The Problem with the Argument
Charlotte Alter, a writer for TIME Magazine, published the article, The Problem With Pit Bulls, which speculated that pit bulls needed to be sterilized because they were dangerous and aggressive. Alter’s argument was one example of the unjust discrimination against pit bulls that caused several people to fear the breed. Alter’s argument started with an anecdote about a three year old girl, who had been attacked by a pit bull, who got kicked out of KFC due to the “disruption” that her battered face caused. The story was later proven to be a hoax. The article then focused on the reasons and statistics of pit bulls’ violent nature. Although Alter’s argument had numerous sources to support her claims, her argument is ineffective and flawed due to her use of polarization, bias, and oversimplification.
Alter’s (2014) argument was based on a polarized view of pit
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Although sterilization could be beneficial in some ways, there were several complications. Studies showed that sterilization could cause tumors, cancers, behavioral issues, canine cruciate ligament (CCL) injuries, and several other diseases. There were numerous factors which affected the extent of the risks, including sex, age in which the procedure was performed, and the size of the dog (Thornton, 2008). It had also been proven that “not all behaviours are affected by gonadectomy [early neutering]. Those most commonly affected are sexually dimorphic behaviours… [and] aggression may or may not be affected” (Kustritz). Sterilization of animals could not only be detrimental to their health, but could also be ineffective in fixing the aggression that Alter hopes to eliminate. Alter did not offer another solution to combat the “issue” with pit bulls. The oversimplification of the solution caused some individuals to question whether there was truly a problem that needed
Perhaps the reason why pit bulls are feared by society is because we are afraid of what they are associated with. Pit bulls are often thought of as a gangster’s pet, a role in violent and illegal activities. People stereotype this breed because of the unfortunate acts of few. In contrast, society needs to understand that they are being racist towards a breed of dog. Denver’s systematic killing of pit bulls could be compared to the actions of the Nazis during the Holocaust.
Just the sight of a pit bull instills apprehension and even fear in some people, who believe the dog may attack them for no reason and not let go. Many communities have placed this ostracized breed under severe restrictions; some municipalities have implemented bans outlawing ownership of the breed. Today’s society regards the pit bull as the most vicious and unpredictable of all dog breeds, whereas admirers of the pit bull believe this misconception stems from irresponsible owners and the inflammatory and negative publicity concerning this breed.
“Even if animal testing produced the cure for Aids, we’d be against it” This rhetoric notion was stated by PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) and summarizes the fanatical doctrine animal rights activists preach to their followings. These activists preach a doctrine of hate calling for the end of all meat eating, wearing of fur, use of animals in experiments regardless if they are beneficial or not, and even push for the end of all pets as we know of it. Howard Lyman author of “Mad Cowboy” has not only aligns himself with this rambunctious group of man haters, but supports their nazi like doctrine in his book. On further review of mad cowboy one must dig deep to find any useful knowledge, and when you do find it, one sees that the knowledge has been twisted to fit Lyman’s own agenda. Long dead are the days when knowledge was first gathered then conclusions derived, now statistics and data is twisted and molded to grant validity to ones own agenda.
Hundreds of thousands of puppies are raised each year in commercial kennels (Puppymills Breed Misery). Puppy mills keep breed stock in horrible conditions for their short lives and produce unhealthy puppies with many issues. Not only are they committing “inhumane care,” but puppy mills are responsible for customer fraud. Many puppy mills are small and contain about twenty breeding dogs in basements, garages, or sheds “in cages stacked to the roof.” The dogs will stay in those cages without “exercise or sunlight.” Also, the dogs have two “litters” a year till about the age five. Other puppy mills contain hundreds of breeding dogs. The operators keep the puppies in “relative darkness” so the puppies seldom cry or draw attention. The dogs in puppy mills rarely receive medical attention. The females are dissipated because of the never-ending period of “producing and nursing litters.” Most dogs have “chronic ailments, rotten teeth, and ear, eye, and skin infections.” Many of the puppies purchased from puppy mills are un-healthy and not well-adjusted. The puppies have a high prevalence of hereditary syndromes and illnesses, and difficulties that occurs following the “purchase.” After the females cannot produce anymore liters...
According to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), there is a “great deal of confusion associated with the label ‘Pit Bull,’” as it does not refer to a single breed of dog, but rather to a group of breeds with similar characteristics1. These characteristics include short hair, a wide skull and shoulders, muscle definition, stocky build and a deep jawline, the combination of which create a dog that manages to strike fear into a perfect stranger. The term ‘Pit Bull’ is derived from the bulldog, which was originally bred as a hunting dog for large game, but has since developed into a “loyal companion rather than a working dog.”1 Their history as “gripping dogs” for hunters follows them into modern society, as many of these dogs have been inhumanely pitted against one another as well as other animals for sport and for human entertainment1. It is because of these illegal fighting rings that ‘Pit Bull’ type breeds have become the subje...
...ociated Press published an article “Pit Bulls are A Danger to Society,” yet this year, the same publisher issued an article “Attitudes and Laws Against the Pit Bull Soften – The Big Story” in which the Pit bull advocates hail the changes as recognition that breed-specific laws discriminate against dogs that are not inherently aggressive or dangerous should not be discriminated against or victimized. The debate puts millions of pit bull owners up against a relatively small group of activists against the breed and challenges the notion that Pit Bulls that are well-cared for had any history of aggressive behavior in the first place, closing the argument by again stating what the Canadian Encyclopedia explained, that their actions were just a park of the cycle of favorites and least favorites that has always been and always will be in the history of ownership of dogs.
Media over exposes anything that has a negative effect on the pit bull breeds. It is their goal to adversely affect said breeds. These atrocious opinions of reporters distort the views of the public, making them think that one breed is a monstrous threat to society and needs to be banned. Breed specific legislation is unlawful and should be prohibited.
The Web. The Web. 28 Apr. 2012. The. McNeil, Anna. A. A New Pit Bull Study.
Nationwide, approximately 50 percent of all children will be bitten by a dog before they reach the age of twelve (DeIorio, “Have a Dog-Bite-Free Summer”). In Marion County, Florida, aggressive and dangerous breads of dogs are a “serious issue” for the community according to Marion County Commissioner Jim Payton (Thompson, “County drops '1 free kill'”). Responsible dog owners seem to be unaware of the problem but area residents who have been victims of these attacks have turned to the Marion County Board of Commissioners for help. The local County Commissioners have been wrestling with this issue since October of 2009 when a widow from Ocklawaha, Patricia McBee, had three of her dogs euthanized after they allegedly killed her neighbor’s cat (Thompson, “County drops ‘1 free kill’”). The need for change moved even faster after a 3-year-old little girl was attacked and killed by a dog that was chained to a tree outside her house in Citra (Lee, “Girl, 3, mauled”).
b. “Many people have a difficult time properly identifying a true Pit Bull, so added to the statistics are those dogs that have been misidentified. Considering these factors, the actual number of attacks attributable to American Pit Bull Terriers is considerably lower than represented,” according to the real pit bull. i. Do you think a 4 pound Pomeranian dog would hurt anybody? ii. Stated in the Dog Bite Law, “The most horrifying example of the lack of breed predictability is the October 2000 death of a 6-week-old baby, which was killed by her family 's Pomeranian dog.” a. The American Temperament Test is a test that measures a dog strong avoidance, unprovoked aggression, and panic without recovery. “American Pit Bull Terriers passed the test at a rate of 85.3%,” according to Pitbulls.org. They have the highest test scores, and they out beat the golden retriever “family dog” by 7.7%. iii. I identify the justice of my rival’s claim, but I disagree with my rival’s 100 percent about pit bulls having the highest attacks. c. Now you can see how my rival made a mistake because they didn’t evaluate and understood the facts as clearly as they
On June 20, Charlotte Alter posted an article on TIME website titled, “The Problem with Pit Bulls”. In her article she starts with an event that happened to a three year old little girl that was attacked by three Pit Bulls. The little girl and her family were in KFC and one of the employees asked her to leave because her face was “disrupting their customers”. Half of the little girl’s face is now paralyzed and she has also lost her vision in one of her eyes because of the three Pit Bulls that attacked her. Her grandfather killed the three Pit bulls that attacked her; however her grandfather is now facing charges of child-endangerment. KFC was so generous to donated money to the family to help with her medical bills. But yet the rant is more
What do you think of when I say the word pitbull? Do you picture a cute happy dog, wagging its tail happy to see you? Or do you see a mad dog, foaming mouth lunging at small child? If you are a owner of a pitbull then you probably see the happy cute dog. But if you don't own one then chances are you see pitbulls as mean dogs who are a threat to society. The media has painted a picture in our heads that it's in a pitbulls blood to be aggressive. Due to this false accusation, certain cities have banned breeds labeled as “aggressive”. If someone is caught owning a banned breed, the dog is usually euthanized. This is known as Breed Specific Laws or otherwise known as BSL.
Daily Progress Staff. “Pit bulls: vicious or victims?” The Daily Progress 07 July 2008. 15 December 2010
Currently, pit bulls have been reported by the media with very horrific and disturbing news of having attacked a child or being shot by a police due to aggression while some are reported to have been abused or neglected by its owners (Forderer and Unkelbach 534). And because the reports keep coming with heated discussions, more and more people have forged a frightening image of pit bulls even to the extreme of refusing to take care of such breed. Pit bull advocates claim that the dogs get a bad reputation considering that people should learn the dogs are not inherently aggressive. What the pit bull advocates would like to point is that the owners of the pit bulls should be considered guilty for mishandling of their own dogs. There are owners of pit bulls that even encourage the dog to be aggressive in order to fight and protect them in a wrong manner and wrong degree of training (Forderer and Unkelbach 536). Pit bull advocates claimed that a well socialized and well trained pit bull would be very intelligent and could be one of the gentle dogs imaginable.
The myths that spaying and neutering is cruel, will change the animal’s personality, or will make the pet fat are not true. Spaying and neutering will give a pet a longer and healthier life. The risk of breast cancer in females, and testicular cancer in males is greatly reduced. Females will also no longer have messy heat cycles, and will not attract males. In males, the urge to roam and mark territory is eliminated. Some people would say that they do not want to give their pet an unnecessary, risky surgery. If this surgery is done when the animal is young and healthy, it is almost completely safe. The consequences of not getting this done are much riskier. The urge that males have to wander away from home can put them in very dangerous situations, such as getting ran over by cars or fighting with other males. For females, giving birth is a very risky