Nicole Watkins
Persuasive Speech
Specific Purpose: To persuade my audience to petition against Maryland’s law to identify “Pit Bulls” as a dangerous breed of dog.
Six months ago, almost to the day, my best friend and her new puppy were attacked. She was dog sitting her grandmother’s Mastiff, whom at the time had no previous violent history. She kept the Mastiff and her puppy in separate rooms in order to make sure there were no problems, but that wasn’t enough. One day, out of nowhere, the Mastiff broke down the door separating them and went on a full-fledged attack toward the puppy. My friend tried to make it out of the door of the house, but to no avail. The Mastiff bit her by the arm and dragged her to the ground forcing the puppy
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Let’s start by looking at the Maryland law itself
Maryland has laws on both rulings against just Pit Bulls and the concept of ‘dangerous dogs’. First we will focus primarily on Maryland’s law against Pit Bulls. Aaron C. Davis, a reporter for the Washington Post, states that “Maryland’s highest court ruled in March [of 2012] that pit bulls…are more dangerous than other breeds” (Davis). Even the media today is biased against Pit Bulls based on the immensely smaller number of media articles reported on non-Pit Bulls versus Pit Bulls. The ASPCA, American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, shows that a “quantitative study by the National Canine Research Council of dog-bite reportage in a four-day period proves that anti-pit bull bias in the media is more than just a theory—it’s a fact” (ASPCA). Under Maryland law as well, there are specific rulings on what deems a dog as a ‘dangerous dog’. Stated in West’s Annotated Code of Maryland, “‘Dangerous dog’ means a dog that: (i) Without provocation has killed or inflicted severe injury on a person” (West). This could relay onto any breed of dog depending on the situation and environment. Because of the Maryland law on Pit Bulls, many Maryland families are facing distress.
The law now holds both the owner and landlords accountable for just the one specific breed of dog creating complications for many families and many animal shelters. Families are being torn apart under this new law causing them to have to make
Pit Bulls are known worldwide for being inherently dangerous and extremely vicious, but according to the American Temperament Test Society, Inc. 86.8% of American Pit Bull Terriers have passed their temperament tests better than Collies, Golden Retrievers, and Beagles. Many people don’t know that the term “bully breed” refers to more than forty breeds that hail from the same root breed. The history of the Pit Bull goes back to about the nineteenth century, during that time they were used to protect livestock, families, and even children as nannies (the Canine Journal). Today Pit Bulls are used as therapy dogs, police dogs, and of course a simple companion. Many myths about pit bulls circulate, which scares society into believing that they are dangerous to us and our families the question of banning Pit Bulls has been hotly discussed around the world, but banning Pit Bulls will not stop illegal breeding, fighting and distribution of Pit Bulls, other dogs from biting, and the problem will grow. The question of whether or not Pit Bulls should be banned is a hot topic in recent society, but the real question is should Pit Bulls be punished for the actions of their owners, or should laws be enforced at a higher degree.
When you mention the words Pit Bull, many times people immediately begin talking about the statistics of them attacking other people as well as other dogs. A survey was conducted in 2009 of attack percentages of Pit Bulls compared to other breeds such as Rottweilers, German Shepherds, and Chows. Among this survey, the Pit Bull breed scored the lowest with a 0.00125 and the highest being the Rottweiler with a score of 0.00433 (https://defendpitbulls.com/pit-bull-attack-statistics/). On the website Dogsbite.org, it states that Pit-Bulls are the leading culprit in dog attacks, this is just a broad statistic which does not adequately explain whether these attacks were of
206). Further research shows that Pit Bulls aren’t the most dangerous breed of dog. They are ranked higher for their tolerance than they are for their aggression (Baldwin, S. 2016). No matter what real facts and statistics say, Pit Bulls are still being discriminated against and banned all around the world. As the years, have gone on, it has been harder and harder to own a Pit Bull. Many neighborhood or apartment complexes won’t allow you to live in their facilities if you own a Pit Bull or anything that remotely looks like a Pit Bull. If that isn’t enough, most insurance agencies won’t cover you, your family or your home if you own a Pit Bull (ReidHead, J, L 2017). Because of all these regulations and limitation when owning a Pt Bull, owners and Pit Bull advocates are working harder to push their point that it’s the owner that makes the dog. With proper training and responsible owners Pit Bulls are not a threat or a danger to society. Pit Bulls are no more dangerous than any dog breed with they are trained and raised responsibly. In this paper, I be explaining how irresponsible Pit Bull owners are the cause of Pit Bulls aggression towards people and other animals by explaining the history of the breed, Pit Bulls involvement in dog fighting, gang violence and true statistics surrounding the breed. To solve this problem, I recommend that all future and
Pit bulls are the most misunderstood dog breeds in the world. When people hear the word pit bull they automatically think of dogs fighting and attacking. When people say "pit bull" they're usually referring to a range of breeds and, often, a mixed-breed dog. (Lawrence, C Louisville Magazine Feb 2007) People think they are a very dangerous breed of dog. Because of this, some areas do not allow pit bulls and breeds like them. Pit bulls are the leading culprit of dog bites in America, but on the other hand, they are the gentlest dogs people will ever meet. The National Canine Temperament Testing Association
Specific Purpose: I will persuade my audience that pit bulls are not a dangerous breed by nature.
When you see a Pit Bull, what is the first thing that comes to your mind? More times than not, it’s fear. But what comes to my mind is that this is my favorite kind of dog, and that it is very misunderstood and stereotyped by most people thanks to all the negative media. That’s why I’m writing about the truths regarding the American Pit Bull Terrier. They are always talked about as being very aggressive and vicious breed, but in fact they are a gentle companion. I would like to convince the people of Farmers Branch, Texas, that Pit Bull’s deserve to be considered as family pets.
Proposition Statement: Euthanization and over impregnated dogs can be lowered if people are more informed about pet stores and mills, and adopt making room for more animals to go through the rescue and shelters.
I want you to go back and ask yourself some of my questions I asked previously in my essay. Were you skeptical of pit bulls like other citizens in the Shullsburg are, if so, has your opinion changed at all towards this topic? Now, I didn’t write this to totally change your opinion. I just wanted to give you some information to be brought more awareness to this misunderstood breed. Unfortunately, there are many other breeds like pit bulls that have restrictions in Shullsburg that are not fair, but I decided to talk about pit bulls because I have one myself. I wish people in our town were as open-minded as my family and I. Now at the end of my sincere essay I hope you take into consideration the dog restrictions in
Pit Bulls are wrongly accused and killed for false actions due to countless, untrue stereotypes created by the actions of humans. Pits have been treated as the outcast of dogs for years now and it has to stop. A numerous amount of innocent dogs are being killed for these false statements. Many states have already issued BSLs or Breed-Specific Laws against Pit Bulls, these laws often have no specification of the dog itself just if it resembles any of the physical characteristics of a Pit Bull.
Throughout the United States, pit bulls have been banned from multiple cities. A lot of people have given pit bulls an awful reputation. People have trained their dogs to be very aggressive so the pit bulls can fight other pit bulls. Consequently, pit bulls are not like any other dog. They are more than any other dog can be. Pit bulls make great family dogs, they have such high intelligence and the dogs are very responsible and dictate ownership. No dog should be banned from living in a certain place. Dogs are just as important as humans and for the authorities to restrict the animals from living their lives with people who will give them love is wrong. Pit bulls are typically known as attack dogs because they have such a strong history of attacking other dogs and humans. Many people believe it is because of the dog’s breed, but others believe it is the owners and how they train them. To avoid the situation, owners just have to be sure they train the dog the proper way when they are little. Many cities restrict the allowance of pit bulls living there due to the history of their aggression, animal control should make sure the house is a safe environment and occasionally have checkups on the house and owners to check on the dog. A safe environment at home is a place where the animal doesn’t get abused. Pit bulls should not be banned from living in certain places because of their history of aggression.
Many American households own a pet, but their pets may have originated from a cruel background. Especially dogs, for many of them stem from one of the ten thousand puppy mills located across the United States. Puppy mills are large commercial breeding facilities that specializes in maximizing profit over the welfare and conditions of the animals. Animals live in unsustainable conditions which they are provided with the minimum amount of food, water, exercise, shelter, protection, and veterinary care; yet, these animals are forced to continue breeding for the sake of providing beautiful pets for our own personal expenses. The government should step in to advance regulations and inspections of large commercial breeding facilities because old rules no longer fit the current time anymore. For us to take home a new healthy family member, we should all know it comes from a safe place.
Pitbulls in past years have been getting a lot of attention in national media, for being an aggressive and dangerous type of dog. In cities nationwide governments have been putting bans on the breeding and keeping of pit bulls in homes. However, before the era of dogfighting, pit bulls were nicknamed “America’s Dog” (Pisani), and the reason for this is because they were popular in pop culture up until they were bred and trained for dogfights. Since the 1980’s pit bulls have gotten a bad rap, but they really should not have, because it is they way they are trained and cared for by their owners and not in their genes to act aggressively.
These dogs do not deserve the treatment the are being given. In 1996 the odds of dying in a dog attack was one in 11,534,087 (Delise 100). The latest statics of dying in a dog attack was in 2005 and it was one in 147,717 (Britt). The only reason the odds are up is the increase in population. Another reason is the amount of damage that happens, Dr. Sandi Sawchuk said “...If someone did the same research on Chihuahuas, they would probably find that there are more bites, but they’re less reported due to insignificant damage” (Pisani). Dr. James Serpell and friends did that exact test and found that smaller dogs tend to show more aggression towards humans. Ninety-three percent of Pit Bulls are being euthanized before even being put up for adoption,
also remember that these are animals who will do what they need to do in
Why does Denver think that discriminating against specific breeds of dogs is any better? Singling out these specific breeds of dogs does not prevent the wrong people from owning them regardless of the law. If you look at both of the shelters in Denver, the Denver Dumb Friends League and the Denver Municipal Animal Shelter, there are still “Pit Bulls” being picked up as strays running the streets, and “Pit Bulls” being removed from their homes because their owners would not comply with the statute, obviously something is not working! There are rules about gun control and who can own them and who cannot, but that does not prevent lawbreakers from having a gun, why would we believe that telling these same people they cannot own a dangerous breed of dog is really not going prevent them from owning one. When you tell someone they are not allowed to have a beloved member of their family they end up breaking the laws and hiding their dog, this causes their dog to become unsocial and yes even possibly aggressive. The government has rules in place so that responsible gun owners can register and comply with the rules placed for their protection, why are dog owners not given the same rights as other citizens of Denver? Breed Specific Legislation is unfair and unjust to all dog lovers