Here's a lil guy from a Los Angeles shelter.
It was reported by the shelter that he had a "fighting history". He had "scars consistent with fighting". A vet also said he had "old and new scars". One old wound in particluar was suspicious which is still visible.Gosh, maybe he got attacked by a wild animal in his yard or got out somehow on the street and was attacked by another animal. Maybe he got caught up in fencing. Who the heck knows. I don't like labels that skew what I'm looking at. Nor do I really care whether or not he actually was fought or not. I thought he should be evaluated on his own merit. While it's true that some dogs can be too damaged from abuse, all dogs, including ones with "fighting histories" should be judged based on WHO they are NOW and not based on WHERE they were. And the scars, they are a big hmmmm to me after seeing what I've seen. Some dogs without any scarring at all still have to be evaluated on their own merit as well. They could have more issues with dogs than dogs from busts,or they may not!!So this whole thing about putting down Pit Bulls from busts because they're too dog aggressive,just because they've come from a certain property, is just not pracitcing good behaviorism. It's based on conjecture and breed profiling with no real evidence that a dog cannot be put in a good home.
The Success of Michael Vick's dogs was not a fluke. It is based on the good temprements of the dogs. Sadly many fight bust don't get that chance.
The Success of Michael Vick's dogs was not a fluke. It is based on the good temprements of the dogs. Sadly many fight bust don't get that chance.
Marthina
Posts
I agree with this blog 100%. I always caution people about labeling. A good rule of thumb is, if you don't have an exact, verified history, DO NOT LABEL. Labels do little if any good for a dog, and in fact can very often hurt them (particularly in the case of 'fighting dogs'; conversely, a 'bait dog' may get a fair shake, but the adopter could be led to believe that this dog was a 'victim' that would never fight of his own accord, a notion that could get people and dogs into trouble as well.)
ReplyDeleteWell said rpb. I especially agree about the "bait dog" label. I have seen that so often on shy dogs who come into the shelter with any sort of scar on their body and with that in their heads they seem to excuse all behaviors to this poor 'victim'. I try very hard not to look at their history at all until after I have looked at the dog and formed my own opinion on who they are and maybe who they could be.
ReplyDeleteMary
we just had a dog come to our shelter and he had scars on him and because he was a pitbull they assumed he was a bait dog. if a lab comes in with the same scarring maybe they would say he was in a fight. but just because of breed profiling a pitbull with scars gets presumed to be involved with dog fighting. for the record we took this guy into play group and he absoutley loves other dogs.
ReplyDeletekevin
It's sad how a dog's life just gets wasted because of profiling, without a chance to prove himself as Kevin's dog at the shelter was able to do. Should be equal for all.
ReplyDeleteMarthina