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Neither Nature nor Nurture
No Simple Answers in the Debate about Pit Bulls
by Gary Weitzman, DVM, MPH
UNION VETERINARY CLINIC
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ALLISON GROSS, DVM • LARISSA KATS, DVM • BRITTANY CARTLIDGE, DVM
609 2nd St., NE near UNION STATION
W
ith September’s tragic dog shooting at Adams Morgan
Day, the seizure of 200 fighting dogs in Ohio that same
Vet Taxi introduces Zilla’s Dream B & B for Dogs month, and the recent release of a book about the reha-
Let our home be a second home to your aging or special needs dogs bilitation of Michael Vick’s dogs, pit bulls have been much in the
news of late. There’s nothing new about that, I know, but it does give
Offering Personalized Care
us cause to consider just what is going on with these dogs.
for Dogs with:
As a resident of Capitol Hill, I’m sure you have had some exposure
• Complicated medication regimens
to pit bulls, and your opinion of them may be positive or negative.
• Specialized dietary requirements
• Back, hip or mobility problems There are those who think pits are wonderful dogs, and the entire onus
• Sight or hearing difficulties for their occasional misbehavior lies with their owners. And then there
• Post surgical care needs are those who do not trust the breed under any circumstances.
And so it is that, on one hand, a police officer at a public festival
Accommodations & Care:
shoots a pit bull he believes is aggressive, while on the other hand,
• A serene park-like setting
police chief Cathy Lanier comes by the Washington Animal Rescue
• Five or more walks or play sessions a day
• An individual sun-filled room with a view League regularly to spend time with our dogs and embraces all the
• Fetching tennis balls (if health allows) pit bulls literally and enthusiastically.
• Ear scratches, belly rubs & bed-time cookies How is it that different intelligent and well-meaning people
look at the same dog and see totally different animals? I’d suggest
Also offering behavioral it’s because they have had either a good experience with pits, or a
modification & training bad one. The experience need not even be direct. Maybe they saw
a news report that made pit bulls look like 40-pound Godzillas. Or
Owned and operated by a veterinary technician perhaps they were impressed by the movie “The Incredible Journey,”
202-276-5744 | www.zillasdream.com which shows a pit bull in a positive light. It really is that simple.
122 ★ HillRag | October 2010
The lesson I gather from all easily become that with consistent
this is that those of us with pit positive reinforcement training.
bulls and those of us who rescue But it doesn’t end there. We al-
pit bulls are taking on a grave ways counsel adopters of all dogs,
responsibility. We had better do pit bulls included, to use common
things right because the eyes of sense with their dog. There are
the world are upon us and the dogs who should not attend large
stakes are high. public gatherings. Taking my own
The Adams Morgan Day dog, two dogs through Eastern Market
Parrot, was in foster care when he on a weekend morning proves that
was shot. Whoever you think is clearly enough. It’s like a Cirque
the guilty party—pit bull or po- du Soleil performance minus the
lice—we can all agree that the in- grace and fluidity.
cident was a tragedy. That’s what And we all know that Parrot
I mean when I say the stakes are should have probably have been
high: with any dog, but especially left at home on Adams Morgan
with pit bulls, things can go very Day. In fact, the Web site for Pit
bad very quickly, and then preju- Bull Rescue Central, a very well-
dices can be established. It pays to respected group, says point blank
be careful. that it “does not recommend dog
And what does “careful” mean? parks or dog daycares” for pit bulls.
First of all, I think we have to be They’re not saying that pits are
honest and admit that there are terrible dogs—they think they’re
dogs who are simply too danger- the best breed there is—but they
ous to be out in public. I’m not are sensible and acknowledge the
just talking about pits, of course. responsibility that pit bull guard-
Any type of dog can fall into this ians and rescuers have taken on.
category, but that category defi- One thing is irrefutably true,
nitely includes pit bulls. pit bulls really can be the very best
Those organizations that are of dogs, and pit bull rescue and
a source of companion dogs owe adoption can certainly be done
it to the adopters, the public, and right. We played a pivotal role in
the dogs themselves, to make sure the successful medical and social
that our dogs do not fall into the rehabilitation of eleven of Mi-
dangerous category and that they chael Vick’s pit bulls a few years
are trained and, above all else, ago. And as I write this, we have
that they are cared for properly. just taken in ten more pit bulls
A dog must have proven itself to from a suspected dog fighting op-
be temperamentally sound be- eration in Ohio. Over the summer,
fore we place it with an adopter, we held a special pit bull adoption
whether permanent or a foster. At promotion that found great homes
the League, every dog whose den for 20 great pit bulls.
carries an “Available for Adoption” These dogs deserve the best
sign has been through two com- chance we can give them, just as
prehensive and rigorous behavior all dogs do. But that demands a
evaluations conducted by a pro- clear-headed, sensible approach
fessionally certified trainer. And to their rescue, rehabilitation, and
knowing that large sectors of the re-homing, as well as education
adopting public tend to be leery and common sense in how they
of them, we generally put a bit are cared for after adoption.
more work into the pit bulls we
have. We’ll give them basic obedi- Dr. Gary Weitzman is a veterinar-
ence training and extra socializing ian, CEO of the Washington Animal
with other dogs. Several of our Rescue League, and Chair of the DC
pits have even earned their AKC Board of Veterinary Medicine. He
Canine Good Citizen certificate is also the co-host of “The Animal
while in the shelter. House,” National Public Radio’s only
Because they are de facto am- program devoted exclusively to ani-
bassadors for their breed, the pit mals. Dr. Weitzman can be reached
bulls we adopt out have to be abso- at gary.weitzman@warl.org. ★
lute gems. And most of them can
capitalcommunitynews.com ★ 123
