The 2-year-old son of Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison was taken to the hospital with severe but non-life-threatening injuries after he was bitten by a family pit bull. Harrison was not home when his wife let the dog out of a pen and it attacked the child.
Such stories have become all too common these days and raises many questions about who is most responsible for attacks by vicious dogs, man or dog breed. Well, say what you might about dog attacks, and specifically those which are labeled as “pit bull” attacks. There is an amazing amount of ambiguity when it comes to the reporting of dog attacks both by public officials and the media. A pit bull, or to be more precise a “bull terrier,” is ” … an exceedingly friendly dog, with a sweet and fun-loving disposition … ” according to the American Kennel Club. What actually gets reported as a pit bull attack may, in some cases, not be a bull terrier.
Today’s culture, in which some sectors believe that watching and betting on dogs killing and maiming each other, has contributed to what has become a public menace and it isn’t something limited to pit bulls. A Centers for Disease Control report said at least attacks by dogs from 25 different breeds were responsible for 238 human deaths over a 20-year period dating back to 1979. Some 58 percent of those deaths were a result of unrestrained dogs on their owner’s property.
Isn’t it fairly obviously from where the real problem stems? A Web site called pitbulllovers.com puts it very bluntly: “Pit bull attacks happen because people are irresponsible and ignorant.”
One feels reluctant to lay blame on someone when their loved ones have been hurt. But it should be mentioned that Harrison recently told reporters he skipped meeting President Obama with his fellow Super Bowl champion teammates at the White House because it wasn’t a big deal to him. It is there that we shall leave the matter with perhaps enough said.