Me and my dogs in Halifax, Nova Scotia

I got an awesome comment from someone who actually lives in Yarmouth. He thinks that the problem with dog bites and maulings is actually with pit bulls and not with dog owners - and he wants me to prove otherwise - so I'm going to try and do it. And I hope that he checks back with this blog so that he reads it, and I hope that he actually reads and thinks about what I say. So here is what he wrote -

"Actually, the breeds are the problem.

Give me a list of breeds that kill people every year.

Post it.

I'm going to guess what the "top dog" is......

What is the point of owning a pitbull?

Give me a real good reason other than because I want one.

I live in Yarmouth in the south end....you have no idea what you are talking about.There is an unbelievable amount of these animals in a 5x5 block area.

In this area, the people are poorer,less educated,there is violence and drugs,drugs,drugs.

Most owners in Yarmouth of pitbulls are thug idiots.....it's true.Come here and tell me it's not.Even the owners who aren't thugs are...well...horrible dog owners let alone pitbull owners.

A pitbull under the best circumstances is still a dangerous animal and if you are a pro pitbull person you have to admit that to yourself."

First off, I'm not going to post a list of breeds that kill dogs every year - because those lists are meaningless - a lot of times those lists are compiled by people or groups that want to make pit bull type dogs look bad and or they're compiled non scientifically ie through media reports - and I don't know if you've noticed - but just about every time you hear a negative story in the news it starts out as having been caused by a "pit bull" - but once the story progresses - then the truth starts to leak out and it ends up being a "bulldog" or a "boxer mix" or a "mastiff" - or some very non pit bull type dog in the end - so statistics tend to be meaningless.

I can only give you my personal reasons for owning a pit bull type dog - or one of the other breeds that Yarmouth town council is looking at banning, and that is rottweillers - and that is the type and intensity of love that they are legendary for giving. They are very much known as being a very loving breed of dog - and once my very elderly current crop of dogs has passed on - I have plans on acquiring a pit bull type dog for that very reason - because I want to experience that level of devotion. I can't wait for it actually and am very much local forward to it.

And in today's world - that's the only real reason for dogs - companionship - I don't have any sheep that need coralling, or cows that need bringing in for milking. I'm not blind, well not completely - so the only thing I need a dog for is love - and a pit bull type dog gives that to you 110% - compared to some other breeds which can be quite aloof.

I feel bad that the area you live in is rife with drugs and thugs - and I hope that you are taking an active part in making your community better and turning it into a good place for you and your family to live in.

I guess maybe you're thinking that the first and easiest thing to do is by working to get this dog bylaw passed with the breed specific legislation in it so that the thugs can't own their breed of choice so that they can threaten you with their scary, uncontrolled pit bulls - and you say that even people who aren't thugs - even normal people who own pit bulls, tend to also be shitty dog owners. That's too bad.

I have bad news for you though. If this dog bylaw passes with the breed specific legislation in it - the pit bulls in your neighbourhood will go away - because the thugs won't feel like dealing with the hassle of having to get $500,000 in liability insurance, and having to muzzle their dogs whenever they leave their house - but I have to tell you - the thugs will still be living in your neighbhourhood - and those thugs are still going to want to have scary dogs of some type - they just won't be dongs of the 5 types that Yarmouth has put restrictions on - and I have to tell you - there are a lot of breeds of dogs out there that will fit their bill.

There are some breeds of dog - like this Mioritic from Romania - that all he has to do basically is sit on you, he's so huge - that you'd be a goner. Can you imagine this guy being walked down the main street of Yarmouth and you not feeling intimidated?

I can guarantee you that if bsl passes in Yarmouth that nothing will change - you will still have the thugs with scary dogs - they might just be diffrent looking scary dogs - what WILL change is that the Yarmouth SPCA is going to get a lot more dogs come into their rescue that they will have a hard time placing because RESPONSIBLE dog owners will be afraid of adopting them because they know that they will have to get $500,000 of liability insurance and they will have to muzzle them in public - which would be too much to bear for them - so those dogs will have no choice but to be put to sleep - so it's not the thugs who will suffer - it will be the DOGS and the RESPONSIBLE DOG OWNERS and the RESCUES who will suffer.

And I'm sorry - I do have to disagree with you when you say that "A pitbull under the best circumstances is still a dangerous animal and if you are a pro pitbull person you have to admit that to yourself" - I am a person who believes that dogs are like humans and that every dog is an individual - and that breeds are like races and cultures in humans - a "Pit bull type dog" may have certain characteristics like other pit bull type dogs in that they may tend to be more attentive to their humans and have a higher tolerance for being able to take pain, and border collies are famous for being able to herd anything - and in humans Canadians are known for their friendliness and Asian people are known for people smart.

But I'm sure you know some Canadians who are proper assholes and some Asians who are butt-fuck stupid.

Any dog can bite - just this week a shih-tzu bit the end off a woman's nose in a Home Depot - his owner was fined and issued a muzzle order - which is the proper thing to do - but no onw would say that all shih-tzu's are inherently dangerous, would they? That would be ridiculous - but they're so ready to do that to pit bulls whenever a story is in the news.

I don't know if I've said anything that will change that commenters opinions - but I do know one thing - if bsl is passed in Yarmouth - it will do nothing but give the town a false sense of security - especially since the new bylaw would have done absolutely nothing to stop the mauling that instigated this whole process.

In the bylaw - all the restricted breeds will have to be muzzled and leashed whenever off the owners property - but the pit bull type dog who mauled the woman was inside his own home when the attack started - which is where almost all dog bites happen - 61% of dog bites happen in the home and 77% of bite victims are family members.

This new bylaw would do nothing to stop that attack from happening again - the only thing that will stop it is by holding bad dog owners accountable - and that's what dangerous dog bylaws do - and I've already gone through that, so I won't bore you again.

I want to finish off with a super article from Ian Dunbar - the world's best dog trainer - called "Breedism" - and he talks about everything that I've talked about in this blog post, only 100 times better.

I'll copy here what he says at the end of the article - what he says is the "solution" -

"The solution is not to ban specific foreign makes of automobile. Instead we ban cars that are not road-worthy, we teach people how to drive and we penalize irresponsible drivers. Similarly, banning specific foreign breeds of dog will not prevent dog bites. Instead, as a short-term solution to protect the public from dangerous dogs, it is only common sense to confine and/or muzzle dogs that have nipped or bitten (i.e., keep them off the streets) and although I love dogs, I really think it is kindest to all concerned to euthanize dogs that have maimed or killed."