No Pit Bulls!

[monique_evette]

I just can not express how frustrated and angry I am right now. Terry (the Assistant) and I looked at several apartment complexes in Pearland today. We own, well I do rather, a pit bull mix, Coco, and it is just disgusting how the media and bad dog owners have persuaded the majority of society into thinking that this breed should be outcast. We did have some concerns going into all of this, but only for weight restrictions. There was only 1 out of the 6 or 7 apartments we looked at that was willing to work with us and that is only because the leasing agent has handled the breed before. The others, honestly, turned their noses up when we mentioned her breed. Well we really didn't have to mention it, they actually came out and said NO PIT BULLS.

FORGET that we have well paying jobs and can pay the rent. Who cares that we have great credit and rental history. I mean seriously! Aren't these the things that should matter???

I love the breed, they are beautiful and fun loving dogs. I just wish there was a way to make other people see the same thing. Who are they to judge us or Coco!

I mean, look at this face - does this look like a face of a vicious beast?

[Sonny]

If you have a well paying job, great credit, and can pay the "rent"..why not buy a home?

Sucks that they are giving you a hard time about your puppy. But can understand their point of view. Better safe than sorry.

Good luck finding an apartment.

[monique_evette]

We are looking into that too, but an apartment would just be easier for us.

And as far as being safe rather than sorry, well any dog can attack a person. Its the owners that are to blame. If you mistreat any dog they are going to mistreat you.

Originally Posted by Sonny

If you have a well paying job, great credit, and can pay the "rent"..why not buy a home?

Sucks that they are giving you a hard time about your puppy. But can understand their point of view. Better safe than sorry.

Good luck finding an apartment.

[L Stegall]

I have to say, that I see the concerns on both sides of the fence here. Your dog looks like he has a sweet disposition. My husband had pit bull mixes growing up in Georgia and they were all sweet dogs (well, I only met the last one myself, but he swears the rest were like that too). However, twice, my husband and I have had pit bulls come off a porch and try to attack our dog (who was on a leash) while we were walking through our neighborhood. My dog managed to get away the second time, but as i was running after him, I tripped over one of the dogs and fell and smacked my face on someone's driveway and was pretty bruised (lucky I didn't break anything). The owner of those dogs is a partner at a large law firm and someone that I would expect to be a more responsible dog owner than to let them sit unleashed on his front porch. They were like "oh, wow, we didn't see that coming." Really, they tried it once before. We even avoided their street for over a year in between times and this happened the first time we walked down it again. If I ever see those dogs in their front yard again, I will have them picked up. I don't want to, but I am concerned that they might attack a child or another pet and really do some damage.

[jeffkohn]

And as far as being safe rather than sorry, well any dog can attack a person. Its the owners that are to blame. If you mistreat any dog they are going to mistreat you.

I don't think you chalk it up entirely to bad owners. Different breeds of dogs have different temperaments. Some are great with kids, some aren't; some make great watchdogs, some don't; etc, etc. If it was strictly a matter of bad owners, then the majority of serious dog attacks wouldn't come from a few breeds.

You have a right to own whatever type of dog you want, within the law. But property owners have an obligation to do what they think is best for all of their tenants; and if certain breads are statistically more likely to be a problem, it's in their best interest to take that into consideration. Keep in mind, if a dog attacks another tenant the property owner is just as likely to get sued as the dog owner in this day and age. In fact, lawyers probably consider them a better target for lawsuits because of the likelyhood of deeper pockets and liability insurance.

[brad]

Honestly, I had expected the hysteria over pit bulls to have died down by now... before pit bulls, it was Rottweilers that needed to be banned.. Chow Chows before that.. Dobermans before that.. German Shepards in the 70s.. and St. Bernards (yes, St. Bernards) in the 60s.

I have known some great pit bulls.. including one poor girl who had a broken leg.. once saw a toddler trip over her cast leg and all she did was wimper, lick the child's cheek (who was crying), and move somewhere else.

Its not just abuse that turns dogs like these into "mean" dogs.. sometimes a well meaning owner will actually train that behavior into them.. reward them for "protecting the family" and "guarding" the house. Even Lisa's circumstance... look at it from the dog's point of view.. he's happy and has a job to do -- protect that house, the only way he knows how.

If a dog has been trained, tempered, or conditioned as a guard dog, they should be restrained.. regardless of breed.

[CSebesta]

We had a Stratfordshire Terrier (pit bull) which was the most love-able companions we could ever have.

It really is all about the owners. Too many folks get pit bulls and want them to be mean.

What a shame, these can be wonderful family members and very good with small kids if taught to be non aggressive.

Charles

[JenJohnson79]

I'm on your side. . . I have two lab/pit mixes. . . complete lab temperment. . . they are both as sweet as can be. . . my oldest child cut her first tooth on my black one's ear. . . she used to gum his ears I know sounds gross. . . but I cannot keep the two of them apart!!! Now with two little girls under the age of 4, and two lab/pit mixes, both dogs have NEVER snapped, growled or bared teeth at any kid. . . even other kids that come over and step on them, run over them, sit on them, and sleep on them. One sleeps in each child's room on the bed. They are smart, obedient, and very well behaved. . . but let someone else cross a line with me, or my girls and the dogs will let that person know by sitting in front of us and growling at the offender. . .

[L Stegall]

Originally Posted by brad

Even Lisa's circumstance... look at it from the dog's point of view.. he's happy and has a job to do -- protect that house, the only way he knows how.

Or, as it appeared to me, go for the jugular of people walking ACROSS THE STREET from the house! Course, I may be a tad biased in this case. Still, I'm not condemning the whole breed.

[janetg]

unfortunately for you - the majority of people feel this way not only due to what the media has portrayed pit bulls to be like...but what SOME actually ARE like. if for instance, small children and other small animals were killed by chihuahua's, then they would be outcast. (although i'm sure they could be banned as a leading cause of deafness due to their yippy shrill barking).

i don't want to start any debates, simply state that knowing the 'bad press' these dogs have i wonder why people continue to get them as housepets. regardless of how they really are - or how your particular dog is, they will always be viewed with suspicion and fear.

further, and again, i'm not debating your particular circumstances, but typically these are large dogs, which means large poop, large amounts of energy, large amounts of training and care. i would not imagine having a large animal in an apartment is good for either the human or the animal. which is one reason apt complexes put weight limits in place. they also have a great amount of liability that would be set in motion if they allowed it, it doesn't matter how much money you have, or your credit rating. they have the general population of the complex to take into consideration, not how sweet your particular dog may or may not be.

Please don't think i hate the animals, i don't. but i also thnk folks that own them simply have to take a moment and reflect the history of the breed, the history of how the breed has been treated and 'raised' and why it has been in the news. irrisponsible ownership of these dogs has led to the stigma attached to it now.

[JohnRushing]

I'm not going to even get into this concersation about Pit Bulls becasue it got me banned from a site last year when I was defending them. We breed and raised American Pit Bulls when I was growing up and I've been around the breed enough to know it's not the breed but the breeder or the owner which causes these this breed or any other to go bad. What gave the Pit Bulls the bad rap is the fact that they were used for fighting because of their strong jaw muscles, low stance and muscular build. Other dogs were used throught the ages for fighting also but the Pit Bull dominated it from the moment they were brought into it. No don't start thinking I am for dog fighting because it's a crime in my eyes and the ones who perticipate in it should be locked up for at least a few years as far as I'm concerned. Well I've said more than I meant to

As far as your problem? Thats a cute pooch! I can see the Pit in her but can others if you don't mention it to them? Just tell them it's part Lab and part Ridgeback. Since it's not a registered breed and theres no paper trail how can they prove it. It might sound dishonest but unless it's a full blood Pit why not just say it's a mix breed and just don't mention anything about a pit? If they ask why it's so large just say it's part mastifff.

(sorry, just reread your post and saw where you said they didn't ask.. In that case just don't mention it all. After all she's not actually a Pit. She could be like 25% Pit and 75% other)

[Terrancelee]

Better safe than sorry.

What, you're a recently divorced mother of three who now hates men and you also cook? Well, I can't rent to you, cause you might knife one of the neighbors. Better safe than sorry.

You're an older person who still drives their own car and wears glasses? I can't rent to you cause you might run over someone since you're older and can't see. Better safe than sorry.

You're an obese person who frequents mickey d's and the only exercise you get is chewing? I can't rent to you cause you might have a heart attack and fall on someone. Better safe than sorry.

I'm not picking on you Sonny, just your words, you were the one who typed them. I call BULL**** on the way things like this are done anymore. Is everyone who rides a motorcycle a Hell's Angel? Is every single father a deadbeat dad? Is every photographer who takes candid shots at a park a child molester?

It's a shame you can't get a fair shake due to your dog. Buy a house. Honestly, if you have good credit and can find one you like, you'll be happier. My house payment is about 150 a month more than an apt would have been. Plus, my house is bigger. Once I get 20% of it paid down, I can quit the mortgage ins and the payment will be less than an apt.

Good luck to ya.

[suzyjazz]

I'm sorry to hear about your troubles, but thats's the way it is with apartments these days. Trying to get an apartment when you own a dog that weighs more than 25 pounds is really difficult. If you're successful, you pay out the nose for it. We had to get an apartment for 4 months while we were between houses, and we managed to find 1 in the area that would take a 60 pound dog and return part of the pet deposit (presuming no damage). We got it back as I figured we would.

Better enforcement of the leash law is better than banning breeds. People should get fined for that.

[Sonny]

Originally Posted by Terrancelee

I'm not picking on you Sonny, just your words, you were the one who typed them.

Oh lord, all we need is another one you on this forum! Don't worry about me....I'll be just fine.

[JohnRushing]

Ok I said I wasn't going to say much about the jerks wanting to ban certain breeds of dogs but this is one of those topics that really gets under my skin. I'm usually fairly easy going, no matter what everyone that knows me says, but I have always been around dogs and Pit Bulls was one of the breeds. At one time we had 9 American Pit Bulls which we breed and they were like family members. It was always hard on me to sel the pups when I was young because I would become attached to them. How could you not get attached to a face like the one bellow? ( not one of our pups though). We probably sold 50 or more pups and never, not once, had an owner have one of the pups grow up to be aggresive. My dad was very carefull not only about which dogs he breed but also to who he would sell to. If the person didn't seem right my dad would refuse to sell to them, you could do that back then wth out being sued. He knew some of the dogs would e used for hunting but we used some of ours for hunting also, Pit Bulls make excellent hog dogs and the dogs love to hunt. I can remember when I was about 9 my dad got very angry with someone he sold a pup to and I remember him storming off in his truck. He didn't come home that night and the next day my mom was gone most of the day. I later found out that he had went to the person house to get the pup back, which was almost a year old by then, but the man wouldn't sell him back. It turned out the man had the dog stacked out in the back yard and was making it fight other dogs and he was beat the pit with a broom to make it mean. The man was even feeding the dog gun powder to make it mean ( which is just a myth and doesn't work, only thing it will do is tear up the dogs diegestive tract). I don't know exactly what happened but all I was ever told is that my dad beat the crap out of the man and took the dag, leaving the money with him. My dad was arrested, the dog was taken to the pound, and my mom bailed him out the next day (my dad, not the dog. Even though she was mad enough that she probably thought about bailing the dog out instead of him). A friend of the family went down to the pound and got the pi a few days later and eventually the pit got to acting decent around people again although it could never be trusted again since the damage was already done, and it was done by the owner not the breed. We also had Blueticks and Black and Tan Coonhounds and every once in a while one of these would be a little aggresive but most of the time they all ran together and played without a single problem. I don't know how bad it is in some of the larger cities but around here I have seen some owners that need to be taken out in the woods and staked out in a fire ant bed because of how they treat their dogs. I've seen Pit Bulls tied to truck tires with logging chains making them drag the tire around to make them stronger. I'v seen owners beating the dogs, spraying them with water hoses and throwing fire crackers at them just to make them mean. A couple of months ago it wa all over the news about smaller dogs being stolen by people who would through them into a pin with a pit bull and make them fight so the pit would get used to killing another dog. I swear these type of people are at the bottom of the evolution to me and they should be thrown into the pin with the pit, they made them mean so they should have to face them. There are mean pit bulls out there but there are just as many mean dogs from other breeds. Every once in a while one will be born that just has an aggresive nature but that even happens with people, it's just part of nature. I wonder how many small dogs bite people and nobody ever hears aboutit because the dog only wieghed 10lbs ? Pit Bulls have gotten so much bad press, most of it false, that if one even barks it's concidered aggressive. I can't count the number of times I have heard people talk about how once a Pit taste blood it will lock it's jaws down and the only way you can get it to release it's so called death grip is to kill it. A pit does not lock it's jaws. I've even heard people say they have seen someone stick a steel bar in a Pit's mouth to make it let go of another dog and the they bent the bar and broke the pits teeth off but it never release, another myth. Pit's do have very strong jaw muscles but they're not super dog strength. If owners would be more responsible for their dogs and care for the dogs maybe they wouldn't get such a bad rap. Pits are very family oriented and need to be a part of the family. When they are stuck out behind the barn and the only time they see a person is at feeding time they feel abondoned. Maybe some of these people who hate Pits so much so consider how they would feel if their whole family stopped talking to them, calling or visiting them. The owners need to realize they can't just let their dogs run free anymore, unless they own a lot of property, because the planet is becoming more, and more populated and the dogs don't understand where their property starts and stops so they don't know what to protect.

Ok I've said more than I should have but like I said this is a subject that gets under my skin and i can talk till I'm blue in the face and some while neve listen just because of what they have heard on the news. Ok I'm stepping off my soap box, I hope I haven't offended anyone. If I have I'm sorry but my feelings on this are very strong.