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BSL - The Rest of the Story

July 28, 2008

Perhaps you were following my ordeal with the anti-BSL crowd. For a while there, it got pretty intense. I was bombarded with emails from all over the United States. One group in particular was mean-spirited.

But there was also another group that was delightful and informative. The North Texas Bully Breed Club, led by president Rachael King, showed the level of courtesy and maturity that can actually get people’s attention.

To summarize, the Cedar Hill City Council passed a resolution requesting the legislature allow cities to make their own decision about BSL. The day after the meeting, Rachael asked me to come to one of their meetings. I think I surprised her by agreeing to go. So, on that Saturday night my wife and I went to White Rock Lake and met with the North Texas Bully Breed Club.

Given Rachael’s emails, I knew the group would be courteous. When I arrived, I was given a tour and introduced to many of the pets. The pets were predominately American Pit Bull Terriers but there were a few other “bully” breeds there.

I was surprised to find that some of the pets didn’t look like my vision of pit bulls. Some had faces quite similar to a labrador. Without exception the pets were well-behaved.

These pet owners represented the “responsible” owner. Someone who cares for the animal and spends the necessary time to train the dog. They also took precautions, such has keeping the dogs in individual cages when they were not being played with.

A couple of times some of the dogs started barking and growling at each other. But I suppose that is not a breed specific act. The owners were very careful not to allow their dog to approach another dog from behind. I was told that because of their breeding, pit bulls can be aggressive toward other dogs and so reasonable measures were taken.

All in all, I had a very enjoyable time. The people were nice and the animals were well-behaved. I don’t know that I have changed my position just yet, but groups like these go a long way in changing the perspective and opening a productive dialog.

The owners who attack people with name-calling and hateful language do not serve their cause well. To those people, you would be better served not acting like the stereotype of the animals you are defending.

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