Her pit's 'a lover,' not a fighter, owner says
Pit bulls have an undeserved reputation as violent, says a defender of the breed, who wants owners under more scrutiny.
Appearances proved deceiving.
"She was just a lover," said Dottie's mom, Dorothy Michel, who lives in Jordan. "My husband started calling her Underfoot because that's where she always was -- underfoot."
Spend some time with Dottie, 37, and her pit bull, Bailey, now 3, and the image of the homicidal canine seems the stuff of yesterday's headlines. With the delicacy of a kiss, Bailey takes one Cheeto after another from the hand of 2-year-old Jordan, who's visiting. The family kitten sleeps on Bailey's tummy. "She's my baby girl," said Dottie, who lives in Carver.
But it was one of those headlines that prompted Dottie to e-mail the newspaper as "a proud pitbull owner." She wrote that she is one of many savvy owners who are being tarnished by those less responsible whenever a tragedy involves the breed. Earlier this summer, a pit bull chained to a pole in a Minneapolis family's basement killed their 7-year-old son. The dog had previously attacked the boy and two adults, according to Hennepin County officials.
"I wish someone would do a story about the good, loving pits!" she wrote. OK then, Dottie, start us off:
"I feel for the family, but with a dog tied in the basement, well, you know, yeah," she said, as if such an outcome were too obvious for words. "If Bailey were to bite somebody, like how that little boy got attacked, I'd be the first one to put her down."
Granted, that's easy to say when your dog hasn't bitten anyone -- which, happily, is most dog owners' experience. There are more than 68 million pet dogs and 301 million people in the United States. Dogs of all breeds bite more than 4.7 million people nationwide each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Of those, about 360,000 need emergency room treatment; about half of those are children.
Both Michels are somewhere in those statistics. "I got bit by a Yorkshire terrier," Dorothy said. Added Dottie: "I got bit by a wiener dog."
They laughed at the irony of these little yappers taking their toll in the face of calls to ban the pit bull breed. Then, more seriously, they said it's better to consider banning certain owners.
"Why don't they check these people out more, like they do for guns, when they want to buy a pit bull?" Dorothy asked. Dottie said she spent hours from puppyhood onward socializing Bailey, bringing her everywhere to make her at ease around people. "She was with me always," she said. As she spoke, Jordan, the toddler, dropped the metal tube of a broken wind chime on the kitchen floor. Clang! Bailey, lounging under the table, never flinched.
Still, Dottie knows that she's one irresponsible dog owner away from trouble. She's alert to other dogs coming near, whether on the sidewalk or at her son's ballgames. Pit bulls were bred to fight other dogs, she said, so their aggressiveness is more directed to those with four legs than with two.
Still, the question remains: Why -- given all the breeds of dogs -- would you choose one that comes with so much baggage? Well, she didn't, actually. Bailey was a gift from a former husband who raised pit bulls. Now, though, she wouldn't have it any other way. "I love her stocky build, I love her stocky head, I love her muscles, I love her butt," Dottie said. "Yes, they are more aggressive. Yes, they have those muscles. Yes, they have that jaw. If I saw her come charging at me, I'd be afraid of her."
But that, ahem, is the point. When a stranger comes to the door, Bailey growls. Some neighbors have called the police, frightened off the sidewalk when Bailey barks. Yet on one recent afternoon, two teenage girls strolled the perimeter of the corner lot, provoking no reaction.
Dottie, who works at a technology company in Chaska and part-time at a kennel, also has two parakeet pairs, two cats, another puppy and a "teenage" dog that's half-pit, a quarter-lab and a quarter-St. Bernard that she took in from a co-worker overwhelmed by its energy. She's trying to find it a good home. Would that other overwhelmed pit owners knew when to call it quits, she said.
And don't even get her started on Michael Vick, the Atlanta Falcons quarterback who pleaded guilty to being involved with illegal dog-fighting. Or on Whoopi Goldberg, who tried to defend Vick as being from the Deep South, where dog fighting is more common.
"She said he was 'cultured' that way," Dottie said. "Well, that's just what I'm saying: You can 'culture' those dogs that way, too. But if a dog is properly treated and socialized, they are very loyal and kind dogs."
Kim Ode • 612-673-7185
Kim Ode • kimode@startribune.com
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