Giving Pit Bulls a Second Chance

I saw this infographic over at The Lazy Pitbull and felt like I should share. After watching Louis Theroux's new documentary on Sunday night (did anyone see it?), Pitbulls have been fresh on my mind all week.

In the documentary we saw the daily life of a dog rescue centre in L.A. Now, there wasn't just Pitbulls in the centre, in fact there were many breeds. But the ratio of Pitbulls to other breeds was clear to see.

We have the same problem in the UK, but with Staffies. Battersea Dogs Home states that around 80% of dogs that come through their doors are Staffordshire Bull Terriers. Probably the biggest cause of this is the media. At the moment, newspapers like The Daily Mail seem to be on a witch hunt for these 'ferocious' dogs, including Staffies and Pitbulls. Constant articles about dog bites and people being harmed by dogs are changing people's perceptions about these breeds, and it needs to stop.

Dogs, like those featured in the Louis Theroux documentary are being put down because 'space' is needed for other dogs. Staffies are given to shelters probably because people assume they are vicious. Anyone who knows about dogs knows that these stereotypes are just that, full of false sweeping generalisations.

So, that's why I wanted to share this:

I can relate to this because Rottweilers can be on the end of breed discrimination as well. To put it bluntly, it makes my blood boil.

You can find the documentary in question here.