Older wisdom

As I was just overlooking what I have so far posted on this blog here from facebook, it occurred to me that this is indeed definitely NOT all of what I have written regarding pit bulls and dogs there. Maybe the biggest loss was a paragraph I wrote specifically to one friend who had been recently angered at one story about a husky being put down for attacking (and, unfortunately, killing) an infant. This was my response to her angry and frustrated status update in defense of the dog:

"Oh hey, this was the story popular on the pittie forums the other day. Apparently the magazines dog 'expert' basically went on about how pit bulls are such an unpredictable breed.

I quote, "That could have been an opportunity to educate on dog behavior and risk factors for aggression... instead a tragedy involving a HUSKY became a diatribe against pit bulls?" Leah, from the HugABull forum. If anyone wants to read the story, it's here: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/story/2012/02/16/f-dog-kills-q-a-beck.html Also, (name removed), you're a real sweetheart and all, the truth of the matter is, yes, you can argue and there are those who do argue that the dog could live a perfectly happy normal life with the right, intelligent (not moronic like those who would leave a baby unattended with any breed of dog,) prey-drive savvy owners. However... with the number of unwanted and abandoned dogs in the world everyone on the planet (including infants and the elderly) would each have to adopt at least 7. There's just no room for dogs that don't act the way humans expect them to in an environment such as ours. That being said, there are still many, many other dog right causes worth fighting for. You simply cannot save every dog, not until overpopulation is no longer a problem. Yes, it is sad. But once you accept that fact, it empowers you to instead fight for what you CAN change.

Oh... and just for a short answer... No, it is not the dogs fault. In fact, I think I'm going to go ahead and say it's NEVER the dog's fault. We as the humans, who bring dogs into our environment, who fail to understand and accept the fact that they are what they are-- DOGS-- which is NOT an insult to the species WHATSOEVER, are ALWAYS GOING TO BE RESPONSIBLE. Irresponsible people, such as the owners of this husky must have been to allow their dog and baby to be unsupervised together, should not be ALLOWED to own dogs. Breeds such as huskies, pit bulls, rottweilers, GSDs, all of those breeds who get a bad rap from time to time due to fault of the OWNERS, are all very intelligent, very powerful and driven working breeds that simply cannot be owned by just anybody, and yet people wish to own them because they are 'pretty' or 'status symbols.' It really is astounding how just goddamn STUPID the human race can be."

I may have been a little fired up at the time, but something hits a chord with me to this day,

"Yes, it is sad. But once you accept that fact, it empowers you to instead fight for what you CAN change."

I've got to pat myself on the back for that one. I thought of this while I was watching yet another tribute to pit bulls video showing a lot of graphic and terribly sad abuse victim photos. I thought to myself, 'why DO I really want others to see this? I DO understand where they're coming from... this is terrible!' That's when I remembered what I had said. I for one am not afraid of knowing the reality of the situation, because I know those terrible pictures have happened whether I've seen them or not. Seeing them-- really facing the reality of it all-- strengthens me to want to fight even harder for these dogs.