Opportunity Knocks
starring Donna Reynolds
written by Karen Delise
produced by Ledy Vankavage
3:10 "Um boy there are a lot of myths, haha. Um, probably one of the main myths that people uh believe that pit bulls are aggressive and they misinterpret that to believe that pit bulls are aggressive to humans. What they don't understand is that they are bred to be fighting dogs with other dogs. And so it is very natural for them to be what we call dog aggressive."
YOU don't call them that anymore Donna!
That was Donna Reynold's BEFORE being added to the Jane Berkey payroll. This is Donna AFTER Berkey 'invested' in the bay area pit nutter artists. Tim sold Berkey some art and Donna sold her integrity. Donna now toes the Jane/Ledy party line and happily regurgitates the AFF/BF talking points like pit bulls are just dogs and no more aggressive than a bloodhound, cocker spaniel or tea cup poodle.
5:50 "Boy you didn't see or hear much about pit bulls until the 80's. But somehow in the 80's people got, people got attached to that image of them and decided that if they wanted a dog that people were afraid of, they were gonna get the pit bull." "Before that is was the doberman and the rottweiler and now it's the pit bull. It's been going for 20 years. um."
Huh? Everyone had one of these dogs in the 40's but you didn't hear much about them until the 80's? I am not sure who is dumber, Donna or the gullible audience that she spoon feeds this propaganda to. The popularity of the pit bull then as now was primarily among the lower classes who wanted a dog with the bad ass fighter reputation. People wanting these dogs for the wrong reasons didn't just begin in the 1980's. Joseph Colby addressed the pit bull's popularity in his 1936 classic 'The American Pit bull Terrier':
When the Pit Bull Terrier was introduced into America, he was more commonly found to be owned by prize fighters, saloon keepers and habitues, sporting men and the like. From the start the breed has earned an unjust reputation due to his fighting ability and the character of the owner.
At about the turn of the Twentieth Century the breed was fast becoming popular and the pit dog found his way into the homes of men from all walks of life. Dog magazines carried ads and illustrations of dogs that had earned a reputation in the pit and through this advertising many dogs were sold and fought for large sums of money.Much of the popularity was due to the notoriety given Harry Kreiger and his dog, "Crib", Cockney Charlie and his dog "Pilot" and Johnnie McDonald's "Grip", and many other famous dogs with a reputation proven in the pit.
Furthermore, the non-pit bull owners, then as now, had a low opinion of your little frankenmaulers. Chauncy Z. Bennett contributed to Colby's book. Bennett reminisced about one of his favored mutants that he purchased in 1895:
He was a beautiful dog and never started a fight, would play with other dogs just like a puppy, but if a dog jumped on him it was just too bad. His weight was about 45 lbs, a real giant at that time. Through his life he had several street fights, always whipping the curs that jumped on him. At one time a local newspaper printed: "A few doses of cold lead would be a good thing for the always fighting bulldog."
9:00 "We were also dealing with animals that at times were going to hurt people, when they were defective. Um. Thankfully, it doesn't happen that often, it's rather rare."
RARE is when a pomeranian mix kills an infant or a west highland terrier kills an 80 yr old woman. A pit bull seriously injures or kills someone almost daily.
9:10 "But when it does happen the news grabs onto it and turns into just an extravaganza of of myths and fear and you know horrific myths that fly around the television reports."
An extravaganza of myths? You mean like america's favorite dog or nanny dogs or vicious bloodhounds and canine war heroes?
DONNA REYNOLDS passing out rescue angel wings.
21 comments:
Some sick shit dude.
Btw, updated the FB Blog!
Today I tackled the show Pitboss and what kind of interpretation it's giving on the pitbull breed.
I kind of want to tackle this Karen person... but I have to do more research before I make a sound argument.
Funny how money changes the mind of the elite few...
The other myth that this video perpetuates is that most dog fighting is urban dog fighting and that urban dog fighting is just kids growing up in an abusive environment going on to abuse animals.
Old time country red neck dog fighting is alive and well and both red neck and urban dog fighting have everything to do with gambling and associated vice crimes.
Dog fighters and pit breeders have gambling money, so when they get busted, they're in a position to offer to pay fines to reduce jail time. David Tant cut 10 years off his sentence by ponying up $100,000 to reimburse the county for the cost of housing the dogs during the trial.
This was before the rescues figured out they could get their hands on that money if they insisted the dogs not be put down and given to them to adopt out. That began with Vick. Best Friends has a huge facility where they can warehouse pits even the nutters can't see adopting out - so they still get the money that follows those dogs.
Just recently, Donna explained on her blog how she got some more pit bull abuse bust money by flying out to oklahoma and managing the disposition of those dogs. I don't think she even took any of those dogs, but she got a piece of the money.
I have read 2 articles recently where Ledy describes the categories of pits from a bust. 1. Those that can be adopted out immediately 2. Those that need some rehabilitation 3. Those that will be "sanctuaried" (warehoused in cages for the rest of their lives). Ie. They've figured out how to make money off all the dogs.
In the article about David Tant there is this quote:
About 40,000 people are estimated to participate in dogfighting across the country. According to a police training video shown recently in Columbia, dogfighting is a $500 million underground industry nationally.
That's a lot of money that these damn pit rescues are chasing.
"I kind of want to tackle this Karen person... but I have to do more research before I make a sound argument. '
A vet tech with zero background that realized she could make a living if she spouted breeder propaganda and excuses for the breeders so that they could oppose regulation.
Everything she comes up with is the usual feints by breeders to cover their tracks about their defective dogs so they can go on breeding them.
I believe Delise's first book was published by a vanity publisher who also did comic books. Someone tracked that little gem down.
Nothing that Jane Berkey does is helping pit bulls.
Forget about the public safety issues and the killing of pets (hard to do, but just consider the humane treatment of pit bulls for a second)
Berkey is just helping pit bull breeders breed more and more pit bulls so more and more of them can get abused, fought, abandoned.
She's not "helping" pit bulls, she's PROMOTING them, and she and VanKavage use the same terms. Look at Best Friends crap and it says PROMOTING pit bulls.
Well, promoting pit bulls is promoting pit bull breeding and selling and all the problems that come ith that for the dogs- the fighting, the abuse, the overpopulation, the abandonment, the huge numbers that are homeless, the ones getting shot at and poisoned.
She's helping breeders keep on doing all this. It's getting worse for pit bulls every day she promotes them for the breeders.
Berkey doesn't even champion the welfare of pit bulls.
I've done a little research on "Pit Boss". First of all, he isn't known in LA as a rescue. It appears he is using this in order to get a place on tv since "little people" are now the hot item on television. One of his shows has him receiving a call from someone wanting to give up her pit and he isn't quick enough so she relinquished it to the Long Beach shelter. On the show, Shorty states he has a contact at the Long Beach shelter. Not true, they never heard of him before his producers set the whole thing up before this call came in. Long Beach was actually embarrassed about the segment. I contacted them and I have their email response.
More than once Shorty is forcing his employees into situations where he is breaking the law, such as breaking into a car to get a pit out, cutting a lock into a back yard and stealing a pit, etc. He claims to be a booking agent but in his shows, it appears he has no one working for him other than his employees.
You can start by filing a complaint with the California Attorney General about Shorty raising donations without being a 501c3 as I have done.
And look for the episode where his "service dog" unneutered pit growls at a woman at the Crayfish Festival. Or the show where his employees get a pit, they know nothing about the dog, and take it straight to the Venice boardwalk soliciting people to adopt it. Watching his shows, you realize that he doesn't have foster homes to work with, nothing of the things that a true rescue would have. He is also hateful and disrespectful of his employees. He's the main reason I call Animal Planet the Pimping for Pits channel now.
The dog in the opening shot -- Tigger -- looks like the same dog that annihilated Colton Smith last year. That dog's name was Max and belonged to Gustavo Garcia and Martha Carrera of Stanislaus County, CA. No one was ever charged in the incident and its unknown if Max was ever given the purple needle.
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Quite a smack to leave a pit bull unconscious...
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This video is disgusting. I can't watch anymore of it.
P:
I would like to use what you've said about Shortie but would like to have more visible proof before I make such claims.
I want the blog to be as truthful as possible, and for the information to not chastise people who are potentially trying to do right by the dog.
I agree his methods are wrong, and are doing more to harm the dogs and the people that own them.
If you have any links that could back up your claims them feel free to shoot them by me via this blog.
"for the information to not chastise people who are potentially trying to do right by the dog."
What does this mean? Doing right by the pit bull?
"I agree his methods are wrong, and are doing more to harm the dogs and the people that own them. "
The pit bull nutters are upset about this guy Shorty for making them look bad. I'm not clear on why you think people who own proven vicious fighting breeds have anyone but themselves to blame.
What am I missing? What blog are you talking about?
I am in LA and just checked around with other rescues about him. A good friend of mine who is friends with Long Beach contacted them about that particular show, they responded back to her that they were embarrassed about it and that the producers set it up long before the pit bull owner called while filming. Shorty talked during the show that he has a "contact" at Long Beach, they had not heard of him until the producers called. There's nothing other than what we know in LA about him which is nothing, he never raised his head until this show came to be.
His own website NOW has that he has applied as a non profit which means he was not one when the show started. In California you must register with Charitable Trusts under the Attorney General in order to solicit donations. He was not registered the last time I checked because he isn't a non profit yet. His web site states that only a portion of his donations go to "his" charities like Linda Blair, etc. I did file a complaint but haven't heard anything yet.
Not much to go on as far as your blog, just what the community in LA knows about the situation. I haven't check to see if or when he obtained a business license for his Shortywood Productions. I suspect that it hasn't been around long either. If you watch the shows you will see that he just doesn't have clients and forces his employees on jobs they don't want to do.
I've wondered about that Pit Boss crap show as well. And I'm just waiting for one of those pits to attack one of those little people.
If you watch his show, you will also notice that he never has fosters. When ever he "rescues" a dog, he is always calling around to OTHER rescues to take them.
As for his non-profit status. Good luck with that. I've heard that convicted felons are not allowed to apply for a non-profit status. Now whether or not that is true, I don't know.
Anon 11:52:
- - - - -
If pit nutters find any weak stories or misinformation in my journals and entries then that's no good. It will also give them the slight advantage in turning almost anything on that site as "well how do we know THIS isn't wrong?"
I want to provide truthful, well documented information about the genetics, habits, and possible consequences of owning a pitbull. The more truth I have, the less loopholes pit nutters can find.
The site isn't pro or anti pit, just a database that shows what does occur when you own these dogs and what happens when they're in the hands of incompetent and ignorant people.
But if you makes you feel any better, the FB site IS pro BSL and is for putting down any dog that shows any level of red-zone aggression. (which is different from a warning bite).
P:
I agree with you on some of the things that do seem fishy about his business and practices.
The only show I've seen actually mention the potential agression with this breed of dog is Pit Boss and Paroles. They're even sure the mention that they're normally not good for a house with children, animals, and that the security should be pretty high in terms of confining the dog.
They also seem to be the only organization out there that really make sure adopted dogs aren't causing havoc as well as check everything about the property and household before unleashing an animal unto an adopting family, unlike Pitboss.
Anon 11:52 thinks that I'm trying to be pro-pit. But the site isn't about being pro or anti put, but providing honest, unbiased research on the pitbull and clearing up any misnomers about them. If people would really look at the people and subject matter I support, they'd see easily it leans more to being "anti-pit" if you had to categorize it.
i am in complete agreement with the facebook truth about pitbulls author.
we have to cite our sources, we shouldn't repeat lies, rumors and heresay.
that's what they do. and they look ridiculous.
Was this the facebook page that said that some pit bulls are great with young children climbing all over them because they are "used to it"
Sorry, not buying it.
I realize your intentions may be good but a lot of things don't add up here, and since the pit nutters lately seem to be pulling this "lets' pretend we're being reasonable" charade to huckster their stuff, I've seen this kind of thing go bad before. There's a lot of things here that don't pass the sniff test.
"putting down any dog that shows any level of red-zone aggression. (which is different from a warning bite)."
Many pit bulls that are attacking show zero previous warning signs whatsoever. NADA. Some have been friendly house pets for years, until BAM! the attack happens.
And a "warning bite" from a pit bull means that you may lose your hand.
You own a pit bull, don't you? I realize you are hopeful that there are not serious genetic flaws, and that you can figure out how to predict which have the problems and which don't, and that you can control the potential blowup, but pit bulls are unlike any other breed.
"what does occur when you own these dogs and what happens when they're in the hands of incompetent and ignorant people"
Pit bulls are even hurting people who are very competent and very smart when it comes to dogs, and have years of great experience. Pit bulls are dangerous in ANYONE'S hands, not just the hands of the "ignorant."
True Craven, we have to be above all the others. Even when we provide proof, links, they still deny it. Then again, we aren't trying to convert pit nutters inasmuch as we are trying to convince those who might adopt pits and bring them into their families. In essence, you, DBO, and others are trying to save innocent lives and that is noble.
Anon 3:40
Please read the lines for what they really are of each article and what it is the site is saying.
Any logical person would presume that just because a pitbull is normally good tempered around a child, doesn't make it a good animal for your child to be around. If you read my comparision to how people have pet bears then you would understand where the passage was getting at.
I never said that pitbulls are good with children. I merrily said that their exposure to them and their high pain threshold can make them tolerant (different from tame) to children. Much like how a primate will be tolerant of being dressed and touched. (think of Travis)
I never said that pitbulls provide warning bites. What I said was that a warning bite is different from a red zone case.
I do not own a pitbull, and never intend to. I'm not a Ceaser Milan who could keep such a dog in a well contained area or keep an ever lasting eye on it. I don't think 90% of people should own pitbulls. Especially if they can't do or contain their animal like Ceaser Milan does. And I don't want to own one because I know what they're capable of.
Please don't take anything out of context and don't presume anything that isn't clearly stated.
As it says on the page. The site isn't intended to be anti-pit, nor is it intended to be pro-pit.
What it DOES state however is that it intends to show the true nature of the animal and the majority of the people who own them.
Although the page isn't anti-pit, most of the material related within that page could be considered such as it does try and dis-persuade people of owning such an animal.
The only reason it states in some areas that pitbulls can be good in really mature and experienced hands is because there are a select few people who have had many pet pitbulls that haven't gone into the red-zone.
Does this mean that pitbulls are ok for most people to have? No. Does me stating an honest truth on that sect of society mean I support pitbulls? No.
What I'm saying is that some people are responsible and capable, 99.9% of them aren't, and that those 99% of people shouldn't have these dogs. Because they can't contain them and are endangering others in society or their kids and family.
If someone want to have a license to own a dangerous animal, as some do with tigers and chimps, then go ahead. But keep it contained, and don't be surprised when it decides to do what it was bred to do.
O/T: Whippet mix.
http://www.athenspets.net/?p=19065
We’ve always had a dog and we love dogs...unfortunately Shasta could not adapt to a new life in the city. She’s definitely one-of-a-kind. She knows her commands really well. She’s house trained. She would even be a great “pet therapy” dog because she CANNOT get enough attention. She even loves to hunt. She would chase deer on my husband’s command. We are praying that Shasta will go on and have a much better life..something better than what we could give her.
Well stated, Anon 11:33, all of it.
i think "CANNOT get enough attention" is code for pit bull
I am 41. Owned and or bred most domestic American farm animals most of my life. Even used to raise + sell wolf/husky mix dogs. I read a statement on the page with this clip in regard to the foolish notion that pitbulls were not really agreesive until the 80's. I am no pitbull fan myself, however based on life experience in the multi state Ohio Valley area I have to agree somewhat. We were poor and I was a black sheep if there ever was one. Very social, very redneck + rough. As a child in the 70's never heard anything about pitbulls. My very large family + farmer friends rarely sometimes never allowed dogs such as German Shepards, Doberman Pincers, least only due to numbers locally owned Rotweillers. Seeks like well into the 80's there were horror stories + news articles covering the chaos of these breeds and the frequent + usually unsuccessful ban on them. By the 80's I began to hear about pits through tales of fighting through the subculture I was woven. Only then did I realize how common they had been before + I had paid no attention due to low publicity. Really the 90's were when I noticed the pit bull bling bling. Even though I dont really favor the breed, I did do some research of my own. Their roots seem to reach as early as the Phoenicians. Early mediterrnean cultures mainly Rome used them for war. Rome seemed to capitalize on their bloodsport side. By early medieval times while still being used on a smaller scale at the entertainment level they had been adored for use in corralling dangerous cattle and other livestock,. They were especially enjoyed as an anti wolf device as time went on. Later, here in America also they were a hunting dog of choice for wild boar. Due to selective for practical purposed mostly but fighting as well they have devolped dense musculature particularly the head. They have had high + low times of attention over history. There are more aggressive breeds than pits but nobody cares because of the lesser damage these other breeds have capability of. Fear + myth by far are the worse players against pits. 1 myth for instance that I believed from rumor even from 1st hand pit owner was the jaw lock. When I studied on thew pitbull I found that was not true. They do not actually lock their jaws. They just have more jaw power + endurance do to physical developments. They have just as many good, maybe even more aspects as bad bad ones. The only laws should be enforced + made should be those that use + breed the dogs with ill intent. Maybe also towards total carelessness in an owners handling of them. Other than that if I preferred to have a pitbull over the breeds I like, I would proudly own 1 + fight for them tooth + nail. Most accidents involving pits are 100 percent human fault. Even in a lot of child attacks if you really know the facts you will find a poorly supervised child. Instead of accepting the blame they want to pass the buck to the only one involved that acts all the way as other mammals . That way is instinct. Only humans have the option of true thinking aka reasoning.
everyone on your side of the debate wants to blame the human. many on my side of the debate want to blame the dog. i think it's both.
i have written about locking jaws and other myths.
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