Hello, its been a difficult few days for me and it just got worse. On Sunday Sept 12, In Adams Morgan DC, during the Adams Morgan Day festival, two dogs got into a scuffle in which the owners of each dog struggled but successfully gained control of their pets. One dog was a Pit bull and the other was a Poodle. As the owner of the Pit bull gained control of his dog, a police officer arrived on the scene and
knocked over the pit bull owner and proceeded to handle the pit bull in an aggressive manner. He pinned the Pit bull on the floor and placed his knee on the dogs back, as an officer would do with a criminal. He then took the Pit bull and threw it down a flight of stairs that lead to the basement of The Brass Doorknob and then shot the Pit bull, In broad day light. in front of thousands of people, some of whom were children that had happened to have been playing with the dog earlier that day.
The police officer did NOT HAVE THE RIGHT to shoot the dog nor did he have the right to intervene in the dog owners successful handling. The Poodle did not suffer any injury and only one person received an abrasion on the arm.
A lot of articles have been giving out mixed and false information regarding the situation, stating that the dog had attacked people. That was not true. A lot of the false information seemed to have been given by other DC police officers. This article here
seems to clear the air on whats been falsely reported.
What had happened between the two dogs had nothing to do with breed specification. From the information I have gathered about dogs, I know that when dogs fight, it is for dominance. Dog fights happen all the time at parks and other places that have millions of dogs around each other. This had nothing to do with a Pit bulls temperament. Sometimes two dogs just don't get along. In fact by the nature of the situation, if the Pit bull did "attack" the poodle first, it is probably because the Poodle was being an instigator. Ive watched enough "Dog Whisperer" to know that dogs instigate fights by staring of there is enough physical distance between them. In fact I guarantee that this Poodle has had scuffles with other dogs in the past, but I am not going to focus my energy on which dog is innocent and which isn't, in the end they are DOGS and they are both innocent. This is how DOGS operate, they are pack oriented animals and have to establish their ranks among other dogs.
This practice is included in EVERY single breed and does not exclude Chihuahua's, Bijou's, Poodles, Labs (I have encountered aggressive labs) and every single other dog that exist on this earth.
I am deeply hurt by what this asshole did to Parrot (the Pit bulls name). I truly believe that this was an act of breed discrimination. Had this been a fight between a Poodle and another breed, this would not have happened. I am so angry that this happened. I cannot even think clearly when talking about this. Pit bulls are NOT BAD DOGS! They are EXACTLY like every other dog! They do NOT turn on their owners, they DO NOT lock their jaws, they DO NOT feed on the smell of blood, and they ARE NOT AGGRESSIVE by nature.
I have been siding with pit bulls for years now and have been education myself on Pit bulls for moments where those who are ignorant about the breed need a little education. This website here has helped me gain some of my knowledge on Pits and I think its time for all of you who don't already know, to start doing your homework as well. Here is the link.
http://www.realpitbull.com/myths.html
To go back to what had happened on Sunday, It was a traumatizing event for everyone, but no one was as traumatized as much as Parrots owner. Aaron Block was fostering Parrot until the dog had been adopted to a forever home. . So not only did an innocent young man, who knew how to handle dogs a shit ton better than a "trained" police officer, lose a dog he had been caring for and growing an emotional bond to, but an innocent dog lost his chance at being in a forever home. Imagine, if this dog had an adoptive family, what would the parents say to their children? "Sorry kids, Parrot is not gonna come and live with us, he's dead." Explain that to me?
I have so many issues with what happened. I can go on for ever and ever but I will have to end this here.
My heart goes out to Aaron Block, the adoptive family, the children who witnessed this horrific event, Lucky Dog rescue and last but definitely not least, to all the Pit bulls out there who are continuing to be discriminated against, abused, neglected and euthanised because of a false reputation.
Here, again, is the link to Lucky Dog Rescue's update on the situation. I am also putting the link on the myths and facts of Pit Bulls as well as a link that shares the history of the Pit Bull:
http://www.luckydoganimalrescue.org/an-update-on-parrot
http://www.realpitbull.com/myths.html
http://www.dontbullymybreed.org/
I will be writing more about this when there is an update on what will happen to the cop.
Good Night
