the only thing worse than pit bulls are the people who own them

JACKSON, MI — On Aug. 18, while walking, my two dogs were attacked by a pit bull. The pit bull held on to Su-Z, my 30-pound mixed breed until she lost consciousness. Upon noticing she had gone limp, the dog turned to my little 9-pound Shih Tzu and attacked him. The pit bull grabbed him and shook him to death.

I was screaming for help, and four men came running from their houses with baseball bats. That is when the dog dropped my Shih Tzu and took off. It didn't matter. My dog was dead. Two women also came to comfort me. A man and woman walked home with me as I carried Sparty's bloody and broken body. Su-Z regained consciousness and walked home. Probably if these people had not come to help, the pit bull would have finished her off. I thank these people for their kindness and support.

My son took me and my two dogs to Blackman Animal Clinic. Su-Z had 15 stitches in her neck, plus she had to spend two days at the vet. Sparty, the Shih Tzu, was cremated.

These dogs were much more than just pets to me. They were my babies. In effect, that dog killed one of my babies.

The only thing I could have done differently was to keep them in their fenced-in backyard and not take them for a walk less than a block from home. My dogs were still on their leashes as we went to the vet. No one was walking the pit bull. It was running loose.

I am sickened at the thought of people who fight animals for the "sport" of it. It was the most awful thing I have ever seen in my 69 years of life.

— Marilyn Hoyt

catalina stirling: responsible pit nutter

35 yr old artist catalina stirling and former vick dog jasmine, in better days.

a touching tale compliments of NCRC:

Jasmine wound up in the hands of Catalina Stirling, a 35-year-old artist who lives with her husband, Davor Mrkoci, 32, an electrical engineer; her children, Nino (4 1/2) and Anais (2 1/2); Rogue, a spunky spaniel-lab mix; Desmond, a three-legged foster basenji-lab mix; and Thaiz, the family cat. The fenced yard is big enough for running, and the living-dining area, which contains almost no furniture, has a smattering of dog beds and water bowls. Catalina and her children have painted angels on one wall.

In her evaluation Jasmine was considered for sanctuary with Best Friends, but when volunteers from the Baltimore rescue group Recycled Love went to see the pit bulls at the Washington (D. C.) Animal Rescue League, a volunteer was so moved by the sight of Jasmine hiding under the blanket that she crawled into the cage and began massaging and whispering to the dog. Jasmine seemed to respond. So Huss sent Jasmine and Sweet Pea to Recycled Love, which subsequently turned Jasmine over to the woman who had crawled into the cage: Catalina Stirling.

Despite a promising start, Jasmine had a long way to go. For months she sat in her little cage in Stirling's house and refused to come out. "I had to pick her up and carry her outside so she could go to the bathroom," Stirling says. "She wouldn't even stand up until I had walked away. There's a little hole in the yard, and once she was done, she would go lie in the hole." It was three or four months before Jasmine would exit the cage on her own, and then only to go out, relieve herself and lie in the hole. Sweet Pea, who's better adjusted but still battles her own demons, was an hour away, and her visits helped draw out Jasmine. After six months Stirling could finally take both dogs for a walk in a big park near her house.

apparently catalina succeeded in bringing jasmine out of the hole in the yard and out of her shell and into the street.

Jasmine has come far, but she still has many fears. Around people she almost always walks with her head and tail down. She won't let anyone approach her from behind, and she spends most of the day in her pen, sitting quietly, the open door yawning before her. Stirling works with her endlessly. "I feel like what I do for her is so little compared with what she does for me," she says, welling up.

i wonder what jasmine's response was when someone did approach her from behind?

In the end, 47 of the 51 Vick dogs were saved. (Two died while in the shelters; one was destroyed because it was too violent; and another was euthanized for medical reasons.) Twentytwo dogs went to Best Friends, where McMillan and his staff chart their emotional state daily; almost all show steady improvement in categories such as calmness, sociability and happiness. McMillan believes 17 of the dogs will eventually be adopted, and applicants are being screened for the first of those. The other 25 have been spread around the country; the biggest group, 10, went to California with BAD RAP. Fourteen of the 25 have been placed in permanent homes, and the rest are in foster care.

and now one has died after being hit by a car. i hope catalina wasn't injured, becuase we all know that a "responsible" pit bull owner would absolutely never ever under any circumstances let their dog off leash.

Still, it's Jasmine, lying in her kennel, who embodies the question at the heart of the Vick dogs' story. Was it worth the time and effort to save these 47 dogs when millions languish in shelters? Charmers such as Zippy and Leo and Jonny Justice seem to provide the obvious answer, but even for these dogs any incidence of aggression, provoked or not, will play only one way in the headlines. It's a lifelong sentence to a very short leash. PETA's position is unchanged. "Some [of the dogs] will end up with something resembling a normal life," Shannon says, "but the chances are very slim, and it's not a good risk to take."

in hindsight, i'm guessing that short leash doesn't look so bad.

does the "normal life" of a dog typically end under the wheels of a car?

Then there are dogs like Lucas, who will never leave sanctuary because of his history as a fighter, and Jasmine and Sweet Pea, who will never leave their Recycled Love families. "There was a lot of discussion about whether to save all of the sanctuary cases," says Reynolds, "but in the end [Best Friends] decided that's what they are there for. There are no regrets."

i wonder if catalina has any regrets?

BAD RAP works out of Oakland Animal Services, where above the main entrance is inscribed a Gandhi quote that dog people cite often: the greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.

"Vick showed the worst of us, our bloodlust, but this rescue showed the best," Reynolds says. "I don't think any of us thought it was possible to save these dogs -- the government, the rescuers, the regular people -- but we surprised ourselves."

and catalina showed us the worst of our stupidity and selfishness.

Jasmine doesn't know about any of that as she sits on the back deck of Stirling's house. Stirling kneels next to her, gently stroking the dog's back. "I used to think any dog could be rehabbed if you gave it food, exercise and love," she says, "but I know now it's not totally true. Jasmine's happy, but she'll never be like other dogs."

but the $64,000 question is can you rehab any pit nutter?

It's quiet for a moment, and the breeze blows a shower of brown and red leaves off the trees. Then Jasmine turns, looks up, and licks Catalina's face. It is the sweetest of kisses.

Tranquilizer guns? It’s a police raid, not a grizzly bear research project!

i know it's a polar bear but i love this photo.

A very funny piece written by Andrew Holota, Editor, The Abbotsford News, a Black Press newspaper in beautiful British Columbia.

Holota doesn't need any of my sarcasm to help make his point, he does just fine on his own. And since I don't trust news links to stay live forever, here it is, in its entirety.

Thank you Andrew!

Today, pit bulls, tomorrow the world

Well there, it’s out of the bag now.

The great, grand conspiracy of the media to destroy the fine upstanding reputation of pit bulls, by only reporting on attacks by this particular breed, and covering up police shootings of all other canines.

This happens everywhere, don’t you know, or at least according to the pro-pit bull/media conspiracy theorists.

Yessir, there are oodles of poodles popped by cops all the time, and the press does not report it.

And attacks by psychotic shih tzus? Covered up. Muzzled, so to speak.

Children savaged by Scottish terriers? Quashed. Hushed puppies, if you will.

Oh yes, the conspiracy runs deep indeed.

You see, you can understand the owner of the crazed corgi not contacting the media to report a violent incident involving his beloved pet, who has just taken a chunk out of Mrs. Hurtinheinie’s rear end.

However, there is usually someone else involved in these things, like say, Mrs. Hurtinheinie, for instance, who just doesn’t want to stay quiet.

The victim usually feels somewhat put out having been punctured by someone’s dear pet, and they tend to call the press or TV to make it public.

Do you have any idea how difficult it is to cover up those devastated victims of vicious attacks by manic Maltese, wild whippets, and belligerent bassets?

It takes a huge amount of coordination and cooperation between multiple levels of media to ensure this information never reaches the general public. Because, of course, if the media ignores them, these ‘other dog’ victims have a tendency to tell other people, like their family, friends and neighbours, and then it’s out there!

Multiple attacks by insane Danes, and unbalanced beagles – all suppressed.

Who knew?

I have a theory, too.

Could it be there are more stories of cops taking on pit bulls because bad guys like to keep pit bulls around? For some reason, the bad guys just don’t have the same affection for Airedales.

So, maybe that’s why more pit bulls get shot by cops than say, by mail ladies. I mean, when’s the last time you heard of a mail lady emptying her semi-automatic handgun into a demented pit bull?

Wait ... mail ladies don’t have semi-automatic handguns! And mail ladies aren’t likely to go barging onto a property that has a pit bull snarling and foaming away behind a big gate watched by video cameras.

Whoa, do you suppose that’s maybe why the bad guys have got pit bulls? To keep people like mail ladies and other prying eyes away from their nefarious activities?

But those darned police just refuse to stay away – probably because we pay them to get bad guys.

So if a pit bull is hellbent upon disassembling their body parts, the cops might try gentle persuasion like pepper-spray and Tasers for a bit before they lose patience, and administer the 9-mm pill.

Tranquilizer guns? It’s a police raid, not a grizzly bear research project!

Another thought ... maybe pit bulls get such a bad rap because that mix of breeds is highly prevalent in child maimings and fatal canine attacks. The media has noticed people tend to be interested in children and death.

Hey, a crazy theory, I know.

However, we have a conspiracy to organize. Today, we take on pit bulls and their owners.

Tomorrow, we take over the world!

Mwaa-haaa-haaa-ha! (evil laugh).

... a world without pit bulls.

Brent Toellner: when a quest for logic is out of reach

kcblowhard, this guy has been on my shit list for a loooong time.

so get a cup of tea or coffee and get comfortable.

brent toellner on dogsbite.org:

Even though they've been out there for awhile, I've largely let dogsbite.org do their own thing. wow, that's mighty generous of you brent, you arrogant fuck. However, at this point, their rallying of misinformation and misleading information is becoming even more biased, misleading, and dangerous, so I want to respond. these are the words of a man who promotes the "it's all how you raise them" mentality and a man who is lobbying for dog parks in his city so that he can take his 'PIT BULLS' there to play with other doggies. talk about fucking dangerous information! am i right simms? colbydogs? back me up here.

brent toellner on dangerous dogs (forward to 2:25 for this gem and skip the rest of his whiny voice):

"At one point in the 70's, people were really concerned about german shepherds and doberman pinschers and then you know in the 80's it was the rottweiller and now it is pit bull type dogs that most people are more concerned about. Ah, it's just an evolutionary process and unless you get to the root cause um, you won't be able to have an effective law."

the root cause are the idiots who think 'pit bulls' belong in dog parks! but seriously, let's consult with your dog bite demigoddess, karen delise.

according to fatal dog attacks, the stories behind the statistics, the four breeds involved in fatalities:

(i love the way karen breaks down the pit bull into 4 categories. makes it seem not quite so bad.)

first off kc, your decades aren't quite in sync with karen's. suggestion: you might try flash cards.

and secondly, yes, i agree, popularity of a breed does come into play when considering dog attacks but it's not the only thing and this mindless mantra i keep hearing over and over and over about "first it was the gsd, then it was dobes, then it was rotts and now it is pits..." is just fucking nonsense. even during the decade of the dobe (8), pit bulls (45) out killed doberman pinschers 5.6 to 1. but it sounds more convincing if you can point to some sort of an extended pattern. that pattern only exists in the minds of pit nutters. but if no one bothers to check the facts and you get enough pit nutters to repeat the mantra, it starts to become accepted as truth. like all religions.

note: each breed was counted, so if a dobe/gsd cross or a rott/pit cross was involved in a fatal attack, BOTH breeds were counted. amstaff was included because let's face it, they are the pet/show version of the working, ie fighting pit bull. we don't distinguish between working and non working gsd lines, so why should we with pit bulls? also of interest, there were bulldogs listed which i suspect should be listed under pit bull type, but the nutters' panties will be bunched up enough over this as it is.

brent toellner on nokill:

ah, this is where kcblowhard really shines. he has a bright future with winny's nokillnation. kc will be a great addition to the 'think' tank.

one of kc's suggestions to end the killing of animals in shelters is to remove the pet limits set by cities. according to the national council on pet populations study, which was published in the journal of applied animal science, the top ten reasons why people give up their dogs:

1. Moving (7%)
2. Landlord not allowing pet (6%)
3. Too many animals in household (4%)
4. Cost of pet maintenance (5%)
5. Owner having personal problems (4%)
6. Inadequate facilities (4%)
7. No homes available for litter mates (3%)
8. Having no time for pet (4%)
9. Pet illness(es) (4%)
10. Biting (3%)

kc's answer isn't less dogs, it's MORE DOGS!

can't afford to feed your two dogs? kc's solution: add another. and 2 cats!

personal problems got you down? kc says, another dog will fix you right up!

house getting crowded? kc thinks you need to march right down to the shelter and adopt today!

lost your job and living in your mother's basement? how about another dog!

moving across country just easier with the addition of a third dog!

landlord says no to fluffy? well he can't say no to fluffy and buffy!

not enough time for your dog? get another! and leave that gate open so they can exercise themselves!

you're dog bit the mailman? sounds like you need another dog to keep him company! what the heck! how about TWO more dogs!

in an attempt to clear up confusion, kc says that requiring proper containment, ie FENCES, is a "ridiculous restriction" and that only after attempts are made to rehabilitate aggressive dogs will they be euthanized.

No Kill relies on having un-restrictive animal control laws. Pet limit laws decrease the number of foster homes that are available. Mandatory spay/neuter laws, Breed Specific Laws, and many tethering laws only encourage animal control officers to confiscate animals from homes — increasing the number of animals that need to be found homes. The first option should always be to keep an animal in the home it is already in and improve its life there vs confiscation.

Hopefully that helps clear up any confusion out there.

(easy to see why dog fighters like him)

kc also feels that there are already enough homes for all of the dogs and cats in shelters. i would agree but i would qualify that. if you counted all of the of people who are allergic to them, all of the people who can not have them because of lease agreements, all of the people who choose not to have a dog because they either don't like them or are afraid them, all of the people who choose not to have a dog because they are smart enough to know they don't have the time, money or skill to properly care for them, all of the people who already have pets but have no fucking business owning them in the first place (you know, we read about them all of the time on the paper) and of course all of the people who already have dogs, sometimes over the legal limit, then SURE there are plenty homes.

what really pisses me off, these nokill fanatics always frame the argument in such a way as to make everyone else look kill happy. the number of animals that we kill each year because of human greed, error, stupidity and selfishness is unacceptable and extremely disturbing. but what is more disturbing to me than a humane death, are the dogs/cats housed in above ground pet cemeteries (i stole that phrase from diane jessup) sometimes in filthy and unhealthy conditions. the number of dogs/cats that are turned away at the nokill shelter for lack of space and then are abandoned and left to fend for themselves or killed outright in a less humane manner by their owners, and the number of dogs/cats living with their mentally ill owners aka hoarders.

there really is an easy solution to this problem and that is to prevent the litters in the first place. but the true libertarian kooks and those who ride the libertarian wave out of convenience always cry foul. they claim we are crushing their (selfish) constitutional rights.

brent toellner's connection to dog fighting:

kc is chummy with rocky alexander aka rockstar. rocky links to kc's blog and comments there but i have no idea if kc comments on rocky's dog blog as it was closed to the public and was "by invitation only". you remember rocky. he and his little southern belle, jere recob tesser alexander used to have the website pitarchives. jere ran a scandalous nokill shelter in fulton county georgia. pitarchives mysteriously disappeared as soon as jere and her shelter came under fire. charges included cruelty, the disappearance of a vicious pit bull and many cats from her shelter. jere was also caught violating her county's anti-chaining ordinance. jere resigned in shame and has been hiding under a rock ever since. but, i digress, back to the dog fighting connection...

the pedigrees of two of rocky alexander's dogs:

ROCKSTAR'S HANNIBAL (2XW)

ROCKSTAR'S CH SASHA (3XW)

talk about evolutionary process. it is surprising that this douche bag has opposable thumbs. let's hope he hasn't passed these genes on.

oh and you can forget about B-12 supplements, you could marinate this fucktard in B-12 and i doubt that it would help.

adam curtis and the BBC put together an absolutely fascinating 4 part history of propaganda/public relations/advertising. it is absolutely evil. while watching, think kc, think nokill, and realize what the pit nutters like badrap are doing.

part 1

part 2

part 3

part 4