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Miami New Times demonizes dogs when they know the dogs aren’t the problem

Posted October 2nd, 2013 in Media and tagged , , , , by Josh

This headline is a massive misrepresentation of the facts. Yet this Miami newspaper opted to run with the headline “Dozens of Pit Bulls torment residents in West Park.” …And while, at the same time, these phrases appear in the actual writeup:

“rusted chains dangle from trees”
“the smell of feces and decay is so strong it lures rats at night”
“sunlight doesn’t infiltrate its (the house’s) darkened chambers”
“inside tight cages scattered throughout the house”
“convicted child molester”
“dogs push their snouts against crates lining the hallway”
“‘I’m not quite sure how many dogs I have'”
“Since 2007, Yohai has become known to authorities as perhaps South Florida’s worst dog owner”
“West Park has fined the five-time felon nearly $160,000 for code violations”
“inspectors have condemned his property as a ‘sanitary nuisance'”
“neighbors have complained about Yohai’s treatment of Pit Bulls”
“police records show the cops have inspected his residence more than 80 times”
“He keeps the dogs caged 24/7”
“‘I’ve found a couple of dogs dead, and he just buries them in the backyard'”
“He has 40 dogs buried there”
“They are locked inside cages strewn among soiled bed mattresses, overturned cupboards, and discarded slabs of rotting wood”
“Yohai served seven years in state prison, convicted of five felonies, including two counts of sexual battery of a minor and possession of cocaine”
“‘Multiple dogs die every month, and he abuses others'”

Here’s a video from 2012 that says the story “first broke 4 years ago,” winding us back to 2008. The initial article notes that West Park has been fining him since 2007, and mentions numerous other pieces of information that correspond to way earlier than that.

So all everything else aside–what’s legal and what is not, what’s humane and what is not, what’s compassionate and what is not–why does this news organization run with that headline? The “Pit Bulls” aren’t “tormenting” anyone. This is a human issue. A circumstantial issue that is controlled by human beings and driven by choices that those human beings have made. Yet, the dogs are portrayed in the headline and elsewhere as evil terrorizers. It’s totally ridiculous and unfair, and typical.