Mary is miffed that the frankenmauler is still listed by BETH GRUFF as a success story on her IT'S THE PITS RESCUE's adopted page.
BETH GRUFF founder and president
of the largest pit bull rescue in the San Diego area It's The Pits
BETH GRUFF is a firm supporter of rehabilitating fighting dogs. She has confidence that "experienced handlers" like herself can "gauge the dog's mental condition." She's proud to report that 200 ex-fighting dogs from the largest dogfighting bust in history have been placed in homes and may be in a yard or elevator near you.
However, Mary has detected a significant flaw in this temperament evaluation scheme. If it's the owner and not the dog, while BETH is busy expertly evaluating the fighting dogs' temperaments, who's evaluating the potential owners? And while we're at it, though I don't think Mary's gotten there yet, who's evaluating the rescue operators?
Good work with the expert evaluation Beth!
BETH GRUFF should have consulted with DR. BONNIE BEAVER acclaimed animal behaviorist and former president of the AVMA who is against BSL and who condemned the recent San Antonio hospital study by saying, "Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah." She previously has said that temperament testing is, well, basically useless and discourages veterinarians from supplying temperament assessments for insurance purposes because of the potential for liability claims. (thanks, vintage for finding this fantastic source. It should be used whenever possible)
The Beav
Thank you DubV for this take on the "which end of the leash should I blame?" quandary.
The blame game is used by pit bull owners to their advantage, and that is why I choose not to play it. If we do not accept dogs as moral agents, then they are never to blame. Therefore their breed is not to blame. However, their breed is often a cause and contributing factor to maulings. That is a conversation the pit bull owners do not want to have because it frames the issue in a way where they do not have a rhetorical advantage automatically.- dubv June 23, 2011 9:44PM
Lets stop blaming and continue regulating.
This is an interesting expose - it's always great fun when a former nutter wakes up! Keep em coming Craven!
ReplyDeletei can't take the credit.
ReplyDeletethis is snack sized dog's expose and a darn good one.
great find.
GREAT DOG LOBBY CORRUPTION MOMENTS IN HISTORY:
ReplyDeleteRenowned Animal Behaviorist Bonnie Beaver chimes in when she was in a position of financial responsibility at the AVMA. Since AVMA offers insurance that indemnifies vets, she warns them not to temperment test:
http://www.vetscite.org/publish/items/001215/
The AVMA warns veterinarians to be careful about supplying behavioural evaluations of dogs for insurance purposes.
"It's risky for veterinarians," said Dr. Beaver, explaining that there are many situations in which a dog may behave aggressively, and temperament tests can't rule out the possibility of aggression. "You don't have temperament tests that can identify all possibilities."
thank you vintage. experts have been updated.
ReplyDelete"Dog bites are recognized as a public health threat by the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the AVMA, and physicians' associations."
this must be a misquote or a lie :)
I'm sure there's some deception there. I'll bet the AVMA loves pit bull attacks since they ensure a steady stream of small furry victims to be patched up, or euthanized - which means a better bottom line. Follow the money!
ReplyDeletenice update snack!!
ReplyDeletelet's not forget the beav's previous EXPERT opinion stated in court UNDER OATH.
By its origin, a pit bull is a fighting dog that takes very little stimulous to initiate aggression, and it will continue to fight regardless of what happens.
Pit bulldogs have been responsible for about 70 percent of the deaths of humans killed by dogs since 1979.
this find is also credited to vintage.
there is an interesting conversation starting at Find The Pit Bull.
ReplyDeleteThank you craven! And thanks for the link to The Beav's previous expert testimony! This one is a piece of work and its nice that vintage is not letting anything get by!
ReplyDeleteEver see those novelty cards that show how dogs and their pwners look alike?
ReplyDeleteI think you guys are onto something when you suggest testing the temperament of pit owners. We've seen them defend their dogs even after it has just attacked two dozen show animals, or attacked a human in an elevator. This characteristic is as game as a fighting dog.
Great work BETH GRUFF! You've helped to make San Diego the second most dangerous city as far as mail carriers getting bitten!
ReplyDeleteAre any of these yours?
http://www.opposingviews.com/i/pit-bull-attacks-baby-3rd-attack-in-san-diego-in-1-week
That find the pit bull site is interesting. The funny thing about that little test is, even though I think it was intended to be misleading, I was correct in identifying the pit bull on my first try.
ReplyDeletePit bull fanatics love to blame pit bull owners when things go bad. However, they usually assume it's gang members or other violent criminals that cause all the pit bull problems. I think that's only part of the story. A pit bull can also be a huge problem in the hands of these naive rescuers who believe all the nonsense about pit bulls being "nanny dogs" and having the most stable temperaments of all dog breeds. The latter lie is usually backed up with those ATTS stats that actually prove nothing about pit bull temperament.
I think pit bulls are a hazard with these naive people since they don't want to accept that they own a dog that was bred to violently kill other dogs. These are the idiots who take pit bulls to dog parks, pet stores and other crowded areas and figure that nothing can go wrong.
@ Mary
ReplyDeleteWhen I first took the test two years ago I was able to find the pit bull on the second try. I think my knowledge in many dog breeds helped me not get it wrong. The breed I confused the pit bull with was the Alpha Blue Bulldog.
The first dog on the third row looks almost exactly like the "labrador" Buttercup that was posted on the ASPCA, except for the looser jowls. Goes to prove once more that the only people who can't find a pit bull are the pit bull advocates.
ReplyDeleteThese breed communities are supposed to regulate themselves and produce reasonably safe dogs. Most do a great job, mainly because the breeding standards are not controlled be felons.
ReplyDeletePit Bull Community Breed Steward Rating: F-
It would be lower if the grading scale permitted.....
I think its the second one down in the middle column. that looks like a condo pit. And just before that age when they begin to turn.
ReplyDeleteWe need a new grading scale for pit bull stewardship
F----.
I believe that the Alapaha Blue Blood Bulldog has some pit bull ancestry like the American Bulldog. A lot of the dogs in that test that do look similar to pit bulls actually have fighting dog blood in their ancestry.
ReplyDeleteThe Presa Canario also looks somewhat like a large pit bull, but I think that where pit bulls are regulated, that breed should be too. It was also bred for dog fighting.
SnackSize, the article in Opposing Views on the San Diego attacks was written by the Editor of OV, looks like he is on our side. He loves these pit articles, brings lots of readers and I think we need to use it a lot more. It is a well read online media.
ReplyDeleteI think any dog with fighting in its heritage ought to be regulated, not just pits.
ReplyDeleteyes the alapaha blue blood bulldog and the american bulldog are mixed with APBT.
ReplyDeletegripping dogs
P, good to know!
ReplyDeleteHere is yet another serious pit bull attack in the San Diego area
4th in 10 days.
http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/124673189.html
Nice photo. Ever notice that in the last year the media has gotten downright assiduous in photographing these frankenmaulers?
† nice shiny coat
ReplyDelete† no scars
† plenty of meat on the bones
† nylon harness rather than 4 inch leather collar with industrial strength D ring for proper axle chain set up.
yep, this pit bull was NOT raised correctly!
38 Pit Bull DBRFS in California and the rash of maulings pissed me off so I wrote a song about it...
ReplyDeleteCalifornia Screaming
Jorge’s females are brown
Jorge’s females are brown
And the male is grey
And the male is grey
I’ve been for a walk
I’ve been for a walk
Heard a snapping chain
Heard a snapping chain
If police didn't shoot her
If police didn't shoot her
I wouldn’t be here today
I wouldn’t be here today
California screaming
California screaming
Jorge has yet to pay
California screaming
Jorge has yet to pay
California screaming
Jorge has yet to pay
wow vintage. you're hired.
ReplyDeleteSan Diego's new anthem. They can play it during the 7th inning stretch.
ReplyDeleteWhen I first looked, it was just a photo, now its video and an It's the Pits T shirt showed up!
I bet Beth is proud right now.
Anyone know of an article that examines animal rescuer psychology? I've googled things like "animal rescue nuts" "fur mommies nuts" and many others (of course without the quotation marks), and can't find anything. I'm sure it is widely known many of these folks aren't wrapped too tight, and everything else has been written about it seems so I'm wondering why I can't find anything.
ReplyDeleteDubV: By article, do you mean a peer-reviewed study published in an academic journal? Or something less formal, such as a piece of investigative journalism? I have a few of the former which are tangentially relevant to the subject you are interested in. You could mine the lit reviews for sources and see what you find. If you're interested, post your email address and I'll send em to you.
ReplyDeleteHere is one on the net:
http://209.190.249.61/assets/library/544_s1243.pdf
That was a really fascinating study, Miss Margo. It was definitely consistent with my experiences in volunteering at an animal sanctuary. The black and white mindset, the logical fallacies and inconsistencies glossed over under the banner of "the cause", and the willingness to engage in deviant behavior (theft and falsification of documents) for the "good" of the animals. It was actually what turned me off of the animal welfare movement. Missionary zeal and radicalism have never been my cup of tea. Pit fanatics exhibit these same traits as well. It goes a long way toward explaining why they are unable to see their own inconsistencies and why they cling to the idea of no bad dogs, just bad owners.
ReplyDeleteThanks Margo. I'm afraid if I post an email address I use often here that a nutter will intercept it. Craven will forward me the articles if you can send them that way. Thanks again!
ReplyDelete