Pariah pit bulls: bullies or pussycats?

CORNWALL — Back in the 1920s and 1930s, “Our Gang,� also known as “The Little Rascals,� was a series of comedy film shorts breaking new ground by portraying genders and races as equals. One of its most beloved characters was a dog named Petey.

The original Petey was also the Buster Brown dog. He was an American Staffordshire Terrier, informally known as a pit bull — the first of its kind to be registered with the American Kennel Club.

Last week The Little Guild of St. Francis Animal Shelter in Cornwall teamed up with Animal Farm Foundation, a rescue group based in Amenia, N.Y., and its neighbor, the National Canine Research Council (NCRC) to present a forum on “bully dog� breeds that shelters find difficult to place. So many of the dogs that languish in shelters are the victims of stereotyping.

The NCRC takes its presentation across the country to educate the public, as well as many misinformed rescuers, about the myths surrounding breeds that fall into the pit bull category, as well as German shepherds, Doberman pinschers, Newfoundlands, bull dogs and numerous types of hounds.

In emergencies, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) leases trailers to those who have lost their homes. But, according to Don Cleary, of the NCRC, nine breeds are prohibited from living in those trailers. The agreement specifically notes that these dogs may have “locking jaws.â€�  But, there is no such thing, Cleary said. Still, many insurance companies will either deny homeowners coverage or charge higher premiums when a dog considered a “high riskâ€� for aggression is in residence.

For more than an hour, he talked about the myths and answered questions. The group of about 30 participants represented rescue shelters, law enforcement, groomers, trainers, students and the press. It was much like preaching to the choir. Most of those in the room own or deal regularly with “vicious� breeds, and know they can be lovable, loyal and obedient.

Pit bull is not a breed unto itself, seminar attendees were told. It encompasses a large number of more specific breeds. But the description of pit bull has come to mean to most people a dog to be feared —one bred as a killer.

“Their negative image attracted substandard owners,� Cleary said. “People who wanted them for purposes other than a pet. They’re not vicious dogs. It’s a vicious cycle.�

The NCRC says accurate breed identification is a way of being able to better deal with expected behavioral traits and match dogs with adoptive owners.  It’s not as easy as one might think.

Not easy to determine breed

One of the Animal Farm workers brought her recently adopted 6-month old puppy: a somewhat shy, very sweet female named Faith.

A bit unnerved by the roomful of people upstairs, she stayed mostly in the lobby, where those who took the time to overcome her shyness were rewarded with kisses.

They wondered about her breed, guessing she was a mix with the likes of beagle or Dalmatian to some degree.

These people, who work with dogs, were wrong. DNA testing showed Faith to be 100 percent pit bull. It shows how difficult it is to determine breed. After viewing photos of two dogs, forum participants were hard pressed to pick out their offspring and a subsequent generation in a grouping of dogs.

The presentation centered on debunking much of the information that is out there, blaming the media and an information-saturation culture for facilitating the myths.

Cleary showed one example after another of stories by the country’s biggest newspapers and news magazines that quoted shelter workers, animal control officers and “experts� testifying in court with what he called misinformation. When questioned, Cleary conceded the basis of the problem is a lack of information, particularly by those who are held up as experts.

For those seeking more information on “the media, myths and politics of canine aggression,� NCRC founder Karen Delise has published “The Pit Bull Placebo.�

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