Hatred Burns White Hot

Human beings make these choices, not Pit Bulls. Who needs to be legislated?

Pit Bull female chained and left at food bank. Euthanized despite the offer of rescue. 38 year old man and 11 year old boy arrested for dog fighting. Man was encouraging child to throw puppies over fence and inciting dogs to attack puppies. Child was very happily obliging. Four month old female Pit puppies dumped in ten run shelter to be killed. Senior male Pit Bull dumped by family unwilling to ease the pain of arthritis, scheduled to be killed. Seven month old male Pit Bull being dumped by family moving. Two Pit Bulls chained in backyard being slowly starved to death. Abused Pit Bull dumped in shelter to be killed despite $200 in sponsorship money. Seven month Pit Bull female handed over to neighbors for dog fighting, dead. Two year old male Pit Bull, wonderful temperament, dumped in street because owners did not want to be bothered any longer, scheduled to be killed. Two year old male Pit Bull abandoned on chain in backyard, weighs 20 pounds, barely able to walk, scheduled to be killed. Four week old Pit Bull pups killed because they were too young to survive the shelter and too young to be altered making them unadoptable. One year old female Pit Bull fully vetted, spayed, perfect temperament, killed in shelter because she was a Pit Bull. Dead eight week old Pit Bull puppy found emaciated, hung by rope around his mid section with a piece of chicken just out of his reach. Emaciated adult male Pit Bull found chained in attic, muzzle duct taped shut, food and water just out of reach. Misdemeanor animal abuse charges dropped because the legal system could not decide if it was cruelty.

These are just a tiny fraction of the subject lines of emails I receive every single day. These do not include the reports of owners that have allowed their ill bred, untrained, anti-social dogs to run loose terrorizing neighborhoods, attacking people and pets, to the point that breed bans and restrictions are enacted, hammering one more nail into the coffin of the Pit Bull breed as a whole. This is the reality of irresponsible owners and the depths of cruelty a human being is capable of inflicting. I am bombarded by this every day.

This does not reflect the messages left on my telephone from people wishing to dump their dogs due to moving, sudden on set allergies, girl friend/boy friend does not like, neighbors are scared, "I'm working the same job I had when I adopted the cute puppy but now don't have enough time to spend with the adolescent dog" and my personal favorite, "He bites but I want to dump him on someone else because I can't do what is right and have him put down. You can surely find a good home for him."

The last statement is one that I have heard numerous times and it reflects the ultimate ignorance. It is usually followed by an attempt at justification of an individual's irresponsible actions and an attack on my personality because I refuse to let them dump their guilt and weakness of character on me. NO MORE!

I can no longer tolerate this constant violation of my heart and soul. My loved ones see what is left of me after I face this endless stream of negative behavior and the unimaginable horrors of abuse to a dog breed I love. These people are destroying something I love as surely as if they were shooting every Pit Bull they see. Their ignorance is the cause of breed bans. Their ignorance is the cause of death and carnage. Their ignorance has so over whelmed Pit Bull rescue that we loose puppies whose only crime is being born. Yet they refuse to see this and they are allowed to continue lying to themselves that it is alright because compassionate individuals worry more about cleaning up their messes than about making them face reality.

News flash.....this is reality. It is ugly, it is brutal and it stinks of death. For every success that sustains us, rescuers must deal with failures that chip away at our humanity, that threaten to kill our hope. For me, I simply cannot deal with it anymore.

I am sick of the threats to shoot a dog in the head if I don't step up, or dump it in a high kill shelter if I don't step up, or let the scum down the street take it and use it for bait if I don't step up. Another news flash, I am not stepping up anymore. That is your dog and if you can live with the consequences of your actions, fine.

My dogs are well cared for, social to a fault, loved without restrictions. I work an unbelievable schedule, yet would never neglect the needs of two adult Pit Bulls that have already more than paid their dues. Any allergies I may have can be controlled with medication. I would live in a box in an alley before I would dump any dog of mine. My boyfriend may not share my passion for the Pit Bull but he understands my dedication to this breed makes me who I am just as surely as my eye color. He respects me and what I do enough to never emotionally blackmail me by demanding I make a choice. My lifestyle is built on a foundation of responsibility to ALL my animals.

I will continue to fight for my right to responsibly own the dog of my choice. I will continue to educate the public at every opportunity. I will continue to train in the hopes that one less dog will be dumped into the system to die. I will continue to cross post for those in need.

I will NOT answer anymore calls requesting rescue. I will NOT be the one to feel the life leave the body of anymore healthy animals. I will NOT be the one to take the final ultimate responsibility for someone else's ignorance.