Dog-rescue agency bullish on pit bulls

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DAVID FULLER / THE CANADIAN PRESS ARCHIVES Camille Arnold, 9 (left), and Wynter Baker, 8, make friends with pit bull Manny at Pit Bulls in the Park. (CP)

LETHBRIDGE, Alta. -- Pet a pit bull lately? It's a thought that might make many cringe, considering the reputation of pit bulls as ferocious, voracious beasts.

In 1990, Winnipeg became the first major Canadian jurisdiction to ban the breed.

It's a reputation Prairie Pit Bull Rescue wants to change, and after adopting out six animals in just a few hours during a Pit Bulls in the Park event, the local organization is clearly having success.

Prairie Pit Bull Rescue is an organization that puts unwanted and abandoned pit bulls from animal shelters in Canada, the U.S. and even Mexico into foster homes.

Pit Bulls in the Park, at Gyro Park in Lethbridge, gave the organization a chance to show the public these dogs are not the aggressive animals people think they are.

The term pit bull is used to describe bulldogs and bulldog crosses such as the Staffordshire terrier and American bulldog. But crosses with other mixes, including Boxers, can also fall into the pit-bull category.

Prairie Pit Bull Rescue's Natalie Kent says the dogs are the most versatile pet, equally at home with a marathoner or a stay-at-home mom with kids.

With enormous stamina, they are popular with athletic owners, and the local group has adopted many out to runners. But with their easygoing temperament, pit bulls can be quite happy being couch potatoes, too.

Many of the dogs fostered here come from shelters in Los Angeles, where as many as 250 animals are killed each week. Others come from Ontario, which has banned pit bulls, and American states such as Ohio and Tennessee. One dog at the Gyro Park event was rescued from Mexico.

Turnaround for each adopted animal is about three weeks, and all are spayed or neutered, microchipped and vaccinated before going home to a new companion.

Prairie Pit Bull Rescue (www.prairiepitbullrescue.com) is entirely volunteer and donation-driven. Its reputation is one Kent has felt personally, with one person calling her a "bad mother" for having pit bulls in a home with children.

But she says the dogs are great with kids. Because of their high tolerance for pain, they are less likely to react to a younger child.

"Pit bulls love kids. In the U.K., they're known as nanny dogs," says Kent, who along with other members of the organization, spent much of the Pit Bulls in the Park event talking to people and their children while the dogs lounged around.

Kent admits she shared the fear many have of pit bulls until she became familiar with the dogs several years ago and her perception changed.

She says she's seen people let a pit bull lick their faces, then suddenly pull back when they hear what breed it is.

According to the website www.dogbreedinfo.com , "the American pit bull terrier is a good-natured, amusing, extremely loyal and affectionate family pet, which is good with children and adults. Almost always obedient, it is always eager to please its master. It is an extremely courageous and intelligent guard dog that is very full of vitality."

According to the U.S. government National Center for Biotechnology Information website, part of the U.S. National Library of Medicine, between one and two deaths in Canada each year are attributed to dog bites. Between 1990 and 2007, about 28 people in Canada were killed by dogs.

"A higher proportion of sled dogs, and possibly, mixed-breed dogs in Canada than in the United States, caused fatalities, as did multiple dogs rather than single dogs," says the website, with three of four fatalities being caused by multiple dogs.

The website adds: "In 1990, Winnipeg was the first major Canadian jurisdiction among several to ban pit bull (terrier)-type dogs. Edmonton requires that vicious dogs be muzzled in public and that the American Staffordshire terrier and Staffordshire bull terrier be automatically considered vicious."

A study of Canadian newspaper reports from 1990 to 2007 showed only one fatality caused by an American Staffordshire terrier in that period, says the website.

"The effectiveness of breed-specific legislation, however, has been questioned for several reasons, including the lack of comprehensive Canada-based studies on dog attacks," says the website.

-- Postmedia News

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition August 25, 2012 A17