Killer pets- Demonic Pit Bulls

Source: Supernatural Wiki

There are two sides to every lengthy debate regardless of what the topic is. Dangerous dogs and specific dog breeds are no different. Some people want to use fear as a way to get what they want. Those who want to ban and destroy all American Pit Bull Terriers generally go straight to telling others that all Pit Bulls are evil killers. This will usually get them a bad response from most Pit Bull owners. So where did the fear come from?

Pit Bulls have caused deaths as a result of attacks, however, there haven't been as many deaths as people want us to believe. The reason behind the attacks is also never discovered or released. Dog fighting has brought about a lot of the fear as well. People who don't understand the dog fighting life simply don't get that the dogs aren't trained to be people aggressive they are only trained to be animal aggressive. When people hear dog fighting they always assume that the dogs that fight will kill anything and anyone just because.

Movies and the media have done a great job at increasing the fear around Pit Bulls also. Pit Bulls are generally very muscular dogs with strong features that people see as dangerous. Another great example of how film and television has helped to fester the fear is the show Supernatural. This show is about two brothers hunting demons, ridding places of ghosts and generally saving the human race from the undead. One type of creature that comes up quite often in the show is the Hellhound. The only people who can see this vicious dogs are demons and devils and the ones who the dogs are hunting. Hellhounds have been deemed the devil's pets, and described as demonic Pit Bulls. The show has decided to play on the fears of the general public by making a correlation between the devil's dogs and American Pit Bull Terriers.

Simple Solution

People who want to get rid of Pit Bulls either by destroying them or banning them think that their way is the only solution. That isn't true, by any means. The best way to reduce fear and lower fatalities and bites is through education and training. People need to be taught how to be responsible pet owners and they need to understand that dogs need to be trained. Breed specific laws only benefit those who want the laws in place. They also fuel the "outlaw" image that Pit Bulls have that makes owning them so much more attractive to criminals.

Instead of BSL we should be focusing on leash laws, confinement laws, stricter dog bite punishments for those who allow their dogs to become aggressive, and make it more difficult for dogs to change hands. People give dogs and puppies away and never bother checkout where the dogs are going. Make it manditory that people who adopt dogs from shelters and rescues to attend a class on dog handling and safety. Require more spay/neuter services for dogs.

These little changes would decrease the numbers of bites and attacks greatly and still give responsible owners the ability to keep their dogs without paying enormous fees for dogs that have never shown aggression.