In a famous World War One propaganda poster, select dog breeds are depicted as symbols of their respective nations: the French Bulldog stands for France; the Dachshund, for Germany. At the center of this canine summit is a handsome white fellow, the American Pit Bull Terrier. His shoulders draped in the stars and stripes of Old Glory, he’s a proud flag-waver with a bold motto: "I’m neutral - But not afraid of any of them!"
Many years have passed since Americans were proud to identify with Pit Bulls. Once a noble national mascot, Everybody’s All-American and a popular family pet, the Pit Bull would experience a terrible reversal of fortune, feared and reviled as public enemy number one.
Today, the Pit Bull is the single most feared and legislated-against dog in the world – and also the most routinely abused. Favored by dog fighters and drug dealers because of his awesome strength and muscular physique, the Pit Bull has an inherent loyalty and willingness to please that is exploited terribly by this criminal element.
Dogs are overbred and kept in appallingly neglectful circumstances, forced to fight other dogs to the death, then abandoned or cruelly killed when they demonstrate their truly gentle and sociable natures ("undesirable" traits from a criminal’s point of view). In short, the Pit Bull is roundly punished for the misdeeds of his abusive owners.
Compounding the breed’s undeserved vicious reputation is the media’s unfortunate tendency to characterize these dogs as public enemy number one: unpredictable, bloodthirsty beasts with a taste for children’s blood, more demon than canine. As a result, animal shelters across this country are filled to capacity with sweet Pit Bulls that no one wants to adopt because of the horror stories they’ve heard on the news.
Although millions know a very different side to the Pit Bull – the dependable friend of children, as embodied by Our Gang’s mascot Pete – the "vicious" stereotype stubbornly persists. Breed bans in Denver and Ontario have made it illegal for residents to own one. Everywhere else, animal shelters are overcrowded with gentle, affectionate pits categorically overlooked by potential adopters.
Robyn Smith Astaire, widow of the actor Fred Astaire, has a favorite photograph of her late husband. In the picture, which has pride of place on her mantel, 7-year-old Fred wears shorts and a peter-pan-collared shirt. The adorable smiling boy has his arm around his beloved pet: a black Pit Bull named Bill, named after the man who gave him the dog, William "Bojangles" Robinson (Fred and Bojangles appeared together on the vaudeville circuit).
But maybe things are starting to look up for this poor reviled dog. The Pit Bull is attracting an ever-widening circle of friends in high places – people with names like Jon Stewart, Rachael Ray, Mel Brooks, Jessica Alba, Jamie Foxx, Jessica Biel, Bernadette Peters, and rocker Stephan Jenkins.
Hey, if Pit Bulls are really so bad, would such nice people keep them as pets?
(Tyson is available for adoption at the Bergen County Animal Shelter in Teterboro, NJ)
Julia's response to the question on "Amer. Staffordshire Terrier vs. pit bull"
The American Kennel Club does not recognize the "pit bull" as a breed - the organization only recognizes the American Staffordshire Terrier or Staffordshire Bull Terrier. However, this is an academic distinction, as the breeds are very similar to each other in appearance, and in places where the pit bull is banned (i.e. Denver and Ontario), so are AmStaffs and Staffie Bulls. Some of my own dogs look more like AmStaffs (taller), some more closely resemble Staffies (shorter and wider), but I call them all pits.
