Pitbulls Get a Bad Rap…or Do They?

We’re having dinner with a gigantic white elephant tomorrow night. It will be the first time my partner and my grown-up kids get to meet, and while we get to know each other, there will be a topic that we all will hope to avoid. It’s right there, and yet, nobody wants to really talk about it.  When we brought it up and asked her about her choice in puppies, she burst into tears.

Her daughter was thrilled the other day when they brought home a puppy. A puppy with beady little eyes and a jaw that will soon grow into a powerful weapon…yes, as so often happens at local shelters the one they picked is a pit bull.

The first thing I thought about was my friend who told me when his tenants get pit bulls his insurance jumps up so much he wrote a clause in his leases to prohibit them from living there. This led to my clicking on links providing a horror show of reasons that this was a bad, bad choice for the new family pet.

There will always be people who defend the breed, pulling out the old phrase ‘it’s not the dog it’s the owner.’ There are certainly two sides to this debate, even the Wikipedia entry says there are many conflicting points of view.

I just hope that this elephant doesn’t grow up to be one of those terrifying pit bulls I’ve seen straining at their leashes on the street, or who make the papers after taking a bite out of a neighbor’s cocker spaniel.