Flashback: Series of Pit Bull Attacks Stirs a Clamor for Laws

New York Times Reports the Pit Bull Problem (1987)
New York - To continue addressing the fact that the pit bull problem is over 20-years old, and that laws have hardly shifted since, we bring you to an article published by the New York Times in 1987. Pit bull advocates voice the same arguments today. The media reports the same arguments too, in addition to the onslaught of victim tragedies. Will corrective steps ever be taken?

Broken Record Debate

• "When Raylene Smith sees a pit bull, she sees a killer. Her mind flashes back to the day two years ago when two pit bulls knocked her to the ground, tearing at her stomach, legs, arms and thighs...
• "Breeders of pit bulls and other interested organizations say there is no justification for singling out pit bulls when other breeds such as German shepherds or Doberman pinschers can be equally dangerous...
• ''It's gotten to the point where anything with four legs, tail on the south and teeth on the north is a pit bull,'' said Jean Fletcher of the American Dog Owners Association in Castleton, N.Y. The group has established the Canine Defense Fund to fight pit bull ordinances....

Endless Stream of Victims

• "The Humane Society of the United States says that since July 1983, pit bulls have been responsible for 20 of the 28 deaths after dog bites in the nation, including all five this year. The breed accounts for perhaps 1 percent of all dogs in the nation...
• "In the past week alone, a 3-year-old Ohio girl lost part of her nose after she was attacked by her family's pit bull and a Michigan man was charged with assault with a deadly weapon when his pit bull attacked a 12-year-old girl...
• "Ms. Smith, 45, who still suffers nerve damage from the attack, said the emotional effects linger long after the assaults. ''I can't remember the pain, I can only remember the terror. I remember thinking, they're killing me and I can't stop them...

Pit Bulls and Criminals

• ''We're seeing a growing propensity to have mean dogs in an age when we're increasingly distrustful of law enforcement,'' Dr. Lockwood said. ''But we're also seeing the general public less willing to put up with people who are unwilling to restrain their dangerous animals...
• "They say pit bulls are increasingly being bought by careless owners or owners who are intentionally training them to be vicious watchdogs or attack dogs. The dogs have become increasingly popular with youth gangs and drug dealers, officials say...
• ''There is a new type of pit bull coming about - wild, savage, ugly, uncontrollable,'' said Samuel McClain, a former investigator with the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in Philadelphia. ''You can tell by the names - Homicide, Switchblade, Crazy Pete...

The pit bull problem is not new. The debate points are not new. The fact that pit bulls were selectively bred for dogfighting and are genetically hardwired toward violence is not new. The serious injury pit bulls inflict on their victims is not new. The link between pit bulls and criminality is not new. The only thing that is new about pit bulls, compared to 20 years ago, is that there are a lot more of them.

Pit bulls continue to sport fitting names, such as, Killer, Felony, Junkie, Al Qaeda, Brute, Beast, Vicious, Savage and others. In most cities, owners of these dogs continue to be slapped on the wrist after an attack that results in serious injury as well. Meanwhile, as new victims are created on a daily basis, victims that suffered serious attacks 20 years ago are still coping with their injuries today.

The "wild, savage, ugly, uncontrollable" pit bull Samuel McClain refers has come to fruition.

Related article:
07/03/08: Coverage of the Henry Piotrowski Pit Bull Mauling

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