I used to think all dog breeds were the same, until my brother’s pit bull attacked him after eight years of normal behavior with no signs of prior aggression. I know he loved the dog and treated it well. He is still mystified as to why the dog suddenly attacked him without any provocation. My brother is the father to a toddler, so he did the sensible thing: He put the dog down. I see pictures of children that are horrifically maimed, disfigured and sometimes killed by pit bulls and I am so happy this did not happen to my niece. After my brother was attacked I started to tune into the excuses of pit bull advocates and I learned they don’t hold water. For example, the all dogs bite mantra. All dogs bite but most bite and release. Pit bulls hold on and do much more severe damage to human beings and pets as they have been bred to fight and have extreme strength and fewer pain receptors. Pit bull type dogs kill more people than all other breeds combined. They are responsible for so many attacks, you could throw out 66 percent of the attacks and they still would be the top killers, which eliminates the common excuse: It’s not a pit bull. My brother and people like him showed me that you don’t have to be a bad dog owner to be attacked by a pit bull. A year ago Michael Cook was killed by his pit bull. My heart goes out to his family. Since then many other people have been seriously injured by pit bulls.
I happened upon an event to support victims of pit bulls and other dangerous dogs in Tucson on Oct. 27. I will be there to listen to the live music in the park, but I will also be there to show support to the victims of pit bull attacks. I can hold a poster that represents a person that has died or is too seriously injured to attend. This is my way of thanking God that I did not lose a loved one and hopefully raise awareness so fewer victims exist in the future. I hope to see you there.
Jaloney Caldwell
State Press Reader
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