Why "MY pit bull is sweet" is an epic fail in dangerous dog discourse

By: Jenny R

Like the other notes, this is a work in progress, and I will be adding to it later.  Too tired to translate any formatting right now, so I'll just post as is, for now;

...but MY  dog is sweeter than honey!

-or-

...MY  dog would NEVER--!

far too many innocent people have learned--in the worst way possible--that "no history of aggression" is meaningless when it comes this breed's unpredictable, volatile savagery    One of the most frustrating aspects of engaging in discourse with p-nuts is their affinity for throwing out irrelevant personal anecdotes as universal gospel/evidence.  Time and again, the same "MY PET is blahblahnobleawesomeangelicmeekwhatever/would never whatevermorewhargarrrble" drivel is regurgitated as if it were any viable indicator of the breed's danger potential.     

However, given that it usually tails intelligent awareness advocate explanations* (replete with evidence and objective-third-party-data) of why that isn't part of the conversation (because good behavior today has been shown to proffer a fatally false sense of security when it comes to behavior of tommorow), it's clear that this diatribe serves as nothing more than a time-waster and a means of willingly blind pit-owners to feel sanctimonious and better-than-thou...

*this is made painfully clear by Jeff Borchardt's personal expose on the matter, illustrating the same kind of psychotic mental abuse (committed by p-nuts against others) that countless victims and their families endure.http://fatherofdax.tumblr.com/post/64410905561/not-all-pit-bulls-are-bad   

The "owner/victim=the problem" lie makes them feel "enlightened" and noble, because, under that premise, they are a "good owner", and/or are cognitively superior to others.  When collaborating with like-[empty] minded individuals, these frivalous exclamations are a transparent "insider"-circle-jerk, and when offered in the context of victim blaming and tragedy, it's sadistic and insane.

The truth bears repeating, as many times as it takes to get it to sink in to someone out there.  Unfortunately, the tide of individuals open-minded and evolved enough to consider all the facts is excruciatingly small.  Still, for even that tiny percentage, laid bare here is the painful evidence that, penultimately, no matter how self-deluded and wishful p-nuts are, it is absolute fallacy to derail about sappy-dappy personal anecdotes as if they had any real bearing on the topic.

      The wake of blood demolishing families that previously cried, "My dog has never"/my dog is--" swells as "America's Dog" defies its alleged "loyalty" to destroy it's very family/advocates, and are not exclusively "acting out" because of "bad" owners. (Lest you consider people who care for, feed, chip, vaccinate, spay/neuter, appropriately contain, rearrange their yards/homes/lives to accomodate, train in obedience/service dog classes, and love  their dogs to be "bad" owners.)   

Intertwined with this disparity between p-nut fantasy and stark reality,... is the twin falsehood that the animals have to be provoked (ergo not being culpable for its attack) to explode into violence.

what prompts a pit bull attack

because p-nut proclamation vehemently denies idiopathic aggression exists, and that "SOMETHING" must've triggered the animal

DogsBite.org - We've placed together a list of pit bull attack triggers, routine activities that launch a pit bull into a full-fledged attack. Due to selective breeding for the purposes of dogfighting1 -- pit bulls were artificially selected to attack unpredictably, to "hold on and shake,"2 and to hide warning signals before an attack -- the pit bull breed often demonstrates "hair trigger" arousal. Pit bull owners often try to blame these mundane activities on explosive pit bull aggression.3

Triggers that Prompt a Pit Bull to Attack:

• being an animal control officer
• being a mail carrier
• being a gas worker
• being a landscaper
• being a police officer
• being a public works em
• ployee
• being in a wheelchair
• being pregnant
• burrowing a blender
• disciplining your dog
• driving a vehicle
• dropping a glass
• falling down
• feeding the dog
• getting neutered
• getting off a bus
• getting the mail
• getting the newspaper
• handing someone a phone
• hanging decorations
• having a dog on your lap
• having a seizure
• having a smoke
• hearing an argument
• hearing thunder
• holding a clipboard

• holding a mailbag
• holding a stuffed animal
• hopping off a couch
• jumping on a trampoline
• knocking on a front door
• letting your dog out
• mowing your lawn
• opening a car door
• opening your front door
• playing in your backyard
• playing in your front yard
• playing on a playground
• playing on a swing set
• reaching for your purse        
• reading a bible
• remodeling your home
• running from bees
• saving a family from a fire
• seeing a cat run up tree
• seeing a dog inside a house
• seeing a horse
• seeing a squirrel
• run up tree
• seeing a leashed dog
• seeing an unleashed dog

• sitting on a bed
• sitting on your spouse's lap
• showing your spouse affection
• sitting in a stroller
• sitting in a tire swing
• sitting in a wagon
• sitting on your porch
• slipping on ice
• smelling "baby formula"
• standing in your backyard
• standing in your garage
• stepping on an ant pile
• the act of bicycling
• the act of driving
• the act of gardening
• the act of sex
• the act of jogging
• the act of sleeping
• the sound of clapping
• the sound of screaming
• taking out the trash
• walking on a beach
• walking down a path
• walking down a road
• walking down a sidewalk

• walking a snack sized dog
• undergoing dialysis
• unloading bags from a car
• watching TV
• waiting for a bus

1The abnormal behavior of "dogs bred for fighting" is well documented. Page 133 of Lockwood's "The Ethology and Epidemiology of Canine Aggression," is an excellent example.

2In the medical study, "Pit Bull Attack: Case Report and Literature," the doctors note the "hold and shake" bite style of the breed and liken a pit bull attack to a shark attack.

3We also ran across one person who said she saw a pit bull attack a plastic statue of a dog in a PetSmart.

Shared reader experiences and commentary expand the scope of the problem;

Anonymous Mrs.Poodle  |  8/05/2008 8:32 AM  |  Flag

There is only one reason and that is a gene that causes a defect in the brain which expresses itself in aggressive behavior and the inability to control this behavior. It's not 'how you raise them', it's not what you do or don't do, it's in their genes.Anonymous Anonymous  |  8/06/2008 5:52 AM  |  Flag

Add calling kids in for dinner:http://www.wtol.com/Global/story.asp?S=8792832http://blog.dogsbite.org/2008/08/triggers-what-prompts-pit-bull-to.htmlAnonymous

Anonymous  |  8/06/2008 6:05 AM  |  FlagAnother gardening frenzy:http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19894844&BRD=1699&PAG=461&dept_id=46371&rfi=6

Anonymous Anonymous  |  8/07/2008 10:38 AM  |  FlagThe list continues to increase for pit bull triggers. This time it is a man talking (talking not yelling) at his wife.http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080807/NEWS03/743916320/-1/NEWS

Blogger vintage  |  9/25/2011 3:41 AM  |  Flag

Add swarm of bees...http://www.cbs8.com/story/15524392/december-trial-date-set-for-mother-and-daughter-charged-in-pit-bull-attack?redirected=trueBlogger Anne in Decatur  |  12/26/2011 10:25 PM  |  Flag

Add being a storm door. A pit bull came up out of nowhere and started chewing at my door, it was trying to get in my house. I was so scared it was going to get in, and I had my 9 month old son with me.

Anonymous Anonymous  |  6/23/2013 8:37 PM  |  Flag

My neighbor (in an apt building in nyc) has a pit bull. 7 months ago, the dog lunged at me, his mouth open. The owner pulled it back before anything happened. I told the owner to put a muzzle on the dog. He refused. I wrote to the building management. Twice. Nothing happened. In fact, the owner blamed ME and said I exaggerated the lunge, which I didn't (I'm just not the type of person who exaggerates and I love dogs, was raised with them so have nothing against them.) Tonight, I was in the garbage room on my floor, I opened the door to go to my apt and the pitbull and her owner had just come around the corner. They were about 15 feet in front of me. The dog suddenly started barking, snarling, trying to break free from his leash and come to me. She literally looked like she was nearly foaming at the mouth. The owner dragged her towards the elevator as if NOTHING HAPPENED. I am scared for my life now. What can I do since my building is doing nothing?

Blogger Sputnik2009  |  8/25/2013 9:40 AM  |  Flag

Add another trigger: quietly reading the Bible while sitting in front of your own home:http://www.abc3340.com/story/23243826/child#.UhjZi73VeMQ.facebook

Just because a pitbull has not shown aggression to-date, does not guarantee safety from future attack, which, almost universally, springs without warning.  There is no guarantee that familiarity with the animal will predispose a person to anticipate an attack and respond pre-emptively to prevent it.  "Knowing" a pitbull offers no protection against an animal turning "dead game", even if that "knowing" spans many years of uneventful interaction.

Reporting from dogsbite.org:

Despite pro-pit bull claims that pit bulls are not unpredictable, the breed frequently attacks without provocation or warning. It is well documented by humane groups that to excel in dogfighting, pit bulls were selectively bred to conceal warning signals prior to an attack. For instance, a pit bull may not growl, bare its teeth or offer a direct stare before it strikes. Unlike all other dog breeds, pit bulls are also disrespectful of traditional signs of submission and appeasement.16

According to expert Randall Lockwood, pit bulls are also liars. In a 2004 law enforcement training video, taped when Lockwood was vice president for research and educational outreach for the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), he shares the following story:    "Fighting dogs lie all the time. I experienced it first hand when I was investigating three pit bulls that killed a little boy in Georgia. When I went up to do an initial evaluation of the dog's behavior, the dog came up to the front of the fence, gave me a nice little tail wag and a "play bow" -- a little solicitation, a little greeting. As I got closer, he lunged for my face."17

If a pit bull can fool an expert such as Lockwood, how can the average citizen anticipate a pit bull's future action? In a separate example, animal behavioral expert Peter Borchelt was sued after the pit bull he was training for a client "suddenly" attacked an ex-fireman. After encountering Gabriel Febbraio on the street and assuring him that the pit bull was friendly, the dog broke free from Borchelt and attacked Febbraio in the groin.

http://www.dogsbite.org/dangerous-dogs-pit-bull-myths.php

Expert not surprised

Benjamin Hart, professor emeritus at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine and an animal behaviorist, said he wasn't surprised by Iona Keanaaina's assessment of Kava."It's quite common for a pit bull to show no signs of aggression," Hart said Wednesday. "People will call it a nice dog, a sweet dog, even the neighbors - and then all of a sudden ... it attacks a human in a characteristic way of biting and hanging on until a lot of damage is done."Hart said pit bulls are responsible for about 60 percent of dog attack fatalities each year, which is "way out of proportion" compared with other breeds.

Pit bulls make up less than 5 percent of the American dog population."It's very poor policy to allow any child around a pit bull..."

...Dr. Alan Beck of Purdue University School of Veterinary Medicine put it well when I interviewed  in 2005 after a “friendly” pit bull mauled an 88-year-old woman who had interacted with the dog without incident countless times.“We are not surprised when a pointer starts pointing,” he said. “Or when my dachshund starts digging. Everyone expects that. But if we start talking about a low tolerance for pain and a propensity to attack, it’s' wrong'.”

But we know the defenders will soon be in full cry. It’s not the dog’s fault, they’ll say, it is the owner. The child should never have put himself in that position. There were other factors we don’t know about....[Pitbull Apologists]  have a prepared script, they are vociferous and they are tireless. They’d love to get into a debate with you because it goes on and on and on. They send three e-mails to your one. They have self-serving statistics from advocacy web sites that they can quote for hours.But here’s the puzzler. They are also often incredibly, uncontrollably angry. All of us in the news business take on the pit bull issue from time to time and we all have stories of threats — “Someone needs to stop you,” was the most recent I got — and warnings. They scream, they insult, and they stoop to racist, offensive language.

http://blog.sfgate.com/cwnevius/2013/06/18/pit-bulls-maul-kid-but-there-are-never-consequences/

Nephi Selu, 6

"On Monday, Nephi Selu was playing with his family's 2-year-old... [pitbull], suddenly the animal fatally bit him on the top of the head, police said.... The dog, named Kava, had shown no previous signs of aggression"Keala Keanaain... 

"The dog... didn't bark, didn't growl, wasn't aggressive at all." According to Iona Keanaaina,

"The dog was "good with kids, very obedient," she told reporters.

"We never had any problems with him at all."

note: the original reporting article presents an officer's speculation that Nephi had tried to climb aboard the dog, which has since been refuted by eyewitnesses and thorough investigation.  Though, even if he had, that would not have been a viable reason to kill him. 

It's also interesting to note that p-nuts blame parents and victims, using "you shouldn't have let your kid around a pit" as an excuse... (the nutters themselves are acknowledging a measure of danger inherent with pitbulls).  Yet, in other forums, these same people will claim pitbulls are great with children/nanny dogs/etc.. and post images of their children climbing on pitbulls, laying on pitbulls, grabbing pitbulls, and other activities involving interaction with pitbulls that they would rule to be reckless, stupid, and dangerous should another child fatality pop up.

http://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/Often-no-warning-signs-in-pit-bull-attacks-4611027.php

Nicholas Faibish, 12

In San Francisco in 2005 ...Nicholas Faibish was killed by the family's two pitbulls.“My kids got along great with (the dogs),” Maureen Faibish said. “We were never seeing any violent tendencies.”

Ronnel Brown, 40

According to Brown's sister, the dog that killed her brother was also his "pride and joy."    "(Kilo) was his pride and joy. He was very gentle with him. Both the dog gentle with my brother and my brother gentle with the dog." -DeLisa Brown

Daxton Borchardt, 14 months

Before his son's death, Jeff said that he used to believe that a dog's behavior was determined by the way it was raised. He no longer believes this myth -- a falsehood widely cited by pit bull advocates and humane groups. The dogs that Susan owned with her boyfriend had no history of aggression. The couple raised the two pit bulls from puppyhood. The dogs were not abused or neglected and both were sterilized.http://blog.dogsbite.org/2013/07/beyond-the-interview-essay-of-a-fatal-pit-bull-mauling.html?m=1

Jeremiah Eskew-Shahan, 1

(LAS VEGAS, NEVADA) -- In a horrific and almost inexplicable event a 1-year old Las Vegas area boy died over the weekend only hours after he was viciously attacked by the family dog -- an animal that, according to family members had never been violent in the family in the past or showed any aggression to family members.The boy, who was not identified, was celebrating his [first] birthday late Friday at his grandmother's home in suburban Henderson, Nevada...“The baby’s face was torn off,” [the father] said.

The family was stunned. The parents of the child told authorities they had owned the dog since it was a puppy and it had never before displayed any signs of aggression.They voluntarily gave the dog to Henderson Animal Control officers. It will be quarantined and observed for signs of rabies over the next 10 days. But since the animal is being declared vicious it will likely be euthanized after the observation period.Police said the dog did not have a prior history of attacks.

http://www.jrn.com/ktnv/news/149377505.html

Beau Rutledge, 2

UNION CITY, Ga. — A family dog who had never shown aggression before attacked and killed a 2-year-old boy Wednesday in a subdivision near here about 15 miles southwest of Atlanta, police said. 

The family had the dog since a puppy, and it was eight years old.  Eight years of no aggression preceeding the first--and fatal--attack.  For the near decade that family had the dog, leading right up to the toddler's death, they COULD HAVE* been snowed and spewing such garbage like, "Well, MY pitbull is super sweet and would never hurt anyone and has never even growled at anybody while my __insertpocket-sizeddogbreedhere__ attacks EVERYONE!"

Pitbulls are "sweet".

till they aren't.

*I am by no means insinuating this particular family did any such thing, but illustrating a point to all those who think their broad-brush, fuzzy personal anecdotes are valid evidence of breed temperament/behavior.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/04/25/pit-bull-kills-toddler/2113713/

Betty Todd, 65

The neutered family pet of four years had no prior history of aggression before it suddenly tore her throat out and mutilated her spine.

Justin Clinton

Suddenly, one day, dogs that Justin had played with growing up killed their "little buddy"; so determined to destroy him that they demolished their way through the fence to get at him.

Crystal Trenkamp and her toddler

attacked by the family pet they had for six years without incident

Jariyah Jones, 3

suffered facial disfigurement at the jaws of the family dog "Rusty"Lara

Czernski

family babysitter of 10 years tried to intervene when her pits were mauling the 2yo boy in her charge.  These dogs were familiar with the child, and attacked their own owner without hesitation

2 children (San Bernadino, October 2013)

attacked by a pit so crazed about attacking that it burst through an iron fence to get them; had no prior history of aggression, according to the owner 

Sandy Murray

 Attacked by the family "service dog" he had for seven years prior with no incident.  The animal ripped his ear off in 2012, while he was having a seizure. He had seizures prior to this event, and the pitbull did not attack during those; so the animal was familiar with the situation, so seizures would not have been sufficient stimuli to startle him.  The same animal would attack him again, a year later.  It ripped his throat out and left him in a near-vegitative state.

Thomas James Carter Jr., 7 days old

The baby was dead on the bed. Sometime while Koezeno slept with her newborn, her 45-pound pit bull mix named Sidon mauled Thomas. Authorities said the infant had more than 50 puncture wounds on his tiny body.

Frishe said the bed was covered in blood. She said she and Koezeno tried to resuscitate Thomas.

"There was nothing we could do," Frishe said.She said Koezeno cradled her son, kissing him, as they waited for paramedics. Thomas was taken to Morton Plant North Bay Hospital, but nothing could be done to help him.

Frishe said Sidon is a few years old and was never aggressive before. She said Koezeno was a good mother.

note:  p-nuts were doing their damnest to place blame on the mother, speculating she wasn't telling the truth and the dog attack is a lie, "how could she sleep through something like that?" type insinuations,  or that she was on drugs and couldn't take care of the child.  However, the possibility that the dog attack didn't rouse her is actually quite high, considering;

• people operate under this misconception that all animal attacks are quaking, noisy affairs. 
• It takes only a second for an animal to bite, and they can instantaneously crush a throat; especially so if the animal in question is a pit bull, whose jaws excel at breaking bones and spines.
• A traumatic bite to the chest could collapse lungs and the diaphragm, therefore destroying the ability to scream since new air necessary for speech cannot refill the lungs and vocal chords. 
• It is also highly possible that the attack was too subtle (movement wise) to disturb the mother's slumber--
• especially if that mother is exhausted from the recent labor and delivery taking a heavy toll on her body combined with
• severe sleep deprivation 7 days deep--as happens with just about all newborns in the home.
• People--not just mothers--can sleep through the tossing and turning of their bed companion, minor earthquakes, construction noise, animals wandering around the bed (such as housecats), and even falling off the bed

Nutters say the mother "condemned her child to death by leaving it alone with a pitbull", which is really ridiculous considering they can't get their facts straight (the baby was not alone)

http://www.theledger.com/article/20100414/news/4145045?tc=ar 

Kayla Shoestring and son Hayden

Glenda Aguilar, the owner of the pit bull was likewise surprised. "It was such a shock. I didn't recognize it. He was not the dog I raised from 4 weeks old. It was not that dog." 

http://www.nebraska.tv/story/20974755/a-pit-bull-attack-injuring-two-people-caught-on-tape