Bull Breeds - Really They’re Just Great Big Pussy Cats
December 31, 2008 by Alison Green
As we step forward into another year I thought, instead of my usual attempt to “rally the troops” or make everyone cry, Id take the time to look back over what we, the people, have achieved, how far we have come. We are, according to ourselves, the most intelligent species. We are also a nation of animal lovers. We deal with facts and figures.
We pride ourselves on our use of science and maths to work things out. We no longer believe in magic or witchcraft. We don’t offer sacrifices in order to bring good fortune or ward off evil. We no longer think of demonic possession as anything more than a good (or bad) Hollywood film. A black cat can cross our path and the most extreme reaction from us is to stroke it. We have evolved and become the clever things we are today. Or so we, the intelligent species, think.
In reality it seems we have swapped the black cat for the bull breed, as our laws are sure in the belief that to come into contact with one is sure to bring doom and destruction. What’s more is we have gone one step further by not only running from the black cat, but also the black and whites, whites with a black patch and even the pale blues and greys. We even run from the white cat if the lighting isn’t quite right.
The media tell us the “Devil Dog” is alive and well. It’s not guarding the gates of hell and doesn’t have two heads; we haven’t gone quite that far…yet. However, it is allegedly possessed with the spirit of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde as it turns from a sweet loving dog into an uncontrollable killer without any warning or reason. When face to face with the black cat come bull breed we bind it or sacrifice it in order to ward off the evil we are sure it will bring crashing down around us. It seems very much as if we have gone back to old ways of magic, witchcraft and superstition.
The politicians listen to the talk and instead of taking the rational intelligent action based on science and maths, facts and figures; they allow us to lower ourselves to the intelligence of the claims. We throw out the science and the maths. We don’t bother with facts or figures or attempt to apply what we know of canine and human behaviour. Instead we create laws on certain dogs, that aren’t the biggest or the strongest of all dogs, which were never bred to hunt or detain humans, who were actually bred to be extremely people friendly, those dogs are dangerous and to be feared. By way of our actions we offer up the bull breeds as a sacrifice for our failure to use science and maths, our failure to understand, our fear at that lack of understanding and the need to be seen “doing”, so long as “doing” isn’t gathering facts and figures. We offer our sacrifice to ward off the evil. We may as well be holding witch trials.
When I say, “bull breed” I’m not talking about American Pit Bull Terriers or even simply “bull breeds”. I’m talking of any reasonably muscular dog (what is reasonably muscular?), pure or cross bred, recognised breed or undistinguishable mongrel that happens to appear to have the right (or wrong) look to the person stood in front of the dog making that judgement. Put another person in front of the same dog and the judgement might be different depending on whether (as one single point of many) a tail should be straightened or relaxed when at the hock. But the legislation has only been around for nearly 18 years lets not concern ourselves with that little point of interest. The judgement is made based on a particular breed standard – a standard that isn’t used in that form to provide a blueprint for that breed any longer. So we use the standard of an….erm…Its not a breed standard for any recognised breed so I guess it must be a mutt? But if it is a mutt its not just any mutt. Oh no! It’s a mutt that may not look exactly like the standard for that mutt says it should look because we don’t need it to be perfect, just substantially like it.
Are you confused yet? Well keep that to yourself as otherwise we may be seen as having forgotten what “intelligent” means and instead resemble little more than savages killing what they are afraid of.
The same people who scream about the “Devil Dog” possession in the headlines fail to say:
“ A dog that sort of looks like it fits a standard for a breed of dog that we never recognised and isn’t bred to that standard anymore so gosh it could be anything – was seized today in case its figured out how to read and goes about acting out a scene from Jekyll and Hyde”.
If it did, do you think people would think we, the intelligent species had finally cracked? Tell you one thing, if that headline ever comes out ill finally have proof that dogs have evolved better than we have. “Devil dog” isn’t even exclusive to a mutt based on a certain old-unused-standard. We even trot it out for anything black and tan, or any breed that has a fighting background. We quite like to use it when relating to other breeds that may include the words “American” or “Japanese” too. Add a few cross-breeds (starting to sound like a spell now…!) mix the whole shebang up and ladies and gentleman welcome to the future!
A future in which no one in the UK has any reliable figures on what the most common features are in fatal dog attacks because no one bothered to get the figures. During the RSPCA conference this year the fact that no one has any figures was mentioned repeatedly almost as if a reason why the laws cannot be changed. We can bring in a law based on panic, lack of science and figures but we can’t repeal it based on rational thinking, good old-fashioned common sense and the fact that the law failed to do what it set out to do? 18 years of a law which, for a large chuck of those years, has been seen as the unworkable joke of a law and still no one bothered to get any figures. Good going for the most intelligent species that make up this great nation isn’t it?
One thing we do know is in each of the three recent fatalities there has been one overwhelming common factor. Not one of the dogs in question was my definition of “pet” dogs. We have a yard dog brought to protect the property following break in’s. Recently acquired, while the owners appear good intentioned, the dog was left in the yard. This dog killed a very young child while the adults were out of the house.
Then there are guard dogs that seem to have spent time guarding on the roof of a pub. The guard dogs act states a guard dog must be with a handler or secured yet these two dogs managed to get into a room with a small child while its normal handlers where away.
The third was a dog, owned by people involved in crime who alleged to have beaten the dog. They apparently kept the dog away from the child and on the night in question left the dog outside. New years eve with fireworks going off everywhere. The grandmother, stated as having been drinking, took pity on the dog that had bitten before and let him in. He killed her granddaughter.
There are common factors in these cases and breed/type isn’t it. Yet we chose to ignore those factors, blaming that lack of figures we haven’t bothered to get and by doing so can only expect to see more of the same. One other thing each and every one of the families involved has in common is the wish for it never to have happened. If they could have had a magic wand that allowed them to see into the future, see what was going to happen, you can be sure that not one of those fatalities would have happened. But magic does not exist and wishes don’t come true. Science, maths and an understanding of canine and human behaviour do but our lawmakers refuse to apply it so why on earth do we expect the people too?
So there we have it people, this is how far we have travelled down the road of wisdom. We turned the bull breed into a black cat. When the midnight bells ring out heralding the start of 2009 throw salt over your shoulder, salute a magpie, watch out for the cracks in the path, step around the ladder and raise a glass to the future. With such an intelligent species at the helm, who knows what it will bring?
Author DetailsAlison is a long time dog owner and dangerous dog legislation observer who lives with her family and four Bull Breed dogs in Sussex. - See this author's webpage
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lol yesterday it was irish catholics, german shepards, dobermans, bloodhounds, now its middle eastern muslims, pit bulls, staffies, and "rockweilers".
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