Pitbulls are just like any other dog, loving, sweet, compassionate, etc. Sure, it has been proven that Pitbulls out of every other dog have a shorter tolerance, but you can work on that with your dog. Their attitude and behavior can also be influenced by the environment they live in as-well. People in Ontario have even gone far enough to ban that breed or any pitbull type dog from there, although if you owned the dog before 2005 you may keep the dog, but in public it has to wear a muzzle. Even celebrities in other parts of the world experience this prejudice against these dogs, such as Kaley Cuoco when she had to defend her puppy from getting kicked out of the building she was doing a photoshoot at. My partner and I propose a responsible breeding and ownership program to prevent irresponsible ownership and mistreatment of the dogs, and then possibly getting some of the restrictions of the specific dog lifted in the end.

  These dogs themselves were bred to fight other dogs. They were even used for bear baiting, the public torturing of bears. The actions people do with them, it has then lead them to become the world’s most “vicious” dog. People only want them because of that, which then creates more hostile dogs and environments for those dogs, never solving the problem. They are also the most frequently abandoned dog breed, and as a result, tens of thousands of pit bulls must be euthanized in shelters every year. `Michael Vick, the former football player, has had dogs fight in the ring. Those dogs weren’t killed, but they were physically abused. Out of those dogs, 30 of them have been rehabilitated and went on to loving homes. Cesar Millan is a famous American-Mexican dog trainer that works with every dog breed even pitbull.  He says “That a pit bull is no more likely to unpredictably attack than any other breed. That’s a fact. To say that a pit is a natural-born killer is nothing more than stereotyping.”

There are many programs like Peta (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) which is a American animal rights organization that was founded in Rockville,Maryland by Ingrid Newkirk and Alex Pacheco. Their take on pit bulls are just a few of the hundreds of pit bulls PETA’s fieldworkers have worked to help and get justice for in Virginia and North Carolina. There are breed-specific reasons why people abuse them, they also need to be protected for breed-specific reasons. Another animal rights group is ASPCA (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) was found in April 10, 1866, New York, NY by Henry Bergh. They say “ the responsible ownership of any dog requires a commitment to proper socialization, humane training and conscientious supervision.” My partner and I propose a new program with the same principles, but hopefully more supportive and with more modern solutions to the problems that occur in this field.

Noel Rico and Kameren Lynch