Ban pit bulls? Let's try being responsible parents, first

http://www.twincities.com/localnews/ci_6656484

Ban pit bulls? Let's try being responsible parents, first
RUBÉN ROSARIO

TwinCities.com-Pioneer Press
Article Last Updated:08/18/2007 09:07:49 PM CDT

Perhaps we should consider banning or putting down knucklehead
parents instead of "killer'' pit bulls. I'm admittedly writing this in
a heightened state of righteous anger at news that a "family'' pit
bull mauled a 7-year-old boy to death Thursday in the basement
of a North Minneapolis home.

The reported circumstances are not new or shocking. A dog was
treated, well, like a dog - tied up in a basement, exiled there except
for breeding and denied normal human bonding or interaction. It
became aggressive and attacked when an opportunity arose. Go
figure.

Tragedy? No doubt. Accident? No way. This dog was unwittingly but
essentially programmed to inflict serious bodily harm or take a life
at some point. Even some of the child's relatives related much of this
after the fact.

But, of course, the knee-jerk statements of shock began as soon as
the sad news broke. Local pols are again mulling new or stiffer laws
to prevent another dog-related fatality - just the second in the metro
area in 17 years. And the first involved a 1989 mauling of a 3-year-old
girl by a "domesticated'' wolf in Forest Lake Township. The surprise in
that event was that the state granted a license to the owner of the beast.
Some legislators or municipalities might even resurrect the ridiculous
notion of banning the pit bull breed - the canine non grata of our
generation.

I like dogs, but I don't own pets and did not grow up with one. I did
have a goldfish once. But it was tough trying to pet the thing. I believe
all animals belong in the wild, not cooped up inside a cage, zoo or home
or confined to a front or back yard. "Born Free'' and all that.
Yet, dogged dog lovers Maureen Haggerty and Karen Delise fully
embrace my take on this incident.

Haggerty's a St. Paul native, dog trainer and founder of Canine
Coach, a firm with offices in Minneapolis and the Saintly City. She
did not mince words as to where to lay blame for this child's death.
They were, strikingly, the same descriptors I knew would not get
past my editor. "What happened is extremely tragic and frustrating,''
Haggerty said. "But you tie up a dog, even Fluffy for that matter, in a
basement, tied to a chain and kept away from humans, and you will
have a dangerous, aggressive dog on your hands.''

New or stiffer laws, she believes, would only hamper the already law-
abiding among us.

"These people don't already comply to the laws that are already on
the books,'' she said of owners who abuse their dogs.
Haggerty believes you can train or mistreat any dog - from a poodle
to a pit bull - to be aggressive. The pit bull - because of its gruff physique
and legendary lockjaw bite - has been popular for decades as a guard
dog and canine buffer for drug pushers and crime-weary residents of
mostly poor and crime-plagued areas of the Twin Cities and the nation.

She says she invariably encounters the same phenomenon while walking
or training pit bulls that belong to licensed owners in North Minneapolis.
"Almost without fail, a young man will come by, look at the dog and ask
me if they can breed it,'' she said. "They want to do that to make the dog
mean or aggressive."

Karen Delise is a Slanesville, W.Va.-based veterinarian and the author
of "The Pit Bull Placebo: The Media Myths and Politics of Canine Aggression.''
The book, which came out in June, includes a review of credible data dating
to the 1940s. If there's a common thread in the book on such dog-related
fatalities, it is this:

"The majority of the child victims lived in a high-risk environment
and were provided a low level of safety,'' said Delise, who is also
founder of the National Canine Research Council.

According to Delise's research of government data and media reports,
Thursday's attack is the first documented, fatal dog attack attributed
to a pit bull in Minnesota. In fact, according to Delise's research, Minnesota
has seen four fatal dog attacks in 47 years. Three were attributed to other
breeds.

Delise does not count the Forest Lake incident because it involved a wolf.
The next most recent incident occurred in 1984 and involved another
7-year-old boy, who was mauled by two roaming dogs in Minneapolis.
To put things into perspective, many more children of similar ages have
died in firearm-related incidents or at the hands of their own parents
than have been killed by dogs.

So, who or what should we really go after here?
"If you bring anything into the home, a swimming pool for that matter,
you have the responsibility as a parent to take extra precautions,
especially with children around,'' Delise said. "If you did not take the
time to train a dog you brought into your family to be social, you already
failed the dog, as well as your child.''

I feel sorry for the father in Thursday's death. But I feel far sorrier for
the boy, a needless casualty of parental ignorance and neglect. There
is no greater punishment for a parent than losing a child and knowing
you played a role in the death. But there should be societal
consequences, at least to send a message to the rest of us.

Rubén Rosario can be reached at rrosario@pioneerpress.com or 651 228-5454.