(Use phone to scan QR code, this will take you to my documentary website)
The Life of a Pit Bull Jacqueline Owen
Dedication To my mom, who really inspired me to get more involved with Pit Bulls and has worked so hard to save so many of them. I wouldn’t have been so fascinated and familiar with the breed if it wasn’t for her. I’d also like to dedicate this book to Pit Bulls who have always been my sweet and lovable friends.
i
Del Owen photographed with Chester(dog)
All dogs photographed are current residents at Palo Alto Animal Services.
Acknowledgements I would personally like to thank all of my Freestyle academy teachers for taking the time to help me with this project and for teaching me all of the skills it takes to create the different aspects of this project. I would also like to thank my interviewees, Dr. Dave Roos, Del Owen and Barbara Goodrich for all the insightful information they gave me to help with this documentary.
ii
Preface Introduction 9 10 What needs to Change? 19
How it all Began 13 Conclusion 23
Breed Specific Legislation Bans 16 Work Cited 25
Bio 26
Preface
I
decided on this documentary subject because I have always had a strong passion for helping animals, and felt as though Pit Bulls are mistreated and deserve advocacy. For the past year and a half they have been a huge part of my family’s lives which made my connection with them that much stronger; from both my personal experience and research process, was able to build more knowledge about the breed and why they needed my help. I was really excited to do more research about the history of the breed and how the conventional wisdom about Pit Bulls caused such a bad reputation. I was definitely worried about being able to effectively manage my time and turn in my assignments on time. I also worried that I wouldn’t be able to create the pieces of the projects in the way I wanted because I did not have a lot of experience with the different Adobe Creative Cloud tools we used in Design and Digital Media. One of the biggest struggles I had throughout the project was scheduling times to interview and shoot with the people that I had interviewed. One of the people I had planned to interview also got sick and then went out of town so I had to find a replacement, but it ended up working out perfectly and I had a very great discussion with her. This was the first big project in which I had to pick my own topic. I welcomed this freedom of choice because, instead of completely dreading writing some boring paper on something I wasn’t interested in, I got to research and learn about something I was really passionate about. I got to learn some great processes about how people do interviews, transcripts and use unique ways to collect data and turn it into something powerful to share with people. I really hope that people get to see the truth behind the stories that people hear about Pit Bulls, stories that often contradict the media’s unfair portrayal of these noble animals. I have had a lot of personal experience with Pit Bulls, I believe that they can be the sweetest, most well behaved animals if given the right training. Just in the time that my family has worked to rescue these dogs, I have seen many people come around and see that they are sweet easy going dogs. Over the past year and a half, my mom has worked to help save as many Dogs as she can that were all waiting out their final days or even hours before being put down. One case that really stands out is when we rescued a dog named Boss. Boss was a significantly large Pit which gave him a lesser chance of being pulled by a rescue team. My mom, along with a few other people were working so hard to get help to pull him, but even the humane society would be of any assistance. With barely any time to spare, my family decided to take Boss in and try to find him a home. Thankfully our trainer was more than happy to help take Boss in and work on his training to better his chance of adoption. Even from the beginning, we could tell there was something quite remarkable about this dog and the joy he brought to everyone he met. As of today, Boss is a lifetime partner and full-time service dog for an ex-marine. To think that this dog was so close to being put down is so sad because the special bond him and his owner share would have never been possible if it wasn’t for the heroic efforts made by my mom and outside rescuers. 9
Introduction Did you know that around 670,000 million dogs are euthanized each year in American shelters and that pit bulls are three times more likely to be put down than other dog breeds? Dogs labeled as Pit Bulls make up 40% of all dog euthanizations in the US (“Pet Statistics�). This is because of the image and labels they have received as being vicious killing machines. Think about this, are you the type of person who crosses the street to avoid a pit bull out of fear of being attacked? People do this even though they have had no personal interactions with the breed; they are taught by the media to stay away and that Pit Bulls are simply large, strong, aggressive, scary dogs that go around attacking people!
10
How it all Began
P
it Bulls first came about when the British crossbred terriers and Bulldogs to make a dog that would be used in Bull and Bear Baiting. This is when one or two dogs would be put in a small area to harass a bull for hours until it collapsed from fatigue or injuries. This was outlawed and people turned to ratting where the dogs would be placed in a pit and were trained to try and kill as many rats faster than the other dogs, this is where the name Pit Bull come from because the dogs would be placed in pits with the rats. Ratting and dog fighting became two very popular events at the time. People would abuse the dogs and train them to try to take out the other dog. Sadly some of these events still occur today, despite the best efforts of rescue teams and authorities. Thankfully a breakthrough occurred when more civilians started to adopt Pit Bulls as companions, rather than bait dogs. Eventually, they became the “nanny dog” and were used for herding and guarding livestock, as well becoming great companions to their owners. More and more people began to see how great these dogs could be when they started appearing in Propaganda around World War 1. One Pit Bull in particular even became the first dog to receive a rank after saving the lives of numerous soldiers during his participation in the war (Jamey Medlin, “Pit Bull Bans and the Human Factors Affecting Canine Behavior”). Finally, in 1976, the Supreme Court passed the Animal Welfare Act, which outlawed dog fighting throughout the United States. Unfortunately the fact that the fighting was made illegal it drew the attention of many criminals. This led to people training Pit Bulls to be dogs that they were never meant to be and started training them to be vicious guard dogs. This only put the breed back at square one because this lead to people thinking that all pit bulls were bad and only associated them with violent criminal behavior (“The History of Pit Bulls”, 4/18/18). In 1987 a magazine was published with a cover saying, “The Pit Bull Friend and Killer” which was followed by a Sports Illustrator magazine with the cover that read “Beware this Dog”. On the cover was a depiction of a Pit Bull who appears as though
he is lunging to bite someone. With magazines such as these coming out, it started chaos among the media and the general public. Floods of Pit Bulls started filling the local shelters, among Pit Bull owners it is commonly believed that these events caused the conventional wisdom of pit bulls to be damaged forever. Many people’s opinions on Pit Bulls come from statistics that show things such as dog bites and attacks, what they don’t realize is that many of these numbers are quite unreliable. Research has shown that Pit Bull bite stories are reported thousands of times more often than stories involving other breeds. They have even proved that there is often over reporting and bias when it comes to dogs of the Pit Bull breed, which clearly shows that this means of gathering information has been proven faulty. Lots of times people only look at numbers and don’t bother to look into the stories behind those numbers, often enough if you look into a story you can see the real reasons behind “the bite”. For instance, in a case from 2015, a local shelter had to file a bite report against a Pit Bull when a technician reached into an unconscious dog’s mouth to find a source of bleeding. The dog was sedated and very sick and started convulsing due to a seizure. The “bite” had only occurred because their hand was in the mouth of the dog when the convulsions began. Most people wouldn’t have guessed that and simply just assumed that some vicious Pit Bull attacked an innocent person. Many dogs are also mislabeled as pit bulls which would cause the number of “ Pit Bull” attacks to be higher (Sara K. Enos, “The Problem with People, Not Pit Bulls). People tend to be afraid of the things they don’t know. If they have never interacted with a Pit Bull or have let the media create an opinion on Pit Bulls for them, they will not know the truth about the breed. Coming from someone who does know, a prominent veterinarian of over 50 years, Dr. Dave Roos claims, “ I’ve never had a pit bull that was vicious to people never ever ever ever.” This man has worked with thousands of dogs throughout his practice, the fact that he has never met a Pit Bull that he felt threatened by is proof that they are most often kind dogs.
13
“In the 70’s they blamed the Dobermans. In the 80’s they blamed the German Shepherds. In the 90’s they blamed the Rottweilers. Now they blame the Pit Bull. When will they blame the humans?” -Cesar Milan
14
Breed Specific Legislation Bans
R
16
ecently laws called Breed Legislation Bans (BSL) are becoming far more common throughout the US and neighboring countries. Over 900 cities in the US alone are enforcing these laws. Breed Legislation Bans (BSL) are when certain towns and communities instill laws that ban certain dog breeds that they have deemed “dangerous” and a threat to the public (“Where are Pit Bulls banned and restricted in the United States”). Many cities require the dog to be muzzled and for owners to pay a twenty-five thousand dollar insurance bill to the city in case their dog was to harm someone. While others are taking more extreme actions such as
responsible dog owners that communities should be working to keep not drive away (“Breed Specific Legislation”). As of today, there is no simple way for anyone, including vets to accurately say what breed(s) a dog is. Therefore, it is extremely hard to identify whether or not a dog is a specific breed. Many dogs are mixed and contain all sorts of different breeds, and without knowing the breeds of the parents then there is no way you can accurately say what the dog is without genetic testing. However, they are often only judged based on their characteristics such as having a large head, big jaw or having
confiscating and euthanizing all dogs of that kind. These lawmakers do not take into consideration that all dogs are different, they have all undergone different training and come from different backgrounds. Since the fees to keep their dogs are so high a lot of owners are forced to surrender their them, which only raises the euthanization rates and kills dogs that were not dangerous at all. “Banning a breed or particular mix of breeds punishes those dogs that are reliable community citizens, therapy dogs, assistance dogs for handicapped owners, search and rescue dogs, drug-sniffing dogs, police dogs, etc., and drives them out of the community.” They also don’t think about the fact that when select breeds are banned, owners that use their dogs for malicious purposes, such as dog fighting or criminal activities, will simply change to another breed of dog and continue to jeopardize the safety of the public. These bans are punishing and driving out the
a muscular body. Obviously, there are a lot of dogs that Can fit into those categories even if they aren’t Pit Bulls or Rottweilers, or any banned breed. This leads to many dogs being mislabeled as “illegal” dogs and their owners being faced with charges or the dog possibly being euthanized when it is not even a breed that has been banned. The cities who still choose to enforce BSL, despite all the issues it causes, also have to deal with the huge expense it causes to enforce the breed bans. Cities end up spending up to a million dollars or more just to enforce the breed bans. On top of it all, data reports show that despite banning Pit Bulls, many cities have seen no change, showing that the bans are completely ineffective in helping the community. Most dog bite cases have had the same trending numbers after the ban was set in place (“Breed-Specific Legislation (BSL) FAQ - Legislating Dogs”).
17
18
What Needs to Change?
A
lot of shelters today are struggling because they easily get overcrowded and description of the dog couldn’t be farther from the truth and most of these dogs are Pit are understaffed. This is a major issue because it often causes the animals to Bulls who aren’t being treated justly. After speaking with dog rescuer, Del Owen, she live in dirty crowded cages where they can easily get infected by the viruses shared how previous experiences with shelters have taught her not to trust anything
of other dogs. If there is not enough staff the dogs don’t get the attention and care that they say about a dog’s behavior. Since she has started rescuing she has managed they need. Some don’t get taken on a walk for weeks or have to sit in a cage covered to help pull many “dangerous” and “vicious” dogs from local kill shelters. However in feces because no one can bathe them. Many shelters lack the proper management these dogs weren’t harmful at all, and all they needed was a little food, exercise and it needs to keep the animals safe and healthy, which ends up harming the animals in time to decompress. A lot of times people don’t consider the fact that maybe, just many different ways. Steps need to be taken to educate the employees so that they can maybe, a dog is high energy because they haven’t been out of a cage in days or maybe start to make a difference in the shelters.
even weeks. I mean if you were stuck in a cage for that long and were finally allowed
Many people who work in shelters are very passionate about what they do, sadly out for a short break, wouldn’t you would take advantage of that time to run and get there are some people who tend to lack the dedication it takes to help save the lives some fresh air. When a dog hasn’t had any formal training, you can’t just expect it of these dogs. This leaves the dogs little to no chance of getting adopted before they to be a perfectly well-behaved pet out of nowhere, these things take time and so it is are put down. There have been so many instances where employees have not taken wrong for employees to label them like this when they haven’t even had a chance to the time to write a fair and accurate description of a dog’s behavior to ensure a better learn and prove themselves worthy. In order to fix this issue, I believe that employees chance of getting adopted. This affects the dogs chance of adoption and survival should take everything into consideration when it comes to reviewing a dog to ensure immensely. When they label dogs as aggressive, highly energetic, untrained and that it has as much potential of getting adopted as possible. having behavioral issues, it doesn’t make the dog sound like anything a person or family would be looking for in a new pet. The sad part is that majority of the time their
19
Anyone over the age of eighteen is most likely able to qualify to be a volunteer at your local shelter. Even if it’s very seldom anything makes a difference. Any dog that you help with is just thankful to get attention and time out of the 4 walls he spends endless days and nights in. Shelters are always looking for volunteers to help around the shelter with walking dogs, cleaning and just trying to upkeep the place so they can make it the best environment possible for the dogs. Even if you are unable to volunteer, there are many ways you can get involved to help save the animals. Donations play a huge factor in rescuing Pit Bulls. Whether it’s helping pay for food, medical or just helping rescuers out so they continue to pull dogs. If you are unable to donate, use social media to re-post and share news about animals that are in need of rescue or even re-posting a lost pet to help it find its way back home. There’s is a such a great growing presence in the rescue world and every post and share helps!
20
22
Conclusion The conventional wisdom of Pit Bulls needs to change so that people realize that they can be some of the greatest animals that they will ever meet. That Breed Specific Legislation is just horrific, and to think they would judge a whole breed based on the actions of several dogs, whose behavior was an outcome of poor training and care from their owner. Banning a breed is like banning a race, so why is it right for our government to do such a thing. In the process of people trying to control these “dangerous� Pit Bulls, people are using inhumane tactics that are just contradicting what they say about the dogs. People all over the country need to stand up for the voiceless and help stop the ban on Pit Bulls today. Many of these poor dogs are stuck in shelters awaiting their death in small, overcrowded, feces-covered kennels, just hoping that by some miracle someone will come save them and give them the love that they so desperately need. It’s time for change, time to treat Pit Bulls the way the should be treated, and time to give Pit Bulls the love that they deserve.
23
24
Works Cited Roos, Dave. Personal Interview. 14 March 2018. Owen, Del. Personal Interview. 11 March 2018. Goodrich, Barbara. Personal Interview. 22 April 2018. Baldwin, Steffen. “The Lies, Damn Lies and Statistics Behind Dog Bites.” The Huffington Post, TheHuffingtonPost.com, 7 Dec. 2017, www.huffingtonpost.com/ steffen-baldwin/the-lies-damn-lies-and-st_b_8112394.html. “Breed-Specific Legislation.” Love-A-Bull, love-a-bull.org/resources/breed-specific-legislation/. “Breed-Specific Legislation (BSL) FAQ - Legislating Dogs.” DogsBite.org - Some Dogs Don’t Let Go, www.dogsbite.org/legislating-dangerous-dogs-bsl-faq.php “Breed-Specific Legislation.” Love-A-Bull, love-a-bull.org/resources/breed-specific-legislation/. Curran, Kate, et al. “Barking News Archives.” DogVills, 14 Dec. 2017, www.dogvills.com/category/news/. Enos, Sara K. “The Problem With People, Not Pit Bulls.” Time, Time, 26 June 2014, time.com/2927759/the-problem-with-people-not-pit-bulls/. “Full Title Name: Breed-Specific Legislation in the United States.” Animal Law Legal Center, 1 Jan. 1970, www.animallaw.info/article/breed-specific-legislationunited-states. “Full Title Name: Pit Bull Bans and the Human Factors Affecting Canine Behavior.” Animal Law Legal Center, 1 Jan. 1970, www.animallaw.info/article/pit-bull-bansand-human-factors-affecting-canine-behavior. “Full Title Name: Breed-Specific Legislation in the United States.” Animal Law Legal Center, 1 Jan. 1970, www.animallaw.info/article/breed-specific-legislationunited-states. Noyes, Dan. “I-TEAM EXCLUSIVE: Critics Say Contra Costa Co. Animal Shelter Overwhelmed.” ABC7 San Francisco, 2 June 2017, abc7news.com/pets/i-teamexclusive-critics-say-contra-costa-co-animal-shelter-overwhelmed/2061936/. “Pet Statistics.” ASPCA, www.aspca.org/animal-homelessness/shelter-intake-and-surrender/pet-statistics. “Where Are Pitbulls Banned and Restricted in the United States.” Ban Pit Bulls, www.banpitbulls.org/where/where-pit-bulls-banned/.
25
About the Author
Jackie Owen is currently a junior at Los Altos High School and attending Freestyle Academy. She is an only child and loves spending her free time with friends. When she is not out and about, you will probably find her on the lacrosse field or in a local shelter playing with dogs. Dog rescue has been a big part of her and her family’s lives for the past year and a half, and they hope to continue with it for many years to come. She hopes to one day work in design and use her skills in the fashion and marketing world. Her whole life she has been surrounded by fashion, she grew up surrounded by clothing in her moms boutique and loves everything about it. Since she loves graphic design and fashion, she hopes to one day be able to combine both passions into a career.
26
(Use phone to scan QR code, this will take you to my documentary website)
The Life of a Pit Bull Jacqueline Owen