narrower than the rib cage and with a moderate tuck-up. The croup is slightly sloping downward.

AKC
Tail: Short in comparison to size, low set, tapering to a fine point; not curled or held over back. Not docked.

UKC

Tail:  The tail is set on as a natural extension of the topline, and tapers to a point. When the dog is relaxed, the tail is carried low and extends approximately to the hock. When the dog is moving, the tail is carried level with the backline. When the dog is excited, the tail may be carried in a raised, upright position (challenge tail), but never curled over the back (gay tail). Fault: Long tail (tail tip passes beyond point of hock).

AKC

Legs:  Forelegs set rather wide apart to permit chest development. The front legs should be straight, large or round bones, pastern upright. No semblance of bend in front. Hindquarters well-muscled, let down at hocks, turning neither in nor out. Feet of moderate size, well-arched and compact. Gait must be springy but without roll or pace.

UKC

Legs:  The forelegs are strong and muscular. The elbows are set close to the body. Viewed from the front, the forelegs are set moderately wide apart and perpendicular to the ground. The pasterns are short, powerful, straight, and flexible. When viewed in profile, the pasterns are nearly erect. 

Faults: Upright or loaded shoulders; elbows turned outward or tied-in; down at the pasterns; front legs bowed; wrists knuckled over; toeing in or out.The feet are round, proportionate to the size of the dog, well arched, and tight. Pads are hard, tough, and well cushioned. Dewclaws may be removed.

AKC
Coat: Short, close, stiff to the touch, and glossy.

UKC
Coat:  The coat is glossy and smooth, close, and moderately stiff to the touch.  Faults: Curly, wavy, or sparse coat.

AKC
Color: Any color, solid, parti, or patched is permissible, but all white, more than 80 per cent white, black and tan, and liver not to be encouraged.

UKC

Color: Any color, color pattern, or combination of colors is acceptable, except for merle(11)

Merle A marking pattern, used in conjunction with another color, to describe Shetland Sheepdogs, Collies, Great Danes, and Australian Shepherds. The color is characterized by a marbling effect of dark patches against a lighter background of the same color

AKC

Size: Height and weight should be in proportion. A height of about 18 to 19 inches at shoulders for the male and 17 to 18 inches for the female is to be considered preferable.

UKC

Size:  The American Pit Bull Terrier must be both powerful and agile; overall balance and the correct proportion of weight to height, therefore, is far more important than the dog’s actual weight and/or height.
Desirable weight for a mature male in good condition is between 35 and 60 pounds. Desirable weight for a mature female in good condition is between 30 and 50 pounds.
As a general and approximate guideline only, the desirable height range for mature males is from 18 to 21 inches at the withers; for mature females it is from 17 to 20 inches at the withers.
It is important to note that dogs over or under these weight and height ranges are not to be penalized unless they are disproportionately massive or rangy.
Very Serious Fault: Excessively large or overly massive dogs and dogs with a height and/or weight so far from what is desired as to compromise health, structure, movement and physical ability.

Here is an AmStaff that won 'best in show' according to the AKC:

A purebred pitbull:

Another Staffordshire Best in Show:

Purebred pitbulls:

Another Staffordshire competitor:

Purebred pitbulls:

So here we have it, a detailed description defining each breed; identical in every which way sans one--the color of the dog's nose.  It's a stark irony that pitbull fanatics claim people who distinguish between breeds as it pertains to their heavily contrasting traits... (for no fool could confuse the very different breed standards for, say, a dalmatian versus a chow, a chow versus a beagle, a  St.Bernard versus a greyhound, or a chihuahua versus a pitbull) ...and yet are so adamant about separating, scrutinizing, and distinguishing between dogs with the very same sort of arbitrary differences that compose human 'race' (i.e. color, pigment, geographical origin or placement.)  These deliberate confusions may be why Miami Dade County, Florida, applies 47 different points of identification when scrutinizing dogs as it pertains to the pitbull ban. (12)  They apply the race argument where it is most faulty, and are conspicuously quiet where it would reveal contradiction and hypocrisy.

I'm a real Yorkie.

No... a Staffordshire is to a pitbull as a chocolate lab is to a golden or black lab.  These are not genuinely different breeds; just the same dogs, each of a different color  stripe.  This is the only adequate canine comparison to the very arbitrary pigmental differences among human races, and it does not work in the pitbull  fantasists' favor, because it truly deepens the scope of the breed specific problem.  This is why, when I speak of pitbulls, I am speaking inclusively of any of the deceptive attempts at other-breed-names (6)...  when I say pitbull, I include APBT, Am Staffs, bull dogs, pit terriers, American Bull Terriers, Yankee terriers, St. Francis terriers, New Yorkies, American bulldogs, Staffordshire Terriers, and any other ridiculous or diversionary name for the

bloodsport blend of English bulldogs and terriers that emerged post-bull-baiting-bans.  These are what I speak of when I use the term 'bully breeds'.

So what does this all come down to, when referring to what these names denote?  Geography, and maybe, weight.  A Staffordshire is a pitbull across the Atlantic.  An APBT is a pitbull in America.  It may or may not be a little heavier in general, but that is understandable considering the obesity epidemic in the US (just stating facts, not meaning to disparage!).  These differences are arbitrary at best; being a Staffordshire terrier makes a ancestral-pit-fighting dog no more different an animal from an APBT than an American man moving to London makes him a different animal.  

Sure, there are cultural issues and such, but c'mon now... animals are too cognitively simplistic to be affected in the myriad and nuanced ways people are by advanced abstract concepts such as national identity, politics, history, etc..  Locale does not re-write a dog's cognitive abilities, behaviors, genetics, and other pre-existing predispositions.  Though cliched to death, I will paraphrase Shakespeare, "What's in a name? Does a rose by any other name smell not as sweet?"

No, the purpose of the Staffordshire name continues as it began--to distance an animal from it's true, 'unsavory' history, to confuse the breed-danger issue, to mislead, to con, and falsify numbers to skew statistics in ways the average Joe will not be aware of.  Much like spouting the nanny-dog myth, anyone authoritatively asserting/arguing about differentiating between Staffordshire's and pitbulls as wholly different breeds outs themselves--in a highly visible way and easily identifiable way...  as someone who does not know what they're really talking about, vibrantly displays their ignorance of history and biology, and consideration should be given with accordance to their massive deficit in verifiable knowledge.

(1) The History of the Pit Bull Breed -- subsection on the formation of the UKC and dog-fighting  http://www.dogsbite.org/pdf/faq-pit-bulls-dogsbite.pdf
(2) AKC History of the American Staffordshire Terrier  https://www.akc.org/breeds/american_staffordshire_terrier/index.cfm
(3) History of the American Pit Bull Terrier  http://www.daxtonsfriends.com/american-pit-bull-terrier/
(4)  Google 'staffordshire attack' https://www.google.com/search?q=staffordshire+terrier+attack&rlz=1C1CHFX_enUS575US575&oq=staffordshire+terrier+attack&aqs=chrome..69i57j0l5.3718j0j4&sourceid=chrome&es_sm=122&ie=UTF-8#q=staffordshire+terrier+attacks
(5) Section of pro-pit lit on fighting origins and purpose breeding http://books.google.com/books?id=oYQPNdO17o0C&pg=PP21&lpg=PP21&dq=dual+register+american+staffordshire+terrier+american+pit+bull+terrier&source=bl&ots=ePZwS09-9w&sig=TpcH7SwWI9b0WfLTKXDk_xtJ7lc&hl=en&ei=MdSsTaDKM8WV0QGz4dXBCw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CBwQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q&f=false
(6)  Deliberately relabeling pitbulls http://www.dogsbite.org/dangerous-dogs-pit-bull-owners.php#disguisebreed
(7) Heritability of Behavior in the Abnormally Aggressive Dog  http://www.scribd.com/doc/14810086/Heritability-of-Behavior-in-the-Abnormally-Aggressive-Dog-by-A-Semyonova
(8)    Merle https://www.akc.org/about/glossary.cfm#merl
(9)   AKC Breed Standard  https://www.akc.org/breeds/american_staffordshire_terrier/breed_standard.cfm
(10)   UKC Breed Standard http://www.ukcdogs.com/Web.nsf/Breeds/Terrier/AmericanPitBullTerrier
(11)  Breeder's dogs routinely compete and succeed as BOTH 'Staffies' and pitbulls  http://www.mountbrieramstaffs.com/
(12)   Miami-Dade Pitbull Ordinance  http://www.miamidade.gov/animals/library/pit-bull-ordinance-89-22.pdf