Do you see a muscular dog, block head and just assume that it’s a Pit Bull?

Guess what kind of dog is in this picture?  Or are you sure he is a pit bull?

There are things I love about being in Texas and one of those is that people are allowed to own what ever kind of dog they want.  Follow a few rules – keep it on a leash in public, keep your pet contained in a fence or a tie out; if needed.  And that if your dog bites someone that you and your dog are held responsible.  The current vicious dog laws only affect the dogs that truly hurt someone or another dog.  Breeds are not judged by what they look like or where they come from.
Current Texas laws do not discriminate against one breed or breed mixes.  Some laws makers are pushing to change it so that they can discriminate against specific breeds and breed mixes.  Not just discriminate and require stricter laws but they are looking to ban certain breeds.  That means any person in the cities, towns, villages of Texas could be subjected to these changes.  Changes that could ban all Pit Bull looking dogs.  So it won’t just affect American Pit Bull Terriers, American Staffordshire, American Bulldogs, but any dog that looks like a “pit bull.”  Any mix breed could fall under this as well.  This also means that if an official thinks your dog looks like one of these breeds that are on a ban list they can take it.

In researching this I found a minimum of 75 breeds listed on breed bans across the US.  So what does this mean to you?  That even if they pass laws that allow breed discrimination it could very well affect you and your pets.  Some of the pets found on these lists are Airdales, Husky, Aussies, Boxer, Bulldog, Spring Spaniel, Great Dane, Great Pyrenees, Keeshond, Newfoundland, Golden retriever, St. Bernard, Rhodesian Ridgebacks and many more.  So breed bans won’t just affect “Pit” Bull owners or many of the other bully breeds.

The only way to effectively stop discrimination is to teach responsible ownership, train your pet, be responsible, keep your pet on a leash, and has a secure yard for them to be in.  Most important thing to remember is that when it comes to trying to ban an entire breed that the costs the cities and counties will endure. Courts being tied up because families are fighting for their pets.  Is breed discrimination right?  We teach our children not to discriminate, but yet we are doing it to dogs, condemning all of them based on the actions of people.  Dogs are not born bad, vicious, biting monsters. They are simply born and what people do make them good or bad.  When it comes to laws like these people need to remember that the actions of one dog and one owner must be held accountable for their actions.  Do not hold an entire breed accountable for something. People are causing the problems.  The laws and punishments for people that are fighting dogs, abusing, neglecting, leaving them to starve should be stricter and harsher.

There is more information on these laws at my own website & others: www.k9companionps.com , www.love-a-bull.org and www.stopbsl.com

“Pit” Bulls like many other breeds have worked along side people for generations.  It’s only been in more recent times that banning breeds and vicious dog laws have had to surface.  Please keep in mind that I am not only telling you this to help save Pit Bulls and the many other bully breeds, but the many other breeds that can be listed on any of these bans.

By the way the dog in the picture, His name is Sammy.  Though he has a box head, tan color, muscular would you assume that he is a pit bull or pit bull mix?  Well, Sammy’s family did a DNA Test – He’s Greyhound and Boxer.  But at first glance what would you see?  On some breed ban lists I have seen many breeds that I would not consider dangerous, but they are still on these lists.  Pugs, Fox Terrier, French Bulldog, Labradors…..Makes you think.

Please help fight these breed discrimination laws.  They affect so many more dogs out there.  Many that people would not think about.

To read more about K9 Companion, please visit their website at www.K9CompanionPS.com.

K9 Companion offers in home pet sitting and obedience training through the Houston area.