An older article I found

3/1997 - Article: "Save The Pit Bull" by Frank Lewis

"In February, three men and three teens were charged with multiple counts of cruelty to animals after police discovered 13 malnourished dogs — mostly pit bulls, with a few rottweilers and a German shepherd — in an abandoned North Philadelphia home."

"Pit bulls are a very misunderstood breed," says club president Jackie Wakefield, a veterinary technologist who owns seven American pit bull terriers (the best known of the breeds in the "pit bull" category). They are "incredibly intelligent" and affectionate dogs, she says, who actually make lousy watchdogs because they like people so much."

"But thanks to widespread and often hysterical coverage of pit bull attacks, and breed-specific laws enacted around the country (including, recently, in Pennsylvania), "the wrong element took an interest in the breed," Wakefield says."

"But with what some of these dogs have been through," she says, "death isn't the worst thing that can happen to them."

It's so sad the article is so old and in all my searches I haven't found many other stories where people really understand how abused these animals usually are. Honestly I think I found one other. But alas I will keep looking.

Hopefully I will get to post at nights here. Catch up reading some other blogs here in the near future as well. Tonight, I added some new links and wanted to put this article up.

<3 Kitty

Happy Halloween from one Catbull to all the others

Between Vegas, house hunting and more then anything work, haven't had the chance to update this as much as normal. But as our little family handed out candy tonight, we had to take a snap shot and I had to share. Hope everyone had a wonderful Halloween and all the pups got a special treat as well. This is one of our Catbull's jerseys. Her grandma got them from Taiwan.

<3 Kitty

What did I do?

I need to share more pics of her. So here is a baby photo. She was so little she fit in the square!

<3 Kitty

BSL in CA and another site I had to share

I found this great site with information on it.

Which also led me this site which was quite....well too much for words for me.... Look at the pictures (click enter) or watch the video (bottom of the page). Too touching to even say anything about it.

<3 Kitty

"Top 10 reasons pit bulls are scary"

"Beware!!! What Pit bulls are really like!

10. They will steal your spot on the couch while you are up getting a soda.

9. They will take the treat you give them and bury in the back yard like a paranoid crack head hiding their stash.

8. They will jump on your bed with muddy feet. Making you do the laundry...again!

7. They will lick visitors with an uncontrolled passion only they understand.

6. They will cause children to smile.

5. They will make you feel horrible for not walking them by looking at you with deep sad eyes.

4. They will look at you like you committed a crime against them if you don't let them lick your ice cream bowl.

3. They will cause wide spread happiness in large group settings.

2. They will crack you up by shaking their butts so hard you think they are going to snap in half.

And the number one reason why you can't trust vicious Pit Bulls...

1. They will steal your heart like a thief in the night, showing you complete and pure love that only a Pit Bull can show."

Got tired of all the serious posts. Found this one and thought it was cute. I love that pic as well, not our girl, but just liked it. Speaking of our girl, she is totally guilty of: 10, 8, 7, 5, 3, 2 and of course 1. :)

<3 Kitty

The Dog Whisperer = A Pit Bull's Friend

I think I made a post about Cesar Millan before but just wanted to add this today. He was on The Oprah Winfrey Show and they recorded some clips. There was two short videos you can watch: Clip I (about her dog howling) & Clip II (about her dog being aggressive). I tried to link them but their site didn't like that. So if you go to the link above for The Oprah Winfrey show and scroll down you will see the list of clips you can watch, they are the first two. I loved clip II due to him bringing out the pit bulls to work with her dog. Watch for her reaction to them and his response. I am super impressed by this guy.

<3 Kitty

No one told me they didn't work!

Fixing some of links off to the right currently.

Some of them moved or really I just didn't do the code right. >.<

<3 Kitty

Sign your name...

Reverse pit bull ban in Denver, Colorado

"An unjust ban on pit bulls in Denver, Colo. is forcing hundreds of loving guardians to move out of the city or give up their beloved companion animals. Enacted in April, the ban gave guardians only 30 days to remove their dogs from the city or face prosecution. The May 9 deadline has already passed, and many pit bulls relinquished by their guardians to Denver Animal Control have already been put to death. We urge you urge you to reverse the ban on pit bulls in Denver immediately."

I did.

<3 Kitty

More chatter and more shirts >.<

Just some good chat with people's personal experiences. It is always nice to know you are not alone.

And the pic in this post is of a t-shirt you can get. Found here: here. Found off that chat topic above. Just thought it was funny. I linked her Mass Madness stuff on the left.

<3 Kitty

"My god, they make Pit Bulls sound like Plutonium"

Found an open letter (kind of article) written by B.J. Candella. “Denver Pit Bull Ban is Ridiculous” I thought it was pretty cool to come across. Just wanted to share.

"Pit Bulls are no stranger to bad publicity, but their situation in Denver has reached ridiculous levels of hysteria."

"My god, they make Pit Bulls sound like Plutonium."

"Ahh, their reputation. Stone cold killers they would have you believe. Probably the same people that had us spend money preparing for the Y2K computer crash or fearing an invasion of Killer Bees. If I had a little girl, would I let her run up to a Pit Bull and pet him? Of course not. But I also wouldn't let her run up to a big German Shepherd, a Doberman, a Rottweiler, or an empty well. All of which are legal."

"The ban is an emotional response to a publicized situation. It's a good thing we haven't banned men wearing goatees following the Scott and Laci Peterson tragedy."

"This country is based on individuality and not assuming a person of a particular race or religion will act a certain way. I also saw on the news a disproportionate amount of crime in Denver is perpetrated by teenagers. Should we round them up in Denver as well?

Here is a list of things that might be in your neighborhood right now.

A registered sex offender
Firearms
A meth lab
Paula Abdul

But rest easy. The dogs are gone."

<3 Kitty

"People shouldn't be ruled by their fears"

9/1/2005 - Article: "Pit bulls banned from Denver area adopted at local shelter" by Mike Morris

"The presence of pit bulls is growing in areas outside of Denver, where an ordinance banning the breed was reinstated in April. Since May, more than 380 dogs have been impounded and 260 killed because of the ban."

"Mark Cowan, a veterinarian at Buffalo Mountain Animal Hospital in Silverthorne, said he understands differing opinions on the animal, which some label as bred to be vicious.

"I hate to see a specific breed being singled out, because I don't see pit bulls being more aggressive than other breeds, provided they're not trained to be fighting dogs," Cowan said. "But they're designed to latch on and not let go - that's where the danger comes in."

"Commerce City, Thornton, Aurora and Greeley are all considering banning the breed. Though 37 different breeds have killed humans, a 36-year study covering 431 fatal dog attacks found that 21 percent of the attacks were by pit bulls."

"Traci Bratton has seen no such violent tendencies in Irie, her 2-year-old pit bull. Bratton adopted the dog from the local shelter soon after she began volunteering there. Bratton also houses foster kittens, and said Irie is great with the cats.

"I didn't know anything about pit bulls besides what you hear in the media until I started volunteering," she said, "but they quickly became my favorite breed. People shouldn't be ruled by their fears; a lot of times all you're hearing is the negative."

<3 Kitty

This whole time I never knew

This whole time I never knew Castle Rock, Colorado also had a breed specific ban as well. Found this site listing:

Castle Rock, CO
Commerce City, CO
Denver, CO
Ft. Lupton, CO
Louisville, CO

as breed specific communities.

And then double checked and found it referenced in another website. I can’t believe all this time I never knew that Castle Rock already had this going. I think due to this being passed so long ago I never caught it. Amazing though that without me knowing and possibly traveling thought there with our catbull, something bad could have happened. And I actually thought about moving there at one time. Horrible. And why is Colorado has the most areas listed for BSL communities?

<3 Kitty

An Apology to Breed Ban Enthusiasts

"I'm sorry you are frightened of my dogs and are trying to have them killed because they are pitbulls.

I'm sorry you lack the understanding of this breed's true history, gentleness with people, wonderful temperament, intelligence and behavioural conformation. I'm sorry you won't read the ATTS stats regarding our breed's true temperament, putting it in the top four for temperament, scoring better than breeds like Golden Retrievers, and cocker spaniels.

I'm sorry that you side with and protect animal abusers by marking the breed of dog, and not the irresponsibility of the owner. I'm sorry that by your logic I could steal a car, run some people over with it and then you can blame the make of car for the accident, as I walk free.

I'm sorry you generalize one breed of dog with one group of people.I'm sorry you can't see the love and determination that many often highly educated, non-criminal and "normal" types of people show towards this breed and the great personal sacrifices that they make to take care of their dog responsibly.

I'm sorry you cannot go into the shelters and see the hundreds of abandoned and abused pitbulls, dying only for the inane "crime" of being born the breed they are. I'm sorry you cannot see the look of disappointment in their eyes as someone walks by their kennel, and refuses to consider adopting them based on an ill educated fear mongering reporter. I'm sorry that you cannot be there when the animal looks at a human for the last time, and in spite of betrayed by all humans they have met, their tail still wags as someone approaches with the syringe of Euthinol.

I'm sorry cannot be there when law enforcement shoots one of your dogs dead inside it's own home in front of the children it mutually loves for simply getting off the dog bed and walking over to say hello with it's tail wagging. I'm sorry you cannot be there to rescue pitbull puppies from a plastic bag in a dumpster, dumped there by someone switching their illegal and inhumane activities to another, more lucrative breed.

I'm sorry you cannot understand the difference between canine and human aggression, in the way that this breed can. Yes, I'm saying my pitbull is smarter then you.

I'm sorry that the medieval witch-hunting genetics of intolerance, generalization, and racism make you feel the need to vilify a breed of dog. I'm sorry that justice, equality, tolerance, common sense are all things you hold dear as a fellow Canadian, and expect from others, but do not yourself offer them towards a pitbull or its caregiver. I'm sorry that you don't take the constructive time to petition changes in the Canadian animal cruelty act, and in the criminal code that would deal out serious punishment to the real animal abusers.

I'm sorry you cannot see the disappointed look on a puppy's face when the people petting it quickly frown, and walk away when you tell them it is a pitbull. I'm sorry you feel the need to terrorize my family and my dogs for crimes we never have and never will commit. I'm sorry you don't have to live in fear of your dog's safety from hysterical and mentally unstable people trying to inflict all manner of evil upon your dogs.

I'm sorry that you cannot see my breed working in some of the best Search and Rescue groups in the world, saving countless lives each year. I'm sorry our media censors and refuses to print the breed name "pitbull' when in connection with a positive act such as saving a person or child from a burning house, drowning, wild attacking animals, etc. I'm sorry you cannot see the many pitbulls registered as therapy dogs and bringing so much joy to another misunderstood, neglected demographic in our society, the senior citizen.

I am sorry you can't see a pitbull kiss a child, step carefully over a kitten, or play in a sunbeam. I'm sorry you cannot wake in the morning to feel a warm pitbull cuddled next to you in bed, and know that you are their total world, and even if the house caught fire and trapped you, they would stay with you to the end.

But, now that I really think about it, I'm not at all sorry you don't own a pitbull--you do not deserve one."

Rob MacBean - The Mongrel HordesLake Cowichan BC(Permission granted by me the author to cross post as long as it stays intact, and with my name on it.

<3 Kitty

Reading about what Canada has....

Introducing Michael Bryant Attorney General of Ontario. He is to Canada what Boign is to Colorado.

Today I found a wonderful letter written to Michael Bryant by Marjorie Darby, Director, GoodPooch.com. Of course I wanted to share the links with everyone quote some of the great things said. It reminds me of the letter to PETA that I posted on last month. Enjoy.

"There is a saying that has been taken from the words of Chief Dan George. It goes like this: What we don't know, we fear. What we fear, we hate. What we hate, we destroy.

I can't think of anyone who embodies that sentiment more than you, Mr. Bryant, in relation to your view of 'pit bulls'.

You say they're "inherently vicious beasts" yet, using the city of Toronto's own records so far this year, 97% of licensed 'pit bulls' and significantly more than 99% of the estimated overall 'pit bull' population has harmed neither man nor beast. Can any group be considered "inherently vicious" when fewer than 1% of its members are dangerous?

You've said that, for every person who tells you his/her 'pit bull' is a "pussycat" (to use your words), there's someone who's emailed you about being attacked by a 'pit bull'. In fact, the statistics above show the ratio is at least 99 - 1. For every person who tells you they were attacked by a 'pit bull' there are more than 99 completely innocent 'pit bulls' who never have and never will attack anyone or anything.

You've told the public that thousands of "'pit bull' attacks" have gone unreported. But why do you think a 'serious dog attack', especially those attributed to already much maligned 'pit bulls', would go unreported by victims? Could it be those incidents were not as serious as these people are now leading you to believe? Could they even by lying to you? How serious could a bite be, if even the victim doesn't deem it necessary to contact authorities?"

"You suggest that 'pit bulls' bite more often than other breeds. Yet in a study that ranked dog breeds from one to one hundred, in order of how likely they were to bite, the 'pit bull' ranked fourth...from the bottom."

"Kitchener-Waterloo banned 'pit bulls' after 18 bites reported the previous year. During that same period, there were 85 bites attributed to German Shepherds."

"All the 'pit bull' ban did was cause the deaths of countless innocent dogs who never had and never would have harmed anyone; not to mention the emotional and financial suffering that 'pit bull' owners must have endured. Since banning 'pit bulls' does nothing to directly reduce the number of bites by Labradors and German Shepherds, it is clear that any reduction in bites by other breeds is the result of other measures...i.e. We can reduce dog bite numbers without banning any one dog breed."

"You say large dogs are a danger. Yet 'pit bulls' are typically only 30-60 lbs.

You say large dogs are capable of greater damage. But the facts clearly show that the very largest dog breeds are rarely involved in serious biting incidents, and the very smallest dog breeds have actually killed people."

Too much good information to quote. What a great letter.

<3 Kitty