Ann Miners: Pit bulls are less aggressive than many ‘family breeds’

Re “Start protecting us from dangerous pit bulls” (Opinions, March 22): The frenzy against pit bulls is blind fear without proof they’re vicious and dangerous. The American Temperament Test Society (http://www.atts.org) performs their test on popular breeds. The 2008 test is a casual walk with neutral, friendly and threatening situations. The test is failed for unprovoked aggression, panic without recovery, or strong avoidance. The American Pit Bull Terriers scored 85.3 percent higher than collies, golden retrievers and other family-type dogs – average score 77 percent.

“Breed-specific legislation does not address the fact that a dog of any breed can become dangerous when bred or trained to be aggressive...” (Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, Sept. 15, 2000). For these reasons, and many others, both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevent and the American Veterinary Medical Association do not recommend breed discrimination.

Of the 51 dogs rescued from Micheal Vick’s dog-fighting ring, 20 went to foster care immediately. Others were sent to sanctuaries and then to foster homes. Many passed the Canine Good Citizen Test and the ATTS behavior test and some are working as therapy dogs. Of 51 dogs, only two had to be euthanized: one for aggression and one for a severe health problem.

This story was originally published March 23, 2015 at 2:53 PM with the headline "Ann Miners: Pit bulls are less aggressive than many ‘family breeds’."