Fear Breeding Fear
On Thursday, October 7, I had the opportunity to meet with the city council of Essex Missouri. I must admit, this was my first visit to Essex.
This is a small town in Stoddard County with almost 540 residents. While so many of our small southeast Missouri communities have allowed time and circumstances to tarnish their proud heritage, Essex has maintained their community pride. The residents are warm and welcoming to strangers. Even the older areas of this community are kept to a higher standard.
The reason for my presence was the recently enacted ban on Pit Bulls within the city limits. It is rare I am contacted to help explore alternatives to breed specific ordinances that have already been passed. The aldermen and I had already exchanged information regarding proven alternatives, which made this more of a time for discussion.
Breed specific ordinances are always a reactive measure when an irresponsible owner has allowed their dogs to cause a problem. For the residents of Essex, this irresponsibility coupled with the mass media hysteria generated through irresponsible journalism, has produced an unusually high amount of fear. While I was speaking with the residents preceding the meeting, it became obvious that they have been led to believe all the hype surrounding this much misunderstood breed.
My first consideration when agreeing to meet with this community was of course the welfare of the dogs. After talking with them, I felt another responsibility toward the residents because of their genuine concern for doing what is right and their fierce loyalty to their community. For me, this meeting has opened a new perspective.
We as Pit owners must hold ourselves to a higher standard of conduct. Our dogs are under more scrutiny than any other breed in the history of the domesticated canine. What our dogs do in southeast Missouri, can and does have an effect all over the country. We must be able to educate our own numbers as well as the communities we are a part of. There is only one way to counteract the bad publicity our dogs have received and that is by adhering to the standards set forth for the breed by the original dog men from more than a hundred years ago.
Pit Bulls were never intended to be guard dogs or fashion accessories or the fodder of some weak ego in need of a boost. Yes, these dogs were developed to be great athletes but not at the price of the safety of their owner's family or community.
I have read the documented accounts of the original Pit Bull fanciers. I do not want to fall into the trap of overly romanticizing the original dog men but there is no denying a certain honor amoung these men. Many of the traits of the old bloodlines were developed to keep them honest but in the development of these gladiators they also developed an incredibly intelligent, loving dog that would die because its fierce loyalty to its master. I can not help but fell these old dog men would be ashamed of the corruption we as fanciers have allowed to befall this breed.
Yes, I do feel we have allowed this happen. Somewhere among our numbers it stopped being about preserving our heritage and became all about allowing our dogs to be mass produced and sold to anyone with a few bucks. It is no longer a source of pride that our dogs are above average physically and in temperament or bred to a rigid set of standards. Our predecessors would have never perpetrated such horrifying abuse, the likes of which we have seen from cases like Michael Vick's, merely for the pleasure of a weak personality. I shudder to think of some of the types of retribution these original dog men used to right a wrong back at the turn of the twentieth century but maybe a little harsh justice is called for in this new era.
Only one couple being affected by the breed ban in Essex took the time to attend Thursday's meeting. They are willing to do whatever it takes to insure their pets are allowed to live out their lives in peace. They understand the need to lead by example.
The residents of Essex made me feel humble. I saw first hand what happens when misinformation is allowed to take hold of a community. I also saw what happens when a community refuses to give up making their town the best it can be. This is not reserved for a select few in this small southeast Missouri community. This must be for the good of all and they will not settle for less. Hopefully we can all learn something by what is happening in Essex.
PHOTO INFORMATION: This week's photo is of Darrell, a fully vetted, trained adult male Pit Bull available for adoption through the Silver Rescue in Nashville Tennessee.
Darrell is also something of a celebrity. He graces the cover of the Nashville Paw magazine in honor of October being National Pit Bull Awareness Month.
He had a rough start to life but Karina of Silver Rescue has gone way above and beyond to insure this handsome boy has a bright future.
Transport and the required home visit are easily arranged. For more information on how to adopt Darrell please contact Karina at silverrescue@gmail.com.
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