After reading this article and watching the video, why is a straw man argument being presented by the journalist, the family and the cops? So, if the dog “was” a Pit Bull then that justifies the cops in shooting and killing it? Why are all 3 parties debating over whether the dog was a Pit Bull or not? It’s as if the family is trying to prove the dog’s innocence by making sure everyone knows it “wasn’t” a Pit Bull. Well, what else does that imply then? Is everyone implying here that Pit Bulls are guilty and deserving of taking bullets to the face? This dog (or any dog), Pit Bull or not, doesn’t deserve to be the victim of a cop’s power trip. ALL types of dogs are capable of being innocent bystanders. This type of false debate, false implication, does just as much harm to dogs as a whole as any gun could ever do. RIP Scar.

It’s been thoroughly pointed out how backwards, hypocritical, contradictory, and downright evil PETA’s stances are in regards to any and all things “Pit Bull.” I’ve been meaning to put my overall take on their asinine position out and into the public domain–but people don’t need to hear it from me, as there’s plenty already out there that covers their nonsense in detail. But now with Lennox’s imminent death coming down from the BCC, and the protests and public outcry going on on his behalf, it begs the novice question: Where’s PETA?

Well, here’s your answer…

Unfortunately PETA doesn’t care about Lennox, or any other Pit Bull-type dog for that matter. Their official stance is that ALL Pit Bull-type dogs should be phased out and killed. The reason? I honestly can’t make this type of stuff up, it’s far too Orwellian for any sane or rational person… They want to eliminate the breed/type in order to “save them from abuse,” and before that aforementioned abuse were to even potentially happen. You know, since ALL Pit Bull-type dogs are “abused” and all, and while ignoring the fact that millions are actually living in loving homes right now… So, not only do they want to brand all Pit Bulls as being “abused,” they then want to take the “abused” and kill them. There’s no desire by PETA to focus on who the actual abusers are… No. Why do/support all of that work when you can just scapegoat a vague type of dog, as well as the people who have and love them? Support BSL? They absolutely do. So how could they, in good conscience (or no conscience), come out in support of Lennox, when they, as an organization, support the very laws that got him impounded in the first place? Sorry, the truth hurts. They’d rather separate Pit Bulls from dogs, perpetuating the stereotypes and myths, and pose as their fake saviors by killing them all as an “act of mercy.” How loving of PETA. No, fuck PETA.

This is the equivalent of someone saying that all newborn children should be immediately put into state-run foster care because their actual parents “may” abuse them. This is the equivalent of an organization rounding up all of the newborn elephants on the Serengeti and killing them in order to “save them” from potential poaching. This is the equivalent of a group of power trippers using self-established numbers, like income (for example), and then establishing who is “fit” or “unfit” to do (insert activity here) as a “whole,” or as a “group,” or as a “class,” or as a “race.” Where I come from that’s what racism is. “Killing to save them”??? Besides being totally insane, this is DOUBLESPEAK in its grandest example. Talking to disguise, distort, reverse the meaning of words, so that it sounds pleasant or less horrific… Yes, this is how we go all over the world starting wars in the name of “peace.”

Peace IS NOT a bullet in the head.

Not to get too political, but doublespeak is all around us. In this field–the Pit Bull advocacy community–there is no bigger violator than PETA.

So this was reported on Monday in Norco, and after reading all kinds of different versions of the same story, there’s numerous things about it that seem kind of “off.”

The first deception comes right out of the gate when the article claims, “toddler survives attack by the family Pit Bull in her home”… As you can see by the video stills below, “Diamond” is a CHAINED dog who, by any decent ownership measures, wouldn’t then be considered a “family” dog. Going beyond the psychological aspect of a dog lacking interaction and love and inclusion, chained dogs can potentially become territorial, and they can also become more defensive in the moment, due to not being able to flee. The video also reveals an outside doghouse, which probably means that the dog actually lived and slept outside. I obviously don’t know that for sure, but signs point in that direction. Furthermore, the “attack” didn’t happen IN THE HOME, it allegedly happened IN THE YARD. Funny how Leticia Juarez plays subtle games with reality…

Now this is the same story, just coming from a different outlet. Clearly the quotes don’t jive with the picture being painted by the initial ABC article. As you can see below, fire officials claim that the girl “avoided major bite wounds.” The sheriff’s officials then confirmed that she “suffered no puncture wounds or major bites.” Hmm… If this was an actual attack then how in the hell were there no bite or puncture wounds? Especially if we are to believe the first article when it states numerous times that the dog was clamped down, locked in, would not let go, was pulling at the girl, dragging and flinging her around the yard, required its jaws be pried open, etc. What really happened?

And then there’s the obvious questions, like… Is it the best choice to, under these circumstances, have chosen someone who is deaf to babysit? The babysitter isn’t the mom, and by the sounds of the article, may have just recently met the family. I know that she was speaking as if she knew the history of the dog, but the article claims that the family just recently moved into the area. That’s a huge gray spot for me. I’m in no way trying to insinuate that deaf people (or others with disabilities) can’t be wonderful parents, they certainly can. But this babysitter wasn’t the parent, and isn’t going to just get my benefit of the doubt that she had the over-careful characteristics that any mother or father usually instinctively has with their own children. Secondly, if all of these insinuations about the dog are even remotely true, how in the world was that toddler ever put in a position to be able to make her way into the backyard unsupervised? That’s clearly the fault of an irresponsible babysitter. Making things murkier is the fact that this babysitter was deaf, so she couldn’t have heard any potential noises or cries. Had this been a “vicious” attack, like the news often claims (and does here), any bigger dog (of any breed) would have likely disfigured (or worse) a child that small in a short amount of time. For a deaf person, not having that key sense could really cause you to miss that small window of correcting a huge mistake like, say, allowing a toddler to randomly waltz into a yard with a chained (and possibly unsocialized or territorial) dog. Oh, but that’s just me trying to be responsible, and yet, I don’t even have kids… I do have 2 really great Pit Bulls though, but you know, Pit Bull owners aren’t supposed to ever be “responsible,” right? Right. I guess I just busted that notion up. Anyways, onto some of the comments…

^You don’t say?

^Yup, just a dose of the broad-brushing hatefulness.

^Well, the first person in the world to ever undergo a partial face transplant was because of her Labrador chewing off the lower part of her face. It’s been claimed by some that the Lab may have just been frantically trying to wake her up after she took loads of pills and passed out, and that may or may not be true… But Lord knows a Pit Bull would never get the benefit of that angle, even if it was genuinely plausible. Point is, hate to break it to ya but there’s aggressive examples that you can pull from each and every breed or type of dog. That’s just the way it is, and it usually stems from both treatment and circumstances surrounding its environment. Here’s a Labrador that attacked a 9-year-old boy, requiring hundreds of stitches to his head. Here’s a Labrador that attacked 3 children in Virginia after they reached for his collar.

Finally, I came across this totally separate article tonight regarding an incident that just happened in Bakersfield, CA. It’s title references “2” attacks, the 2nd being the one from Norco (from above) that I already wrote about…

^This Bakersfield portion of the article is IMMEDIATELY DISCREDITED because there is NO SUCH THING as a “125 pound Pit Bull.” Those don’t exist. Sorry. The photo provided with the article isn’t the actual dog either, rather a stock photo that these kinds of journalists will commonly include instead. All in all it’s just another disservice to Pit Bulls everywhere, by having their name and image inappropriately slandered all over this particular story. That’s a complete shame. Regardless–whatever kind of dog was actually involved, you still see the common traits (for an incident) here as well… 3-year-old child left alone, dog unneutered, etc. People and their irresponsibilities, they have far-reaching effects and can be devastating to humans and dogs alike.

So this video takes audio from Richard Randall’s show on 5/21, where he vaguely lumps all sorts of people in together and implies that they are unsavory characters… Pit Bull owners, tattooed individuals, stocking hat wearers, hooded sweatshirt wearers, sports team jacket wearers, do-cap wearers, people who don’t wear belts, men with long hair, likely men with shaved heads, etc.

Then, during my search to find this audio clip, I initially listened to the wrong day (5/22). It was there where I heard Randall, and guests, harp on the fact that Mitt Romney was being unfairly treated inside of a high school classroom. Apparently the teacher was very pro-Obama, and she started actually screaming at a kid who was simply pointing out that “Obama wasn’t a God” (kid’s words). They actually played the audio clip on the show, and (from my perspective) it was just a kid who was trying to point out that neither Romney nor Obama were above criticism. The teacher’s argument was that you couldn’t criticize Obama because he was the President, and that that showed “disrespect” towards him…

Now, I’m neither a Republican or a Democrat, so I don’t have any kind of a political side to defend here. I was, however, far more interested in the tone that Randall and his guest took when discussing this situation… Because it was the exact opposite type of a tone that he had taken just a day earlier, when discussing “hoodies” and “Pit Bulls.” They now had objections that this teacher was not allowing for a fair discussion, and instead “indoctrinating” a classroom full of students with her political beliefs. On that, I agree with them… A teacher has no business, whether Republican or Democrat, forcing their worldview onto their students. That goes against everything that a classroom is supposed to represent. They were then calling this kid, and his actions, “heroic,” because he stood up for some objectivity and voiced his concern.

So my questions are then… Where was the objectivity on 5/21? Isn’t grouping essentially millions of people together, based on a piece of clothing or a specific type of dog, irresponsibly ignorant at its core? Wouldn’t speaking to thousands of radio listeners in a totally UNOBJECTIVE way, also be considered an indoctrination? And then, am I a “hero” by their standards for posting this video in response? Or does that only apply to individuals that stand up for what could be considered as Randall’s “side” of the argument? And finally, why does the Pit Bull’s reputation have to take another massive hit? Subtle, but massive. This is exactly why so many people, who have never even met/seen/experienced a Pit Bull in person, end up thinking HOW they think… Because media figures, like Randall, are constantly projecting a sensationalistic tone whenever these dogs are referenced.

I’m pretty honored to have Sway featured in the upcoming American Dog Magazine. And it’s amazing to have us featured alongside such wonderful company. Thank you to ADM for the inclusion, is very humbling to say the least. The below issue is their “Spring 2012” run, so I don’t believe it’s available quite yet. Stay tuned!

Westminster Dog Show just recently opted to sever ties with Pedigree after 24 years of sponsorship service. This decision was apparently made after an overwhelming amount of people who make up their “primary audience” voiced concerns about the commercials promoting the adoption of shelter dogs.

How sad is that? That people are so apathetic and cowardly that they’d rather not be subjected to a 30 second commercial, showing a betrayed dog behind bars, because of “how it makes them feel.” Screw how many people might see that commercial and feel inspired to visit a shelter and adopt, screw the fact that the commercial is visually accurate in its portrayal of what you would see if you’d visit a shelter, screw the fact that millions of shelter animals are actually killed every single year inside of this country because of a lack of awareness (among many other things). And here we have a short commercial that may help make a dent, may help some of these dogs find homes, may actually inspire or initiate an emotional response… Well, too bad, many Americans are just too cowardly to even watch. They don’t want to pay attention to a reality-based world because they’re too busy living inside of their bubble. Surprised? Out of sight, out of mind. What a disgrace.

You people that would rather remain silent, or turn away, or close yourself off from tragedies, or from information, or from discussion, or from things that may not affect you directly–you people are worthless. You people are the reason this world is so completely fucked up. Because y’all grossly outnumber the people who actually give a shit. And then ignorance reigns. And then oppression reigns. Yes, this is just a commercial. But yes, I just took it there–to a political perspective, to a societal perspective–because at the end of the day, it’s all the same, it’s all relatable. This is the reason that we get what we get. This is the foundational reason why all of the injustice this world serves up consistently continues to happen. Because the people as a majority do not care. They would much rather look away, they’d much rather not be bothered with it. We are better than this.

Tonight on the ABC show “What Would You Do?” they took on the issue of what one would do if they witnessed a Pit Bull potentially being turned over to a shady character who is looking to fight it… I applaud John Quinones and his staff for putting this scenario into a mainstream program. It was also nice to see Amber, the loveable dog involved, portrayed honestly by the edit. Thank you! Shame on all of those people that chose not to speak up.

Is this a joke? I mean, clearly it’s not, but c’mon. Can the discriminatory media, in this case the New York Post, sink any lower and obscure any farther? I find it stunningly disgraceful that a human being can flat out murder another human being, and then that portion of information comes secondary to the news that the alleged-murderer “owned” a Pit Bull. What does that silently say about the demonization going on here?

This dog had “dried blood on it’s face and snout”? Well yes, I’d assume as much, as someone WAS MURDERED in the apartment in which he lived! But seriously, how does anyone know how the blood got there? The browser subtext reads “City marshals intending to evict Upper East Side tenant find him DOA in pool of blood; dog-owning roommate questioned.” Just as plausible is that the dog could have sniffed, nudged, or licked the murdered individual, or the “pool of blood,” or better yet–the dog could have just walked through a certain area, because again, who knows how much blood was ultimately dispersed from this human-on-human act… They claim bite marks? I’d like to see them. We all know how this sensationalistic garbage is spewed in these short media accounts, just check the story’s headline! And if there was ultimately bites on the body? Well, the 2 persons were physically fighting… This easily could have caused this dog to enter whatever struggle did occur.

With that being said, would ALL Pit Bulls enter a human-on-human fight? No. Many would cower or go as far away from the confrontation as possible. It’s all subjective to the relationship that the dog may have to its owner, the dogs own personality, and other variables–many of which are obviously in play for this specific situation… But just to be clear, from a basic standpoint, it’s not even a “negative” thing if your own dog (whatever breed) would jump in with the intention of standing up and potentially protecting you. This happens all the time, as dogs LOVE their people. Unfortunately this trait can be exploited–as dogs, especially Pit Bulls, live to please their owners, even when they themselves are not being treated well by that same owner. Quickly read through the paragraph detailing Dyer’s “some 20 arrests for crimes that include assault,” and it’s pretty safe to assume that this person was not a very good guy. Chances are he treated his dog, Bones, like shit. I don’t know either way, but my point is that the dog shouldn’t be blamed for…
1.) Having a bad owner.
2.) Being thrown into an environment where 2 people are trying to actually kill each other.
3.) Someone actually being killed by another person.

Oh yes, someone was actually murdered by Shaun Dyer–but yet the Pit Bull is getting the headlines, and worse, being subliminally tied to that act (which he had no part of) through the media’s coverage. That is the America that we live in. This needs changed.

Also, does anyone find it odd that Animal Control officers were able to remove Bones “without any problems”? Afterwards leaving him “tied in front of the building for hours.” Hmm, that’s so curious. For a dog in which YOU, the media, would rather us believe (through implication) was viciously out of control… Further down the article calls Bones a “snarling beast.” And yet he was just left tied to the front of the building for passersby? That doesn’t add up. See what reading does? Those are 2 dissenting pieces of information that probably didn’t make it into the televised sound bite-reality.

Lastly, I’m glad that there are some existing quotes in the piece that are actually sticking up for the dog… I will note them here:

I knew him when he was a good-natured and good dog. I took him for a walk once. The dog takes on the personality of the owner. If the dog is mistreated, he’s going to mistreat others.

And even more damning, coming from someone who sees the dog 4x a week, postal worker Rafael Reveron…

I’ve worked in the area for five years. I’ve seen the dog three to four times a week. The dog does not seem aggressive, it doesn’t even bark.

What will happen to Bones? I hope someone is following his story…
Shaun Dyer is charged for murder, yet his name is nowhere in the headline. “Murder” itself, appears nowhere in the headline. Where is Shaun Dyer’s picture? Not included. On the other hand, “Pit Bull” most definitely appears in the headline, as well as a picture of Bones for full programming effect. This is completely unjust, make no “bones” about that.

Pit Bull lovers: Please honestly think about this scenario… What happens if someone breaks into your home and your dog actually jumps up to protect you? What if this intruder’s intention was to rob, rape, or murder you or your family? And ultimately, does it matter what the intention was? As the person was breaking into your home, so the intention wasn’t good regardless… So what if this intruder is then actually injured by your dog. Is the intended crime and criminal going to lead the news story? Or will your dog injuring the intruder, and its “type,” actually BE the news story? I know that sounds ridiculous… But our media is ridiculous, and this is a legitimate fear!

Fact: At times we find ourselves living in a hateful and ignorant world where it may seem that love and common sense isn’t able to counterbalance the insanity. PLEASE CONTINUE TO LOVE AND THINK LOGICALLY ANYWAYS, AS IT’S ALWAYS WORTH THE EFFORT.

*Update* Bones is now listed as being held at a Manhattan shelter with the notes “attacks people” on his file, his shelter ID# is A913969… What a travesty! Here’s his intake photo from the “Urgent Part 2” Facebook page.

*Update II* Bones is still alive, being kept for “evidence” at a Manhattan shelter facility! What is to become of him after they do the forensic impression of his teeth? This quote comes from a law enforcement source working on the case…

He had a horrible owner, but he’s a wonderful dog. He’s just as happy as can be.

Important: I was notified that the San Diego Union Tribune is doing a phone survey concerning whether the city should BAN PIT BULLS…
It takes 30 seconds, I just did it…
1-800-244-6397 x2506, choose option #2 (It’s the owners, not the breed, against ban) ~ It doesn’t matter if you live in the area or not, you can still participate and it’s free…

You can also go directly to their website and vote…

From a grassroots level doing both is advisable, and it gives us the opportunity to speak up resoundingly loud in favor of the millions of fantastic Pit Bulls and out against any potential spreading of BSL legislation… It’s been thoroughly proven to not work, thoroughly rejected by the majority of people, and does nothing but induce hate, increased killing, stereotyping, scapegoating and ugliness.

All of this comes in light of a horrible incident that occurred on Saturday involving a 75-year-old woman from Paradise Hills… An incident that in my view should prompt the DA to file charges AGAINST THE OWNERS of the dogs…

What we don’t want, and what we constantly have to deal with, is opportunists and vile human beings using this tragedy as justification for banning and subsequently killing ALL Pit Bulls.

No Pit Bull is inherently dangerous or inherently violent, and especially towards human beings… It is just not reality, but yet continues to be exploited by media and the like because it drives ratings and is a hot button topic for people who’ve never taken a minute of their time to ever be around or bother to get to know one… If they did, they would see almost instantaneously that the very-high-majority of all Pit Bulls in existence (even the ones in shelters, many of which have never had a home, a person, or been shown love) have some of the most generous and loving dispositions towards their human counterparts. This is irrefutable. It is bad owner’s–made up of dog fighters, gang members, drug runners and just downright careless human beings of all color and creed–and placated by irresponsible breeder’s (who allow said individuals to continue to occupy these animals) that are the problem, and make no mistake about it.

Quite bluntly–anyone with a shred of common sense, dignity and decency can see that it’s an “owner” or “circumstance” to blame, not a dog… And villainizing an entire ANYTHING based on the actions of a few is patently ignorant and flat out wrong, always, and every time.

Please participate and then share, WE HAVE THE POWER, our voices…