How Many More Babies Have To Die Before We Admit Pit Bulls Aren’t "Just Like Other Dogs"?

Per earlier reporting, 19 of the previous 21 dog attacks were attributed to pit bulls. This new attack brings that total to 20. The child’s grief-stricken mother pleaded on Facebook, “I will never understand why!!!”

If only there were some PSAs out there about how pit bulls like to feast on newborn children.

It’s not my intention to opportunistically dunk on a grieving mother who likely fell for the propaganda that pit bulls are "just like any other dog", so long as they’re raised by loving, responsible pet owners. The problem is that those of us spreading awareness about the unique dangers pit bulls pose and why having them coexist alongside newborn children is not just unreasonable but negligent are getting incredibly frustrated. It seems like pit bull owners don’t want to listen until their child is next. I have empathy for the misguided, but I’m growing impatient. Their ignorance isn’t harmless; it’s leaving a trail of blood. 

Pit bulls are a litmus test to determine if you’re a danger to society. If you’re still justifying the unleashing of these beasts of burden on innocent children or your friendly neighbor who expects the dignity of walking around their suburb without being mauled to death, I don’t know how you live with yourself. But I beg you to contend with reality: pit bulls are not “just like any other dog.” The pit bull lobby has remained content with robotically chanting, “It’s the owner, not the breed,” in response to any horrifying (often completely avoidable) tragedy, to the point of self-parody.

Their ignorance isn’t harmless; it’s leaving a trail of blood. 

This has become such a tiresome, predictable cycle that the ludicrous copium pit bull stans deploy in response to the slightest criticism has generated its own mimetic ecosystem. We’re all overly familiar with the robotic chantings, “There are no bad dogs, only bad owners,” in response to the millionth completely avoidable child mauling. Liberal, Not Lefty had a fantastic, thorough thread on the problem with pit bulls from the perspective of someone who intimately understands the tall order of responsibility of owning an atypical, aggressive breed. I highly recommend that you read her anecdotes, which are supported by research and the scientific reality of their genetic history. 

Pit bull ownership seems to self-select for the most neglectful, malevolent dregs of society, whose repressed rage against their fellow man is exacted through the proxy of this little dog who shouldn’t even exist. Their breeding history is unconscionably cruel, so it’s natural to empathize with the inhumanity that has brought them into existence through no fault of their own. I’m by no means biased against animals. I’m vegan precisely because I don’t want them to be exploited or harmed for no good reason. 

However, not all animals are made equal, and acknowledging that is just as much about protecting them as it is about everyone else. According to a chart compiled by DogBites.org, a public education website and non-profit about dangerous dog breeds, in the 15 years between 2005 and 2019, dogs killed 521 Americans. Pit bulls were responsible for 346 (66%) of those deaths. I don’t get mad at the snake for biting those who walk through its territory. It’s in its nature. They lack moral agency. Humans are responsible for mitigating the risks and potential for harm that human-bred dogs like pit bulls are responsible for. 

The only problem is, pit bull owners are in denial. They’re a cultish group of people with curious motivations. Some seem to use pit bulls as status symbols, others to signal their tolerance and understanding for the “misunderstood,” and many of them devote their lives to defending pit bulls from any and every incident of brutality they indisputably caused. Their deference for the breed borders on religious zealotry. They’ve turned a dog breed into a symbol of tolerance and anti-racism, projecting progressive social values onto an animal bred for bloodsport. But these dogs aren’t blank slates. 

In the 15 years between 2005 and 2019, dogs killed 521 Americans. Pit bulls were responsible for 346 (66%) of those deaths.

Like all breeds, pit bulls have genetic dispositions shaped by selective breeding. Not even The New York Times denies that fact, citing a recent Cell study that demonstrates breed-specific behaviors, not just appearance, are genetically encoded. Per The New York Times, the study found that ‘each lineage corresponded to a specific category of breeds historically used for tasks such as hunting by scent versus sight or herding versus protecting livestock,’ indicating that common sets of genes were responsible for behaviors among dog breeds well suited for similar tasks. 

Even advocacy groups like the ASPCA, who have extreme pro-pit bull biases and downplay the extent to which the breed is prone to violence due to “environment and upbringing,” acknowledge that the modern pit bull is a descendant of the original English bull-baiting-dog, “a dog that was bred to bite and hold bulls, bears and other large animals around the face and head.” Understanding the true extent of the pit bull’s unpredictable, aggressive temperament, abnormal strength, and relentless fighting instinct even when injured is crucial context for why you should be incredibly wary of adopting such a dog. Pit bulls were bred for bloodsports, and as a result, they possess an undesirable, aggressive temperament that poses a considerable safety concern for anyone in their proximity. 

Statistically, they’re overrepresented in fatal attacks and maulings compared to other breeds, in large part because of their exceptional jaw strength and bite severity. What makes them so deadly isn’t necessarily the mere fact that they’re more aggressive than other breeds or that they bite more often, but that when they do, it causes severe damage, if it isn’t fatal. In an analysis of 1,616 dog bite cases, pit bulls were responsible for more than 50% of bites requiring surgical intervention and were 2.5 times as likely to bite in multiple anatomic locations compared to other breeds.

Once they start to fight or to bite, they don’t stop. This is a quality known as “gameness,” resulting in exceptional tenacity and a willingness to continue attacking even when the pit bull is injured, fatigued, or in pain. That makes them exceptionally dangerous. The fact that pit bulls can attack unprovoked, out of the blue, after years of a seemingly docile disposition within the context of a trusting environment, like family, makes them disturbingly unpredictable. And that’s really the crux of the issue: no one can tell when a pit bull will strike. It seems to happen without warning, for no apparent reason, even against their trusted owners or children. They’re also more likely to aim for fatal attack zones like the head or neck, which is what makes them such a high-risk pet to have around children. 

Do pit bull owners care to acknowledge these facts? No. Unlike any other breed aficionado, they have an unwavering loyalty to the pit bull’s innocence, insisting they’re never to blame and no more likely to cause harm than a chihuahua, and raising awareness about their breed-specific risks is paramount to racism. The ignorance as public liability is bad enough, but the pit mommies (and daddies) go even further in their bloodlust by insisting that their murderous canines be permitted to roam around the neighborhood unleashed or on curiously loose and long leashes up in everyone’s personal space.  

Pit bulls were bred for bloodsports, and as a result, they possess an undesirable, aggressive temperament that poses a considerable safety concern for anyone in their proximity. 

There’s no regard for the safety of other people or other dogs. Speaking of other dogs, pit bulls have a high genetic predisposition for dog-directed aggression because they were bred to attack and kill other dogs. Even PETA supports breed-specific legislation banning their breeding, proposing mandatory spaying and neutering, and imposing strict regulations on their care.

This is a plea to anyone hoping to take on a pit bull as a pet project they think they can fix: pit bulls are uniquely dangerous, unpredictable, and accurately regarded as “ticking timebombs.” Call up your ex if you want to waste your time trying to fix someone who can’t be fixed. But don’t terrorize your neighborhood with these poor dogs who are slaves to their faulty programming. And for the love of God, do not put one so close to your child, or we will, at some point, need to take drastic measures.