Pit Bull Discrimination

Pit Bull Discrimination: A Review of Literature

Laura Duarte
University of Texas at El Paso

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Abstract

For a long time, Pit Bull breeds have been given the bad reputation of being a vicious,
dangerous dog. Those loving, gentle family companions have been victimized by the spread of
false accusations and stereotypes by the medias perspective. Instead of dog owners or morally
questionable people taking responsibility for what or how they treat their pets, they quickly begin
to point fingers at the dogs. Before jumping to conclusions or before believing any stereotypes
about Pit Bulls, do some research and learn for yourself and those around you what it means to
own a Pit Bull or associating with one.

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Pit Bull Discrimination: A Literature Review

For years, there has been a constant debate about Pit Bulls, whether if they are naturally
born vicious dog or if they are simply misunderstood. A lot of people think that itss always the
dogs fault when an incident happens but they never stop to think if the one actually at fault is the
owner. A dogs behavior is a reflection of their owner, if the owner is aggressive and neglectful
then the dog will learn to be so as well and if the owner is caring and loving then the dog will
also be a gentle, loving pet. When an incident does happen and the media reports it, you never
know if they are telling the whole truth because many reporters either exaggerate, lie, or leave
out important information so they can report the story however they want it and most likely make
the dog seem like a menace. Not many people are educated on Pit Bulls and yet they still have
the need to throw out negative opinions about them as if theyre experts. One has to understand
that Pit Bulls are living, breathing creatures and they have feelings too but there are some things
a citizen can do to feel safer. To fully comprehend the Pit Bull breeds, three questions have to be
considered:
1. What are the laws regarding Pit Bull regulations and bans in Texas?
2. What does the term Pit Bull refer to?
3. How does the media portray Pit Bulls?
The following review will: provide information regarding laws on Pit Bulls, what a Pit Bull is,
as well as how the media takes part in the Pit Bulls bad reputation.

What are the laws regarding Pit Bull bans in Texas?

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Laws regarding Pit Bulls bans or restrictions in Texas depends on the city and/or county.
In some cities, Pit Bulls are completely banned from being owned within the city limits and in
other cities, Pit Bulls can be owned but the owners have to follow a certain sets of regulations.
For example, in Madisonville, Texas it is unlawful to own a Pit Bull unless at the time of the
ordinance is occurring, a person already owns said dog is allowed to keep them but have to
follow all of the provisions of the ordinance. The regulations the owner of a Pit Bull has to
follow are that the dog has to wear a muzzle when not confined and a leash not exceeding four
feet in length, the dog has to be confined in a secure structure upon the premises of the owner at
all times, the enclosed area has to be fenced with a minimum of 10 ft. wide, 10 ft. long, and the
owner has to put a visible warning sign with the warning symbol on the premises (City of
Madisonville, TX, 2008). Since the 1980s and early 1990s a Breed-specific legislation
(BSL) began to emerge. These BSL laws target specific breeds for regulation or, in some cases,
ban completely. There are some states that have considered putting a BSL on Pit Bulls and other
breeds that they deem dangerous. Some states dont approve of the BSL legislature and have
prohibited BSL enactment. Florida, Minnesota, and Texas are against BSL. If the approach to
ban the Pit Bull breeds was taken, it will affect the large number of citizens that these dogs help,
as opposed to attack. Pit Bulls are working dogs too, other than being family companions,
theyre search and rescue dogs for finding missing children and lost dementia patients, they help
kids become stronger readers, as well as seizure watch dogs, diabetic alert dogs and other dog
services. There are also existing laws that instead of targeting an entire breed, governments can
address the specific, handful of dogs that are the actual problem. Those laws permit government
to seize and/or destroy any animal they deem dangerous and they can also have the dog

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tattooed, sterilized, etc. or any other action appropriate to protect the public (Larry
Cunningham, 62).

What does the term Pit Bull refer to?

Many people dont fully understand what a Pit Bull really is, they get the term confused
and twisted and call any dog that only resembles a Pit Bull a Pit Bull. The name Pit Bull is a
general term referring to the American Pit Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier, Bull
Terrier, and the Staffordshire Terrier. There have been incidents where a person who reports a
dog attack claims that it was a Pit Bull but they misidentified the breed because itss easy to
blame it on them. The name Pit Bull may be overused and applied to a variety of mixed breed
dogs that are not actually Pit Bull breeds (Mallary A. Paoli, 2012). A different case involving a
dog attack in the mid-1970s, newspapers from different states reported it but they all used a
different breed description. The name of the breed changed from Bulldog to Pit Bull and back an
d forth; one of the newspapers couldnt make up its mind to what breed the dog was so they
mixed and matched the behavior of an American Pit Bull Terrier with that of the English
Bulldog. The article then gave a false theory about certain breed having a locking jaw because
it was reported in the attack (Karen Delise, 2007).

How does the media portray Pit Bulls?

Its no surprise that the media tends to tell a one-sided story and omit certain information
in order to make the story more newsworthy. Media sources has a certain amount of influence

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and so they use that to mislead the publics perception of Pit Bulls and portray them in a negative
way. Not only in news stories do they negatively affect Pit Bulls image but also in music videos.
In many rap music videos it shows a basic illustration of a snarling or generally aggressive
behaving Pit Bull surrounded by gangsters and thugs, resulting in most people having a negative
reaction to it (Mallary A. Paoli, 2012). There has been occurences where there was a dog attack
incident and Pit Bulls were falsely accused for it, It has been stated in many places that
newspapers and television news stations have very little interest in dog attacks unless a Pit Bull
was involved, but is difficult to trace the number of dog attacks actually reported versus the ones
that made it to the publics news( Mallary A. Paoli, 2012). With that being said, it leaves a
disturbing question of how many innocent Pit Bulls have been put down because of false
accusations. Pack journalism is another factor in the medias portrayal of Pit Bull breeds. Pack
journalism is when reporter from smaller publications get their stories from published newspaper
articles and write their own version of it and because of that, it is very possible that the facts are
twisted and distorted. Due to the publics lack of knowledge and ignorance the media seizes that
opportunity to gain consumers attention by making any false Pit Bull claims and stereotypes a
reality (for example, saying Pit Bulls are genetically vicious, and the myth that they have
locking jaws). A story that demonstrates how media leaves important information out of the story
happened in September of 1983 in Cincinnati: a child was mauled to death by his family dog, a
Pit Bull. It wasnt until several days after the incident, details about the events surfaced. The
family dog belonged to someone else a teenager stole the dog from its owners backyard and
the teen was possibly abusing the dog to turn in into a fighting dog. Out of fear of being caught,
the teen sold the dog to the victims father and took him home to mate with their female Pit Bull.
One day, the boy wandered near the chained dogs while the female was in heat; the male

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attacked and killed the boy. When the rightful owner of the male Pit Bull came, he noted that his
dog looked much thinner and was in poor health (Jamey Medlin, 2007). People and media are
quick to blame the dog when they dont even know the events that led up to the tragedy.

Conclusion
Any dog can become vicious, all pets for that matter, if not treated with love and respect.
Dont let peoples ignorance and judgements or media influence change your mind about Pit
Bulls, they want a home and companionship. Many dogs, mostly Pit Bulls, are being abandoned,
disowned or worse, euthanized. We have to stop the animal cruelty thats happening and also not
let Pit Bulls or other breeds fall victim to bad people, theyre the ones to blame.

References

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-

Larry Cunningham, The Case Against Dog Breed Discrimination By Homeowners'

Insurance Companies 11 Conn. Ins. L.J. 1 (2004-2005)

Sara K. Enos. The Problem with People, not Pit Bulls. (2014).
Mallary A. Paoli (2012). Perception of Pit Bulls and Other Canine Breeds. Honors

Baccalaureate of Science in Animal Sciences, pg.1- pg. 12.

An Ordinance to Regulate the Keeping of Pit Bull Breed Dogs and Other Vicious Dogs
Within the City of Madisonville, Texas (2008). file:///F:/Pit%20Bull%20ban%20in

%20law%20Madosinville%20TX.pdf
56 DePaul L. Rev. 1285 (2007)
Delise, K. 2007. The pit bull placebo. Natl. Canine Res. Council. Available:
http://nationalcanineresearchcouncil.com/uploaded_files/tinymce/Pit_Bull_Placeb
o_download.pdf