A Load of Bull! by Kemlyn

Taken from his Myspace Blog


Recently (Jan '07) another poor child has lost their life at the jaws of a so-called 'devil-dog'. The animal was judged to be a pit-bull type banned under the Dangerous Dogs act in 1991.

This type of dog is one that has served man faithfully for thousands of years yet has often been maligned for the very traits which we have harnessed for our own benefit. Artwork for many ancient civilizations shows images of large headed, well muscled and athletic dogs. These animals were used for hunting, guarding, for war and unfortunately also to fight other dogs, other creatures and even men in 'sporting' contests.

This last activity reflects the darker side of man's nature, and it is indeed these very failings that have caused the problems we see with these loyal, courageous creatures. The process of selecting, breeding and training fearless, powerful and aggressive killers is one that has always had to go hand-in-hand with certain safety measures.

Nobody would want a beast that bit the hand that fed it, particularly one which would take that hand clean off! The handlers themselves often change, what with the dogs being sold on to new owners, and the animals have to be able to settle into their new environment. Dogs had to be safe enough to be physically removed by the handler from an animal they could still be fighting, without danger of biting the human handler.

Anyone who has responisbly cared for any of these amazing creatures will no doubt validate their trustworthiness. But trust can be broken and this is where irresponsible and ill-suited owners can produce a situation qwhere these dogs will attact out of place.

Like any working animal the relationship between man and beast is the key. In 99.999% of cases these dogs are the best companions their human pals could hope for. The problem occurs when people try to turn man's best friend into man's worst nightmare.

The pattern is always the same - the dogs are teased, abused and enouraged to show aggression for all living things. They are allowed to establish dominance over all but the actual owner, who will usually enforce his position with menace. The poor creatures learn to trust no-one, fear everyone and endup being aggresive when they don't get the attention they need.

The situation becomes like a bomb waiting to go off, and go off it often does. The bottom line is that in the wrong hands, practically anything can be dangerous. It's the people who use dogs, cars, knives, guns and anything else to menace society, that are the problem, not the tools they use. I see that stringent licensing of dog owners, particularly of large breeds, should come into force. These animals were bred to save life, not to take it.