Four months ago, a dog described as a pit bull fatally mauled a Canadian woman. Montreal responded by enacting a breed-specific bylaw that requires the euthanization of pit bulls and pit bull lookalikes without homes or in shelters.
When I first heard about this new bylaw, I was both enraged and heartbroken. My family rescued a beautiful mutt two years ago. We named her Minnie, and she is nothing short of family to us.
But Minnie has a square head and is often confused for a pit bull.
The bylaw requires the euthanasia of unowned dogs described as American Staffordshire terrier, American pit bull terrier, Staffordshire bull terrier, any mix of the listed breeds or any dog with the characteristics of these breeds.
This means almost any dog with a square head and stocky stance could be at risk. Dogs such as boxers, bulldogs, mastiffs or any member of the bull terrier family could fall under this new bylaw.
Current owners of dogs that fall under that description will need to purchase a permit in order to keep their pet. The dogs must also be vaccinated, sterilized and microchipped.
In public, owners must muzzle their dogs and keep them on a leash no longer than 4 feet. Failure to meet any of these requirements allows the city to seize and euthanize the animal.
While I understand the city’s desire to reduce bite injuries to their citizens, breed specific legislation (BSL) is both ineffective and immoral. Laws should focus on responsible pet ownership, not eliminating a breed.
Any dog is potentially dangerous. My mother always warned me that anything with teeth can bite. Whether it’s a teacup poodle or a Great Dane, dogs can bite.
According to a peer-reviewed summary on dog bite risk and prevention by the American Veterinary Medical Association, the dog breeds most associated with biting incidents were the German shepherd, mixed breeds, Rottweiler, Jack Russell terriers and others like chows, spaniels, collies, Saint Bernards and Labrador retrievers.
It’s a simple matter of physics that larger dogs have larger teeth and a more powerful bite. This doesn’t mean that we should no longer keep large dogs as pets or that dogs are inherently dangerous. But by incorporating dogs into our society, we’ve acknowledged a risk. We have bonded with powerful animals.
BSL is barely even breed-specific. Dogs don’t come with a label. Shelters base breed identification on looks and not genetics.
In 2014, the Journal of Animal Welfare Science published a study on pit bull identification. In the study, researchers provided a set of 20 pictures of dogs to shelter workers in both the U.K. and U.S. They were asked to identify pit bull and pit bull mixed breeds from the pictures alone.
The results varied widely in both countries.There wasn’t a universal agreement on which dogs were pit bulls or pit bull mixes. One significant finding from the study was that shelter workers in areas with BSL were more likely to identify dogs as a pit bull.
According to an article on preventing dog bites by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, children have the highest rate of reported dog bites. Among children, dog bite-related injuries are highest between the ages of five to nine.
The study also states that over half of dog bite-related injuries occur at home with dogs that are familiar.
This doesn’t mean Fido the family pet is a bad dog. Sometimes kids don’t think about things. They get excited, they’re loud, they like to poke and prod things. That can be stressful for anyone, including a well-behaved dog.
Responsible dog ownership is the clear and obvious answer. Supervise your dogs around children. Encourage dog owners to spay and neuter their dogs. Don’t leave dogs chained up outside. Walk your dog with a leash.
That’s part of being a dog owner, loving and respecting your dog at the same time. I don’t think Minnie would harm anyone, but I still do everything I can to protect her and anyone who may come in contact with her.
I’ve grown up with dogs my entire life, and Minnie is by far the most affectionate. She’s a lap dog and a cuddle bunny. At night she waits for me to lift up the covers so she can crawl underneath and sleep next to me. I cannot imagine my life without her. But I still know she can bite, just like any other dog.
