I find it interesting you believe so strongly in the banning of an animal that many of you have never owned. And for those of you who have had an aggressive Pitbull, if you are not blaming yourself, perhaps it is time to reconsider your training methods.

Prematurely judging before actually experiencing the breed is no better than racial profiling. It is immoral and unethical. You would not ban Hispanic people or African Americans from a city due to a single instance by a particular individual with dangerous behavior … would you?

Being of the “American Terrier” breed, Pitbulls have a strong desire to please their master even to the extreme of putting their own lives in danger for praise. Pitbulls are therefore the main breed in dogfights, as they are so willing to gain praise from their owner that they will fight to the death.

Furthermore, this trait was something that humans intentionally bred into the dogs and the single trait that humans are now making the breed suffer for.

I also had the same misconceptions that others have. That was until I became the proud owner of a shelter dog who was a purebred Pitbull. His ears were cropped short which made him look mean, and his muscular body was  quite intimidating.

But I can say without any  hesitation that that was the best dog I have ever owned. He was an honest, loyal and loving dog who happened to be terrified of Chihuahuas and whimpered at cats.

He would have done absolutely anything for me. His uncanny ability to sense my mood and often nudge me with his enormous head was enough to get me through a rough day.

I used to find it weird that people would yank their children away from him, or switch to the other side of the street. It was also a traumatizing experience to see someone slap him across the face because he happily trotted up to them.

Ghost is an example of a well trained dog whom was able to be “re-trained.” He came from an unknown background and never showed signs of aggression, but that did not mean that this defined what he learned as a puppy.

With the basic training commands, and the verbal cues that told him no matter what was happening to return to my side, he was able to live a happy, healthy life.

He may be only a single instance of success that can “therefore not represent the breed as a whole,” but if that above statement is true, then how can a single instance of aggression from a Pitbull be all it took to represent the breed as a whole when it mattered in a negative way?

The only thing I ask of any of you is that you don’t judge an animal so quickly by their simple desire to make their owner happy. It isn’t their fault that so many people think poorly of them.

I leave you with a simple thought: Don’t ban a book from entire towns just because you don’t like the cover. There’s so much more inside.