The Unfortunately Misguided Reputation of Pitties

Based on article:     Opinion: Pit Bulls Should be Banned  

In a 2018 Montreal Gazette article by Barbara Kay, the author argues that the dog breed of pit bull should be banned from being owned or bred further. She discusses the brutal physical havoc that pit bulls have wrought on Canada’s population, including graphic stories of injuries suffered by those who have been attacked by pit bulls. Kay addresses possible counter arguments offered by PBAM (Pit Bull Advocacy Movement) and other supporters of the breed, but shuts them down as invalid. In particular, the author discusses the arguments about the genetic disposition of pit bulls, alternative solutions to widespread bans, and statistics about dog attacks (especially pit bull attacks).

With a tone of urgency, Kay’s primary purpose is to advocate for a widespread ban of pit bulls and to convey her point that these dogs belong to a particularly violent dog breed. The author utilizes strong diction, parallelism, and appeals to ethos to achieve her purpose & sway her audience to her side. In terms of word choice, the author uses negatively charged words like “maimings”, “maulings”, “killers”, and “impulsive aggression”. The connotations of such diction convey that pit bulls are brutal, ferocious, and blood-thirsty beasts. They are portrayed as if they were convicted murderers, who had acted intentionally and with malicious intent. Kay uses violent semantics to argue that because they are likely to and sometimes have viciously attacked people, the entire breed of pit bulls should be banned and eliminated. Furthermore, Kay repeatedly opens new paragraphs with the words “PBAM will tell you…” and proceeds to shut down each new argument that her opponents present. This parallelism emphasizes that pit bull sympathizers have many arguments, but each one is as weak as the last. In addition, the repetition implies that the organization of PBAM will try to draw audiences to their side with convincing ideas, but these are incomplete and misguided notions. Lastly, Kay appeals to the ethos of a dog behaviorist and the Ohio Supreme Court to demonstrate that experts agree with her perspective. A dog behaviorist should know the science of this breed better than anyone, so whatever her insight is should consequently be trustworthy; and the Supreme Court, who protects this nation through enforcing the law, potentially should be trusted as fair and just-including in the case of pit bulls.

Do I agree with the author’s point of view? As a proud pit bull owner, of course I do not! While it is a justifiable claim to say that pit bulls are naturally more inclined to react violently, they should not be banned because they do not all behave aggressively, and most of the time, they are actually loving dogs with a bad reputation; it is wrong to apply the misdeeds of few to the whole breed. Regarding the argument presented by PBAM, I agree that pit bulls are only seen as more violent than other breeds because bad owners brutalize them and train them to act aggressively. A person in a life of crime seeking a tough guard dog would not attempt to use a chihuahua; because pit bulls are bigger and have more teeth, they would naturally be the stronger option. Pit bulls may have a higher genetic likelihood of aggressive behaviors than labradors, but this just means they need more training and love to grow into social, friendly dogs; thus, they need even more devoted, aware, and loving owners. My dog, Clutch (pictured above), is one of the most loving and loyal dogs you could come across. He loves to cuddle, play, and socialize as much as the next dog-and he is a pit bull. We knew that we had to train him carefully and socialize him well, and because we did that, he is a great dog. Statistics do display incidents of pit bull attacks when they have felt threatened, but the actions of a few dogs should not bring about the banning of an entire breed. If one simply looks at social media, they will see stories of the extreme loyalty of pit bulls and the light they give to many people of the world. Thus, the answer is not banning, but proper training, awareness, and love to this wonderful breed of man’s best friend.