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Man’s best friend?
Published December 6, 2009
janice Welshhans is surrounded by three running and jumping pit bulls — not an ideal place to be for some.
But the Walton County resident isn’t scared. She isn’t worried about being attacked. She is smiling.
After her Rottweiler died, Welshhans’ son Bryan brought her home a pit bull.
“I heard all the stories and I said, ‘Oh, no. I don’t want it,’” she said.
But she soon fell in love with the breed with the nasty reputation.
“I was fine with my Rottweiler, but now I wouldn’t have another type of dog.”
Now she owns three pit bulls — Remy, Kahlua and Tipsy.
Her son Bryan and his wife, Savannah, also Walton County residents, own a pit puppy named Jager.
The Welshanns have heard the horror stories. They know pit bulls were bred to attack other dogs for sport. They are aware of the countless media reports of pit bull attacks. But they stick up for the breed, sharing the mantra of many pit owners — it’s the owner who makes them bad, not the dog.
“We’re very responsible owners,” she said. “When we walk them, there are neighbors who pick up their dogs and hold onto them. But they have to be open to meet and greet them.”
“People have it set in their minds,” Bryan said about the reputation of pit bulls. “They’ve heard all the stories. Tipsy is the most perfect dog you could have.”
Savannah says she lets her young niece and nephew play with the dogs.
“My niece and nephew come over, they do fine with them,” she said.
Pets gone bad
It is no secret pit bulls can and do harm humans and other dogs. They were bred to attack bulls in rings as sport. Even today, people raise pits to fight other dogs for sport. Money, drugs and guns are frequent companions to the fights.
This, combined with the numerous reports of attacks, have labeled pit bulls as a dangerous breed.
Last month, a pit bull was destroyed after police say it attacked a 3-year-old boy at a Monroe mobile home park.
Those who were at the scene said they thought the boy was dead.
According to police reports, officers were dispatched to 1450 S. Broad St. on Nov. 4 on reports a family dog had attacked a small child. When officers arrived, they located the boy behind the trailer unresponsive, covered in blood with numerous lacerations to his face.
Twenty feet away from the boy was a pit bull chained to a doghouse that reportedly had blood on the fur around his face. The dog, when approached by animal control officials, was calm.
“The pet was a breed that has a bad reputation due to poor breeding habits,” Monroe police Chief Keith Glass told The Tribune after the attack. “Pets are products of their environment and upbringing, and while dogs in this bloodline have made unwarranted attacks, the breed as a whole — properly trained — are no more vicious than any other breed.”
Pits of Walton
Lynn Turner, who works with the Walton County Animal Guild and has a pet adoption program on Monroe cable channel 16, lives in Monroe near an alley she says is the frequent site of pit bull fights.
She can hear the barks and yelps of the fighting dogs and the sounds of men cheering them on.
She has called the police who, at one time, managed to break up what she thought was a pit bull fighting club.
But she still hears the horrible noises from time to time.
“I know they’re still doing it, they’re just more quiet about it,” she said.
Each year, a female pit there has at least two litters.
“You can hear these guys teasing and aggravating them to see which are going to be most aggressive.”
Walton County Animal Control Director William Wise worked in Clarke County then went to Newport News, Va. the home of Michael Vick, the former Atlanta Falcons quarterback who grabbed national headlines after it was discovered he fought pit bulls.
He dealt with pit bull cases while he was there and said there is much more put bull fighting activity there than in Walton because of the urban nature of the area.
“There are fewer here than in Newport News,” he said. “On any given day at Newport News (animals shelters) half the place was pit bulls.”
In the three months he has been in Walton County, Wise has not received a call about dog fighting, but has seen some with scars indicating the dog was involved in a fight.
But Walton, like most areas in the country, has its share of pit bulls.
If pit bulls are aggressive they will not be put up for adoption, Wise said.
He doesn’t advertise aggressive pits for adoption on the Web because they may cause trouble for the rescue groups or end up in the wrong hands.
“They’re a challenge for a shelter,” he said. “There are a lot in, not a lot out. They require a bit more of a responsible owner. You have to take more precautions with that breed than others.”
Wise advises people to keep them away from other pets and out of dog parks because of their natural tendency to be aggressive toward other dogs.
“It all depends on how you raise them, yes, but it also goes back to their (history),” Wise said. “It’s nature versus nurture.”
The breed
Daphna Nachminovitch, vice president of cruelty investigations for the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, said pit pulls are usually sought out by people for “not good intentions.”
“It’s a status symbol,” she said. “People are looking to chain up a bad-looking animal.”
In what may be surprising to some, PETA is for the restrictions on pit bull ownership. They say pits are “used as a weapon” and are “hands down the most-abused dog.”
Governments across the country are increasingly seeking to ban pit bulls in an effort to crack down on dog fighting and prevent attacks. PETA supports legislation that bans the breeding of pit bulls, according to PETA.org.
Kate Carpenter, owner of local animal rescue group Petzone said she has had positive experiences with the breed.
“All my experiences with pit bulls have been different, although I have noticed a pattern within the breed. All are wonderful with people, very social and loving, loyal to their owners. From my experience it seems a number of pit bulls get along great with other bully breeds but can be touchy with other animals, or non bully breeds, if not properly socialized as puppies.”
But like many other pit bull advocates, Carpenter said it is the environment the dog is raised that determines if it a bad dog or not.
Pits as pets
Carpenter said pit bulls are not for everyone.
“I think anytime you are looking to add a dog to your family, it is imperative to research the breed you are interested in to see if that specific breed fits your lifestyle,” she said. “I think with proper supervision, management, socialization, training, exercise and boundaries pit bulls make great family dogs.”
Carpenter says to train and socialize the dog from an early age and make sure the dog being adopted will pass a temperament test train them.
Nachminovitch takes a little more caution when advising people on adopting pit bulls.
“The dogs are highly energetic,” she said. “We wouldn’t recommend that people with other animals — cats — small children, get pit bulls. I wouldn’t go into a dog park with a pit bull.”
“Be careful around other dogs,” Wise said. “Be smart with your dog. Any dog can and will fight. The pit bull and the Rottwieler have the strength and bone structure to finish the fight.”
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