EDITOR: Dave Perry makes asinine claims. A “Well-organized lobby”? No one needs a “lobby” when the absolute truth shows that millions and millions of these animals are completely innocent and have done nothing negative to anyone. The “lobby” portion of this debate are people like himself, promoting statistics from hate groups like DogsBite.org (another “lobby”), in an effort to criminalize millions of dogs through legislation for the actions of 0.0000000001 percent of the same dogs that are visually identified (by him) to fit the determination of a “Pit Bull.”
Josh Liddy
via aurorasentinel.com
EDITOR: It’s interesting how a city that supports marijuana smoking (which kills way more people every year via DUI/DWI than all dog breeds combined) is so against certain breeds – Dave Perry’s priorities, and Aurora’s, are really twisted — get real.
Just sayin’
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EDITOR: People are now looking for resorts, campgrounds, parks and communities online that are pit-bull free — for the peace of mind. That’s because they want to avoid life-changing or life-ending attacks keep happening in areas where those dogs are allowed. Despite what these pit-bull proponents say, it is family raised, unabused dogs that the owners never expect to attack that are causing so much carnage. Neutered pitbulls often attack unprovoked as well. Pitbull regulations promote tourism, raise property values, reduce the amount of taxes used on housing over-bred pitbulls and are much more humane for the dogs as areas with bans do not hide dog fighters, and they do not have to destroy over-bred pitbulls.
Jaloney Caldwell
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EDITOR: Pit bull owners always pull this nonsense with, “Ban the Deed, Not the Breed!” What deed are they referring to? Dogfighting? Guess what? It already is banned. In every single state in this country. And guess what? Innocent people are still getting mauled to death by these “teddy bears.” Miraculously, none of these deaths are occurring during dogfights or as a result of a dogfight. So enough with that saying already. Find something new to make yourselves sound stupid.
Krow
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EDITOR: Blame the Deed, not the breed, it means make all dog owners equally responsible for their dog’s actions, regardless of the breed of the dog. Why should my pittie mix be put to death for looking like a pit when she’s never hurt a fly, but the guy-next-door’s Doberman savagely attacks a kid at a sleep over. You punish the Doberman’s owner, not me, because my dog didn’t do anything other than being born looking like a cute pittie. And by the way, I have to walk around with my dog’s DNA test showing she’s under 50 percent restricted breed, because no matter how sweet she is, city animal control Nazis can seize her based entirely on how she looks. That’s really fair, isn’t it?
Juliet Piccone
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EDITOR: I absolutely agree with Dave Perry on all counts. Of the 28 people who have been KILLED by dogs so far in 2013, 26 were KILLED by pit bulls. The same thing happens every single year.. pit bulls consistently kill more people than all other dog types combined! With that kind of track record, it’s no wonder that people are getting fed up with seeing their kids, grand parents and pets become victims of these ill-bred dogs. Please keep the ban for Aurora and continue to be an example of how to put public safety concerns above the selfish and ill-advised choices some people want to make regarding the type of dog they want to keep.
Reb Furr
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EDITOR: Thank you Dave Perry, you put it plain and clear. These mutants of the canine kingdom were never designed to be pets, just read the books written by their designers. They have no place in society these days.
HarveyMorgan
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EDITOR: I agree with every word Perry said. I can remember when no one was attacked by dogs. When I was growing up, we never had to worry about neighborhood dogs. We all had one; we knew which one belonged to whom. For the most part, they all got along, maybe a quick power struggle between two males would occasionally erupt, but they would knock it off when told to. Our dogs all ran at large, and still, there were no problems. What changed? People trying to own pit bulls as pets. About the mid ‘80s I began to notice the problems with pit bulls, and every year, as more people got them as pets, the attacks and maulings and killings increased. Pit Bulls are causing so many problems in our country besides the daily carnage they create on people and innocent pets, there is the overcrowding they cause in every shelter nationwide, the mixing with other breeds. Soon, no large dog will be safe. Keep your ban, Aurora.
Gail L Rosnach
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EDITOR: Being a huge animal lover I get so angry when I see uninformed people give bad opinions on something they neither looked into nor know anything about. The very nice New Jersey man that agreed to give the Pit Bull Stallone a ride should never have let the dog off a leash or in a dog park not knowing his temperament. My dogs have been attacked by labs and golden retrievers. Yes a Golden Retriever. Dog Parks are the problem and a huge problem. If you want to see a dog fight, just hang at a dog park for a while and you will see one. Dogs of all breeds will have a problem with certain dogs just as we people do. Yes, pit bulls can cause more serious injuries to dogs than most, but again, why should a pit bull be in the same park as a poodle or a Dachshund? Especially one that has been come out of a kennel situation like Stallone. That would cause stress in any dog. So look at the entire situation before you give an uninformed opinion.
Cindi Maul, Aurora
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EDITOR: I have to tell you, I was appalled at Dave Perry’s column regarding the pit bull ban in Aurora. I fully expect him to delete this email right now.
As I’m sure he knows, as the editor of the paper, the Aurora Sentinel ran a full-length article on the page after his column appeared. That article made a number of good points, which he completely ignored in his own piece.
If you look at the City of Aurora’s own bite statistics (required to be tracked due to that 2006 breed legislation), the number of bites in the city has not decreased due to the breed ban. Bites from banned breeds have decreased (of course), but all the bites have remained steady over the last seven years.
The logical conclusion to make from the numbers alone is that it isn’t the dogs that are the problem — it’s the same bad owners.
The second thing I would like to point out is a 2010 study from Children’s Hospital, which stated in a very clear and compelling way that the vast majority of bites to children that require emergency room treatment or surgery come from Golden Retrievers or Labradors. Yes, they are more popular dogs, and therefore make up a larger percentage of the dog population. However, the study also points out that children who present with a dog bite are much more likely to receive a second dog bite, and usually much more serious than the first.
Since Golden Retrievers and Labradors account for the vast majority of bites to children, why doesn’t Perry advocate for their bans? When they attack, you can’t get your face back.
I was most confused by the conclusion of his article — Perry stated that “…it’s the owner who is at fault here… It’s too hard to jail people for making really bad choices that affect all of us.” Really? It’s too hard? Because I’m almost positive that is what the police and Department of Corrections do every day — punish people whose poor choices adversely affect the community at large.
But instead, like so many other knee-jerk reactionists, Perry would prefer to punish the dogs. He would prefer to punish those who are, in almost every sense, just as much of a victim as those who are bitten. He would rather allow people who create these animals to continue to live in our communities, to twist and poison more animals, and to create more dangerous situations.
That doesn’t sound like a rational solution to me. But then again, I’m the owner of a Cane Corso, a dog who was formerly on the Aurora banned dog list. Perhaps Perry would like to come visit her someday, and see how vicious she is, while she’s licking your face, hands and feet; while she’s showing off her toys and bones; while she’s herding children and making sure they don’t get knocked over by the other dogs; and while she’s grooming our two cats.
Unfortunately, I don’t think it would change his mind. Perhaps that’s the saddest part of all — that Perry would prefer to punish an animal that has no say in its life or circumstances, than to actively search for solutions that actually work.
Tess Skarbowski, Aurora
via letters@aurorasentinel.com
EDITOR: The comments about Dave Perry’s pit-bull column are actually frightening in their complete dissociation from the real threat: men with automatic weapons. Do you realize how weird it is for Perry and others to be going on and on about canine genetics and bite stats when Aurora was the site of a mass shooting that killed 12 people?
Tsk
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EDITOR: We don’t have to describe what kinds of people choose pit bull type dogs instead of ordinary, non-vicious dogs. Several peer-reviewed journals have researched it and described the personality characteristics of the majority of people who choose high risk dog types.
Yoka 124
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EDITOR: Pit bull owners, are you willing to chance a child’s life on that pit bull? These dogs are way too dangerous. The owners of many have proven that they can not protect the public from their loving pits. Many children have been disfigured or killed by these dogs. They need to be banned from city parks and from being near children.
ban pit bulls
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I wont even dignify Mr Perry’s intellectual diarrhea with a response as it plays into what he wants: Debating and people looking at his half wit rag of a newspaper.
Read the books written by the pit men who loved and still love pits for what they were created to do: attacking, fighting, killing their own kind simply because instinct meets opportunity.
While some books describe how to condition a pit before a match/fight, they do not need to describe how to “make” a pit to fight. The instructions on how to ready your pit is to watch your pit’s behavior. When he matures and gets excited, focusing all his attention towards other dogs, let his fight another dog for a short time, a “roll”.
The books directions are; Let him fight a weaker dog, so that he gets a feel for wrestling and biting. doesn’t get too hurt, but gets to win. Watch him during the roll, he’ll be excited, happy.. Afterwards, he’ll look proud. Let him heal and rest, then give him another opportunity, another roll and let this one last longer. Gradually increase the time and the ability of the opponent in the “battle”..If he doesn’t mature or stops fighting during a battle, he dies.
There’s no mention of how to make pits fight. And it’s not because the authors want to hide their cruelty. Some describe how to crop the pits’ ears at home, without pain control, by strapping the dog to a board, nose down in a hole on the device..
Although praise can encourage them, no abuse could make dogs fight if they don’t want to fight., . Pits who didn’t mature to have the drive to attack, were themselves killed.as they were worthless “curs.” The pits you see today are all descends of “good” fighting/ dog- killing dogs.
DNA doesn’t work when it comes to dog heritage determination. Some DNA laboratories do not even have “pit bull” in their data base, so they don’t have anything to match pit bull samples with.
Youtube “Canine DNA test results” shows a PUREBRED pitbull, registered with the AKC ,as a American Staffordshire Terrier and also registered with the UKC as an American Pit Bull Terrier, whose test results show border collie and Boston terrier, but no ‘”pit bull”…
Now that dog fighting is illegal, it’s time to make breeding THE fighting dogs illegal too.
When pit mongers defend pits and promote the breeding of more pits, AND compare the pit victim numbers to other causes of death, they are saying.say that the deaths of neighbors and passersby are not an issue to them,
Well, two can play that game. Pit owners’ failure to spay/neuter causes a million too many pits to be born, so that a million pits MUST die in pounds, if only to make room for the next swarm of surplus pits. Does that mean that a number under a million can be killed in other ways, such as in police shootings or BSL, without their objection?
Even if pits never harmed a human, why continue to make more dogs specifically created to mature to wantonly attack/kill their own kind?
As someone who cares about the welfare of all dogs, I can think of no trait worse than unprovoked, often horrific dog aggression, in a dog large enough to kill all other size dogs, game/insane enough to leap from 2nd story windows,, and strong enough to crash through most fences and even into neighbor’s homes, on a seek and destroy mission, with an innocent dog as the victim.
Before the pit infestation, our community never had a dog killed inside its own fenced yard or home by an invading dog. Now that pits are polluting most neighborhoods, too many neighborhoods have become “pit bull aware” in these horrible, devastating ways.
Normal healthy social animals do not kill each other for no reason. Pits are mutations created FOR this instinct. While not all pits will mature to be “good” pits (from puppy-hood to much older) because good pits don’t give warning, you won’t know it’s happening until it’s probably too late.
The fact that all USA dog fighters choose only pits is proof that pits are the best at fighting/killing.
The fact that pit bully people accept and defend the disproportionate suffering and death, both caused by pits and also SUFFERED BY PITS, is proof of the pit mongers’ astounding ability to lack compassion for others (pets/people) and their supreme selfishness and sociopathy. .
Why do Pit Bull owner’s get so emotional about a ban? These dogs are extremely dangerous and many times can not be controlled by their owners. If they love dogs so much, why not just choose another breed as a pet, there are hundreds of other dog breeds to choose from. Pit Bulls are deadly. They were never meant to be pets. Pit Bull owners are complete morons that feel inadequate about themselves so they have to get a natural born killer as a status symbol.
I am a family man with two daughters, We adopted a dog at a rescue. It was labelled a great dane, lab mix. It was a “pit bull.” He is a great dog. We love him and he is part of our family. The law in Aurora said if someone called or aniimal control saw him, he was to be taken and killed at our expense. My wife and I, showing our daughters that you fight for your pets and what is right, helped change the law. He is now legal because he is mixed, We want others to have the same sense of security with thier dogs, even if they are not mixed.
That is why we are emotional. Let me come into your house and take your dog, cat, lizard, bunny, etc. so it can be killed and then I will send you a bill. I am sure you will smile and tell your kids how much safer they are and they will be happy their pet is dead.
Arrest all the dog fighters, abusers, hoarders and negelecters you want or can….but the way the dog looks has nothing to do with how the dog acts.
STAY OUT OF MY BACK YARD.
You are ignorant and believe everything you hear. Why don’t you volunteer at a pitbull rescue or do some research on reputable sites like AKC or the National Humane Society to find out about the natural temperament of of a pit bull then look at the temperament of a Dalmatian, German Shepard, I am so tired of people being so judgmental people are. You don’t want to be judged based on your looks or who or what your parents or friends do then don’t judge them. All dogs are individuals just like people. Stop being such and ASS.